What Year is My Schwinn Sierra? What is it worth?
03-10-19, 12:04 PM
#1
Banned.
Thread Starter
What Year is My Schwinn Sierra? What is it worth?
This is a Schwinn Sierra I bought on CL for $40. Came with the rack and knobby tires. Only change I have made are $18 Kenda street tires and a new tube.
Any Schwinn-o-philes know what year it is? It's base is a red color. Then someone tried to spray paint it green so now it's half and half.
Shifters are the friction handlebar type. Thought it was early nineties but they had indexed thumb shifters I think.
03-10-19, 12:26 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,800
Bikes: Lots of English 3-speeds, a couple of old road bikes, 3 mountain bikes, 1 hybrid, and a couple of mash-ups
Mentioned: 53 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 887 Post(s)
Liked 335 Times
in
225 Posts
I am thinking 1985 to 1987. The headbadge should be stamped with a build date, but the frame could be from the previous year. I am sure that someone here can narrow it down. Maybe that green overcoat can be removed safely. That was #3 in Schwinn's MTB lineup.
03-10-19, 12:41 PM
#3
Banned.
Thread Starter
interestingly (or not)...there is no number on the badge. I thought it was mid-eighties, but when I looked through online catalogues the color I have wasn't listed.
It's decent enough for my short (less than 10 miles) trips to the grocery store.
It's decent enough for my short (less than 10 miles) trips to the grocery store.
03-10-19, 12:53 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,800
Bikes: Lots of English 3-speeds, a couple of old road bikes, 3 mountain bikes, 1 hybrid, and a couple of mash-ups
Mentioned: 53 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 887 Post(s)
Liked 335 Times
in
225 Posts
Color can help, it is not definitive. I am surprised that there is not a stamp on the badge. When you clean it up, look everywhere for stamped numbers including parts if they are original. Google "vintage schwinn catalog" and see if you can narrow it down by looking at the spec sheet.
03-10-19, 01:26 PM
#5
Bianchi Goddess
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Shady Pines Retirement Fort Wayne, In
Posts: 27,858
Bikes: Too many to list here check my signature.
Mentioned: 192 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2930 Post(s)
Liked 2,923 Times
in
1,491 Posts
The wheel base is too long for early '90s. The chainstays were much shorter by then. More pics? Are the shifters friction or index shifters set ion friction mode? Any pics of the components?
__________________
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
03-10-19, 06:52 PM
#6
Banned.
Thread Starter
Components
Derailleur is Shimano STX if that helps...on the rear.
front derailleur says Suntour..
crank says..Sakae SX
brake levers just say SHIMANO
front derailleur says Suntour..
crank says..Sakae SX
brake levers just say SHIMANO
03-11-19, 11:39 AM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 23,223
Mentioned: 654 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4722 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3,036 Times
in
1,874 Posts
The serial number should eliminate all the guesswork.
03-11-19, 12:01 PM
#9
Banned.
Thread Starter
03-11-19, 12:02 PM
#10
Banned.
Thread Starter
Interesting! Thanks! How do you know all of that? I agree since one derail says suntour and one shimano at least one would have been replaced but how do you know both were? And how do you know the front wheel was replced?
03-11-19, 04:55 PM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 3,299
Mentioned: 39 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1142 Post(s)
Liked 1,740 Times
in
961 Posts
I've had a couple of those in the past 84' and 86' neither of those had that type font, the later run of those also had another different that was an Avant-garde ish style. Mine both had Shimano gearing with similar cranks, one was 12 the other 15 speed, the STX rd came out in the 90's. Both of mine had wheels that looked like the rear on the one above. There were black rims at the time but not many black hubbed bikes of the era.
03-12-19, 05:10 AM
#13
Banned.
Thread Starter
Pretty sure '87 is right. I googled specifically "1987 Schwinn Sierra" and got pictures of Sierras in this color and with the Sierra graphic. Nice going!
03-12-19, 10:39 AM
#14
Banned.
Thread Starter
Another odd thing about this bike....the largest sprocket in the triple has 48 teeth...isn't that what most road bikes have?
03-12-19, 10:00 PM
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Rupert's Land
Posts: 1,243
Bikes: 1981 Raleigh GP, 1985 Norco Bush Pilot, . . .
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 241 Post(s)
Liked 187 Times
in
136 Posts
1987 model year. The frame serial number is stamped on the BB on the non-drive side.
Edit: The frame was manufactured by Giant of Taiwan.
Edit: The frame was manufactured by Giant of Taiwan.
Last edited by Hummer; 03-12-19 at 10:02 PM. Reason: More info
03-13-19, 10:53 AM
#16
Thrifty Bill
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Western NC
Posts: 23,524
Bikes: 86 Katakura Silk, 87 Prologue X2, 88 Cimarron LE, 1975 Sekai 4000 Professional, 73 Paramount, plus more
Mentioned: 96 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1236 Post(s)
Liked 964 Times
in
628 Posts
03-13-19, 04:55 PM
#17
Banned.
Thread Starter
03-13-19, 05:37 PM
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Fairplay Co
Posts: 9,518
Bikes: Current 79 Nishiki Custum Sport, Jeunet 620, notable previous bikes P.K. Ripper loop tail, Kawahara Laser Lite, Paramount Track full chrome, Raliegh Internatioanl, Motobecan Super Mirage. 59 Crown royak 3 speed
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 790 Post(s)
Liked 1,761 Times
in
634 Posts
I would agree it is a 86-87 model with some changed components. Not really special but nice vintage hard frame MTB it's worth about $150-175 as a rider in good working order.
03-14-19, 06:47 AM
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 23,223
Mentioned: 654 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4722 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3,036 Times
in
1,874 Posts
It was probably manufactured by Giant but you can't say for sure without the serial number. Most bicycle companies did not sole source their bicycles. They typically had a 2nd source to which they allotted a small percentage of their volume. This way they had a reserve company to which they could shift production in case the primary source ran into problems (i.e strike, fire, machine breakage, etc.). It is a fairly common occurrence to see a particular model of bicycle being manufactured by multiple sources within a single model year. So, even if we have seen previous cases of this model and year coming from Giant, that doesn't mean that they were all manufactured by Giant.
Last edited by T-Mar; 03-14-19 at 06:53 AM.
03-21-19, 09:01 PM
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Rupert's Land
Posts: 1,243
Bikes: 1981 Raleigh GP, 1985 Norco Bush Pilot, . . .
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 241 Post(s)
Liked 187 Times
in
136 Posts
It was probably manufactured by Giant but you can't say for sure without the serial number. Most bicycle companies did not sole source their bicycles. They typically had a 2nd source to which they allotted a small percentage of their volume. This way they had a reserve company to which they could shift production in case the primary source ran into problems (i.e strike, fire, machine breakage, etc.). It is a fairly common occurrence to see a particular model of bicycle being manufactured by multiple sources within a single model year. So, even if we have seen previous cases of this model and year coming from Giant, that doesn't mean that they were all manufactured by Giant.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
RidesaJapanese
Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals.
28
10-15-21 08:30 PM
charityleague
Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals.
5
10-09-11 02:08 PM
jringo8769
Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals.
0
01-29-11 12:08 PM
