Old Schwinn Trike rebuild
07-09-23, 12:59 AM
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Old Schwinn Trike rebuild
Hello, I have a Schwinn town and country tricycle i believe it's from the 70's. I want to know a few different things about the BB and other parts. But first I would like to ask if anyone knows how I should go about changing the BB for an easier pedal.
07-09-23, 08:00 AM
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Post Here.
Bicycle Mechanics - Bike Forums
Bicycle Mechanics - Bike Forums
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Fred "The Real Fred"
Fred "The Real Fred"
07-09-23, 11:32 AM
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You trying to keep it original looking? If it is the standard one piece crank, you can use a bmx setup.
07-09-23, 03:12 PM
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Welcome @JypsyDanger . You are most likely to only need to remove the original crank, then clean and grease the bearings. Unless it has been damaged the original crank should be good.
Those Town and Countries are good trikes. I don't even know if a new trike is as good as these were. These have a differential whereas most trikes have one wheel drive and of course there is the Schwinn built to last strength.
You are going to get far more responses in Bike Mechanics or even Classic and Vintage.
By the way, does it still have the basket on the back? Those can be precious.
Those Town and Countries are good trikes. I don't even know if a new trike is as good as these were. These have a differential whereas most trikes have one wheel drive and of course there is the Schwinn built to last strength.
You are going to get far more responses in Bike Mechanics or even Classic and Vintage.
By the way, does it still have the basket on the back? Those can be precious.
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07-10-23, 08:21 AM
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Pictures of each trike from 1968 to 1982
Schwinn made this model from 1968 to 1982. You can see each year's model here https://bikehistory.org/bikes/town-country/ .
There is not much you can do to this trike to make it easier to pedal unless you can find a one piece Ashtabula crank with fewer teeth. You might be able to do that scavenging the crank off a kid's bike with a one piece crank with the same diameter and width bottom bracket. However the threads on your Schwinn are likely to be English threaded and who knows what the Chinese manufacturers are using these days. It may be metric rather than English. The biggest problem is the weight and limited gear range. They are very heavy. The listed weight for the 1973 trike is 62 to 64 pounds depending on the model. You may be able to guess an exact year for the trike by looking at the Schwinn catalogs for each year in the reference shown in the first line.
There is not much you can do to this trike to make it easier to pedal unless you can find a one piece Ashtabula crank with fewer teeth. You might be able to do that scavenging the crank off a kid's bike with a one piece crank with the same diameter and width bottom bracket. However the threads on your Schwinn are likely to be English threaded and who knows what the Chinese manufacturers are using these days. It may be metric rather than English. The biggest problem is the weight and limited gear range. They are very heavy. The listed weight for the 1973 trike is 62 to 64 pounds depending on the model. You may be able to guess an exact year for the trike by looking at the Schwinn catalogs for each year in the reference shown in the first line.
07-12-23, 07:47 AM
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Welcome from SE Wisconsin. I'm sure you'll find your answers in the Mechanics subforum or maybe a trikes sub.
Old Schwinns were heavy, but well-made. I have a 1972 Varsity in the shop getting titied up for road duty at the moment.
Enjoy your stay!
Old Schwinns were heavy, but well-made. I have a 1972 Varsity in the shop getting titied up for road duty at the moment.
Enjoy your stay!
07-12-23, 09:54 AM
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07-12-23, 02:25 PM
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I was surprised to find an article on Ashtabula one-piece cranks by the late Sheldon Brown https://www.sheldonbrown.com/opc.html. It has details about how to maintain or replace the crank and bearing surfaces. You can even still find replacement parts for the cups. Note that Schwinn used a different crank (28 TPI) threading on the bottom bracket. Anything as old as this trike would benefit from at least inspecting and re-greasing the bearings. It is also interesting to see that while the chainrings use standard spacing, there is an extra hole in the chainring for the drive pin. That would mean you can't just substitute a modern chainring but can still find one-piece crank chainrings on eBay for around $15. The fewest teeth I see is 32 https://www.ebay.com/itm/322352869383.
If you disassemble and pull the crank for inspection and greasing, look for a date stamped into the crank and you will know what year the trike was made. Unfortunately it is inside the bottom bracket so you can only see it if you take the left pedal off and remove the crank. The only other place Ashtabula placed a date was at the drive pin but that was for later years. The company closed down in 1982. I remember going past the vacant building and still being able to read the company name on the building.
If you disassemble and pull the crank for inspection and greasing, look for a date stamped into the crank and you will know what year the trike was made. Unfortunately it is inside the bottom bracket so you can only see it if you take the left pedal off and remove the crank. The only other place Ashtabula placed a date was at the drive pin but that was for later years. The company closed down in 1982. I remember going past the vacant building and still being able to read the company name on the building.
07-14-23, 02:54 PM
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Yes it does have the basket with it still.
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07-14-23, 02:58 PM
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You have been so much help and i thank you so much for this info! I dont know how to get on forums and stiff like that and i just seen all of these replies to my question and man my heart is thumping with just the amount of help from people. I completely forgot how to use forums or to think that there is a bike forum. But thank you again.
07-15-23, 06:14 PM
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You have been so much help and i thank you so much for this info! I dont know how to get on forums and stiff like that and i just seen all of these replies to my question and man my heart is thumping with just the amount of help from people. I completely forgot how to use forums or to think that there is a bike forum. But thank you again.
There are a ton of kids bikes that are cast off and can supply donor sprockets in different sizes.
Don't try to use the bottom bracket unless you're swapping the crank too, schwinn was 28tpi and most everyone else was 24tpi
