jb70collegiate

Where can I find part suppliers for my 1970 Schwinn Collegiate? Axles & nuts, bearings, cables, tubes, tires, rim bands, brake pads, etc

merziac

efbay and The Cabe.

Mad Honk 

JB,
If you have Co-op local to you it would be a pretty good source for parts. I think every co-op has a few Schwinns on hand. Smiles, MH,.,,,

Kabuki12

Agree with MH about co op . I keep an eye on CraigsList and eBay or right here on BF

pastorbobnlnh 

Welcome to C&V. We like pictures but you can't post any until you have 10 posts over the course of two days. So tell us more about your Collegiate, color, size, condition, etc. A little about yourself as you feel comfortable to share also is appreciated. Finally, many of us are willing to assist in person, so if you let us know your general location, you might find a helpful friend. I'm currently helping two local people with their vintage Schwinns.

So, tell us more! ​​​​

Chuck M 

Welcome to BF and the C&V sub-forum.

I usually check The Bike Smiths or Bike tires Direct first for cables, tubes, tires, rim tape. https://www.thebikesmiths.com https://www.biketiresdirect.com
I go to Amazon for brake pads and buy Kool-Stops. They cost a bit more but are worth it IMHO,
Only two Schwinns have gone through my hands and fortunately they were complete in survivor condition, but for things like Schwinn approved parts for a restoration, I would go to eBay, thecabe, or put out a feeler in the C&V for sale section here.

joesch

Welcome and glad to read your improving your 1970 Schwinn Collegiate.
These days its cheaper to buy vintage replacement bikes rather than update the parts.
Reverse for selling, more profit in parting out thus if you can find your desired bike, it will usually be cheaper complete.

google>1970 Schwinn Collegiate parts
Will take you to 1 - ebay 2 - https://bikehistory.org/catalogs/1970.html

For parts, the other sources mentioned work and BF members and sales are all very helpful and nice.

jb70collegiate

Thanks All, for the input. I’ll check these sources tomorrow.

I bought this bike when I was 12 years old. I worked all summer at my dad’s side hustle to earn the money to get this bike. Because I worked for the money and this was my first major purchase, the bike has a special meaning to me, thus why I want to restore it as opposed to buying a replace the and parting this one out.

The bike is blue, 21” frame and has followed me to 5 different houses in 2 states.

As for me, I am an engineer currently working on a Class 4/5/6 electric delivery truck. My specialty is body engineering and I have been smashing metal and squishing plastic into useful and decorative car parts for almost 40 years. I’ve worked for all 3 domestic automakers and several Tier 1 suppliers.

Outside of biking, I’m into camping and beer drinking. Currently, we live in Beverly Hills, MI, a northern suburb of Detroit.

qcpmsame 

Welcome to C&V world, great to have another engineer type aboard! Plenty of knowledgeable folks to help out here. I’m finishing up a ‘71 Super Sport, frame set bought from a C&V Forum regular, parts gathered through eBay and the LBS that I haunt regularly.

Looking forward to posts about your Collegiate restoration, when you have the required posts to put up pictures please do. Being from your past this should be memorable for you. Best of luck on the build.

Bill

Andy_K 

If you find that you need any Schwinn-specific parts, check with Bicycle Heaven (https://www.bicycleheaven.org/collections). Ask if they don't have what you need listed. The "museum" has rooms full of large buckets of old Schwinn parts.

Jeff Wills

The good thing about old Schwinns is that Schwinn interchanged a large number of parts among a large number of models for a long time so the supply of possible donor bikes is very large.
The bad thing about old Schwinns is that they used parts built to their own specifications and many new, modern parts do not interchange.
As long as you do not need anything major, keep your bike as is, clean and maintained. It will last several generations at least.
In practical terms, the paint is hard lacquer. Clean it, polish it with fine compound if needed, and wax it. It will shine like the sun.
Schwinn used proper three-layer chrome on many parts. Minor rust can be easily be removed.

pastorbobnlnh 

JB70, great start and BTW, I was also 12 in 1970.

Where do you want to start on re-habing your Collegiate? You will probably be surprised when you open up your bearings, axles, headset, bottom bracket, that the bearings will most likely be okay. Schwinn used quality ball bearings and unless your Collegiate sat outside in the elements or was winter ridden on salted roads, they should clean up nicely.

I mentioned earlier that I'm helping others with a couple of Schwinn restorations. One is a 1960 Corvette, which is a work in progress. He's the original owner and as far as he could remember the crankset and headset had never been disassembled and serviced. When we pulled them apart, the original bearings were in perfect shape. The original grease had basically disappeared, but all was well with the races, etc.

I gave him the job of working on the front hub, so I'm waiting to hear how it turned out. The rear hub is a Sturmey Archer three-speed and will need a complete disassembly and service. I've never serviced one so I'm doing my research before we open it up.

Anyway, I ramble too much. Let us know what you want to tackle first and we're here to assist.

thinktubes 

Welcome to the forums!

I had a Collegiate ”Zero Bike” that I would ride during the summer while I was in college (appropriately).

it had been upgraded with alloy wheels and better bars. Fond memories - it was orange.

repechage

as I recall these came as internal 3 speed, or 5 speed derailleur versions.
‘if 3 speed, locate a cable lubricant injector as often found for lubricating cables on a motorcycle, you cannot take that cable assembly apart if original.
‘hopefully yours has the one piece aluminum front hub.
reason is that the bearings were not caged. Don’t remove the debris shields.

clubman 

SirMike1983 Is a meticulous preservationist of Schwinns and may have parts or knowledge to share.

pastorbobnlnh 

Just a quick reminder: I was referring to a friend's '60 Schwinn Corvette I'm helping to restore, not the OP's '70 Collegiate. Specifically, by doing so, I was referencing the condition of the Corvette's ball bearings and guessing the Collegiate bearings won't need to be replaced.