Petersrock

Hi everyone, Im new here and hoping that the community may be able to help me out with some advice. Not to be too long winded but Im a big MTB guy with a decent amount of experience building and maintaining dirt jump to DH rigs but when it comes to road bikes and especially older ones Im pretty clueless. My best friend had been building me a porteur type bike based on what I believe is a 1979 Schwinn Varsity "humpback" when he suddenly passed away. I just got a box containing all of the parts he had accumulated for the bike and Im gonna try to give it a go to help realize what he had planned. Unfortunately I wasnt able to take it apart and I have no idea which parts came on the frame and which were purchased to be put on the final product.

The first issue Im having is fitting the fork. I have experience with threadless forks but dont really know much about these older threaded forks and Im not sure if the fork that is included was original to the frame. It seems like it is too long when I assemble the bearings etc and stem. Ive attached photos below. Ive searched for old photos to try to determine this largely to no avail.

Obviously this is a pretty big deal to me and it would mean a lot if the community was able to help me out answering some questions along the way. My friend had been collecting parts for almost a year and I know this project meant a lot to him and certainly does to me. Thanks again everyone and I cant wait to have you guys follow along with me!

Edit: Apparently Im not allowed to upload photos of the fork on the frame. Is there any way around this?

non-fixie 

Welcome! I believe you can create an album in the Gallery, from which we can post the pictures in your thread while you haven't made your first ten posts yet.

Petersrock

Thanks so much. Yeah I didnt want to have my introduction to the community be spamming a bunch of threads to get to 10.

non-fixie 

Well, as long as your "spam" is friendly, informative or funny I don't think anyone would mind.

Petersrock

I think the photos should be up in may gallery.

non-fixie 

I'm sure they are, but for the life of me, I can't find them. Even after 30+ years in the IT business and 1,801 pics of my own in the Gallery, I seem to not be able to understand how this part of this forum works.

Perhaps cb400bill can lend a hand here? He seems to be rather good at this.

daverup 

That fork does not look like the correct one for that bike.
Here is a link to a site with pics of a more correct fork,
Camelback

Petersrock

Thanks very much, I figured but wanted to be sure. So I suppose the question is how do you determine what fork would fit, head tube length?

daverup 

Have a look through ebay vintage parts list.
If you put in a saved search something might pop up. The schwinn forks are usually listed by wheel size and "steerer" length. You are going to need the shorter "steerer" for that bike. I think that would be a 1" threaded fork.

Petersrock

Thanks Dave, I appreciate that. I saw that you sent a message but for some reason I cant view it because I have less than ten posts, so I suppose I'll see it at some point!

Korina

So, how's every little thing?

Petersrock

Just wanted to post an update. I found a SOMA industries fork that looks like its going to fit. Its tough to find a short enough steerer tube as the head tube on the bike is really small. Ive also got the frame down to metal and ready to start the finer grinding and polishing before some detail paint.

Petersrock

Hi everyone, its been while since Ive updated this but things are coming along. I posted elsewhere but I'll add it here as well, Im having a couple issues Im wondering if anyone can help out with. Things are coming along pretty well, Ive got it mocked up with placeholder tires and seat I had sitting around.





First, Im am having trouble figuring out how to set up the reverse pull brake lever. There is no clearance for the cable in the front of the lever but there is a hole on the inside. Im guessing this is internally routed? My understanding is that if thats the case you need to drill out the handlebar for the cable to exit which is not something Id like to do. If thats the case I'll have to switch it out. Im trying to use as many of the parts that my friend had intended to use but there have had to be a couple of compromises and this may be another.







With regard to the bottom bracket, Ive converted the one piece crank the three pieces with Press fit sealed bearings. I think the chain line looks pretty good and the wheel is centered but there is a bit of excess spindle on the non drive side. The crank is seated, do you think this is a problem? Thanks!

Velo Mule

@Petersrock that is looking nice. Good job on the paint. The fork looks good. The original Ashtabula for is good and sturdy, but my opinion is that I like tubular forks like you have better because I believe that they ride better. That may not be true, but my biased opinion. I also like the wing nuts on the axles. It is a vintage look. It looks like you have the original Normady hub on there with the single speed freewheel. It also looks like the front wheel is the original Normady high flange hub. The rims look like medium profile aero rims.

Is that a Stronglight crank? My favorite.

So to get you your questions, I am no expert. I have not installed any reverse brake lever, but it does appear that he brake cable is intended to go through the handle bar. My personal preference would be not to drill the handle bar for the cable exit. I would go with more conventional brake levers with exposed brake cables. As for the spindle, I don't know. My thinking is that it looks good to me. The chainnline, to me is the important thing.

Keep the pictures coming. This is an interesting build. What size wheels is this. 27" or 700c?

Murray Missile 

That is slick. 😎😎😎

noobinsf 

If your bars are 23.8mm diameter (with bar end brakes, I would be surprised if they are not), then there is a nice brand new set of classically styled Velo Orange brake levers for sale on the C/V sale forum here. I'm not affiliated with the seller, but I have a set of these levers and like them. It's an inexpensive alternative if you need them.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ew-23-8mm.html

Petersrock

Thanks so much. The fork is a SOMA. The frame didn’t have a fork when I received it and the head tube is very short so finding one that fit was really tough.The crank is Stronglight. Unfortunately the chainring was originally a double it looks like so the crank to ring connection is loose. I’ll have to figure something out there.

The hubs are both Normandy that were rebuilt. I like the wingnuts too but am a little worried about them loosening. Depending on how much this gets ridden I may switch them out. The rims are from Ghisallo 27 I believe. They came with all of the parts so I’m not sure. It my first experience with wood rims but I can tell I need a bigger tire. Unfortunate I don’t have a ton of clearance on the fork so I’m gonna be threading a needle so that the edge of the rims don’t scrape.

Glad you like. I cant wait to see how it actually rides. Once I sort the brake lever and get some spacers for the rear wheel I can test it out. There’s still grips to be added which I’m making now from leather and the head badge that I have mocked up in tape right now.

Oh and one more question, what’s the best thing to use for a space for the rear wheel, just thick washers? Ive got a rood size gap on the non drive side as you can see in the photo.

Thanks!

Johno59

The loose chain ring can be solved by getting chainring bolts for single speed bolts and nuts. They are just shorter and don't require an inner chainring to tighten up