1987cp

I'm in the middle of a project to find Mrs. 1987cp a frame to build up, largely with standard parts we already have on hand, and hoping some of you might have suggestions based on reading or experience. I've scoured Bridgestone USA catalog scans that will help if I find the exactly the right models for sale for a reasonable price, but a lot of brands seem to have been less than forthcoming about their frames' dimensions.


Our most successful experiment so far from my stash is my 21" ~1990 Schwinn World, which I've measured as having a 21.25" top tube and 80mm BB drop (making for an absolutely brilliant 10" BB height as assembled with a swap to 40-584 tires!). She says she does not feel cramped fore-to-aft as on many smallish bikes, and the low BB is of course excellent for the stop and go riding we do. The downsides include the level top tube and inability to fit her preferred boingy saddle, which adds just about two inches ....

So,our best guess so far is that we're looking for a step through of some sort, 18-19" seat tube, with a 21"+ effective top tube and 75-80mm BB drop. Needs to feel somewhat "zippy", but that's compared to a heavy comfort bike, and I expect any roadish frame can provide that. And I imagine older frames should mostly fit the 40-584 tires we have to experiment with. Strongly prefer something that came with a standard threaded BB shell and 1" threaded steer tube, but that's of course far less critical than geometry.


Her favorite new bike (based on catalog information, haven't yet seen one in person) is the Bianchi Venezia, based on the combination of cool vintage styling and appealing fitment information. I imagine a Soma Buena Vista or Handsome She Devil could also work well, with the small annoyance of probably needing a Delta Stem Raiser to clamp on the unthreaded steer tube.


Aside: Has anyone else noticed that eBay sellers these days often think every Miyata 90 and Raleigh Rapide is made of solid gold? If this project gets into real money, it will likely make more sense to order something new!

1987cp

Also aside: I just received interesting information from a local bike shop owner. His exact words were: "Bikes are the new toilet paper." He said he normally keeps over 50 bikes in his showroom and an additional 130 in the loft overhead, and recently he's been cleaned out of all but a dozen or two, including stuff he's had on hand since 2013, and now basically can't get his hands on any bike under $1700.

In that context, it makes a little more sense that even very cheap older bikes would suddenly look quite desirable to buyers who would otherwise be buying a new name-brand bike for $500 to $1000.

ramzilla

I love old Schwinn World step through bikes. They're very fast, durable and, easy to repair. I'm always on the lookout for one. People on this forum always say they're not worth much. But, they're getting harder & harder to find. Raleigh & Fuji also made some really nice step through bikes back in the day. This one is my wife's favorite bike:


This bike is actually very fast. Equipped with 25mm Panaracer Pasela tires. My wife can easily maintain 15mph and lead social riding groups all day long.

canopus 

I just finished the refurb on the Mrs’s 1973 Schwinn Breeze in 18” step through in three speed. It’s the most we’ve ridden together in 27 years. Frames are cheap but go towards the upright position. Throw some lightweight wheels on and it should be zippy and comfortable but no lightweight.

1987cp

Agreed, the Schwinn World is surprisingly zippy for its price point. I quit riding mine mostly because I found others I like better.

Is that a Raleigh USA Pursuit? I like my two 80s Raleigh USA frames ('83 Record 23", '85 Alyeska 21") very well except for the BB height ... though of course a 650b swap helps that a bit.

What's the effective TT length on that?



We've suddenly found ourselves in the process of acquiring a Venezia from a seller in Texas .... going to call in an hour to pay for boxing at a LBS in the seller's town .... so, for a light/zippy project, ultimate comfort may not be as important as it previously seemed ....

bwilli88 

what bars are they?

1987cp

This might just be a lot of fun .....

Apparently Detel bicycles were made in Wisconsin for about 9 months in 1985 or 1986. Supposedly all were made of either Ishawata 022 or 024 butted chromo. We like the tallish head tube like some Ralieghs had, the 48cm seat tube is perfect, and the intended 650b swap will make any high BB problems a relative nonissue.

Interesting what brand recognition (or in this case, lack thereof) does for a price point. I got this for $49 plus shipping, when hi-tensile major brands are going for $200, sometimes $300 or more.

Seller has already shipped .... arriving here on or shortly after 6/29/20 .... the parts needed to make a complete bike are already in hand ..... well, except for clamp on cable stops. And we will order dual pivot sidepulls once we measure the brake reach, because the Odyssey Pitbull IIs (which are my only long reach brake ATM) are honestly a bit annoying.

Here's hoping this smallish gamble turns out well!

1987cp

Aaaaaand, it's pretty good! The mystery Detel mixte frame arrived last week and we immediately assembled it with the parts we had, which meant initially running eight feet of assorted bits of cable housing to the rear derailer .... only bit of weirdness other than the lack of braze-ons, it appears the fork was designed for that older system of nutted axles where the front is smaller diameter than the rear (which I had previously seen only on my son's old 1987 Street Runner 10 20" ATB), so after some discussion we opened up the front dropouts to fit the wheels we have.

Today the cool Shimano cable stops and guides arrived. I found NOS downtube cable stops and a NOS Dura Ace cable guide that clamps just above the BB shell. Now it's got those bits installed along with new SIS housing from the shifter to the stops. I've yet to try a front derailer, but the Dura Ace guide looks really promising and won't limit us to a FD with integrated housing stop ....

Also, since it turns out this frame is already threaded for a housing stop on the rear mixte bridge, we're getting Dia Compe 750 long reach U brakes with the long straddle wire for the rear. Today I found a deal on a new rear 750 and ordered that along with a 330mm straddle wire. Will continue looking for a good price on a front 750.

Let's see, what else .... oh, I'm lending my wife my cheap Avenir rear rack with the brown wicker-look folding baskets. Mounting that was interesting, as the eyelets are not as I'd expected. The upper(ish) (rack?) dropout eyelet is 6mm ID and unthreaded, while the rearward (fender?) dropout eyelet is threaded for a 5mm screw. Guess which holes I mounted the rack to for now!


Pics to come!

clubman 

Looks like a great build, congrats on a win.