Kjas64

Im working on the same bicycle. Head badge has 1615 Julian date. Receipt says it wasn't sold until 5/86. I prefer older low end roadbikes such as this to urban ride. I change out the bars and brake levers to mtb. Mtbs are just too heavy imo. And being low end it's easier to modify in this fashion. I wouldn't want to modify something nice like a Paramount. Pedals weigh a ton. I'll be replacing those soon. Haven't ridden it yet. It was stored indoors and only ridden once or twice

Kjas64

Nine pounds is a lot. Yours has all the same equipment mine does. I take anything off that isn't needed. All reflectors and brackets. Kickstand of course. Pedals are real heavy steel rat trap. Other than that, I don't know. Unless you get lighter wheels. Or you could beat around town on a mtb for a week, then ride the traveler. 😄.lol. Not to offend the mtb people.

Flip Flop Rider

keep it as a rain/wet bike then get another more modern one as well

Kjas64

Theres a good call. Keep it as a secondary bike.

Eric F 

I'm the guy that mucks things all up by having a bluetooth adapter plugged into the AUX input of my 80's stereo rig,

Kjas64

Yeah, me too. Got two bt receivers.

vane171

TBH, if I were the OP, wondering what a new bike might bring me, after reading such comments about energy and acceleration, I'd just stay with my old bike.

I am not saying they are not true, its just that they are not inspiring. New bike, provided it is some significant upgrade, will seem to want to go almost by itself, it will be a pleasure to ride and you will ride faster not just because it will be lighter and more rigid where it matters etc., but because such improvements will inspire you to squeeze out of yourself what you wouldn't on the old tired iron horse more suited to pull a wagon than being fast. And its not just those improvements but the looks of the bike and how it is mechanically well tuned up for performance which also are inspiring.

My advice to the OP is to stick with his old bike and never look forward.

SkinGriz

I think an older road bike for around town would be really cool.
I’m not very experienced- when I read “urban ride” I think about riding a MTB as a glorified BMX bike for grown ups(ish). Bunny hopping in and out of the street/sidewalk, things like that.

Do people do that stuff on road frames? Or do you mean more similar to a commuter bike or messenger bike?
Thank you.

SkinGriz

Tangent alert.
I’m not necessarily an audiofile, but a few years ago I learned how wonderful a powered sub with the high line ins and outs are.
Especially with cheapish bookshelf speakers. Really cleans things up by relieving the little drivers from having to do the heavy work.

rossiny

I had a Schwinn Continental , must have weighed 30 pounds . A buddy of mine had an Atala Italian bike and was into cycling. I finally bought a new , 1984 Rossin with all campy super record and campy c-record hubs. The wheels, frame, pedals , seat make a big difference. I realized I never road a real bike before I rode the Rossin . The Rossin was nimble , fast, comfortable ,could ride all day. The Schwinn continental was a make believe bike would bend and ride horrible , weighed a ton.. That being said i have an off the radar, Schwinn Passage touring bike , made in the USA , Columbus Tenax tubes and that's an amazing touring bike ...
Moral of the story, you will find a BIG difference depending on the bike you choose , and money isn't everything . You could score a minty Road racing bike for cheap , for uunder a grand . You just have to look and check condition closely . I paid $200 for that minty almost unused 1980s Schwinn Passage touring bike..

79pmooney

No. The work he has to do to go uphill is him plus the bike. Let's say he weighs 180. 180 + 30 = 210 lbs. 180 + 15 = 195 lbs. So, for your curl analogy, say he is an animal. He can do 10 with 210 lbs. Dropping to 195, he can do what? 11?

Now, on limited funds, there is a lot you can do with that Schwinn that will feel very different and make it far more fun to ride. Lighter wheels. I don't know what Weinmanns you have but I don't think I have ever seen a light pair. 32 spoke wheels, Open Pro rims and nice tires will be a big step up. (Stick with steel spokes. If you are going to hand built wheels, seriously consider lighter butted spokes if the wheelbuilder thinks they are appropriate for your weight and riding.)

Pedals - there are decently light pedals if you are willing to go to clipless. The cheap avenue is the Wellgo/Nashbar/Performance pedals made to the LOOK Delta standard but there are many other options. If you are not already doing it, clipless is an easy way to up the performance of the bike.

If you have a bike coop nearby, go and bring your bike. Look at the display cases for used equipment and talk to an employee about what will make a real difference.

I took a 1990 sport Peugeot frame that I picked up for cheap, bought $100 of parts (French bike; a lot of my stuff wouldn't fit), put on the wheels I described (only fix gear), parts I had on hand and rolled out on a 20 lb bike that felt like the bike I raced many years before. A true blast to ride! (Brakes were a mishmash of calipers I paid $5 and $10 for and new Tektro levers for $35. Complete garbage to look at and real stoppers.)

The posters above will laugh at you but you get to keep riding a bike you like, put real fun in it and spend what, $500? (and you don't have to do it all at once). The other option is to drop thousands just to wheel the bike out of the shop. (If you decide to upgrade wheels - if you are sticking with your current gearing standard, ie number of cogs or you can upgrade your current hub, seriously consider getting new (used?) wheels instead up rebuilding your current. Why? You get a second pair. Really useful! Your current wheels can become city wheels, rain wheels, gravel wheels and just wheels to have when you grab the bike for that quick ride you gotta do and you have a flat.)

And in the long, long run - you decide to get that whiz bang bike. Don't toss or sell this one! Like those second wheels, this is your second, city, rain, gravel bike that's sitting quietly (and working) when the good one needs attention.

Edit: I have had a rain/city/winter/commute fix gear forever. Every few years something bad happens and I have to get a new frame. I go to a local shop with used bikes and look for one with an early '80s steel frame. Done this 4 times now. That first one was a Japanese built sport Schwinn. I got it for near free as it had been hit by a car. I never knew what model it was. With light wheels it was a fun ride! (With fenders year 'round, lock, LowRider rack and panniers!)

Kjas64

By urban riding, I meant basically just beating around town. On the street one minute then on the sidewalk the next. No tricks. I do go over curbs carefully on occasion. Riding conditions aren't the greatest in Lansing. Constantly have to watch surface conditions. All the unnecessary stuff I remove to lose whatever weight is so I can mount the new b17 saddle. At 57 and 155 lbs I find the old roadbikes light enough for my needs.

Kjas64

Mine also has the same weinmann wheels. Double butted spokes.

Kjas64

yes, high side inputs make a sub more versatile. It's why I won't buy a klipsch

wphamilton

I personally don't believe any of that, for more than 10 or 15 minutes anyway. Only the actual physical characteristics have any lasting effect. But that's me, YMMV.

DMC707

you need to test ride a new bike and decide for yourself

Triplecrank92

Over the last few years, I've gone on a binge picking up and restoring 80s & 90s bikes (look that-away. <-----) being sold cheaply on CL & FB looking for "different experiences" and that perfect ride. I would agree with the sentiment most have expressed that newer tech does have it's advantages over the older stuff; weight, efficiency, safety, etc. I've gone down a mountain on an older C'dale with rim brakes which was a very, very apprehensive descent wondering if and praying that the brakes would be able to slow me down. Hitting 30 mph+ in seconds resulted in riding the brakes most of the way down. But that ride was the exception to my normal riding. I do believe that you find the "gear" that matches you, your fitness, style of riding and the terrain that you ride. Go borrow a friend's bike to try. It's a cheaper route than I took (but I have had fun on the path that I've taken!)

Would I upgrade an 80s or 90s bike? Yes, but I say that because that suits me. I would cry out a "Here, here!" with 50+Cycling's experience. One of my favorite bikes has to be my '83 Trek 700. It's similar to 50+'s Trek in that it has 531 frame and an old friction Suntour Superbe Pro drive train. It is one of the only bikes that "disappears" underneath me.

Kapusta

I can't think of anyone I know who would do that

However, for pure WTF points, nothing beats a BT turntable.

Cougrrcj

What is going to kill you (or make the bike feel heavy) is rotating weight. Specifically, those HEAVY Marathon tires weigh somewhere near 740 grams each for 700x28. A lighter 'road' tire weighs somewhere near 280gr in the same 700x28 tire size (just so we're tanking an apples-to-apples comparison here). That 460gr per tire difference is A POUND per tire! Every tire rotation you are lifting that weight, then accelerating it to 2x riding speed (tire velocity with respect to the ground at the top of the tire). F=MA Force equals Mass times Acceleration. Simple physics means you are doing a LOT of work to accelerate that rotating weight. Of course the weight is killing you. If you were to get a nine-pound lighter bike and shod it with those heavy-tire 'combat boots', would you expect it to ride significantly different? The truth says otherwise.

Here's a little side-story that may serve as an example for you...

When I bought my '86 Miyata 710 off Craigslist while on vacation at my mother's place in Phoenix, it had a flat rear tire (I can't remember the brand) and a very skinny 23mm Vittoria Zaffiro on the front. The local bike shop only had a single Vittoria Randonneur 28 (similar to your bike's Schwalbe Marathon) in stock - and even that was over 2x internet price - yikes! I put that Randonneur on the rear along with a new tube and made the bike rideable at least - but it felt like a slug. AND it rode like a truck.

On my next visit to AZ, I packed along a pair of VIttoria Rubino Pro Tech tires and new matching tubes. Tires are ~280g each, and tubes are ~105g each, so less than 400 grams for tire and tube per wheel. When I went to remove the front tire, it had the the 400 gram wire-bead Zaffiro tire AND a heavy 'thorn proof' tube that was filled with Slime.That tube with slime weighed more than a pound by itself! The Randonneur tire that I had put on previously weighed ~700g plus the ~150gr standard tube. So total weight for both old tires/tubes was somewhere near 1.8Kg or close to FOUR POUNDS. New tires/tubes weighed 1.75 pounds total or 2-1/4 pounds less!!!

The difference in ride quality was remarkable! The lighter/more supple 150tpi (threads per inch) tires absorbed the road irregularities much better than the stiff slime-filled thorn tube/ 33tpi stiff carcass tires. Same frame, same wheelset, same other components. The only variable was the tires/tubes.

Last year, I was forced to get a new wheelset, and is even lighter by another half pound of rotating weight. Let me just tell you that I am VERY happy with my '80s steel bike now. Under 22-1/2 pounds now. Would I trade it for a newer 'wunderbike'? Not on your life!

HTupolev

This is a mischaracterization of what's going on.

Yes, at any given moment, there is a piece of the tire that is stationary against the ground. And yes, half a wheel rotation later, it will be going 2x your riding speed. And yes, the energy to accelerate that piece of the tire to that speed does need to have come from somewhere if the wheel is to maintain a steady rotating speed.
But that "somewhat" is not effort from the cyclist. It's the rest of the wheel. Remember that when the piece of the tire was stationary against the ground, there was another piece of the tire half a rotation away that was moving 2x the speed of the bicycle. When this piece of tire loses velocity as it spins down toward the contact patch, it gives it back to the wheel and bicycle.

Rotating weight does resist acceleration more than non-rotating weight (twice as much if it's at the rim), and it's easy to feel in how the bike rocks from side-to-side because of gyroscopic effects. But when rolling at a steady speed along level ground, it doesn't really add any resistance.

Super-heavy tire setups are usually slower than light tire setups, but the largest factor tends to be rolling resistance.