Steve Whitlatch 

I am looking to replace some old beat up rims and the market seems geared towards 700c if you want quality. Just for kicks I had the bike shop put a 700 C rim on my 86 Schwinn Prelude to see if it would fit without having to buy new brakes. It did. This was not the bike I wanted them for so I brought my 80 Voyageur in to see if it would match up as well. It did. So now I have so many options.

So my question is do both bikes come with long reach brakes stock or did Schwinn just set the brake mounts to work for both size rims?

John E

The simple test is to position the brake pads properly for 27" wheels (630mm rim diameter), then check to see whether the brake caliper slots are long enough to enable you to lower the pads by 4mm to accommodate 700C rims (622mm rim diameter).

Steve Whitlatch 

Well I had been told or have seen it written so many times that you need to buy long reach brake calipers to make the switch that I was surprised that both Schwinn bikes worked with 700 c wheels. Just made me wonder if Schwinn just did something with the placement of the mounts or something?

Steve Whitlatch 

Eyeballing my wife`s Le Tour and it looks like 700 will work on a 3rd 27 inch Schwinn as well.

Scooper

There's really no hard and fast rule about which Schwinn models with stock 27" rims will work with stock brakes and which will need long reach brakes to work with 700c rims. Generally, 27" rim models that are designed to accommodate fenders have higher fork crown clearance and seat stay bridge clearance and therefore have higher caliper brake mounting holes (further from the wheel rims). These models are more likely to not have sufficient reach with stock brakes to accommodate 700c rims, but there are exceptions. The brake pad adjustment slots in most caliper arms are 15mm-20mm long, so 4mm additional reach is usually not a problem if the pad mounting bolt isn't lower than about the center of the slot when adjusted to work with 27" rims.

Cantilever brakes are different in that they're mounted on brazed-on studs, so fender clearance isn't going to affect where the studs are mounted relative to the wheel rim on the seat stays and fork blades.

dazevedo

Had no problems putting 700's on my 74 Schwinn Sports Tourer. From what I've read and seen the only Schwinn's that needed different brakes are the 87 - 89 Voyageur's that came with Dia Compe 983 Canti's. They only has a Min of 23mm to a max of 26mm of adjustments although there could be more.

Chris Chicago

I put a 700c wheel on the rear of a 71 super sport, no problemo

pastorbobnlnh 

Just to be contrary, I mounted 27 X 1&1/4 wheels and tires on my '71 Schwinn Paramount P-13, which originally ran 700c tubular wheels and tires. But I also have 700c wheels on my '75 Sports Tourer and Voyageur II (which originally were equipped with 27 inch wheels). So it all depends on the frame and the reach of the brakes.

Glad it worked out for you on both the Prelude and the Voyageur.

Steve Whitlatch 

Thanks for all the replies. So much knowledge in one place.
Well I must say it was very exciting to find out they would fit. Adding the cost of new brakes into the equation was a bit prohibitive. I have been going to different bike shops seeking old stock 27 inch wheels only to find the same old generic wheel sets. 3 bike shops told me I would need to buy new brakes including the shop In my neighborhood where they put the 700 wheel on to test it our for me. One shop in Chicago told me to try one on the bike to see if it would line up. He said sometimes it works. So when I was out for my ride I decided to stop into the shop and find out. The bike shop owner was a bit shocked that they fit without new brakes as well.

rhenning

Steve unless your Prelude is odd it should have come with 700c wheels when it was new. At least the Prelude I own does. Couple of my 1973 SS with 700 wheels. Roger

Steve Whitlatch 

Must be an odd year. Mine came with 27 X 1 inch rims. The 1986 catalog confirms it.

degan

That frame/wheelset combo is quite the juxtaposition.

cehowardGS

Here is my 1986 Schwinn Prelude that I caught for $50 off Craigslist. It had a bent rear wheel. I quickly threw some old 700cc wheels that I had laying around the garage.. It was supposed to be my #2 beater, but it rides too dam good.. I said all that to say, yes, 700c will will pop right in with and work with stock brakes..

zukahn1 

Simple answer the majority of Schwinns 90%+ made with 27inch wheels will readily take 700c's stock brake wise. The reason for this is Schinn approved components where speced to potentially work with the majority of there bikes sold which included a lot of 26 inch models which ment they needed a large degree of variance on the brakes.

rhenning

Steve it turns out my Prelude us actually a 1987 model built in December 1986. 1987s had 700 wheels. Roger

Steve Whitlatch 

That is a sweet looking bike. My Prelude is gray. It is in near mint condition and the wheels only have a couple very small scratches. I paid $200. You got the better deal. If that`s your beater I can`t even imagine how good your top bike rides. I love my Prelude.

Steve Whitlatch 

Here is my Prelude.

Steve Whitlatch 

Here is the bike that needs new wheels. 1980 Schwinn Voyageur.

Steve Whitlatch 

This is a picture with a front wheel on the bike of a set that I am thinking of buying . A mix of new with old.

zukahn1 

This wheel is a fine fit and will work but it way beyend the frame your rocking. You need to get a better bike to start with.

Steve Whitlatch 

1980 Voyageur 11.8 was the top of the line Schwinn bike just under a Paramount?

zukahn1 

Nothing

Steve Whitlatch 

LOL Do you feel better now?

Steve Whitlatch 

Those wheels are cool looking. Gives the bike a whole new personality.

pastorbobnlnh 

That's an interesting question. 1980 was an odd year for Schwinn. The Chicago Paramount cage had been closed at the end of 1979. Paramount production was shifted to Waterford, WI, but gearing up for production was a slow start. In theory Paramounts were a purely custom order that year (and in '81-82 as well), and would cost a very pretty penny in 1980s dollars. 1980-81 Paramounts are extremely rare, '82s very rare, and '83s (first standard production models) are few and far in between.

In 1981 Schwinn introduced the Superior made from leftover Chicago Paramount Reynolds 531 tubing sets. They were equipped with Campy G.S. gear which was slightly below the NR gear. The Superior for the next three years was Schwinn's second to the top model, followed by the Panasonic made Voyageur.

So getting back to 1980, in many respects the Voyageur 11.8 was Schwinn's TOP OF THE LINE bike for all intents and purposes. The small handful of Paramount frames produced by the end of the year would be more like a "boutique" item. Maybe scooper could contact Richard Schwinn and ask him how many Paramounts were actually made that year. I'm guessing the number is very low. On the Waterford site they only show decals for the '81-82 "Elite" models. There might not have been any 1980 Paramounts made.

This is just me, but modern wheels on a 1980 Voyageur 11.8, are not very appealing. Velo Orange and Harris Cycle offer more traditional looking wheel sets if that would be of interest.