1970 Schwinn Suburban Suntour VX 10 Speed Upgrades
08-01-20, 11:28 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 5
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
1970 Schwinn Suburban Suntour VX 10 Speed Upgrades
Hey All!
I have a green 1970 suburban 10 speed that fits me perfectly. I use it around town in Pittsburgh (A hilly city) and I’d like to do some complimentary upgrades. A place nearby called Bicycle Heaven already builds and sells on eBay 27 inch aluminum wheels that come pre-installed with the schwinn pie plate and a 5 speed freewheel.
I’ve pretty much decided to keep with a derailleur setup for a few different reasons; I love the look of all the metal and chrome on the suburban 10 speed and it’s cheaper than going with internal gearing.
After considering a Shimano Skylark based derailleur upgrade Incuding the sg100, sg120 and the eagle/eagle II I’ve decided for best friction performance to go with a Suntour VX variant.
Here’s the question, should I go with a VX-S that would work with the current gearing (A 28t Model F) which is still kind of high for a hilly City like Pittsburgh or go for the VX GT long cage? The VX-S is specced up to a 30T freewheel which is bigger than the stock suburban 28t low gear, but what if I wanted to use a Collegiate Model J freewheel that I have that has a 32T low gear? Would the VX-S work with that and have full range across all the gears?
Or should I play it safe and look for a VX GT that definitely supports up to a 34t freewheel? I like the idea of leaving the door open to a 34t low gear some day, but the Suntour ultra 6 gears with 34t lows are going for $200 and thats out of budget. So using the Schwinn/Shimano Model J 32t freewheel in a suburban 10 speed setup should I go VX-S for the mid size that may be lighter and quicker or the bigger long cage VX GT?
Thanks Everybody!
I have a green 1970 suburban 10 speed that fits me perfectly. I use it around town in Pittsburgh (A hilly city) and I’d like to do some complimentary upgrades. A place nearby called Bicycle Heaven already builds and sells on eBay 27 inch aluminum wheels that come pre-installed with the schwinn pie plate and a 5 speed freewheel.
I’ve pretty much decided to keep with a derailleur setup for a few different reasons; I love the look of all the metal and chrome on the suburban 10 speed and it’s cheaper than going with internal gearing.
After considering a Shimano Skylark based derailleur upgrade Incuding the sg100, sg120 and the eagle/eagle II I’ve decided for best friction performance to go with a Suntour VX variant.
Here’s the question, should I go with a VX-S that would work with the current gearing (A 28t Model F) which is still kind of high for a hilly City like Pittsburgh or go for the VX GT long cage? The VX-S is specced up to a 30T freewheel which is bigger than the stock suburban 28t low gear, but what if I wanted to use a Collegiate Model J freewheel that I have that has a 32T low gear? Would the VX-S work with that and have full range across all the gears?
Or should I play it safe and look for a VX GT that definitely supports up to a 34t freewheel? I like the idea of leaving the door open to a 34t low gear some day, but the Suntour ultra 6 gears with 34t lows are going for $200 and thats out of budget. So using the Schwinn/Shimano Model J 32t freewheel in a suburban 10 speed setup should I go VX-S for the mid size that may be lighter and quicker or the bigger long cage VX GT?
Thanks Everybody!
08-02-20, 02:46 AM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 641
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 346 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 398 Times
in
260 Posts
The Suburban FIVE SPEED also featured that same model J free wheel that the 1970 Collegiate and beyond has. The Suburban TEN SPEED as you know has that same Model F freewheel that the Varsity-Continental and 1964-1969 Collegiate has.
Model J.........32.....26....21....17....14
Model F........28.....24....20.....16....14
You should be able to locate a good USED SUNTOUR five gears FREEWHEEL with the 34 teeth first gear for no more than $20 to $25 on ebay.
I would not concern yourself with weight. Just go with the SUNTOUR rear derailleur that would be the most reliable and durable, and still give you the shiny vintage chrome look that you would like. All of them are pretty good. Strength and durability is an asset even if it weighs about one ketchup packet more than say something newer from the eighties. The reason that weight is a fools game here is because it is an electroforged Schwinn Suburban. Embrace the weight and use that extra weight to get more of an exercise workout..........you know the saying, stay thin by riding an old Schwinn.
You would not gain too much from Converting the Ten Speed to a 12 Speed by going with a six gear freewheel. The thing that I believe is most important on any ancient Schwinn is the LOW gear hill climbing capability. Beyond that, you never want to keep the Huret Allvit schwinn approved rear derailleur on the Continental/Varsity/'64-'69 Collegiate/and TenSpeedSUBURBAN as it is a crude piece of junk compared to any SUNTOUR or SHIMANO rear derailleur of the late sixties onward. Lots of Schwinns and European bikes came with the Allvit, so they aren't so terrible in that did get the job done, but a rear derailleur from SUNTOUR or SHIMANO is a huge improvement.
If you were okay with keeping the stock chrome steel 27" 32-630mm Schwinn wheels, I would look around for any WOMEN's step through or Mens SUBURBAN FIVE SPEED from 1970 through 1976, or 1977 before they went to the FFS..........................YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND A FIVE SPEED WOMEN'S or Five Speed MEN's SUBURBAN that needs tires, tubes, brake pads, grease, etc for about $20 to $25 if you look around in your area................meaning a women's Suburban, or Men's that has been sitting in someone's garage and hasn't been ridden at all since Reagan was in the White House. Doesn't really matter as long as bike is not rusty, and the wheels aren't damaged................you get a useable parts bike for $ 20 which likely will give you spare set of wheels with the Model J 32 teeth low gear...................the other parts are certainly useable including the GT-100 shimano built (1970 through 1973 and very very early 1974) or the GT-120 shimano built (1974 -1977), if you wanted to use them...........then keep the clover 46teeth single front crank ashtabula assembly, and the 7881 handlebars and weinmann brake levers and schwinn grips, and also keep the L.S. 2.4 sidepull assemblies and seat-seatpost-clamp and chainguard, and fenders...................You can always use this stuff on a future Varsity project. My point is that even if the bike you find is the smallest 17 inch frame or the largest 24 inch frame, don't worry if the color is ugly or the frame size is too big or too small because in the $25 price range, it is all about getting useable parts......most of all, the rear wheel from those SUBURBAN five speed models that have the Model J on the 27" 32-630mm wheel. Hey don't worry about getting some old Suburban five speed for parts if it is not the proper size frame for you, or if you're too uncool to ride a large women's frame, well that is okay because you gotta do what you gotta do.................there are thousands of those bikes out there.......
The five speed Suburban is a better bicycle than the ten speed Suburban, the Varsity, or the Continental because it is more durable and reliable and the slightly less overall gearing range is not significant given the heavy nature of those Electroforged Schwinns. Yes, having 39/52 up front will give you higher top speed potential with 14 and 52, versus 14 and 46 of the five speed model. 28rear and 39front will be numerically better than the 32rear and 46front of the five speed model BUT you never have to worry about the engagement of the front derailleur because there is NONE on the five speed model........................you only have to deal with one STIK and once you set the rear derailleur limit screws and have the shift cable (new or old ) properly adjusted, there is almost nothing to go wrong..
These old Schwinns aren't racing bikes, so you're not going to be going so fast that having many closely related gears will make it any better, so yes, the five speed freewheel is perhaps all that you will need.........why bother with making it a 12 speed...........I am saying that if you go with 34 teeth low gear, you'd be fine converting it from 10 speed to a 5 speed with either the 46 tooth CLOVER (or the Mag version...or that repro Sweetheart version all 46teeth). Simplicity and durability. With the ten speed, you can tack weld a small metal piece to mount the standard chainguard for the single front crankwheels... There are other ways to adapt the standard chainguard to the ten speed frames which lack the tiny welded on piece with the hole to mount the chainguard near the bottom bracket.
I mention all of this because one can do many things with an old Schwinn and still have a nice old bike to ride.
I don't see the point of making them single speed bikes, which some folks like to do, but if you like that and if you lived in a flat area, that would be fine.
Five speed gives you a good range of gears to go everywhere. Sure, you are correct that with just five, you are somewhat limited if you wished to have more close ratio gearing to smoothly transition when you're cruising as fast as possible. Hey, it is a 39 pound Schwinn and not a 21 pound roadbike that will allow for 22mph cruising.
The Isley Brothers came back up to the top of the charts in 1969 with the great song called, Its Your Thing.....do whatcha wanna do....i can't tell ya....
Have fun and make it the way that you like it. There are no rules. Originality or period correct won't make it any more valuable.
My neighbor has an Orange 1971 SUBURBAN five speed that was BROWN originally, but when we built it in MAY 2020, it was stripped and then painted ORANGE and black SCHWINN PARAMOUNT decals were applied to the frame, and a black seventies era SPEEDSTER chainguard decal was applied to the freshly painted chainguard. The original brown fenders were painted Orange to match the frame color and two 7mm white coordinating stripes on each fender about 5mm from the edge of each side of the fender, so on the fenders you have 5mm of orange on the far edges and then 7mm of white stripe covering the entire fender and the remaining center bulk of the fender is orange. Luke had planned on using chrome fenders, like Collegiate or optional on Varsities, etc, but the painted fenders look nice with the white stripes and the Clemson tiger paw just above the round reflector. A white Clemson tiger paw that is just slightly larger than a US Quarter is on the frame about 3.5 inches below the seat post. So yeah, you can say Luke, who has both undergrad and masters degrees in Engineering from CLEMSON has perhaps the only Schwinn PARAMOUNT SPEEDSTER five speed tourist model. The bike looks great. It has a cool looking non-Schwinn fork dart decals which came from the little miss western flyer buzz bike(girls version) reproduction decals which look very Schwinn like but just different enough to be distinctive and people all think that it is Schwinn decal because it looks like Schwinn's dart. I ask Luke every week or so if anyone has expressed displeasure that he placed a PARAMOUNT decal on such an ordinary Schwinn, and Luke says his is a PARAMOUNT SPEEDSTER and he tells me everyone seems to like it, even if they are BAMA, OHIO STATE, SOUTH CAROLINA, or even DAWG fans. It is a good looking bike.
Model J.........32.....26....21....17....14
Model F........28.....24....20.....16....14
You should be able to locate a good USED SUNTOUR five gears FREEWHEEL with the 34 teeth first gear for no more than $20 to $25 on ebay.
I would not concern yourself with weight. Just go with the SUNTOUR rear derailleur that would be the most reliable and durable, and still give you the shiny vintage chrome look that you would like. All of them are pretty good. Strength and durability is an asset even if it weighs about one ketchup packet more than say something newer from the eighties. The reason that weight is a fools game here is because it is an electroforged Schwinn Suburban. Embrace the weight and use that extra weight to get more of an exercise workout..........you know the saying, stay thin by riding an old Schwinn.
You would not gain too much from Converting the Ten Speed to a 12 Speed by going with a six gear freewheel. The thing that I believe is most important on any ancient Schwinn is the LOW gear hill climbing capability. Beyond that, you never want to keep the Huret Allvit schwinn approved rear derailleur on the Continental/Varsity/'64-'69 Collegiate/and TenSpeedSUBURBAN as it is a crude piece of junk compared to any SUNTOUR or SHIMANO rear derailleur of the late sixties onward. Lots of Schwinns and European bikes came with the Allvit, so they aren't so terrible in that did get the job done, but a rear derailleur from SUNTOUR or SHIMANO is a huge improvement.
If you were okay with keeping the stock chrome steel 27" 32-630mm Schwinn wheels, I would look around for any WOMEN's step through or Mens SUBURBAN FIVE SPEED from 1970 through 1976, or 1977 before they went to the FFS..........................YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND A FIVE SPEED WOMEN'S or Five Speed MEN's SUBURBAN that needs tires, tubes, brake pads, grease, etc for about $20 to $25 if you look around in your area................meaning a women's Suburban, or Men's that has been sitting in someone's garage and hasn't been ridden at all since Reagan was in the White House. Doesn't really matter as long as bike is not rusty, and the wheels aren't damaged................you get a useable parts bike for $ 20 which likely will give you spare set of wheels with the Model J 32 teeth low gear...................the other parts are certainly useable including the GT-100 shimano built (1970 through 1973 and very very early 1974) or the GT-120 shimano built (1974 -1977), if you wanted to use them...........then keep the clover 46teeth single front crank ashtabula assembly, and the 7881 handlebars and weinmann brake levers and schwinn grips, and also keep the L.S. 2.4 sidepull assemblies and seat-seatpost-clamp and chainguard, and fenders...................You can always use this stuff on a future Varsity project. My point is that even if the bike you find is the smallest 17 inch frame or the largest 24 inch frame, don't worry if the color is ugly or the frame size is too big or too small because in the $25 price range, it is all about getting useable parts......most of all, the rear wheel from those SUBURBAN five speed models that have the Model J on the 27" 32-630mm wheel. Hey don't worry about getting some old Suburban five speed for parts if it is not the proper size frame for you, or if you're too uncool to ride a large women's frame, well that is okay because you gotta do what you gotta do.................there are thousands of those bikes out there.......
The five speed Suburban is a better bicycle than the ten speed Suburban, the Varsity, or the Continental because it is more durable and reliable and the slightly less overall gearing range is not significant given the heavy nature of those Electroforged Schwinns. Yes, having 39/52 up front will give you higher top speed potential with 14 and 52, versus 14 and 46 of the five speed model. 28rear and 39front will be numerically better than the 32rear and 46front of the five speed model BUT you never have to worry about the engagement of the front derailleur because there is NONE on the five speed model........................you only have to deal with one STIK and once you set the rear derailleur limit screws and have the shift cable (new or old ) properly adjusted, there is almost nothing to go wrong..
These old Schwinns aren't racing bikes, so you're not going to be going so fast that having many closely related gears will make it any better, so yes, the five speed freewheel is perhaps all that you will need.........why bother with making it a 12 speed...........I am saying that if you go with 34 teeth low gear, you'd be fine converting it from 10 speed to a 5 speed with either the 46 tooth CLOVER (or the Mag version...or that repro Sweetheart version all 46teeth). Simplicity and durability. With the ten speed, you can tack weld a small metal piece to mount the standard chainguard for the single front crankwheels... There are other ways to adapt the standard chainguard to the ten speed frames which lack the tiny welded on piece with the hole to mount the chainguard near the bottom bracket.
I mention all of this because one can do many things with an old Schwinn and still have a nice old bike to ride.
I don't see the point of making them single speed bikes, which some folks like to do, but if you like that and if you lived in a flat area, that would be fine.
Five speed gives you a good range of gears to go everywhere. Sure, you are correct that with just five, you are somewhat limited if you wished to have more close ratio gearing to smoothly transition when you're cruising as fast as possible. Hey, it is a 39 pound Schwinn and not a 21 pound roadbike that will allow for 22mph cruising.
The Isley Brothers came back up to the top of the charts in 1969 with the great song called, Its Your Thing.....do whatcha wanna do....i can't tell ya....
Have fun and make it the way that you like it. There are no rules. Originality or period correct won't make it any more valuable.
My neighbor has an Orange 1971 SUBURBAN five speed that was BROWN originally, but when we built it in MAY 2020, it was stripped and then painted ORANGE and black SCHWINN PARAMOUNT decals were applied to the frame, and a black seventies era SPEEDSTER chainguard decal was applied to the freshly painted chainguard. The original brown fenders were painted Orange to match the frame color and two 7mm white coordinating stripes on each fender about 5mm from the edge of each side of the fender, so on the fenders you have 5mm of orange on the far edges and then 7mm of white stripe covering the entire fender and the remaining center bulk of the fender is orange. Luke had planned on using chrome fenders, like Collegiate or optional on Varsities, etc, but the painted fenders look nice with the white stripes and the Clemson tiger paw just above the round reflector. A white Clemson tiger paw that is just slightly larger than a US Quarter is on the frame about 3.5 inches below the seat post. So yeah, you can say Luke, who has both undergrad and masters degrees in Engineering from CLEMSON has perhaps the only Schwinn PARAMOUNT SPEEDSTER five speed tourist model. The bike looks great. It has a cool looking non-Schwinn fork dart decals which came from the little miss western flyer buzz bike(girls version) reproduction decals which look very Schwinn like but just different enough to be distinctive and people all think that it is Schwinn decal because it looks like Schwinn's dart. I ask Luke every week or so if anyone has expressed displeasure that he placed a PARAMOUNT decal on such an ordinary Schwinn, and Luke says his is a PARAMOUNT SPEEDSTER and he tells me everyone seems to like it, even if they are BAMA, OHIO STATE, SOUTH CAROLINA, or even DAWG fans. It is a good looking bike.
Likes For Vintage Schwinn:
08-02-20, 06:11 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Toledo Ohio
Posts: 1,498
Bikes: 1964 Huffy Sportsman, 1972 Fuji Newest, 1973 Schwinn Super Sport (3), 1982 Trek 412, 1983 Trek 700, 1989 Miyata 1000LT, 1991 Bianchi Boardwalk, plus others
Mentioned: 21 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 583 Post(s)
Liked 700 Times
in
395 Posts
Good question
It kinda depends. You may not know if the S will handle the 32t until you try. The distance between the upper cage wheel and sprocket is the limiting factor along with the chain wrap capacity. I have a VXs on my Trek shifting a 30t easily and it looks like it would do a 32. That frame has the dropout mount for the derailleur. That brings up the point that it depends on how far down the derailleur hangs. One for your bike would probably require the one with the claw hanger. I have recently purchased one of these also and may use in on my SuperSport to replace a V-gt that I have had on it for 40 years. The VXs is a nice unit.
08-02-20, 01:35 PM
#4
Newbie
This is the 32t gear sprocket off a collegiate put on a Varsity. You can do all this with Schwinn stock components. But as others said, the limiting factor is the guide wheel hitting the large sprocket. Moving the derailleur in a different position helps, just the extreme overlap (large front/small rear and vica versa) will cause small crunchy sounds
08-02-20, 09:07 PM
#5
Senior Member
I would go for the long cage GT derailleur partly because it would enable you to easily upgrade to a triple up front further down the road, if you chose to do so. Of course that would require a conversion bottom bracket but should still be doable if you really wanted to squeeze more hill climbing ability out of the bike.
08-02-20, 10:36 PM
#6
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 5
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
The Suburban FIVE SPEED also featured that same model J free wheel that the 1970 Collegiate and beyond has. The Suburban TEN SPEED as you know has that same Model F freewheel that the Varsity-Continental and 1964-1969 Collegiate has.
Model J.........32.....26....21....17....14
Model F........28.....24....20.....16....14
You should be able to locate a good USED SUNTOUR five gears FREEWHEEL with the 34 teeth first gear for no more than $20 to $25 on ebay.
I would not concern yourself with weight. Just go with the SUNTOUR rear derailleur that would be the most reliable and durable, and still give you the shiny vintage chrome look that you would like. All of them are pretty good. Strength and durability is an asset even if it weighs about one ketchup packet more than say something newer from the eighties. The reason that weight is a fools game here is because it is an electroforged Schwinn Suburban. Embrace the weight and use that extra weight to get more of an exercise workout..........you know the saying, stay thin by riding an old Schwinn.
You would not gain too much from Converting the Ten Speed to a 12 Speed by going with a six gear freewheel. The thing that I believe is most important on any ancient Schwinn is the LOW gear hill climbing capability. Beyond that, you never want to keep the Huret Allvit schwinn approved rear derailleur on the Continental/Varsity/'64-'69 Collegiate/and TenSpeedSUBURBAN as it is a crude piece of junk compared to any SUNTOUR or SHIMANO rear derailleur of the late sixties onward. Lots of Schwinns and European bikes came with the Allvit, so they aren't so terrible in that did get the job done, but a rear derailleur from SUNTOUR or SHIMANO is a huge improvement.
If you were okay with keeping the stock chrome steel 27" 32-630mm Schwinn wheels, I would look around for any WOMEN's step through or Mens SUBURBAN FIVE SPEED from 1970 through 1976, or 1977 before they went to the FFS..........................YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND A FIVE SPEED WOMEN'S or Five Speed MEN's SUBURBAN that needs tires, tubes, brake pads, grease, etc for about $20 to $25 if you look around in your area................meaning a women's Suburban, or Men's that has been sitting in someone's garage and hasn't been ridden at all since Reagan was in the White House. Doesn't really matter as long as bike is not rusty, and the wheels aren't damaged................you get a useable parts bike for $ 20 which likely will give you spare set of wheels with the Model J 32 teeth low gear...................the other parts are certainly useable including the GT-100 shimano built (1970 through 1973 and very very early 1974) or the GT-120 shimano built (1974 -1977), if you wanted to use them...........then keep the clover 46teeth single front crank ashtabula assembly, and the 7881 handlebars and weinmann brake levers and schwinn grips, and also keep the L.S. 2.4 sidepull assemblies and seat-seatpost-clamp and chainguard, and fenders...................You can always use this stuff on a future Varsity project. My point is that even if the bike you find is the smallest 17 inch frame or the largest 24 inch frame, don't worry if the color is ugly or the frame size is too big or too small because in the $25 price range, it is all about getting useable parts......most of all, the rear wheel from those SUBURBAN five speed models that have the Model J on the 27" 32-630mm wheel. Hey don't worry about getting some old Suburban five speed for parts if it is not the proper size frame for you, or if you're too uncool to ride a large women's frame, well that is okay because you gotta do what you gotta do.................there are thousands of those bikes out there.......
The five speed Suburban is a better bicycle than the ten speed Suburban, the Varsity, or the Continental because it is more durable and reliable and the slightly less overall gearing range is not significant given the heavy nature of those Electroforged Schwinns. Yes, having 39/52 up front will give you higher top speed potential with 14 and 52, versus 14 and 46 of the five speed model. 28rear and 39front will be numerically better than the 32rear and 46front of the five speed model BUT you never have to worry about the engagement of the front derailleur because there is NONE on the five speed model........................you only have to deal with one STIK and once you set the rear derailleur limit screws and have the shift cable (new or old ) properly adjusted, there is almost nothing to go wrong..
These old Schwinns aren't racing bikes, so you're not going to be going so fast that having many closely related gears will make it any better, so yes, the five speed freewheel is perhaps all that you will need.........why bother with making it a 12 speed...........I am saying that if you go with 34 teeth low gear, you'd be fine converting it from 10 speed to a 5 speed with either the 46 tooth CLOVER (or the Mag version...or that repro Sweetheart version all 46teeth). Simplicity and durability. With the ten speed, you can tack weld a small metal piece to mount the standard chainguard for the single front crankwheels... There are other ways to adapt the standard chainguard to the ten speed frames which lack the tiny welded on piece with the hole to mount the chainguard near the bottom bracket.
I mention all of this because one can do many things with an old Schwinn and still have a nice old bike to ride.
I don't see the point of making them single speed bikes, which some folks like to do, but if you like that and if you lived in a flat area, that would be fine.
Five speed gives you a good range of gears to go everywhere. Sure, you are correct that with just five, you are somewhat limited if you wished to have more close ratio gearing to smoothly transition when you're cruising as fast as possible. Hey, it is a 39 pound Schwinn and not a 21 pound roadbike that will allow for 22mph cruising.
The Isley Brothers came back up to the top of the charts in 1969 with the great song called, Its Your Thing.....do whatcha wanna do....i can't tell ya....
Have fun and make it the way that you like it. There are no rules. Originality or period correct won't make it any more valuable.
My neighbor has an Orange 1971 SUBURBAN five speed that was BROWN originally, but when we built it in MAY 2020, it was stripped and then painted ORANGE and black SCHWINN PARAMOUNT decals were applied to the frame, and a black seventies era SPEEDSTER chainguard decal was applied to the freshly painted chainguard. The original brown fenders were painted Orange to match the frame color and two 7mm white coordinating stripes on each fender about 5mm from the edge of each side of the fender, so on the fenders you have 5mm of orange on the far edges and then 7mm of white stripe covering the entire fender and the remaining center bulk of the fender is orange. Luke had planned on using chrome fenders, like Collegiate or optional on Varsities, etc, but the painted fenders look nice with the white stripes and the Clemson tiger paw just above the round reflector. A white Clemson tiger paw that is just slightly larger than a US Quarter is on the frame about 3.5 inches below the seat post. So yeah, you can say Luke, who has both undergrad and masters degrees in Engineering from CLEMSON has perhaps the only Schwinn PARAMOUNT SPEEDSTER five speed tourist model. The bike looks great. It has a cool looking non-Schwinn fork dart decals which came from the little miss western flyer buzz bike(girls version) reproduction decals which look very Schwinn like but just different enough to be distinctive and people all think that it is Schwinn decal because it looks like Schwinn's dart. I ask Luke every week or so if anyone has expressed displeasure that he placed a PARAMOUNT decal on such an ordinary Schwinn, and Luke says his is a PARAMOUNT SPEEDSTER and he tells me everyone seems to like it, even if they are BAMA, OHIO STATE, SOUTH CAROLINA, or even DAWG fans. It is a good looking bike.
Model J.........32.....26....21....17....14
Model F........28.....24....20.....16....14
You should be able to locate a good USED SUNTOUR five gears FREEWHEEL with the 34 teeth first gear for no more than $20 to $25 on ebay.
I would not concern yourself with weight. Just go with the SUNTOUR rear derailleur that would be the most reliable and durable, and still give you the shiny vintage chrome look that you would like. All of them are pretty good. Strength and durability is an asset even if it weighs about one ketchup packet more than say something newer from the eighties. The reason that weight is a fools game here is because it is an electroforged Schwinn Suburban. Embrace the weight and use that extra weight to get more of an exercise workout..........you know the saying, stay thin by riding an old Schwinn.
You would not gain too much from Converting the Ten Speed to a 12 Speed by going with a six gear freewheel. The thing that I believe is most important on any ancient Schwinn is the LOW gear hill climbing capability. Beyond that, you never want to keep the Huret Allvit schwinn approved rear derailleur on the Continental/Varsity/'64-'69 Collegiate/and TenSpeedSUBURBAN as it is a crude piece of junk compared to any SUNTOUR or SHIMANO rear derailleur of the late sixties onward. Lots of Schwinns and European bikes came with the Allvit, so they aren't so terrible in that did get the job done, but a rear derailleur from SUNTOUR or SHIMANO is a huge improvement.
If you were okay with keeping the stock chrome steel 27" 32-630mm Schwinn wheels, I would look around for any WOMEN's step through or Mens SUBURBAN FIVE SPEED from 1970 through 1976, or 1977 before they went to the FFS..........................YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND A FIVE SPEED WOMEN'S or Five Speed MEN's SUBURBAN that needs tires, tubes, brake pads, grease, etc for about $20 to $25 if you look around in your area................meaning a women's Suburban, or Men's that has been sitting in someone's garage and hasn't been ridden at all since Reagan was in the White House. Doesn't really matter as long as bike is not rusty, and the wheels aren't damaged................you get a useable parts bike for $ 20 which likely will give you spare set of wheels with the Model J 32 teeth low gear...................the other parts are certainly useable including the GT-100 shimano built (1970 through 1973 and very very early 1974) or the GT-120 shimano built (1974 -1977), if you wanted to use them...........then keep the clover 46teeth single front crank ashtabula assembly, and the 7881 handlebars and weinmann brake levers and schwinn grips, and also keep the L.S. 2.4 sidepull assemblies and seat-seatpost-clamp and chainguard, and fenders...................You can always use this stuff on a future Varsity project. My point is that even if the bike you find is the smallest 17 inch frame or the largest 24 inch frame, don't worry if the color is ugly or the frame size is too big or too small because in the $25 price range, it is all about getting useable parts......most of all, the rear wheel from those SUBURBAN five speed models that have the Model J on the 27" 32-630mm wheel. Hey don't worry about getting some old Suburban five speed for parts if it is not the proper size frame for you, or if you're too uncool to ride a large women's frame, well that is okay because you gotta do what you gotta do.................there are thousands of those bikes out there.......
The five speed Suburban is a better bicycle than the ten speed Suburban, the Varsity, or the Continental because it is more durable and reliable and the slightly less overall gearing range is not significant given the heavy nature of those Electroforged Schwinns. Yes, having 39/52 up front will give you higher top speed potential with 14 and 52, versus 14 and 46 of the five speed model. 28rear and 39front will be numerically better than the 32rear and 46front of the five speed model BUT you never have to worry about the engagement of the front derailleur because there is NONE on the five speed model........................you only have to deal with one STIK and once you set the rear derailleur limit screws and have the shift cable (new or old ) properly adjusted, there is almost nothing to go wrong..
These old Schwinns aren't racing bikes, so you're not going to be going so fast that having many closely related gears will make it any better, so yes, the five speed freewheel is perhaps all that you will need.........why bother with making it a 12 speed...........I am saying that if you go with 34 teeth low gear, you'd be fine converting it from 10 speed to a 5 speed with either the 46 tooth CLOVER (or the Mag version...or that repro Sweetheart version all 46teeth). Simplicity and durability. With the ten speed, you can tack weld a small metal piece to mount the standard chainguard for the single front crankwheels... There are other ways to adapt the standard chainguard to the ten speed frames which lack the tiny welded on piece with the hole to mount the chainguard near the bottom bracket.
I mention all of this because one can do many things with an old Schwinn and still have a nice old bike to ride.
I don't see the point of making them single speed bikes, which some folks like to do, but if you like that and if you lived in a flat area, that would be fine.
Five speed gives you a good range of gears to go everywhere. Sure, you are correct that with just five, you are somewhat limited if you wished to have more close ratio gearing to smoothly transition when you're cruising as fast as possible. Hey, it is a 39 pound Schwinn and not a 21 pound roadbike that will allow for 22mph cruising.
The Isley Brothers came back up to the top of the charts in 1969 with the great song called, Its Your Thing.....do whatcha wanna do....i can't tell ya....
Have fun and make it the way that you like it. There are no rules. Originality or period correct won't make it any more valuable.
My neighbor has an Orange 1971 SUBURBAN five speed that was BROWN originally, but when we built it in MAY 2020, it was stripped and then painted ORANGE and black SCHWINN PARAMOUNT decals were applied to the frame, and a black seventies era SPEEDSTER chainguard decal was applied to the freshly painted chainguard. The original brown fenders were painted Orange to match the frame color and two 7mm white coordinating stripes on each fender about 5mm from the edge of each side of the fender, so on the fenders you have 5mm of orange on the far edges and then 7mm of white stripe covering the entire fender and the remaining center bulk of the fender is orange. Luke had planned on using chrome fenders, like Collegiate or optional on Varsities, etc, but the painted fenders look nice with the white stripes and the Clemson tiger paw just above the round reflector. A white Clemson tiger paw that is just slightly larger than a US Quarter is on the frame about 3.5 inches below the seat post. So yeah, you can say Luke, who has both undergrad and masters degrees in Engineering from CLEMSON has perhaps the only Schwinn PARAMOUNT SPEEDSTER five speed tourist model. The bike looks great. It has a cool looking non-Schwinn fork dart decals which came from the little miss western flyer buzz bike(girls version) reproduction decals which look very Schwinn like but just different enough to be distinctive and people all think that it is Schwinn decal because it looks like Schwinn's dart. I ask Luke every week or so if anyone has expressed displeasure that he placed a PARAMOUNT decal on such an ordinary Schwinn, and Luke says his is a PARAMOUNT SPEEDSTER and he tells me everyone seems to like it, even if they are BAMA, OHIO STATE, SOUTH CAROLINA, or even DAWG fans. It is a good looking bike.
I’m definitely gonna keep on the lookout for some clean suntour 5-speed freewheels. The ultra 6 stuff seems to be going for ridiculous prices at the moment. I happen to have an old 5 speed collegiate already so I believe that I may have the Model J freewheel I need to start with. Do you know if there are any identifying marks that would indicate that its the Shimano model J rather than the older French freewheel? I guess I can also triangulate that by figuring out what the year is on the Collegiate.
I love the simplicity of a simple 5-speed setup so I can totally dig that idea. In fact I was also kicking around the idea of going to one of the newer incarnations of the two speed internal kick back hubs for this build. That would be an even cleaner more minimalistic setup, but probably under geared for hilly Pittsburgh.
However I found myself charmed by all the chrome and mech on this particular campus green suburban. I think the crank with the extended chrome integrated chainguard is such a strong look that I decided to keep the basic setup and will as you say embrace the weight in keeping the Chicago Schwinn’s iconic attributes; pie plates, kickstand, shifters and fenders. I even love the chrome dual shifters for their steam punky charm.
But the biggest upgrade for me besides the derailleur and gearing and possibly a better springer saddle will be aluminum rims for safe stopping power. I currently have kool stops on the bike but they are still inadequate for certain hills. I’ll also be happy to support my local bike shop Bicycle Heaven for the set preloaded with the classic pie plate.
Thank you again for all the great info, and love the story of the Suburban/Paramount/Speedster. I think its all about making it your own while finding ways to still compliment the classic designs.
08-02-20, 10:38 PM
#7
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 5
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
It kinda depends. You may not know if the S will handle the 32t until you try. The distance between the upper cage wheel and sprocket is the limiting factor along with the chain wrap capacity. I have a VXs on my Trek shifting a 30t easily and it looks like it would do a 32. That frame has the dropout mount for the derailleur. That brings up the point that it depends on how far down the derailleur hangs. One for your bike would probably require the one with the claw hanger. I have recently purchased one of these also and may use in on my SuperSport to replace a V-gt that I have had on it for 40 years. The VXs is a nice unit.
08-02-20, 10:42 PM
#8
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 5
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
This is the 32t gear sprocket off a collegiate put on a Varsity. You can do all this with Schwinn stock components. But as others said, the limiting factor is the guide wheel hitting the large sprocket. Moving the derailleur in a different position helps, just the extreme overlap (large front/small rear and vica versa) will cause small crunchy sounds
08-02-20, 10:48 PM
#9
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 5
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I would go for the long cage GT derailleur partly because it would enable you to easily upgrade to a triple up front further down the road, if you chose to do so. Of course that would require a conversion bottom bracket but should still be doable if you really wanted to squeeze more hill climbing ability out of the bike.
But I think I’d rather have the room to grow if I decide to move up to the 34t so GT seems like the way. Thanks!
08-02-20, 11:03 PM
#10
Newbie
no problems so far as it is only 5 speed, I may need a new chain anyway to eliminate some mechanical crunch. I had plenty of parts to choose from, so on most "try-outs" it only cost me potentially new cables. It is a good way to find some forgotten rides in barns or yard sales and salvage parts for future projects. Below is a 6 speed upgrade with Tourney derailleur in the rear and Shimano in front. Has Aluminum rims and Superbe brakes. Lightened the weight by about 11lbs. Completely different ride compare to the original.
1965 Varsity 12 spd
1965 Varsity 12 spd
