sd5782 

We need a proper pic of a 73, although this one has a few parts from a 72.

John E

How did you get the TwinStik to pull enough cable to shift the SunTour VGT through all 5 gears? When I built up my wife's Peugeot UO-8 with a my 1970 VGT and similar-vintage Schwinn TwinStiks, I had to file down the right side lever stop a bit to cover a 5-speed SunTour freewheel (16-18-21-24-32).

Is that a current photo of your SuperSport? That thing is in show-worthy condition -- beautiful.

sd5782 

That V-GT spent perhaps 40 years on another 73 SS that I bought in 1975. I didn’t do anything to it or the shifters to shift any 5 speed freewheel or even a couple narrow 6 speed free wheels. That rougher SS currently has twin stiks shifting a narrow six and a VXs rd. Pictured bike had nothing done to its shifters either. I was always under the assumption they shifted 5 speed fine but maybe not 6.

Pic was taken yesterday on this SS. I was building it for my son from a couple 73s and a 72 parts bikes from my co-op several years ago. I put it back to how my 73 looked back in the day. Nostalgia overtook me and I kept it as a once a year rider. Original handlebar tape is missing and very hard to find. It rides as good as it looks. I did build my son a nice 72 Continental upright conversion and put aluminum wheels on it, so I’m not a total heel.

albrt 

Here are a couple pics of the frame before and after blasting.

sd5782 

Looks nice Albert. FYI the kickstand comes out very easily. There is an RJ the bike guy YouTube video on it. Takes mere seconds and only a 10” crescent wrench for leverage. Very easy.

albrt 

The brazing looks good enough I think I am going to rebuild it naked. Clearcoat, or maybe even just tung oil based on some recent posts. Any opinions? Remember this is Phoenix, so rust is not much of an issue unless you leave the bike outdoors all year.

The sandblaster said he could have it done in half an hour, so I went to a nearby Ace hardware and they had oxalic acid on clearance for half price, so bathing the components will be easy.

Jeff Wills

The Kool Lemon on the steerer is probably the original color, which would be appropriate for a ‘72 - ‘73 Super Sport.

SkinGriz

I really like a raw metal look.

Most posters who’ve done it say the look doesn’t last with steel, no matter if it’s BLO or clear coat.

Velo Mule

For the kickstand I use the closed end of a 3/4" combination end wrench prying on the leg of the kickstand to get the bushing to move in while I pluck the round pin out of the bottom of the kickstand housing. It can be difficult the first time you do, it figuring out where exactly to place the wrench to be able to push the bushing in. Once you get it, it's easy. The key/pin comes right out when you push the bushing in enough. I use pliers to pluck the pin.

Schwinn Kickstand Removal

There is a special Park/Schwinn tool for removing the kickstand and it works well, but once you get this technique above figured out, you won't need it.

DanBikeFan

I have a raw steel 1970 Super Sport, that I had treated with clear powder coating. It looks great, and the bike shows no rust after 18 months in extremely wet and humid conditions in Louisiana. I guess it won't last forever, but it seems very resistant.

albrt 

OK, I'm kind of stuck on the handlebars. The "S" branded alloy death stem apparently died many years ago - the tabs were broken off and loose in the head tube. I found an extremely similar stem at a local shop for $5, so hooray! But these things are a bugger to get around the bends in the lovely GB rando bars. The clamp on the stem is wider than most all the way around, so you can't turn it to get the narrowest part of the stem inside the curve. And even if I can force the old stem off, how am I going to get the new one on without damaging either the stem or the bars?

I already have a screwdriver wedged pretty far into the gap to open up the clamp, but that isn't enough. There must be a trick for this - I'm pretty sure they didn't mount the stem and then bend the handlebars.

albrt 

Here's the current temporary test-build. Wheels are not done and I'm waiting for tires, so these wheels are from another bike.

It's a little small for me but rides very nicely.

sd5782 

I see you have the Huret rd on it. I never could warm up to those, but others here aren’t so critical. What’s your opinion? The SSs do ride nice. A spinning cadence works best for me with the heavier crank vs a slower mashing style. The geometry and feel to me is miles ahead of the Continental. Looks nice, but as you said, the larger size may be a better fit for you. Always neat to see folks discovering the SS.

albrt 

I'm using the parts that came on it for now. If I decide to keep it I might replace the rear derailleur with a Suntour and put a 6 speed freewheel on it, but the original RD and the Huret FD work OK.

The chrome parts all came out looking fabulous. The aluminum and regular steel parts are decent but not showstoppers - I haven't really polished any of them. The frame itself is interesting. This is the first frame I had sandblasted, and I didn't realize the rough surface would bruise and collect dirt so easily. If I want to keep it bare steel I will probably have to give it a very hard rubdown to make the surface slicker.

Doug Fattic 

What us pro builders/painters use is 80 grit (or 100) "emery" cloth (probably bought in rolls 1" wide). Emery is a British word and when buying it from industrial supply places it is called "shop cloth" or "utility roll". Shoe shinning the main tubes and using your finger as backing around the brass will smooth out the coarseness.

albrt 

Thanks for this, I would have thought finer. It seems like you can knock down the finish just by rubbing it with tool steel, although that will probably give it a unique texture of its own.

Hummer

Date codes on the headbadge began in late 1975.

This head badge, Schwinn Chicago. with the black background looks like a head badge from the Greenville, Mississippi factory. If so, it is from 1987.

No serial number? I have never seen a Schwinn from Chicago without a serial number. Some where not stamped very deep into the metal.

Super Sport is a good start. Super Sport with year codes late G, H, and J had pressed dropouts, not forged. So late 1972, 1973 or 1974 is my best estimate..

albrt 

The frame is completely stripped of paint and the serial number is definitely not where it is supposed to be. There are some slight flat spots on the steerer tube at that location, so pretty clearly filed off.

albrt 

Here's the "final" version of the 1973 Super Sport. The frame is clear coated. I replaced the original chain and rear derailleur and upgraded the pedals, and boy does that make a difference in the performance - the ride went from decent to buttery smooth.


Sorry about the off-kilter rear brake pad - hope it doesn't cause too much anxiety here.

I'm trying to decide whether to take it to the Tucson GABA bike swap this weekend. It's a little small for me but it sure has a nice feel to it.

sd5782 

Albert, you should have purchased the 72 I had for sale 3 years ago. It was very nice.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...per-sport.html



1972

daka

Did you take off the little chrome "hat" on the fork crown? I can't tell from the photo.

albrt 

It's still there but most of the chrome was gone from the previous sandblasting so it basically looks like the same finish as the tube steel.

DanBikeFan

Looks great! I have been very tempted to buy a clear coated fillet brazed stem for mine, but since these have the Schwinn 21.1mm stem, you would have to first get a threadless converter, then a fillet brazed threadless stem. Seems like a lot, just to complete the look.

I have always been curious about the fork on these. Was it made by Schwinn? Do the later versions still have forged dropouts, even when the rear dropouts went to stamped? Some of the earlier fork versions (pre-1970, with the chrome forks) had very nice Nervex Pattern 6 fork crowns on them. Were those forks made out of a different material?

albrt 

Just a little update - this bike was too small for me to ride comfortably. After a couple attempts to sell it for what I had invested in it at the Tucson bike swap and elsewhere, I was inspired by @AdventureManCO and gave it to a younger volunteer at the bike co-op. It fits him better than it fits me and he seems to like it OK.

N -1.

dddd

By 1971, the SS fork had an Asian-looking "T" symbol stamped on the steerer, making me wonder if perhaps the fork was indeed contract-built in Japan.

Might have been a baby-step prior to the later arrival of the LeTour bikes from Japan, the forks having by this time proven to be well-crafted to high Schwinn standards.

Just my speculation though, maybe just the steerer came in from outside. And of course Schwinn had been constructing tubular forks for decades prior.

On my two 1971 Supersports, all of the dropouts are stamped. I don't mind though since I prefer these later model's painted forks.
A dedicated hanger would have been Huret-style, so somewhat of an impediment to one using a different or newer derailer (I've stuck with the Allvits myself).

Oh, and some of these forks seem to have an issue whereby the crown race becomes a loose fit on the knurled steerer as the peaks of the knurling gets knocked down over a surprisingly short time (I've had to apply Loctite to a couple of similarly knurled Schwinn fork steerers).