carldrost

I picked this up a few days ago mainly for parts for another bike but am wondering what it is. The other bike i picked up with this one ended being a Schwinn PDG series bike from '92. Both bikes were bought from the same person. this bike has the following;
Shimano 600 crank
3ttt stem
Suntour Alpha 5000 fd/rd
nisi mercurio d'oro 27 x 1.25 wheelswith a shimano hub and a sachs maillaird hub
Dia-compe Alpha-II brakes (white)
Suntour power shifters
frame looks like it could be another Schwinn PDG line bike
serial number is 743515 (I think) and is on the lower left side of the downtube. no other numbers found as of yet.

Barry2 

That’s a green one !

🙂

Barry

Iride01 

There use to be a bunch of old Schwinn people in the Classic & Vintage sub-forum that knew Schwinn's inside out. Some I think actually worked for the real and original Schwinn company. They don't ever stick their noses out in these sub-forums that I notice. So you might ask there once this post is old enough for it not to be considered a double-post.

In the mean time, you should google and search for old Schwinn Catalogs and look at them and compare the components to the specs listed for each model. Here are a couple sites with old scans of Schwinn catalogs:

https://waterfordbikes.com/w/culture/schwinn-catalogs/

Schwinn Catalogs by Year


Weighing it might help too. If it's in the upper twenty pounds or more, then it's a looks like a lightweight Schwinn made for the masses. If it's mid twenty pounds or less then it is a lightweight Schwinn. Most of the catalog spec's include the approximate bike weight.

carldrost

I know that, but what SHADE of green. That is the question, ha ha.

VegasTriker

With all of the Japanese components I would suggest it was one of the many Japanese brands of the day. I doubt it was made for Schwinn by Panasonic as they had many components marked with "Schwinn approved" as well as the component maker name. It looks as though the frame was stripped and repainted. The Japanese bikes I saw come through the shop in the 1970s had a much smoother and shiny paint job. That would account for the absence of any labels on the frame. The downtube shifters, cotterless cranks, and side pull brakes are consistent with that era.

RiceAWay

That is NOT a Schwinn fork.

Oldsledz

Maybe Raleigh?

Iride01 

You two might be on to something there. Diacompe brales and Suntour DR's weren't part of the less expensive Schwinn's I was buying to ride back in the 70's.

The serial number on the seat tube also is a oddity to me for Schwinn's. Most had that on the head tube. And the Raleigh's from England I have, the SN's are on the bottom of the BB. Though maybe they put them elsewhere too or Raleigh USA put them there.

carldrost

Yes, the bike has been repainted. The seller told me that. The other bike is an '92 PDG series bike that they converted into a Fixie (nice one at that from parts they had around the house, Campy stuff). So kinda going with what the other bike is to help with this one.

carldrost

I need to look into Raleigh. Yes, the odd placement of the serial number is something that i hope might help figure this out. From what i gather, the components, while not the best, are not cheap either.

Also, thanks for saying that the fork is NOT a Schwinn fork, that is the stuff that y'all know and will help with this bike. The 3ttt stem i think is a good brand, never heard of them until this bike.

I appreciate all y'alls comments and help.

carldrost

Looking more at pictures, etc. this may be a Panasonic brand touring bike of sorts. I have seen some with a fork similar to this.Maybe this will get some juices flowing in the brain of someone who knows more about Panasonic brand bikes.

dedhed

Are the dropouts marked?

carldrost

Nothing on dropouts. Frame does look alot like the Panasonic sport lx, Sport Dx, etc stuff. Think i saw that in like '88 the DX came with Suntour Alpha-2000 stuff so my Alpha-5000 stuff kind fits in with the model line, maybe of a different year though.

dedhed

​​​​​​https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ber-guide.html

T-Mar

Based on the serial number, it's not Matsu****a/Mational/Panasonic. The components are a mixed bag but the derailleurs and brakes put it circa 1987-1988. The frame characteristics point to 1980s, while the Unicrown fork, if OEM, suggests late 1980s. The dropout eyelets suggest a lower sports model. What's curious is the lack of either shift lever bosses or cable stops on the upper down tube, requirng clamp style shift levers. That little spearpoint on the front of the headlugs does remind me of Schwinn, in which case I'd be looking for the tapped axle retainer holes on the inside of the fork blades. These are located higher up and threaded, unlike typical vent holes.

carldrost

Thank T-mar. I am thinking Schwinn as well as the other bike i bought along with this one from the same people was a Schwinn PDG series from '92. here is the inner fork. It looks like amybe those tapped axel retainer holes may have been there as if you look up from what appear to be the drain holes there is a motled area that could have been the holes and maybe they filled in before painting, etc. I appreciate your comments and help with this.

carldrost

Looking at the fork, i wonder if when they put the bike together they used a MTB fork from another schwinn. Looking at the 80's and early 90's MTB they had the unicorn. I am assuming that both would use the same size stem size. Anybody know if that might be true. And T-mar, the bike a small metal tab that is under the upper lower side of the downtube that the shifter ring rests on if that gives any clue of what is going on.

carldrost

Hey all, I found this a 1988 Panasonic DX-4000 with the same kind of fork i have.
Seeing what y'all think.

CyclesNWeights7

I can’t be of any help, I just want to say I really like that green color and wish I could make my bike that shade

carldrost

The guy i bought it from mentioned it was Honda Element green. SO maybe you can check that out.

rumstove

I've been lurking in this thread. I haven't posted because I can't offer any new help that hasn't already been posted but I'm still interested in knowing what it is now haha. Has it been figured out as being a Panasonic or still searching?

carldrost

Rumstove, unfortunately no definitive answer yet. Been busy last few days and stopped researching. I did see something that made me think it might be an old Giant bike (they had serial numbers on lower seat tube i think) but did not look into it. The Panasonic is still top guess for me, since that DX-5000 did have the Unicrown fork. The serial number location is the big hangup for me.