louky

I have been repairing bikes and donating them to a homeless organization. Recently a person donated 2 matching bikes to me to refurbish and re-donate. Both bikes are Schwinn World Sport 10 speeds. I have also received a donation from a bike shop of 2 straight handlebars. I think these bikes would be more functional for the folks who receive them without the drop bars. I have included a picture for my questions. Can I get away with leaving these friction shifters in place? After I change the bars, can I just use some regular inexpensive brake levers like would be on a MB? Since these bikes are 2 x 5's is there an option for using those combination brake and shifter sets? TIA!

Kontact

It is not worth the hassle. And the "safety levers" on the brakes allow the top of the bar to be used like a straight bar.

HillRider

Yes, they do......if you don't put any priority on being able to stop. I'd either adapt the straight bars with suitable brake levers or toss the "safety levers" and use the drop bars without them.

Jeff Neese

Sure.

Yep. You need short-pull levers, which all of them from this era will be. You probably have a set or two laying around.

Not really. I'm not aware of any indexed shifting options for 2x5 that will fit on flat bars, and almost certainly nothing stem-mounted. For what you're trying to do, keeping those existing friction shifters are the best bet.

Kontact

If it were your bike. But these are commuters for the homeless. The time and expense of converting them could be much better used elsewhere considering these are fully functional as is. Making the shifting more complicated is an even worse idea for a bike that will get almost no maintenance.

Safety levers aren't great, but they do work. I had two bikes with them.

louky

Thanks for all the replies. I was considering this change firstly just because I want to have the experience of doing it. Secondly, this bike, as it is now seems small to me. I am 5' 5" so I assume shorter than the average person who might end up with these. I know you can't "cure" an improper frame size by these types of changes, but I think raising the bars and seat would improve it somewhat. Also, many of the homeless I see are juggling possessions etc. and I think the drop bars would add to the awkwardness. I do have a bike co-op close by where I can probably get the levers cheaply, especially now that the shifters won't have to be changed.

Does anyone know offhand what size bars these use? I can take them off first and measure, but I may want to go to the co-op first. Online I see a lot of 25.4. I assume you would just measure the diameter of the bars where they fit into the stem?

grumpus

That looks mint, probably collectable - I'd be inclined to try to sell the bikes and put the proceeds towards more suitable bikes for your clients.
V brake levers won't work properly with old caliper brakes, you'd need to find cantilever brake levers also that will work with non-indexed gears. Road and MTB handlebars are different diameters so you'll need to check the stem clamp and grip/lever area for a match.

veganbikes

It is a lower end Schwinn I am sure people collect them but it has stem shifters, "safety levers" and a Hi Tensile steel fork it is not worth a ton of money and in the end could provide a bike for someone. When a bike has to highlight "brand name components" not a good sign of a great collector machine.

I would just leave the bikes alone get them functional lubricated and give them to people who could use them. If you have parts on hand that you are willing to donate to the cause then yeah convert them but don't spend much money on them just a little in labor and maybe some chemicals or minor stuff as needed.

denaffen

Don’t let the naysayers dissuade you. It’s a simple enough conversion, and I agree, probably better for the folks who will be getting them.

keep the stem friction shifters or get some cheap bar mount friction shifters. They’re about 15 on Amazon. The stem mounts will be fine though.

Dirt common 25.4 bars will work great.

the stem is probably 25.4, but if it happens to be 26.0 it’s easy to shim with a beer can.

you’ll need brake levers for anything that didn’t have v brakes. If you can scavenge some from an old mtb or an upright Schwinn or something like that, great.

and you’ll need new brake lines.

if you have this stuff laying around it’s pretty easy and a bike like that takes well to an upright conversion.

but if you don’t have this stuff around then the cost will quickly exceed the cost of the bike

maddog34

You'll need Short pull Brake levers.. Center pull, Canti, ROAD disc,and Side pull brakes use Short pull levers. Measure from the Lever Pivot to the Center of the cable ferrule hole.. Short pull levers measure about 28mm... LONG pull levers (for long reach V-brakes and MTB Disc) measure about 32 to 35mm... This will make finding the correct pull Levers easier when they are just tossed in a box at a Co-op. TEST the lever clamps on YOUR Chosen flat bar to ensure they will fit... and don't let any Burrs on the ends of the bar trick you, Clean the burrs off with a file Before testing.

MTB standard lever bar clamp diameter is 22.2 mm or so.. Road levers are a 24mm lever clamp size, roughly.

oh, and a mismatch of pull length will have you not stopping well, and possibly winding up seeking a new front wheel, front fork, frame, and a good denture sculptor... so don't ask or assume, just MEASURE.

sweeks

I converted my old (new in 1975) Motobecane from drop bars to "normal" (sort of "moustache" shaped) bars. The stem-mounted shifters work fine. I got an inexpensive set of brake levers to complete the transformation.

47-year-old bike is still pretty comfortable.

grumpus

People get nostalgic about bikes from their youth, even if they were W*mart specials. Safety levers were required by law so can be more a measure of the bikes' vintage than their desirability. And yes, when there are stickers proudly proclaiming "18 speed SIS" you know it's not going to be the greatest, but basic specification didn't stop us from having fun BITD.
Agreed - if they're going to be donated I'd just get them working properly, not worth the effort of "upgrading". Could be that someone prefers a "racer" to a mountain bike shaped object anyway.

dedhed

Just pre set them where they'll end up anyway

louky

Grumpus: They are both mint, appear to have been bought together. Same size and I am going to check if they have consecutive serial numbers. I understand what you are saying about selling them as is, and donating the money. I received these after requesting donor bikes on a local FB page, and told the person donating that they would be going to a particular organization. I did this before I actually saw the condition of the bikes. I need to follow through on this, though what you suggested may make more sense.

veganbikes

Maybe but it is not a desirable bike, I am sure maybe someone would buy it but finding that person who has to have the bike from their youth is going to probably be a long process and won't get you much money. You will still see similar stickers to the 18 speed stickers, nothing really has changed heck we are still spec'ing 7 speed on modern bikes and not talking IGHs. Low end will always be low.

I don't recall ever reading if those levers were mandated by law. Generally they are found on lower end bikes from what I do recall but I am unsure about mandates but it is possible though this bike is from the 80s so past the 70s bike boom.

louky No don't it is a low end bike read the above. Yes you may get some money for them there are certainly people who have gotten max dollars from a bike that wasn't worth it but the bikes are better off donated and as is (or as little as possible for functionality) Unless the goal is to just donate money the bikes are a better item because they aren't money so they can't go to any overhead or anything like that they can be used as bikes or someone else can try to sell them but in the end they are better as bikes than they would be as money. If these were Paramounts or a higher end Schwinn the conversation would be hugely different but these are almost 40 year old low end bikes. Fine bikes, potentially very rideable but nothing desirable except maybe one or two people and finding that one or two persons interested enough to spend the money to make it barely worthwhile is a lot of work and not worth it.

Make sure the bikes work as decently as possible and give them away and you have done a good thing : )

XxHaimBondxX

I can't put my finger on it, but why do your handlebars look so much better than mine?

sweeks

Hmmm... could it be the grips?
Srsly, they look the same to me. I wanted a set of Rivendell "moustache" bars, but they weren't available for some reason, so I went to a random bike shop and found a pair displayed on a wall. $24, IIRC.

EDIT: Nice old lugged-frame Trek!

louky

I've made a little progress and have a couple of more questions. The current drop bars measured 25.4 mm (it had a thin sleeve on it). The quill stem measured 22mm +. If I am understanding all of the comments, I should be able to use a set of flat bars (or curved bars) from the co-op that measures 25.4 in the middle and a set of levers off an older MB that has a short pull. Could I also get a stem adaptor, and use the handlebars that were donated from a local bike store? These are take-offs from ebikes that are being replaced an on a particular model since the people buying the bikes are requesting swept bars. Here is a link to the adaptor. Amazon.com : UPANBIKE Road Mountain Bike Bicycle Stem Riser Adapter 1 1/8" φ22.2mm 25.4mm 150mm : Sports & Outdoors

Is one of these ideas better than the other? I've included a pic of the donated bars and the current stem.

XxHaimBondxX

Perhaps a slightly different angle. Do they feel like driving a bus? 😂 I replaced mine immediately with raised mtb bars because I thought they belong on a beach cruiser, but I dig your look.

Trek cleaned up well and almost ready to hit the road, just needs front tire and warmer weather.

Op, perhaps you want to go with the cruiser look, so I could ship you the moustache bars. Pm me.

sweeks

Yes, they are a bit wide, but they're comfortable. I've got the bike set up on an indoor trainer at present and the bars are fine for that. In the better weather to come, I'll mostly use it to knock around town.
That's adding what might be considered unnecessary complexity, plus spending an extra $20 or so on the project. Also, it might be my overactive imagination, but those heavy e-bike bars will look terribly out-of-place on those nice old bikes.

grumpus

In your opinion, but I'm not trying to sell it to you.
As difficult as listing it on eBay - yeah, too much effort.
There's nothing wrong with 7 speed cassettes (but getting hard to find good quality replacements. Freewheels are well past their sell by date; I've been surprised that a couple of bikes I've worked on recently (Trek, Liv) still use freewheels.
I got bored of looking through old govt documents searching for the appropriate regulations, maybe I'll try again later.

squirtdad

why would drop bars add awkwardness? I don't get that thinking at all. If anything keeping the drop bars might reduce chances of theft because so many people don't think they are as good as they are.

I have helped at a bike charity off and on for years and that work would not be something they would invest time in, when you have a totally functioning bike ready to go, better to invest the time in other areas

certainly can't cure a small bike with bars and a flat bar would make no difference in reach, while a north style bar would reduce reach.

squirtdad

thread stem adaptor = more work for little added benefit.....

if you can find a flat bar that fits the stem and brakes that fit the bar have fun, but again no huge added benefit when dealing with a bike for charity (and i have done conversions like this for myself. end up more style and some times more upright riding position

grumpus

Because they're rotated back a bit more?

veganbikes

Yeah it is not hard to post on eBay but waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting to sell a low end bike is tough and if someone does end up buying it you have to ship it and charge more for shipping meaning less for the bike or an even harder time selling.

There was nothing wrong with 7 speed back in the day but now we are up to 12 speed so 7 speed is at the bottom end these days and has been for a while. Old vintage stuff is great but the "new" stuff has gone downhill and then you do have a couple actual downhill groupsets that are specific to downhill bikes.

Sadly a lot of companies are still using low end parts. Trek is using a lot of quill stems and freewheels and charging way too much money for them, Jamis built a new frame and fork in their Coda line up so they could have a lower end option then the sport with a quill stem and freewheel and tourney. It is a sad fact that we are still racing to bottom sometimes. I think decent vintage bikes are great but modern bikes with low end vintage-esque components is just silly.

I remember doing a comparison which happened to be e-bike specific but had a similarly spec'd Trek and Gazelle but for less money you got more with the Gazelle. It is sad that the more expensive bike has worse parts on it.