Pompiere

I'm somewhat relieved you are not parting out the Schwinn in the CL link. It looks like it came out of a time machine, with all the original pieces. I have the black chrome version of the same bike. I was leaning toward getting a red one, but the bike shop didn't have one in stock. I still have the most of the original parts, including the tires, but my bike is no museum piece.

1986 Schwinn Sierra in Black Chrome

As summer approaches, and people are clearing out their garages, there are sure to be more deals. As someone else said, find enough parts to get the Cimarron going and then see what upgrades you want to make from there.

reluctantsuburb

I agree - I would feel bad tearing that Schwinn apart!

Would you say to hold off on the Yokota? I still don't really understand the differentiation between groupsets and can't tell if one is worth going after or not.

Pompiere

I would hold off on the Yokata and try to find a donor bike from the mid to late 1980s with friction or SIS shifting. There is nothing wrong with the quality of parts on the Yokata, but it is a newer drive train that would work best as a complete group, with the shifters, derailleurs and gears. The 7 speed hubs would most likely require spreading the rear of the Cimarron frame to fit. The Cimarron would have originally had a 5 or 6 speed freewheel. The suspension fork and stem also would not work be compatible with your bike.

reluctantsuburb

I was able to fit an 8 speed hub on the rear without spreading from a mid-90s bike, although maybe it was an anomaly. Likewise, I am not looking to replace the front fork.

Not trying to be argumentative, just pointing those out in case it affects how attractive this bike is or if the info is helpful to anyone else.

I've never ridden a bike with friction shifting, only indexed, so I'm not sure how I'll like it!

Chicago Al 

I'll be following this thread with interest as I have a Cimarron that I'm going to be adapted for either my wife or myself to ride. In fact it's going on the stand today; I'll add a pic later. This one is original and complete but for the pedals, but I think it's likely to need a different stem and possibly bars to get to the upright position we're looking for.

dweenk

Perhaps I missed something while reading through the thread, but is the head badge on the bike? I think I see one in the first photo. That would accurately date the bike.

reluctantsuburb

Sorry, I missed this post. The head badge reads '1646'

reluctantsuburb

Additionally, dweenk I would be eager to know if the color of my red Cimarron is a match to yours, as I ran across a thread where you detailed making some paint touch ups. My frame badly needs some paint touch up, and I would love to know if you'd recommend whatever color match you used, as well as any tips I should know about the painting process!

Clyde1820

Vintage Schwinn Serial Number Lookup @ BikeHistory.org.

From what some write-ups indicate, out there, on the head badge numbers, the first three digits are the day of the year and the last digit is the year (which, in the case of a vintage Cimarron, would have to mean '6' = '1986').

Hope that helps.

dweenk

I found that Testors #1203 is a very close color match, especially after it dries. For prep I just cleaned very well, lightly wet sanded it with 1200 or 1500 grit wet/dry paper (avoiding decals) and cleaned it again. I touched up the chipped spots with a brush so as to fill the void that was there, and then I sanded the touch up spots flat and cleaned it again. I masked the decals with painters tape (frog tape brand) a gave it a light 2 or 3 coats with Testors #1203 rattle can paint. After the paint had cured I used auto paint compound and polish to blend new and old paint. I may have compounded the paint a bit soon, but I was antsy to get it done and it turned out OK in the end. BTW, the original color is Schwinn Sunrise Red.

reluctantsuburb

Thanks for the reply and explanation. I'm not familiar with auto paint compound--are you referring to something like this?

dweenk

You don't need real heavy compound. Something like DuPont or Turtle Wax rubbing compound is good enough and much cheaper.

Chicago Al 

Here's my 1986 (?) Cimarron, pretty much original but for the pedals. Last fall I started looking for a couple of nice older MTB bikes for wife and myself, and wrk101 had this one so we made the deal. I'm about 5' 6", wife is shorter but with long legs, so a small frame (this is 17" CTT) seemed like a good idea, but it may be that we need to size up one.

I'm now looking more seriously at cleaning this up (it's in very nice shape) and making it suitable for us. We (esp SHE) are looking for a more upright position so I have the stem way up, past the min. insertion mark, just for riding around the block. As you can see, with this seat height, bars are just about at the seat level, so I'm going to look for a dirt drop or other taller stem.

But there's another issue which we both noticed this weekend, while trying to get a feel for the bike. At the top of the pedal stroke, our knees were making an uncomfortable angle, coming up too high. This is certainly due to the 175mm cranks; they are original and apparently that's what all mtn bikes at the time came with, but they don't work for us. I'm going to try a Specialized 'flag' triple, 170, that came off the Stumpjumper Sport that's the second project bike. That's not a huge difference, but if the seat goes up a bit (because the bottom of the stroke is higher), that'll help relax the angle at the top. But then maybe an even taller stem is needed?

The bike is very nicely equipped, though there is one strange thing: the wheelset is certainly original (Deore XT hubs, Araya RM-20 rims) but the front is drilled for Shrader, the rear for Presta! If done later...why?

Korina

You both might be happier with 165mm cranks. As for the wheels... Yeah, I got nuthin'. People are weird.

Chicago Al 

Swapped in the 170mm triple crankset today, raised the seat just a bit, took it for a short ride, and the leg positioning felt much better. I think 165 would be even better, so that's on my list now along with a tall stem. After those changes are made we'll be able to evaluate whether what we really need is a slightly larger frame. BTW I'd found this page on bike fitting, which confirms what I was feeling: https://bikedynamics.co.uk/FitGuidecranks.htm

Clyde1820

Over the years, I've noticed much the same thing as you. With fairly short inseam, typical 175mm cranks and even 170mm have been usable but always left me wondering if shorter would work better. By many such estimates, something in the 160mm range would be better, in my case. I'll acquire one at some point. (Current bike is a '90s Trek with 170mm crank arms.)

I've looked at the Thorn short triples, in 9spd. SJS Cycles (in the UK) has them in 3x9spd from 150mm to 175mm arms.

Korina

Sugino XD600T Triple also has short cranks, from 152 to 175.

Chicago Al 

Thanks, Clyde and Korina! Vintage 165mm triples are out there but not common and seem to be $$$. The Sugino ones are pretty expensive new as well. However I see that Origin 8 makes them (or markets them with a markup) and I am about to pull the trigger on a shopworn set on eBay, under $50.

Sorry if this has been hijacking your thread, reluctantsuburb! Please post more!

reluctantsuburb

No worries, I'm glad there's some discussion on it!

I haven't made much progress on the bike since the last post, still waiting on a few odds and ends from Amazon and trying to see if I can get some better deals locally.

Here's my most recent mock up of a build:

Korina

reluctantsuburb , your pic didn't show up.

reluctantsuburb

Huh, it still shows on my end. Any luck now?

Clyde1820

Now it appears on-screen, yes. (Didn't previously for me, either.)

Korina

Yeppers, and nice bike! Can't wait to see it finished!

capnjonny 

Here is my latest urban assault vehicle .

Schwinn Sierra, mostly original equipment including 14- 30 Shimano freewheel, front and rear derailleurs, crank, wheels, brakes, stem and seat post.

Parts I replaced/upgraded

Chain, pedals, tires (2 x 26 Bontrager’s) , bars, brake levers, grips, cables and covers, bottle cage, saddle. (I used some Serfas 2x26 tires on another vintage mtn bike and think they have the look too.)

The bike was dusty , dirty and disheveled when I grabbed it from the diserted Bike Exchange last week .

Stripping it of its old rags and giving it a thorough cleaning revealed frame paint in pretty good

Condition. Some touch up with red Rustoleum Gloss Cherry (248568) from one of my spray cans matched the original solid color perfectly . With all the bright bits cleaned and polished she looks brand new. I couldn’t help gilding the lily a bit and added the red highlights to the fluted seat post.

I can’t think of a better steed for some urban techie wanting a cool vintage ride from his apartment down the street to his job at Google or Facebook.

These are the fattest tires I have put on a bike yet. We don’t usually get them this big at the Bike Exchange. I do have a set of 2.125 x 26 I stole off a huffy cruiser the other day. I am waiting for the perfect frame to put them on.

One kind of quirky bit of kit you will see are the Shimano shifters. I bought a couple sets a year ago because they were cheap . They are unique in the way they shift. Index shifting from high to low gear is by the shift lever. When you push the button the derailleur drops back down to high gear all at once. I guess they figure once you get to the top of the hill you automatically want to be in high.

They take a little getting used to but are kind of neat.

reluctantsuburb

Today I installed a new stem, sized out saddle height based on my PBH to align the bars, and installed some v brakes.
Next will be drivetrain (cranks, chain, shifters, cables). I just discovered I'm missing some pedals--guess I used them up on another bike--anyone have something they would recommend?