kocour

I bought a Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 at a garage sale. The serial number is 0F00945 and the number on the front badge is 1150. The shifters and front derailleur are Campagnolo. The rear derailleur has no branding but the pulley is labeled Suntour.
Is this a 1980 model? If so the original derailleurs would have been Shimano. So I am assuming the Campagnolo components are replacements or did some Voyagers come with Campagnolo parts? The wheels have also been replaced. The bike is in good condition, but the clear coat on the chrome is patchy. Any ideas on how to remove the remaining clear coat without damaging the chrome finish? I tried acetone and a paint and varnish remove, but neither worked.

PilotFishBob 

Not sure about the serial, it's not in a form I've seen on these (someone will no doubt add to that) but I believe the headbadge indicates the 115th frame built in 1980. I had one for a short time and had the same issue with the clear coat over the chrome, I removed it with aircraft paint remover - comes in a spray can at the big box hardware store - it's evil stuff, had to be cautious around the headbadge. Replacement decals are available at Velocals.

3speedslow

Depending on how deteriorated the cc is. For mine I used a stiff plastic card and some brass wool. Shined up nice after that.

Welcome to BF. The V 11.8 models are quite nice original but lend themselves to upgrading too! When you get 10 posts pls show your project.

3alarmer

...no Voyageurs came with Campagnolo parts. You see all sorts of stuff on them, because the original stuff, while functional, was not especially deluxe, and the frame geometry and construction make for a very fine riding bike. They got better and better as the years went by. The older ones like your 11.8 get upgraded by people who like how they ride. For example, I probably spent more money building wheels for mine than I did on the original Craigslist purchase.

kocour

I tried to post pictures, but got a response that I needed to post 10 times before posting photos is allowed - why it that?

3alarmer

...just the way it is because of spammers. If you post them in an online album somewhere else, and link to it, that will usually work

The Golden Boy 

Without seeing it close up- that is a might fine looking bicycle.

madpogue 

@hazetguy 's post is what's often called "pic assist". And yes, best way to post pics for <10-post new members, since the pic is actually there. Always preferable to post pics hosted on the forum, as external hosting sites sometimes reorganize, and/or change their policies about external linking, and the pic no longer shows up in the post.

And +1; all-chrome bikes are cool and look fine.

3alarmer

...looks like a lot of the "improvements" from original have already been done. Some "improvements" here...these are the original derailleurs, shifters, etc. I think this is also a 1980, black paint over chrome

Kdogbikes

I bought this one a while back. Very rough shape Seat post still stuck. I used copper pad and got through most of the clear coat and got to most of the rust. Looks ugly in person bc components still corroded and a small dent in top tube. But..... the bike rides awesome. Even took it in a family trip.

mstateglfr 

It was made on the 115th day of 1980. That's early enough in the year to most likely make it a 1980 model. Schwinn made some frames well in advance, so there is a chance it's an 81 model, but not likely.
Besides the pedal, 1980 and 81 models were identical.

Campy never came on a Voyageur.

djkashuba 

My buddy's 650B Voyageur.



Giro D&#x27;Vino 2015 by djk762, on Flickr

kocour

Thanks for the information and advice on my garage sale find, a 1980 Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 with a chrome finish. I purchased a spray can of aircraft finish remover from O'Rielly's Auto Parts. It really worked to remove the chipped up clear coat and revealed the beauty of the chrome finish. I just sprayed it on, waited 5 minutes and then scraped it off with a credit card. I had to go over a couple of areas twice. I then polished the frame with chrome polish. It looks great. I will post pictures when I get it back from my local bike shop where they are putting on a new chain and doing a minor tune-up while I decide which direction to go: restoration or modernization.


Now that it is cleaned up I noticed a small ding in the top tube. It is smaller than pea-size and is not real obvious. Other than that the frame appears to be in really good shape. I am now trying to decide whether to restore the bike to near original condition or whether to update it to make it more ridable. I would appreciate your suggestions.


If it was a Paramount I would go for restoration, but given the value of Voyageur I am leaning towards some modernization. I am considering going with bar end shifters or stem shifters rather than the down tube shifters. I would also like to add a longer stem (horizontal) to give it a better riding position for me. The frame size is 23 inches or about equivalent to a 58 cm frame. I am 6'2" with a 32 inch inseam and usually do well with a 58 cm frame. Is it true that it is hard to find the correct size replacement stems for these older Schwinns? Any suggestions? I would also like to replace the seat post because it is beat-up and marred. I have also heard that it is an unusual size and it may be hard to find a replacement.


One last question for those who have experience with chrome frames. should I have clear coat reapplied to avoid rust or will chrome polish and a few coats of wax be sufficient?

PilotFishBob 

Mine was also a 23" with a tiny ding in the top tube, previous owner had let the handlebar swing over which caused that. Still looked good. These were made in Japan, pretty much standard component sizes, I think a 26.8mm seatpost but can't recall for certain - may be marked on yours. Chrome is pretty hard stuff, some wax should do you, clear coating is problematic on chrome. Keep an eye on the bottom bracket area, that'll see rusting first in my experience but use a little Barkeepers Friend to remove any and keep it waxed and you're good to go. As others have noted here, these bikes lend themselves to customization. You'll have a blast.

Edit: Not sure about the stem, but think it's standard - I may be corrected on that.

madpogue 

Stem shifters won't be a "modernization", and certainly won't make the bike more rideable. That's the most difficult position to reach to shift, most likely to throw off your balance. It's actually more natural and balanced to reach for the downtube. Bar-ends will definitely add to the rideability, and since they would have been available BITD, they would still be in keeping with the bike's vintage. I suspect you'll find a buyer for the downtubers post-haste if you opt to convert. Alternately, depending on your type of shifter, you may be able to get bar-end conversion perches, and mount your existing downtube shifters there.

You've already sorta started on a restoration of sorts, with the chain. Minor player, of course, but if you were to modernize the driveline (i.e. more speeds), it would probably call for a narrower chain than what the LBS is installing.

I don't see a LOT of old Schwinn parts, but I wouldn't characterize them as _hard_ to find. May just take some patience. There's always the option of "hoarding" parts that you don't necessarily need ATM, as you see them come up (not that any of us have ever done that... ).

I have the same inseam as you, but you're a full six inches taller. So you need a bike with either a long top-tube relative to the seat tube, or, as you mentioned, a longer-reach stem. Looking at the pic of your find, that's quite a short-reach stem. Check the "ISO or for trade" thread (or just post there), someone may want to trade their longer-reach stem for yours. Again, being in keeping with the bike's age, you can just call it part of the "restoration".

Seat post size should be marked on it somewhere. Usually below the "watermark" max/min line. May need to wipe it down, and use a magnifier. The Schwinns I have are all over the place wrt seat post size. If you have a local bike co-op / kitchen, they may well have something you need. You may be able to clean up your existing seat post as well.

Poke around elsewhere here on BF, and get your post count up past 10, so you can post pics. Meanwhile, you can attempt to post them and it will yell at you again, but one of us can do a pic assist as @hazetguy did earlier.

Good intel on the clear-coat removal; we just came into another chrome bike, so this may be helpful. for others' ideas about rust prevention. One obvious thing is to keep it out of the rain.

mstateglfr 

The stem is 21.15mm instead of the common(almost standard) road size of 22.2mm. So yes, its smaller than 'normal'. As such, there arent great options.
One option is this- https://www.harriscyclery.net/produc...bikes-2534.htm
The best option, to me, would be a threadless conversion. https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-SILVER-...-/321296124414
You could then use a more modern stem that has a 26.0mm clamp which would mean the threadless stem isnt too bulky and the bars would still be a more traditional 26.0mm diameter.

madpogue 

That ^^^^^^ Sunlite stem doesn't have much reach; probably wouldn't help for the OP's proportions. This would be one case where a threadless conversion would be justified, as there are LOTS of options for reach/rise. Most bike co-ops, LBSes with used parts, swaps, etc. have bins and bins of threadless stems on the cheap, some with quite long reach.

3alarmer

...I am 6'2" with a relatively long torso. The stem that came with mine works fine for me, because of the (relatively) longer top tube in the frame as designed. Before you go wild buying new parts and doing conversions, I'd suggest measuring the distance from saddle to bar and seeing if you can't adjust the saddle fore or aft to make that distance the same as it is on another bike that fits you well.

It's not a crit bike, so for me a more upright riding posture is fine on this bicycle.

PilotFishBob 

Schwinns tend to throw me on sizing, I never tried to change out the stem on the one I had so it never came up. Reading the above I got curious and did a quick search - another possible option, https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-GRA...sAAOSwx0FdO4ON. If it really is 21.1 (21.15?) that is and 115mm reach is adequate for you. Thing looks almost new.

kocour

I just got the bike back from the shop. It now has a new chain and brake pads so I was able to take it on a longer ride. It was really fun and I am now thinking the stem may be fine so I am not in a rush to change it. It is oxidized and has turned a dull gray so does not look great with the shiny components of the rest of the bike. I have decided to change out the seat post which is pretty badly marred.

ncrnelson

I just finished building up a Voyageur SP. The stem on mine was dull as well, but shined up well. There's plenty of aluminum polishing how tos, but I sprayed mine with easy off oven cleaner, two applications. Next, file out heavy scratches, then sand down from 600 grit to 1000, then 2000, then hand polished with Mother's aluminum polish.

Unrelated, but a 23" frame sounds small for a 6'2" guy, but those chrome Voyageurs are sweet. I'd make it work.

kocour

Yes, a 23" frame sounds small for a person over 6 feet, but my height comes from my torso, not my legs. When I have purchased new bikes, the sales person usually has steered me to an Extra Large or a 60 cm frame. But after test riding different sizes, I have always found the Large or 58 cm to be more comfortable.

I am having a blast with the Voyageur. I am so glad that I spotted it at the garage sale and took a chance on it. It was dusty and dirty, had a flat tire and probably had not been ridden in 20 years. It was priced at $75 so I figured if it did not work out I was not out a lot. With the minor tune up, new tube, brake pads, chain, clear coat remover and chrome polish: I have about $180 invested. I plan to replace the seat post and eventually the wheels (the current wheels are not original to the bike). They have a brownish black finish. I would like to get silver wheels similar to the original. I was planning on replacing the scuffed up black Brooks saddle and the black cloth bar tape with new honey colored seat and tape, but the weathered seat and old school bar tape are growing on me - they make a nice contrast with the shiny frame. I do have to wear gloves to make the cotton bar tape bearable.

One issue that the bike shop has not been able to resolve: the front derailleur does not shift smoothly from the small to large ring. Actually it rarely shifts in that direction, but will shift smoothy to the small ring. The front derailleur is a Campagnolo.

Hopefully I will be able to post photos soon.

kocour

This is the state of the Schwinn Voyageur when I found it at the garage sale. The family was downsizing and selling the contents of their Victorian house and carriage barn. The seller said it had belonged to his son, who rode it to high school until he bought a Trek (you can see that in the background).The decals were worn off so I could not tell what model it was. The seller told me that it was not a Paramount but it was the next best model Schwinn. The front tire was blown, so I was not able to ride it before I bought it. Not knowing if the size was right for me or if it was repairable, I hemmed and hawed for a few minutes. I decided for $75 I would take a chance and if it did not work for me I would donate it to our local bike library.

kocour

I got the front tire fixed and found that the bike rode really nicely. The toe clips and straps were beat up, so I took them off (the straps were labeled Specialized so they were not original). I washed the bike and it cleaned up pretty good. But the clear coat had peeled off in several areas, especially along the top tube and it looked patchy. Except for a small black and yellow decal near the bottom bracket, all of the decals were missing. I could see ghosts of the Schwinn and Voyageur 11.8 decals where the finish had been a bit protected by the decals. I decided to strip off the clear coat. I tried various paint removers, but none of them worked. I got a can of Klean-Strip Aircraft Peeler Basecoat and Clearcoat Remover from an auto parts store. Spray it on, wait five minutes and scrape it off with an old credit card. The stuff really works but it burns if you touch it. If you use it, do it outside and wear rubber gloves, long sleeved shirt and pants and mask off anything that you don’t want damaged. I masked off the small decal and the head badge (unfortunately I did not mask off my bike stand and the over spray bubbled the paint). I had to go over a couple of areas twice, but I had the whole bike stripped in about an hour. I then polished it with chrome polish. I am really happy with the way it turned out.

kocour

I was going to replace the old Brooks saddle and the cotton bar tape with a new leather seat and bar tape, but am now leaning towards keeping the old seat and tape. I have ordered a new seat post because the existing one is deeply gouged. The wheel rims were replaced by the previous owner. The rims are a dark grey/brownish finish. They are labeled: Mavic Made in France, MA40 and Wheelsmith. Any suggestions on wether to keep them or replace them with rims with a silver finish similar to the original? What wheels would you recommend? I also am trying to decide whether to replace the cable housing with the original red color or going with black, silver, or brown to match the gum walls and hood covers. Any suggestions?