ColonelJLloyd 

I recently picked up this 1977 Schwinn Volare. The Volares were produced in Japan of Reynolds 531 from '77-78 and only available in orange, red and maybe blue. Somewhere along the line a previous owner had three pairs of bottle bosses and eyelets for front and rear racks added; usefuly upgrades, I think

Pics of finished build

The chrome is in excellent condition, but it looks like someone cleaned the head lugs with something abrasive. The repaint looks to be a really good job. It looks to have a purple tint in some of the photos (dimly lit dining room), but it's a dark, metallic grey.

At this point, I have designs to add a VO Randonneur rack with integrated decaleur and probably do a complete rebuild with a 46/30 crankset and Veloce 10sp. Not sure which hubs yet (White Industries maybe), but probably Velocity or MAVIC rims.

I have some Campy 10sp questions if anyone experienced can help.

ColonelJLloyd 

qcpmsame 

Seems to have a lot of potential and you have a good plan in your mind on how you want to rebuild the bike. Nice find Colonel.

Bill

rootboy 

Nice frame Colonel. Too bad about the chrome scratches on the head lugs and fork crown but, i suppose there's no bringing them back. It doesn't detract much. Pretty nice paint job too. Good color. Can you tell, are the 531 actual decals or stickers?

ColonelJLloyd 

Thanks, Scott. They're waterslides under the clear coat, I reckon. I'm not even sure if they're the appropriate decals as I haven't checked.

With a few scratches, the mods and a repaint I won't feel bad in the least with riding the hell out of it. That's why I'm going to go with the Veloce stuff, I think.

fender1

I have an extra VO Rando rack w/ the decaluer. As usual, I help you complete all of your builds......

illwafer

man, that is fantastic. you've had a good year.

KonAaron Snake 

That veloce stuff works gang busters. I have a set of 9/10/11 36h silver record hubs laced to Mavic tubulars if you're interested. I was planning on outfitting them as an option for a bike...but I think I'm going to keep it clincher on reflection.

Roger M

Nice. You need to throttle down on your Schwinn purchases. You own half of the Decent big framed Schwinns that are left, leaving none for the rest of us.

BTW, my dad had a 77 Volare... by Plymouth. I have to say that car was a real low point in American Automobiles.

mkeller234

Ilwafer is right, you've had a good year. The Volare is cool, it's more interesting to me than Paramount's because of their rarity. I'd love to try Veloce out but I would have a hard time separating those original Dura-ace bits from that bike. I know the paints not original, but those parts are a part of why I think that model was so cool.

ColonelJLloyd 

I've ordered one already, but thank you. I don't think I own a bike without a part or two from you or Neal. I don't suspect this one will be any different.

True that!

I'm definitely looking for silver hubs and will probably go with 36h or 32h and traditional lacing. However, I have 29mm clinchers in mind for this bike.

There's a DBT song (The Hard Sell) that mentions that car. Good tune.

I did not set out to become a collector of Japanese Schwinns or even Schwinns in general, but I'll be damned if that's not what has happened.

• '73 World Voyageur (Japan)
• '77 Volare (Japan)
• '81 Voyageur 11.8 (Japan)
• '88 Voyageur (Japan)
• '90 Paramount OS (Waterford)

I feel the same way, Matt. I'll probably hang on to the Dura Ace even if I don't use it. The chainrings aren't original, it's missing the dust caps, the hoods are replacements and the RD (while period correct) isn't original either. I have enough freewheel bikes. Campy 10sp is an itch I'd like to scratch.

Roypercy

Beautiful bike! I want one...

mazdaspeed

Looks great. FWIW you can get a thing called a jtek shiftmate that modifies the cable throw and allows you to use 10sp shimano wheels/cassettes with the campy 10sp drivetrain. That's the route I'm going to go with my 10sp veloce bike so my wheels will be compatible with my 10sp shimano bike.

ColonelJLloyd 

Cool. Thanks for the tip. I don't have any Shimano 10sp bikes or wheels, so this will be a new wheel build. I'm thinking along these lines so if you have any advice/guidance it is appreciated.

• Veloce Power-Shift 10sp Shifters (alloy)
• Comp 10sp Long Cage or Veloce Medium Cage RD (alloy)
• 46/30 double with modern TA rings (these are 10sp compatible, right?)
• 10sp chain (I can get by with a KMC or SRAM, right?)
• Miche 13-29t 10sp cassette
• Tektro R539AG dual pivot brakes (silver)
• Open Pros or A23s or Synergys or something along those lines
• Sapim Race (2.0/1.8/2.0) or Laser (2.0/1.5/2.0) spokes

that_guy_zach

Man, Great bike. I have been looking for one for 3 years!

mazdaspeed

Sounds like a pretty reasonable setup. KMC (probably sram too) 10sp chains are compatible with campy 10sp cassettes, however (and I have no first hand experience with this) I've heard that campy chains and cassettes when used together last considerably longer than most other stuff. Definitely go with the A23, wider rims are the new cool thing to have!

Not sure if you've looked at this but you can get the whole veloce setup for a decent price:

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/groups..._GS_CAR&bike=1

For hubs and spokes:

https://www.bikehubstore.com/Default.asp

ColonelJLloyd 

It's possible the Veloce Medium cage will work, but I reckon I should just go with the Comp 10 to be sure. I can't use the brakes (won't reach and I need nutted mounts) and don't want the crank or headset so I'll probably just buy it piece meal.

mazdaspeed

Ah, that makes sense. It looks like they offer the 29t cassette with the medium cage mech so it should work. No harm in going long cage though. Another thing, I would get a modern front derailleur made for shifting with a compact. IIRC there is a campy 10sp one for sale in the FS section right now for cheap. Not sure why you don't want the cranks but if you found out how questionable the design is you really wouldn't want them! You need to use a special plug in conjunction with a modified gear puller to remove the PT cranks lol.

jsharr

Is the saddle made of rich Corinthian leather?

ColonelJLloyd 

Because I'm a weakling. Actually the 46/30 crank and 13-29t with 700x29 tires should give me near ideal gearing for my riding. I've only briefly come across that crank issue in my reading. Eff that mess!

So, do they offer two different derailleurs per group? One with a cage better suited to smaller rings? I just figured I'd use an old school front derailleur like a NR or Jubilee or something.

Indeed it is, Mr. Montalban!

mazdaspeed

They only offer one type of FD but since you didn't specify what you were going to use I just thought I'd suggest going with a modern one, it should work a lot better with a compact and indexed shifting. Nothing wrong with your gearing choice if you're doing a lot of hills, it's not like killing yourself on a climb with a 39/25 is going to do any good for your fitness or overall speed.

pastorbobnlnh 

What a great score, and I do like the repaint! Many of the original Volares I've seen the paint did not seem to hold well. Any idea when it was repainted?

ColonelJLloyd 

Sorry, I'll be using TA or Stronglight arms with VO or new production TA 46/30 rings. Looks like double FDs list a 34t minimum, but I'm not sure if this is just because all it can handle is a 16t difference or not. The other issue is with the outer cage rubbing the crank arms. Unfortunately it's probably one of those things you just don't know until you try.

Thank you! I'm not sure, Bob, but it doesn't look to have seen many miles after the repaint.

fender1

+1 on the VO ring for 10 speed chain. I was running Sugino (6/7 speed) rings and without the shifting ramps/pins etc. and the 10 speed chain can get caught between the chainrings. I don't think the TA rings have the ramps etc.

KonAaron Snake 

I can't believe no one noticed it...

Fork's bent