Nubra 

Hello all,
Just trying to make this bike rideable, as they survive locked on the street here much better than any other Grocery Bike. The mechs are functional, but it turns out that the rear mech guide wheel has some rubber missing from one of the guide wheels. Don't know if it will work without it.
What can I use to replace the rear mech? That would not be totally out of sync with the time frame without paying "restoration" prices? I can use a modern cheap mech,if so advised. And does anyone, off hand, know the approximate year of origin?
Best!!

bulgie 

I'd look for a Suntour V-GT Luxe (alloy cage) or the slightly downscale V-GT (steel cage). Schwinn didn't use them, but they were among the best cheap derailers available when your bike was made. A Shimano Crane is also nice but those seem to cost more on the used market, so consider cheaper Shimanos like Tourney, Lark or Eagle. There were "Schwinn-Approved" versions of some of those Shimanos, named things like Le Tour. The lighter ones like the Crane give great shifting but aren't quite as robust as a V-GT. Lark and Eagle are all-steel if I recall correctly and are probably bulletproof, but are less renowned for their shifting. Still fine though!
If you tell us the serial number, we can tell you the year. Looks to me like around 1970 or a bit later though.

If you want to replace the front also, you'll have a harder time finding one that clamps to a 1" seat tube (most are 1-1/8"), but you can use a 1-1/8" with a shim. Maybe just try lubing the existing one and see if it shifts OK.

Mark B

bulgie 

Oh and if it's the lower pulley that's broken, those are cheap and easy to replace. Even a vintage Huret exact replacement shouldn't be too hard to find; I can sell you one if you can't find it near you. The upper is slightly harder to replace but still do-able. Some pulleys have a 5 mm hole, and your mech needs one with a 6 mm hole, but those aren't rare, several brands used 6 mm BITD. Try to get one that's roughly the same width as the existing one, but a narrower one can be spaced out with washers.

Mark B

Nubra 

Hi Mark,
I do love the Suntour V-gt's but they are pretty expensive around here! $40-75! Ebay is ridiculous. The front derailleur is functional after some lube and manipulation and I will keep it.
Appreciate very much the rundown on the era specific models. Here is the serial number!
Thanks again!

FBOATSB

Hi @Nubra, according to my book, JF is for September, 1970, for when the frame was made.
​​​​

C9H13N 

Given the condition and quality of this frame, and your intended use of a lock-up bike…just find the cheapest Suntour you can, ideally one that comes with the bolt on hanger already attached. If you can’t find a cheap enough Suntour, a modern Shimano Tourney TZ500 is available with a claw hanger for under $15.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/25521847715...mis&media=COPY

https://www.benscycle.com/shimano-to...0aAik6EALw_wcB

zukahn1 

+1 Suntour VGT would be my 1st choice, be sure whatever you get has a older type heavy claw hanger, also while nearly any nicer Suntour with a claw hanger should work and look better vintage correct than the hurret. Also on tight budget or if in place with limited parts sources nearly any good working claw hanger DR will work.

Nubra 

Hey Mark,
Thanks for the date! WOW really old bike, love it.
I would love to replace the lower pulley wheel and am going to the local co-op to see if I can find one.
If not, what do you want for one of those lower pullies? Regular mail would be just fine .
Cheers!
Rita

Nubra 

Thanks so much. Appreciate the lookup!
Cheers!
Nubra

Nubra 

Thanks for the info. One of the members responded with an offer to send me a replacement guide wheel for the "schwinn approved Huret" . I am going to to go that way. May seem rediculous BUT I really love the idea of this bike still being ridden some 52 year after production with all the original components. Even the wheels are true-ish (which is good since they are rusted into place).
Thanks for taking the time to answer

Vintage Schwinn

The Huret Allvit is about as good as they ever were from Europeans in rear derailleurs, but they are second rate to anything from Shimano or Maeda SUNTOUR.
The shimano built SCHWINN APPROVED GT-100 is fives times better than any Allvit, as is any Lark, or Skylark, or Eagle from SHIMANO, or the shimano built GT-120 SCHWINN APPROVED that was introduced in 1974.

The SUNTOUR V-GT and V-GT luxe are great shifting rear derailleurs but they are not any better overall than an Eagle, Lark, Skylark, or GT-120 ,or GT-100, FOR YOUR APPLICATION ON A VERY HEAVY OLD SCHWINN TEN SPEED. You have NO NEED for lightweight alloy construction on such a bicycle, it isn't gonna matter if the bulletproof ancient Shimano rear derailleur weighs 200 grams more than the Suntour V-GT.

Sheldon Brown, himself, claimed that the very ordinary, and very heavy SHIMANO EAGLE was one of the best shifting rear derailleurs he had ever ridden, along with being one of the most durable and reliable. The SHIMANO Eagle was shimano building as base model derailleur to similar standards that Schwinn engineering imposed on the shimano builds for Schwinn, thus the Eagle had the Cable Saver feature and a bash guard built similar to Schwinn specs but not a carbon copy of the Schwinn version, so Shimano had a nearly unbreakable, super durable, flawless operation, rear derailleur that could be sold to thousands of bike makers/distributors for use on ordinary 10 speeds where weight was a non-issue, and bombproof indestructibility was the most important factor, since the newbies to the 10 speed world then had no idea of how breakable and fragile then current European rear derailleurs could be IF SAID BIKE WAS THROWN DOWN, OR BATTERED AROUND LIKE some Coaster brake Western Flyer, Monark, Hiawatha, or JC Higgins single speed "beach cruiser" ordinary bike of that era.

Even the current day, shimano Lark type, knockoffs that sell NEW for about $10 online that say XUNDAH , are twice as good as any Huret Allvit, and way better than the piece of trash SIMPLEX and CAMPAGNOLO rear derailleurs from the sixties and early seventies.
There is no escaping that the JAPANESE were worlds ahead, far better in rear derailleur engineering and construction from 1968 onward than anything Campy, Simplex or Huret had at any price. No doubt that Campy, Simplex and Huret might look cool but junk is junk, and compared to anything rear derailleur wise from Shimano and Suntour, the European rear derailleurs were second rate junk. Second rate junk that did get the job done, but from the late sixties onward Shimano and Suntour really raised the bar on acceptable functionality. It is sad but it is true that many desireable European marque bicycles continued with the far inferior Italian and French rear derailleurs for too long before abandoning ship around 1977 for the far superior Japanese rear derailleurs. Most owners of such machinery were removing and replacing their stock European rear derailleurs with the better Japanese units as early as 1971. This was a very common practice during the bike boom years, 1972, 1973, 1974, especially. Why? Because the Japanese quality difference was so great when it came to rear derailleurs and their overall functionality and durability. The Japanese copied and "borrowed" from the best existing European designs and to borrow from an old famous Lennon-McCartney tune....."BETTER,BETTER,BETTER, Na, Na,
Na, Na, Na, ..........................you know that when that song was #1 on the charts, is precisely about when Japanese superiority began.
Hey you, go Japanese, remove that Campy, Huret and Simplex, make the bike shifting reliable and a little better. Ringo proposed those lyrics, which John and George seemed to like also, but Paul sang what he sang.

Vintage Schwinn

SUNTOUR rear derailleurs were factory issue on a 1977 varsity "variant" that was officially badged as the Schwinn Sportabout and the Schwinn Runabout.

THESE WERE JUST SUNTOUR EQUIPPED varsities, as everything was exactly the same as a varsity EXCEPT the SUNTOUR rear derailleur and SUNTOUR front derailleur. 1977 was the first year for the Sportabout / Runabout. They were available in 1978 also. I'm not sure after '78, as you'd have to check the catalogs.
Essentially though people forget about the Sportabout / Runabout variant versions, and probably value them less than a Varsity, although in fact they are better bicycles than the Varsity by the fact that the factory rear derailleur is a SUNTOUR rather than the latest Huret Allvit version on the '77 and later Varsity.
The Huret front derailleurs were quite decent and solid operationally, so there wasn't an issue with being second class, as was the case with rear derailleurs compared to the Japanese components.
https://bikehistory.org/catalogs/1977.html#runabout

The 1970 -1977 COLLEGIATE five speed --and-- the 1970 -1976 SUBURBAN five speed HAVE THE GT-100 (1970 -1973) & THE GT-120 (1974-1977) shimano Rear Derailleurs which are much much much better than any Huret Allvit rear derailleur. Count yourself lucky if you happen to own a VARSITY with either the GT-100 --or the GT-120 instead of the Huret Allvit. THE CHICAGO FACTORY substituted The Superior Quality GT-100 or GT-120 depending on what year WHEN THE FACTORY PRODUCTION LINE WAS OUT OF ALLVITS.
Hey, here is something that every ancient VARSITY owner SHOULD CONSIDER TO MAKE THEIR VARSITY A BETTER, AND MORE VERSATILE, CAPABLE RIDER:
................***YOU SHOULD CONSIDER Swapping the 14-28 model F freewheel Out FOR THE 14-32 model J freewheel FROM THE 1970-1977 COLLEGIATE & 1970-1976 SUBURBAN Five SPEED Model. (******the SUBURBAN 10 speed has the same 14-28 model F as the VARSITY.....you don't want that one, obviously..)
(****the 1964-1969 Collegiate has the same 14-28 model F as all the late sixties and seventies era VARSITIES and CONTINENTALS and Suburban 10 Speeds.....YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T WANT THIS Model F 14-28 freewheel..***)

Why Do You Want To Replace The 14-28 model F freewheel???
BECAUSE THE 32 tooth LOWEST GEAR (1st Gear Cog) WILL GIVE YOU TREMENDOUS HILL CLIMBING CAPABILITY WHICH YOU DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE.
My opinion is that it is better to have this HILL CLIMBER Capabilty!
YOU DON'T LOSE A DAMN THING, AND THE OLD SCHWINNS ARE BEYOND WHAT WE CALL HEAVY TODAY, AND AS SHERYL CROW LIKES TO SING, "A CHANGE WOULD DO YOU GOOD."
----You'd get the same exact gear range that was factory on the 1971 SUPER SPORT with 52/39 upfront and 32-26-21-17-14 at rear......(33 GEAR to 100 GEAR range)

The VARSITY has ( 38 GEAR to 100 GEAR range) 52/39 upfront and 28-24-20-16-14 at rear

Heck you might be Shocked to Know that the 1970 -1977 COLLEGIATE 5 speed has BETTER HILL CLIMBING POTENTIAL than the 10 SPEED VARSITY/Conti.
Hell yeah it does with (37 GEAR to 85 GEAR range) 37 GEAR still beats 38 GEAR for hill climbing ability.
The Suburban 5 speed is (39 GEAR to 89 GEAR range) Now though the Suburban 5 speed has the same front 46 Teeth and same 32-26-21-17-14 as 1970 later COLLEGIATE, because the Collegiate has 26 (597mm) wheels versus the 27 (630mm) wheels of the SUBURBANS, CONTI's & VARSITIES, that smaller 597mm wheel effectively makes for improved lower gearing versus the 27 (630mm) wheel. That is why there is a difference between the Sub 5 speed and the 1970 & later Collegiate.
THE 1964 -1969 COLLEGIATE is AWFUL in HILL CLIMBING COMPARED TO THE 1970 & LATER COLLEGIATE. The '64-'69 COLLEGIATE has 43 GEAR lowest gear.

Do the SIMPLE MATH if you wanna calculate it all out. The NUMBERS DON'T LIE!
You Can EVEN DO BETTER THAN THE 14-32 freewheel, AS BOTH Shimano and Maeda SUNTOUR offered aftermarket freewheels with 14-34 with just five cogs.
Heck a thirty-four tooth LOWEST GEAR COG would give you the most that you could get from that 52/39 dual front set up......e.g. the 39 up front with 34 in rear...
------------YOU CAN THANK THE JAPANESE for These Really ALPINE HILL CLIMBING ABILITY from 10 speed bicycles BECAUSE BEFORE THE END OF THE SIXTIES, THERE WAS NO ABILITY TO HAVE A REAR DERAILLEUR RELIABLY SHIFT SUCH A LARGE REAR COG. The Japanese COULD DO IT. The EUROPEAN rear derailleurs COULD NOT RELIABLY SHIFT ANYTHING LARGER THAN 28 TEETH REAR COG!
***********the 1970 SUBURBAN five speed and the 1970 COLLEGIATE 5 speed WERE THE FIRST SCHWINNS TO FEATURE SHIMANO. That Shimano built Model J freewheel was the most advanced freewheel of its time when introduced, as it had a new patented seal, and quality second to nothing available at any price up to that point in time. Yeah, it was on two "adult" oriented UPRIGHT five speeds. No joke, but the March 1970 issue of BICYCLING magazine, had a detailed article by their staff of experts that considered the all new GT-100 rear derailleur as the the Most Durable & Reliable Rear Derailleur that they had Ever Tested Up To That Point in Time.
Yeah, they did point out it was heavy(weighty) but they thought it was superb for what it was.

Here is the Simple Math Calculation IF YOU WANNA calculate GEAR NUMBERs:

front sprocket is your NUMERATOR
rear sprocket is your DENOMINATOR

Example:
you've got a 27 inch (630mm) or 700C wheeled (622mm) bicycle WITH 45 tooth front and 15 tooth rear sprocket

FRONT divided by REAR = "result'

Take the "result' and MULTIPLY BY THE WHEEL SIZE IN INCHES = GEAR Number

45 divided by 15 = 3

3 x 27 = 81 GEAR



( USE 27 as wheel size in inches for all 27"(630mm) and 700C (622mm) )

(USE 26 as wheel size for all 26" (597mm) (590mm) (584mm) (571mm) (559mm) , 650a, 650b, 650c ......)


Yeah, This Is CAVEMAN SIMPLE, but it is valid, and reliably compareable among like bicycles for evaluating the overall gear range of said bicycles.
Most all manufactures once included such a gear chart in their sales literature and catalogs & brochures fifty years ago during the bike boom and through the end of the seventies.

I would certainly advise every ancient VARSITY owner and most every ordinary sixties and seventies era ten speed owner, that the single best thing that a person can do to make the bicycle more enjoyable for riding IS TO IMPROVE YOUR GEARING TO BE ABLE TO CLIMB HILLS.
These are not lightweight, French & Italian racers with very narrow corn cob freewheels with no hill climbing ability except for super-athletes, not normal humans.

One thing to remember is that if you do upgrade to a freewheel with 32 cog or 34 cog, is that YOU WILL CERTAINLY NEED A SHIMANO or SUNTOUR rear derailleur capable of doing a 32 or 34.

Hey remember there is a difference between ELECTROFORGED GREATNESS from SCHWINN and Ordinary GAS PIPE from Other Manufacturers!!
Chicago's Finest built quality bicycles that were beyond well-built and made to last, with quality in every single portion of the frame, and geometry that was really brilliant from a very stable, good handling, and superbly comfortable perspective. This is not true with so many other makers' gas pipe crappola frames' geometry and area nearest the dropouts.
These ancient electroforged Schwinns make perhaps the best riding Upright Tourist Style geared cruisers that you could ever imagine. Yeah, you won't be setting any speed records but the comfortable ride cannot be beat. More than fifty years ago, every dumbass, myself included could ride any VARSITY/CONTINENTAL/COLLEGIATE/SUBURBAN etc for miles with NO HANDS. Try that with many of todays bikes and you'll be needing reconstructive orthopaedic surgery and dental implants before you pedal 25 meters (~27 yards or 81 feet). I certainly don't recommend that anyone try to ride an old SCHWINN with NO HANDS because it is beyond stupid, but it does sorta highlight the ability of the smooth predictable ride of the very heavy, relatively long wheelbased electroforged Schwinns with relaxed geometry that contributes to such a stable, comfortable, predictable ride. Another very overlooked factor is that SCHWINN made so many different sizes of the same frames in both MENS(diamond) and WOMEN's(step through) models that there are plenty of Women's large 21" step through frames that are BIGGER than many men's frames of today.
Typically there was the 17", 19" , 21" Women's frames and the 18", 20", 22", 24" MEN's frames, there was also a 25", and 26" huge MEN'S frames in mid seventies to late seventies VARSITIES/CONTINENTALS..............there was also a very small 17" humpback MEN'S frame that was offered during a few various years.
*******The SUBURBAN models have the TUBULAR Front Fork that the Continental has, although the Suburban has the same sidepulls as the Varsity. The Continental has Center Pulls. THE SUBURBAN ten speed is an upgraded VARSITY (well upgraded Varsity tourist, as Varsity tourist's final year was 1969, Suburban came in 1970)
The Suburban 10 speed is mechanically exactly like a VARSITY with the 14-28 model F freewheel and Huret Allvit rear derailleur........the tubular CONTINENTAL fork is an upgrade over the Ashtabula forged blade front fork that the Varsity & Collegiate and similar variants have.
.........................Stay Thin, RIDE A SCHWINN!
...........................................That Extra Ton or Two of Electroforged Chicago Steel WILL GIVE YOU A BETTER WORKOUT !!!

Nubra 

Whew,
That is a LOT of information. Thanks for the rundown.
I would indeed consider a larger freewheel and I do happen to have a 32 on hand!

Can you specify which of the shimano or suntour rear derailluers of the ones you mentioned in your epistle would be a good candidate for the 32/34 large cog variety. I have not had much luck at my local c-op where they have NO claw foot derailleurs in their large collection.
Your post made me smile!

Cheers,
Rita

tkamd73 

Wow neat old Schwinn, I might also consider replacing the bars if you can, they look rusty enough to fail.
Tim

branko_76 

I restored a Schwinn rear derailleur a while ago....

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...erailleur.html

wrk101

While I enjoy eBay, its best suited for when you need that "one part" to finish a project. When you need more than one, it gets expense quick. Instead, I continue to find the best source for a lot of parts is the old "donor" bike. Find a donor bike with 27 inch alloy wheels, Suntour derailleurs, and maybe even a BMX sized stem and alloy bars and you are well on your way!


While I have recommended the Suntour Vx RDs, I have sold quite a few of them ebay in the $50 to $65 range. They have gotten kind of pricey. But I still find that donor bike out there with Vx front and rear derailleur, along with a lot of other useable stuff.

Nubra 

Hey Tim,
The bars are solid. THe rust is one of the "sleeper" effects I want on this bike. Keeps the thefts away. They are rampant here. But thanks for the observation, they are indeed ugly!
Cheers,

Nubra 

Thanks so much! I thanked another member for this info by mistake. Appreciate it!

Nubra 

WOW very nice job. THANKS for sharing that!

beng1

I like your decision to try and repair and use what you have. Over the last year I have mostly ridden on a 1973-vintage bike with a Shimano Eagle and it has worked perfectly after I made sure it was really clean. I have a couple old bikes I ride with 5-speed rear freewheels and two-speeds up front, and the standard rear freewheel on most of these bikes, which I think is a 14-28 makes it very easy to go up steep hills. On one of the bikes I put a 15-24 on the rear and it made it noticeably harder to climb steep hills with. Where I live it is pretty easy to find old ten-speed parts, and I have been making the effort to collect some spare parts, most of them end up being scrapped, the last ten-speed I bought, for $5, was right out of the back of a scrapper's truck while he was driving around on trash-day picking up metal to cash in. I would not be surprised if some of the derailleur wheels on the common old equipment would be interchangeable, but I have not had to try it yet. I suspect that the plastic wheels on many derailleurs are self-lubricating and might run best dry, but I put them together with the tiniest bit of light grease I can, and if you oil your chain regularly they get lots of oil on them eventually. A lot of old bikes get slow because the derailleur wheels get old sticky dirt and grease in the wheels, so I think one of the most important things to do is to keep that derailleur clean, and of course the bottom-bracket too. These old manufacturers put lots of research into what consumers wanted and needed, so I would certainly try the bike as it left the factory before I tried changes. I don't think anyone who rode every day or two would need to change the factory gearing unless they lived in a mountainous area.

Velo Mule

I was looking for an inexpensive vintage SunTour rear derailleur a few months ago. I would have even go for an Honor if the price was right. The problem was that SunTour derailleurs on Ebay are expensive. I ended up getting a Cyclone because is was only a few more dollar more expensive than the Honors and ARX's. believe it or not .

I think based on what you are trying to do with your bike I would recommend this SunRace derailleur. SunRace rear derailleur. The derailleur seems to based on an old Shimano design. It should work well. It may not be as good as SunTour Cyclone but it won't be as expensive either.

Nice Suburban by the way.

unworthy1

If you change your mind, pretty sure I have a very acceptable steel SunTour Seven with a claw hanger you can have for the price of shipping, and from SF to Santa Cruz should be cheap, or you could even pick up locally if you ever are in the Bay Area (I used to get down to SC pretty often but not so much now with $7/gallon gas! )

zukahn1 

Another thing is online here or evil bay is to buy Suntour claw hanger which you can attach nearly any RD to.

Nubra 

Thanks for the link! I pulled a Vgt off an Fuji that is yet to be repaired (NOT a doner bike, just a loan for now) and am going to try and rebuilt the original Huret (since everything on this bike is original, even the TUBES, I replaced the tubes though ) Even the Saddle is in great shape , good thing since impossible to find saddles for those tiny seatposts. I don't need great shifting, just functional at best. This is my first Schwinn. I will keep you in mind though if I need to. CHEERS! Rita

Nubra 

Here is an update to the now "running" 1970 Schwinn Suburban (thanks to Velo Mule for the model id).
Temporarily replaced the front wheel with another high flange since it turns out the front wheel was more out of true than I expected. I am soaking the galvanized but rusted spokes and hope to be able to true it up. Don't want to use any stainless on this, maybe I can find some galvanized spokes. lbs has a Phil Wood spoke cutter, if I can find some.
All the nuts and bolts look like they have never seen a tool. No witness marks, and even the tubes say "Schwinn". Jeeze, where has this bike been living (or hiding)?
Am using a Fuji branded Vgt I pulled off a Fuji I am rebuilding, just to get this running. Trying to source a replacement pulley, Several people in this thread have been contacted with PM's.
Thanks so much for all the info and support. I will do more work on this later, if I really like the ride. So far it is really fun. photos shortly