FatHead!

hi all. new to the forum, although like i said in my intro post, i've lurked around for a while getting lots of great info.

long story short, a while back a free bike was bestowed upon. it was a bit of a mess, my buddy wasn't/isn't mechanically inclined, so he left me to it. at the time all i wanted was something to get around on, so i cleaned it up and made it usable.

since then i've done some homework and what i think i have is a '78 superior (manufacture date late 77). i've found a few bits of info from some of the old brochours/manuals i found online, and it seems that its not 100% stock. i can give a lowdown of what's on it later (along with pics if anyone's interested), but i'm at work and thought i'd start this thread now.

one thing i'm pretty sure isn't stock and something i'd like to change are the brakes. they're side pulls from universal? and not all that great in my opinion. then again, the pads might be the worst part of them. i've been looking around (ebay and other places) for a set of older brakes that would be an upgrade, but i'm not sure about the fit. the rear calipers seem like super long reach (Like 60mm?). is this correct, or am i measuring this wrong? anyone with a late 70s superior experience this?

anyway, i don't want to spend a ton of cash, and i'm not too worried about getting the "correct" stock set up, but i'd like to find something sort of period correct (early-mid 80s?) that will be mostly reliable and work well. i was eyeing up some older shimano dura ace 7400s and some older 600s, but i don't think the rears would work because of this reach issue.

another thing that i know/think isn't stock is the fork. it looks like from what i've seen the fork should be painted with the bottom's being chromed. the ones on my ride are all chrome. besides looking better in my opinion, is this any indication of quality? is there any way to ID them?

well sorry for the rambling first post. any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks! - fathead! (aka josh)

FatHead!

sorry, but i should have included this info in case someone has any help on the brake reach issue. i'm running 27" Araya steel wheels, and although i'd like to step up to something better (maybe a set of Sun CR-18), i'd still stick to the 27" size.

-fh

rhenning

You will get much better answers with pictures. Chromed forks generally are replacement forks. They were also standard equipment on some Schwinns. !960s Super Sports for example. Pictures would help identify the quality of the fork. Your are a lucky man as Superiors are a hard bike to find and were second or third down from the Paramount at the time of your bike. Universal brakes were good brakes and probably just need pad replacement. Find some Kool Stop Classic Salmon replacements. Looking forward to seeing the pictures. Roger

Scooper

You've got a really nice bike. It's one of the last models with the beautiful fillet brazed chrome-molybdenum frames.

Roger's right about the Kool Stop "Continental" salmon brake pads making a lot of difference in braking power, especially on steel rims. Putting Sun 27" alloy rims would also help with braking, especially when the rims are wet.

Let's see some pictures.

FatHead!

hey, thanks for the info so far. i'll get some pics together soon, but might be a day or so before i get a chance. i'll make sure to get a good one of the fork and front brake.

i saw a bunch of positive things about these kool stops. the continental's are the ones to get? i saw on thier site and others a bunch of different styles, but these look more like the old ones on the bike now (shape/size). i assue the others are for other type of brakes?

Scooper

The OEM brakes on the '78 Superior were Schwinn-Approved center-pulls, and were likely Weinmann or Dia-Compe compatible. Those would take the Kool-Stop "Continental". Without knowing exactly which Universal side-pulls you have, I can't say with certainty that the Continentals are the right pads for it, but it's usually pretty obvious looking at the brake calipers and the way the pads attach to the calipers which Kool-Stop model(s) is/are compatible.

FatHead!

ok, so i'm back, and i have a few pics. i'm not sure about this fork thats on the bike, any ideas? i have no real interest/need to replace it though, but seeing as not much of the components on the bike seem to be original, i was thinking it wouldn't be a bad thing to replace a few with some slightly nicer parts.

specifically the brakes. it looks like those kool stop ones would be the ones for these universal calipers, but i just saw some shimano 600s go on ebay for not too much. would they be better, more reliable, and/or easier to adjust? i'm not even sure if they'd fit, the reach on the rear seems to be really long, and the longest i saw was max57mm. (anyone have a spec on this?)

plus, i'm pretty sure the levers i have on there are crap, and used to have extension levers but been removed. i'd assue a nicer pair of levers with some nicer brakes together would be... well nicer?

anyway, any suggestions would be great.

Scooper

The Kool-Stop Continentals should work just fine with those calipers, and are probably the best (and cheapest) upgrade you can make.

byrdwyngs

That could be an original fork, the crown looks right for a Super Sport / Sports Tourer / Superior.

The 600 brakes would be too short in the rear. They might look nicer but wouldn't be likely to work any better or be easier to adjust than the Universals.

The Kool Stops should work well but it looks like you might have Matthauser pads on there now. If so they should work just as well. They may only need to be cleaned up a bit.

Scooper

HERE's the 1978 X-tra Lite catalog page for the Superior.

FatHead!

thanks for the link and all the replies. i had already seen the catalog but i guess i didn't look at the options for the super letour. i guess mt fork looks like a chrome version available for that bike.

as for the brakes, you're right byrdwyngs, they are Matthauser pads. more new info to me, so i looked them up. they've not been made for a while, eh? is age an issue? you mention "cleaned up a bit" - what does this involve? i'll admit the cables/housings need replacement/readjustment, and i have some nicer leavers to use too. i'll most likely do this work when i get the rims replace so everything is fresh.

but there's still play in the calipers themselves - with the brakes engaged, they grip the rim just fine, but if you push a bit on the bike, say forward, the front calipers have some give/play (same if you push back when the rear is engaged). is this normal or is there an adjustment that needs to be made?

anyway, in the meantime, i don't think i'll have too much of a problem. i'm still getting used to being on a bike and being out there. i just want to avoid any major problem that would be a big safety issue.

thanks again for everyone's comments/help. this is a very useful enviornment full of really nice people.

byrdwyngs

Back in the day, the Matthauser pads were easily the best available. Not only did they stop better than everything else, they wore forever too. Age is a factor, but the Matthausers seem to be effected by it less than most other types I've used over the last 30+ years. If they aren't used for a long time they will develop a hard outer surface layer though. If you get rid of that surface layer you may find that they are still (relatively) soft and grippy underneath. What I usually do is take the pads off of the brakes, lay a sheet of sandpaper face up on a smooth surface, and then run the pads back and forth across it to sand off the hard outer layer from the braking surface. They may be too old to save, but it's worth a little effort to find out before replacing them.

It is normal for there to be a little flex in the brake arms, but there shouldn't be any play at the pivot. The brake arms may need to be adjusted to get rid of any play. Where the center pivot bolt goes through the arms there should be a thin adjusting nut next to the arm, and the acorn nut to lock the adjustment in place. You want to tighten up the adjusting nut enough to get rid of any play, but not so much that the arms can't still pivot freely. Then hold the adjusting nut in place with one wrench and tighten down the acorn nut against it with another wrench to lock it in place.

douchebagonwhlz

I don't know where you find these catalog pics, but keep em coming....

Scooper

THIS PAGE on Tom Findley's website has links to many Schwinn catalogs.