Greg C.

Almost embarrassed to post my bike with all of the gorgeous rides shown here; I've had this for 4 years now and mostly ride a 10 mile paved trail route from my home 3 or 4 times a week for fun and exercise. My top speed is around 25 mph. Although I haven't ridden many hybrids this one fits the bill for speed and comfort. Anyone care to guess the model year of this Schwinn Searcher? So far all I've done to it is replace the rear shifter and brake pads. It had been restored nicely when I bought it.

nuxx 

Haha, no wonder I mistook them for Race Face Chester pedals... THEY USE THE SAME MOLD: !

t_e_r_r_y

haha that's great. i wonder if the company pumping out the pedals sells them as white-label and race face re-brands them or if these are just straight up a knock off.

either way, they are great! highly recommended. they are completely serviceable too, not that it's that big of a deal to replace them when they go at $25 a pair.

hokiefyd 

Those $25 Fookers look like a great option!

To be sure, Race Face doesn't actually manufacture the Chester pedals -- they're very likely produced for them under contract. It seems that their contract either doesn't prevent the manufacturer from also selling/labeling to other brands, or they're going outside the contract to do it. The fact that the same little stamps and tooling marks are visible means it's very likely they're produced using the same molds.

I did observe that the axles themselves are different. It looks like the Race Face ones used a smaller hex key size than the Fookers.

DorkDisk

It has the "epicenter" seatstays and graphics of the mid 90s when Schwinn was still US owned and tried one last time to compete. Nothing says 90's like GripShift and AceraX came out in 95, and that is what I would guess for vintage. The cranks look like they got swapped out some time ago.

Those era Schwinns were very high quality, the high end MTBs were handmade in CO at the Yeti factory. Yours was probably built by Giant in Taiwan

Greg C.

I think you're correct on all accounts DorkDisk. It is a '95 and not one of the upgraded models. It came from a bicycle shop in Ohio judging by the sticker on the frame. I hadn't noticed the crank as not being original but I think you're right. And it was likely an improvement. Nice to know it was built by Giant. Thanks for the added information.

hokiefyd 

You may find a date stamp with a leading "G" in one of the rear dropouts. That would bring near certainty to the notion that it was produced by Giant.

Greg C.

Thanks hokiefyd. I'll check. ................. Checked. Nothing anywhere except the Schwinn emblem stamped into the frame.

DorkDisk

Found the 95 catalog here.

Here are a few relevant pages:





IIRC that crankset was recalled by Shimano. It was a close ratio'd triple for urban riding

Edit: crank recall

Greg C.

Thanks DorkDisk. I'll save the link to that PDF. Looks like they were really pushing the Searcher in the mid 1990s. The original crank listed is a Sugino Impel 300. BikePedia has it listed as a "SR alloy". The replacement Shimano crank presently on mine is a FCTY30 which, thank goodness, was not one of those recalled. I'm enjoying this ride for now and will likely try to keep it going for a few more years. Thanks again for the helpful information.

Edit: Those listed in the PDF show aluminum frame. My Schwinn Searcher is actually more to the description of this from BikePedia. 95 Searcher BikePedia which still shows a round tube tig-welded steel.

DorkDisk

I think you are confused, the relevant pages are posted above. They show a steel frame with crank specs contradicting some photos

I also wasn't clear, I was referring to the original crank the bike came with-which explains the swapped crank. Sorry for that.

Impel 300 was a high quality crankset that was OEM for several years at various price points because with nice Al rings, it was as good as XT, a hair lighter, and much cheaper.

Greg C.

You are correct DorkDisk. I was looking at the wrong page in the pdf. My specs were on page 34 under Searcher Transit. Apparently it has a high tensile steel frame. As the models go higher end it looks like more chrome/moly was added. I'm learning that there's a whole lot to learn about bicycles. Between you and my local bike shop I've learned a lot this week. They did a great job replacing a spoke and truing the rear wheel. I installed the new brake pads. It took a while but I finally got them adjusted correctly. Funny the replacement pads were made by Giant. They worked fine though. Thanks again for the helpful information.

DorkDisk

Are you sure? At a quick glance, it looks like the Searcher Range to me.

Greg C.

After a closer look DorkDisk, it does seem to be the '95 Searcher Range. Acera deraillers, Shimano brakes, grip shift, rack mount eyelets and the emerald green color are the details that line up with the Range rather than the lower-cost Transit model. Good info. Thanks again .......... Greg

concordino

1996 Trek 7900 Composite Multi Track


1993 Univega Via De Oro

Been digging 90s Hybrids recently. These two are some of what I recently got. The Trek was a full build from the bare frame up.

As for the Univega, it was a curious buy after reading much about the brand and its hybrids in this forum.

limbot

After losing my 2013 Trek DS 8.4 in Vietnam....

Finally ended up replacing it back in Oz with a second hand 2017 Giant ATX. Frame was a bit big but shortened the cockpit as much as I could becuase it was too good a deal to pass up.

Found a better fitting frame and have swapped everything (plus some donations from other bikes) across. Meet Frankenbike, a nice start for upgrading 😊. First upgrade a new set of Kenda Small Block 8 2.1". New shoes for my baby. 😂

hokiefyd 

I've been riding my late-'60s "hybrid" lately, Peugeot UO-18 mixte. I've converted it to 622mm wheels (700c) with 35mm tires and have more modern drivetrain components on it that still match the style ('90s Shimano 105) with a Sugino crankset. The main thing I need to find still is a chain guard to replace the largest ring. I'm using it as a 26-38 double. The cassette is an 11-26 7-speed using 8-speed Dura-Ace sprockets with 7-speed spacers. It's a bit cobbled together, and all parts were used or on-hand, but it makes for a really fun ride. Riding this bike just brings you back to the basic elements of riding somehow. It's essentially the late-'60s version of what something like the Specialized Roll is today.


IMG_20190629_092029483_HDR by jnjadcock, on Flickr

vader957

2019 Giant fastroad SL3 --My new addiction, rides like a dream!


Rain or shine i will take this shot!

hokiefyd 

I like the colors and graphics on it!

side_FX

What seat is that? Looks funky, I like it!

Metieval

I dig it!

I picked a 1991 Schwinn Crosscut up for $75 and it was beat to heck. Too many years in a high school bike rack. I had it Powder coated , and then I uhh got carried away. So basically shimano XT 10s , hydraulic rim brakes.

It is a super fun geometry though,
and Giant manufactured.

DorkDisk

Good to see Maguras. Which levers are you using?

Nice build.

Metieval

what ever levers that came with the HS-11's

vader957

The one i have on mine is selle royal respiro. That with some padded shorts while running at 55-60 psi, I am worried that the bike has become too comfortable.

Greg C.

Looks great Metieval. I think what I like the most about my Searcher is the frame. Your build gives me some good ideas for future improvements.