Ghaywood

I am new at this. I have been told I'm wasting money, but this is a learning experience for me and I'm enjoying it. Recently, I upgraded the crankset on my schwinn continental from a one piece to a sealed BB with an ultegra crankset. I love the performance I get from my crankset, and I would like this performance elsewhere on my bike. Can I get ultegra derailleurs on my continental? I have friction down tube shifters, which I love, but are all ultegra derailleurs indicated or are the compatible with friction shifters? If so, sweet! But if not, what would be a well performing friction derailleur, front or rear?

brianmcg123

The great thing about friction shifters is that they are compatible with every derailer ever made.

Ghaywood

Music to my ears! Thanks!

Andycapp

If the money spent puts a smile on your face, it's not wasted And it's not like you're welding the parts on either- you can always move them over to your next project or even back again. Bikes can be like "big-boy Legos" like that!

-Andy

zukahn1 

You can put a put a modern ramped 6 or 7 speed freewheel, a nicer 7/8 speed chain and Ultegra dr's on that bike no problem. Personally I wouldn't do it for about the same price you can buy a better bike with better shifters already on it.

pastorbobnlnh 

You must have a 1966 or earlier Continental to have down tube shifters, unless you removed the cable stops. I'd love to see a picture of your set up.

Are you running a double or triple crankset and what era is the Ultegra? If it is real modern Ultegra, you could save some money by looking for NOS Tiagra derailleurs on ebay. They will be sufficient for what you are trying to do.

One challenge you will run into is the size of the band on the FD for the seat tube. As you know the Continental tube is narrow and not standard. I shimmed a Campagnolo FD for my '62 Continental using a bronze bearing/sleeve I bought at my local ACE in the aisle with all the drawers of loose nuts, bolts, washers, etc. I cut it in half, filled and sanded it to shape, and it deformed from its original size to fit the Schwinn EF seat tube perfectly.



The other thing you will need is an adapter claw to mount the RD. Shimano claws tend to be easy to find at most LBS.

jimmuller 

True in essence but there is one minor detail. Different systems were designed for different amounts of cable movement. If you mix, for example, a Simplex lever with a Suntour RD, the amount of lever rotation required per shift, and the total from top to bottom gear, will be much greater than you expect. That's good in that it gives you more precise control, but it can be disconcerting at first. If you mix them the other way, you'll find that just barely moving the lever makes it shift. Not that many people ever mixed a Simplex RD with Suntour levers.

Ghaywood

Thanks everyone! Great advice all around. pastorbob, my continental is a 73. I chopped my shift stops and added a simplex clamp on shifters. I really like your idea for shims! I need to try it out. I put on a double crankset, and it is a 6400 series ultegra with the tri color on the cranks. I really like it. I took it out last night for the first ride. It is much faster than my original crankset. In fact, I increased my average mph by 1 mph! I will try and post some pictures. The frame needs reprinted so I am a wee bit embarrassed to post pictures.

pastorbobnlnh 

We call that "patina" and it adds to the value and mystique of your 40 year old bike. Besides, Schwinn paint can really shine up nicely even after four decades of neglect and abuse.

zukahn1 

+1 on the paint with a little work the paint on most 40 even 50 year old Schwinns looks better than most repaints. Classic Schwinn did better job paint wise than any other bike maker.

Ghaywood

Ya it was in rough shape. I tried to shine it up, but unfortunately I had to sand it down, and for the time being I rattle canned it. Soon I will have it repainted or powder coated.

ThermionicScott 

If nothing else, we don't weld bike parts to the frame, so you could always reuse the parts on something else. In other words, you "acquired assets", you didn't "waste money".