qcpmsame 

Right off the start, pictures will begin when I am building up this one, none right now. It's the frame and fork purchased here, from marius.suiram .

I'm starting to plan out the build of my recently acquired Schwinn Super Sport frame, not going for anything remotely totally accurate and catalogue correct. I do want to keep the 27" wheels, I scored a set of the correct SS wheels and a stock freewhee, bot in excellent condition, on eBay. I know that the FD, seat post and stem need to fit the unusual diameters that these CroMo Schwinn frames were made with, so these will be limited as to options save some machining work (possible but not my first choice.)

I am seriously considering using a slip in adapter for the bottom bracket, and using a 3-piece crankset. A Suntour, SR or Shimano of older vintage double would do the service, but which to use.

I also have decided to use a Suntour RD with a long cage, non-indexed, any suggestions as to which one to look for?

Saddle will be a Brooks leather, black, that is decided. If there was a quill style seat post that fit the ID of the tubing, please point me in the right direction, I need to take my calipers and find the metric sizing this evening. No problems with using a the Schwinn original post and clamp though.

Brakes will be the same center pulls as were offered on the bikes.

Have at, I'll post/respond more later on, right now the wife is ready for a taller person to place the angel on the Christmas tree!!!!

Bill

TenGrainBread 

Here are the oddities of the fillet-brazed Schwinn frames of that era:

• 29.5mm seat tube outer diameter, about a millimeter larger than the standard 28.6 of most seat tubes. The lowly Huret FDs these bikes came with are not very good. I would recommend taking a file or dremel to an FD of your choice with a 28.6 clamp and opening it up a bit. Another option is a later FD made for an oversized seat tube (31.8mm) and make a shim to shim it down to 29.5mm. Also regarding the FD - there is no housing stop on the frame for the FD, so you will need to choose a model with a housing stop. For example, I put on a 1st generation Suntour Cyclone, some of which came with built in housing stops. There are clamp-on housing stops you could use, but again the odd diameter seat tube makes that trickier than it sounds. The other rub here is the seat clamp - I have not found a standard seat clamp that will fit well on this seat tube. I tried a 30mm and it was much too loose. YMMV. I stuck with the stock Schwinn steel one and just replaced the rusty hardware with a new large stainless bolt and nut. The seatpost diameter should be 26.8.
• 21.15mm (13/16") fork steerer inner diameter,rather than the standard 22.2. So you will need a stem with a 21.15mm quill. The stock Schwinn-Approved/branded GB stems are actually pretty nice. Besides that, there are decent alloy stems from many manufacturers through the years in this diameter (Nitto, Jun, Win, Dia Compe, etc...).
• 32.6mm head tube inner diameter, rather than the standard 30.2. As far as the headset goes, you will need an "OPC"- or "old school BMX"-sized headset to fit this. Luckily, the crown race and steerer outer diameter measurements are the same as standard. I would personally recommend using a reissued Tange MX125 headset if you want to replace the stock steel one on the Schwinn. It's a very well-made alloy headset, although a little expensive. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tange-Seiki...-/181478891403

BFisher

One thing to watch for regarding the three piece crank conversion adapter - some of the bottom bracket shells on these Super Sports have just enough depth for the old press-in cups, but the adapter can bottom out against the thicker part of the inner shell. My old one was like this, but I don't think they all were.

Regardless, the adapters work great. I ran a Sugino Mighty Competition in mine for a while. Good to go.

Also, if yours has a derailleur hanger, it should be a Huret. Mine did not, and I ran indexed 7-speed Shimano with a claw. For a Suntour long cage, you can't go wrong with almost any of them. V-GT Luxe or Cyclone GT would be nice.

top506

There it is, perfect.
All of @TenGrainBread 's and @BFisher 's observations are valid, but none are insurmountable.
A worthy project. As I cull down from 16 to 5, the SS will be one of the 5.

Top

cqlink 

There's likely a ridge in the BB shell that will need to be ground down to get that type of BB to fit. Be careful when you torque down the screws if your using the Truvativ version. Very easy to strip those screws.

Hudson308 

Fun project! The Suntour VX-GT would be the easy choice for an RD, although I like the look of the Shimano Crane/LeTour GT300 myself. I suppose RD choice will depend on whether you choose to go indexed or not. I'm also partial to the original "Twin Stik" stem shifters. Those would also allow you to use any funky handlebar design you want. Whatever you do, send us pics!!!

John E

You do not need an integral cable stop on the front derailleur if you route the cable under the BB shell, as I did on the 1959 Capo, which has a newer Campag. Record instead of the original Gran Sport.

Sandstrom

Oh man, I can see why, that bike is a beauty! What are those cranks? They have to be the coolest set of cranks I've ever seen...

pastorbobnlnh 

Bill,

Finding a quill type seat post is not a problem. At the moment I'm forgetting the diameter dimension but there are several manufacturers who made posts in the same size.

Super Sport conversions are great fun and the bike is a joy to ride. While not light weight, it is a bike which is easily ridden all day. The fillet brazed frame is semi-unique and has great geometry which contributes to the "plush" ride. The frameset makes a wonderful canvas upon which "to paint" your one-of-a-kind ride!

Looking forward to your pictures and your creation!

top506

The cranks themselves (and BB) are the Nevar set that came on the mid 70's Sports Tourers. Outer ring is Viscount, two inner rings are Lambert, 52/42/34.

Top

big chainring 

i went classic French components on mine. Tubulars too. Nice riding bike.

BFisher

Isn't that an Italian RD? Nice looking ride!

Bar ends would be my choice as well if I ever build another SS. Stops are already there.

I'll second the comments about ride quality. These really are smooth riding bikes.

Slightspeed

I agree on the VGT Luxe RD. I have two of them paired with Suntour Cyclone II FD with the adjustable mounting band. Not sure if they fit your seat tube diameter, but these Cyclone II work great either as a double or triple. One downside, the Cyclone II I have do not have built in cable stops. Both of these bikes are paired with Suntour bar end shifters, my favorites. Never fooled with BB adaptors, so I can't give you any ideas there. I rode awhile with a guy on a yellow Super Sport at last year's Eroica. He's had the bike since new, but had made a few upgrades.

Direct mount VGT Luxe, Cyclone II, Sakae SR Apex double crank and Megarange 34t six speed. Great combination.

Similar set-up, but with claw mount VGT Luxe, and with Sugino AT triple. Very versatile combination.

pastorbobnlnh 

Tubulars on a Super Sport! Love it! I have the same Schwalbe One tubulars on my '71 Paramount. Great riding tires and I love the idea of mounting them on my '71 Super Sport "Sporty."



My only challenge would be that the current Campagnolo brake calipers would not reach the 700c diameter rims. They barely work on the 27" wheels I currently run. I'd need to find suitable replacements.

sykerocker 

Did the same thing a number of years ago, still have the bike. My plan was to duplicate my first 10-speed to the condition it was in just before I sold it. At that time, I had a burgundy '72:

Stripped the stock crankset down to the bare minimum.
Replaced the stem shifters with Huret friction downtube shifters.
Removed the 'safety levers' from the brakes.
Replaced the stock saddle with a Brooks Swallow.
Rebuilt the stock hubs with Mavic tubular rims and tires.

A few years ago I chanced on an orange '73 in nice condition, which I rebuilt as pictured. Since this picture, the saddle has been replaced with a Brooks B-17, and . . . . . . . thank God . . . . . . . . about three months ago the crankset was replaced with a modern cotterless conversion bottom bracket (the modern ones are a lot nice than those things they've been selling for decades), and the Nervar cotterless crank I'd been saving for this bike. Considering the rest of my vintage European cranks were lost in the fire, I'm damned glad I quit putting this job off. Still want to replace the Huret Allvit, but with something else Huret. Tried a Svelto, wasn't happy with the way it worked, put the Allvit back on.

Kdogbikes

qcpmsame. Following this thread bc I’m in process of a ss build also. Managed to remove all of the paint on mine to be able to see the fillet brazing. Working on part selection over the winter. I have a Ross bike that has a 3piece crank that I may try. Cheers, Kevin.

big chainring 

I'm running tubulars on my Grand Prix too. I cant hep myself.

Sandstrom

Thanks for explaining. I have to look into the Viscount stuff, very nice...

Jeff Wills

The seatpost is 26.8mm, IIRC. I put a Kalloy seatpost in my restomod green Superior and it fit perfectly. I also have a Super Sport that I'm working on bit by bit. It'll be a three-speed with a three-piece Nervar crank conversion and a cat chainring. Normal I ain't...

sykerocker 

Lambert/Viscount cranks are quite nice. I've got a triple on my Lambert which I've been rather happy with, it's probably the only component I've returned to the frame that hasn't downgraded performance from what the bike originally came with (Lambert frame, nothing else on the bike was). Unfortunately, lost two other cranksets (both doubles) in the fire.

maaakaaa

Very cool Super Sport! When I was growing up my dad had a dark green SS that he bought new in college (maybe ‘71?). I always admired the style of the fillet brazed frame, even before I knew what the method was. He would ride it for everything—mostly park riding with us on rough paved and dirt paths and it seemed to do fine.

Eventually I sold it for him since he was ready for a more leisurely ride and it was unfortunately too big for me. The person who bought it got a great deal, and was excited about the bike.

machinist42

Suggestions?

I suggest you read through this thread.

(I recently acquired a '72 SS in Opaque Green, and a '64. Both are 24", and sport most of their originality. I have no intention of keeping the '64 original; it has been oversprayed. Neither are presentable; they are disassembled. I've surveyed much of the literature out there, and that thread has been the most helpful and inspirational.)

Dylansbob 

That looks so good. I have to know what method you used to strip it.

qcpmsame 

Thanks much for all the input, I kind of got waylaid by life stuff, our home is nearby Pensacola, FL. I have done several construction and renovation projects in the building where the horrible terrorist attack occurred, and I was attached there as it was Hq Naval Aviation Schools Command, during brief AVROC and AOC training periods, as well as multiple projects throughout the Schools Command campus over the years. Kind of rocked me back, to follow the news this weekend Sorry for being away right after posting this one.

Lots of good inspiration here, some great looking builds of Sports!

The frame set came with the head set, so that is good to go. I plan to use a correct Schwinn stem and Randonneur bend bar. I figured on having to modify the tube clamp on which ever FD I decide to use, looking for a nice triple crankset and bottom bracket right now, so the FD will need to accommodate that if I go with that thought. There is no hanger on the drive side drop, so a claw mounted RD is going to be in order, I see no problems in finding that accommodation at all.

Pastor Bob, I am not going the tubby route with this one, two with tubulars is good for now, she gets the original wheel set as I scored a really nice condition on eBay, will be getting a pair of
Pasela 27-1-1/4 gum walls, and the same seller had a pretty good freewheel too. You'll be receiving an order for the Spa Treatment shortly.

I have already decided that it gets either media blasted, of just plain old stripped, then repainted in the same Kool Lemon colourway. Decals will be obtained for placement then clear coat applied over them.

Seriously considering bar end shifters, I loved the SunTours my Raleigh Super Course came with.

Getting back to abnormal now, thanks for the suggestions and sizing information, I'm not going to attempt a complete naming of all of you that have been such a great source of information on this new adventure. Into the breech once more.....

Bill

Iowegian

I'g glad I stumbled on this thread. I, too, have a SS project in the works and the info here was great. It's just a F/F/HS at this point as it was stripped when I bought it. I've since recycled the crankset, bought a BB converter and a threadless stem adapter after removing the old stem with lye. Top's yellow SS is soooo cool that I might even get it power coated in that color now that I see what is possible although the original plan was to leave the old faded red paint alone. In any event, thanks for the inspiration and information and hints and I'll update if/when I get something together.

Edit to add: I just looked through the thread linked above and saw the OP there used a modified BB30 crankset. I was thinking of that as well and it's great to know what is involved.