Originally Posted by
Salubrious
The Racer has that solid Astabula fork- its heavy and flexes. You really do want the tubular fork. But these days that shouldn't be hard to find- a Continental might have one that has the lower half chromes- kind of a nice touch...
My issue with the Astabula fork is that it is heavy and
doesn't flex, at least the way I would like it to, that is to accommodate small bumps. I think that the thin (Aero, before aero was a thing) fork blades flex sideways is what you are referring to. One thing that I will have to say on the behalf of the Astabula fork is it is strong (as long as you don't sideload it). I do have a Tange fork for the Varsity. Schwinn at some point switched to using Tange forks for their tubular forks. This particular Tange fork has a similar bend and from the same era as the one on my Continental. If I put together a Suburban, it will be a Frankenburban, but oh well. I'd enjoy it.
Yes, the reason that I prefer the Continental over the Varsity and the Suburban over the Racer is the tubular fork with a nice curve in it.
With all of that, I still like that black Traveler with the Astabula fork. It is great condition and all original right down to the fork. The new light will look great on it.
It is the Schwinn version of a Raleigh Sport with an Electro-Forged frame, forged fork, built in kickstand, welded on brackets for the rear brake and shifter cables, sturdy fenders (mudguards), North road style handlebars and better forged aluminum brake calipers. Too bad it didn't originally come with a Brooks or similar saddle. I would suspect the geometry is simar too. It does have a lightweight headbadge.
Is there enough members here for an American or North American 3 speed thread? Murray, CCM, Schwinn, Sears, etc.