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1976 Schwinn Suburban Restoration

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1976 Schwinn Suburban Restoration

Old 08-08-22, 03:11 PM
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retrodude
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1976 Schwinn Suburban Restoration

I’d like to share a restoration project I completed a few years ago. Found this nice Suburban in a dumpster 2017 at my get-away trailer park in Birch Bay USA. Here is how I found it:

Lot’s of elbow grease and some selective rattle can resprays here and there c/w with some paint-pen re-stripes it was mostly back to it’s former glory. White wall modern tires added, the saddle is Schwinn branded and period correct but not original to the bike. Apart from that everything is original.

With the pandemic I could not visit my trailer for close to two years and when allowed back the Schwinn was not the first bike stored there I reached for. A couple weekends ago I reached for it. It amazes me how nice this bike rides. I mostly ride late 80s steel road bikes with friction Campy or early 90s mountain bikes. This Schwinn never would have come into my stable if not for that dumpster dive. It is an extra special bicycle, even at 40 lbs it has a unique ride, kinda like a Cadillac of bicycles. So smooth and comfortable. They sure don’t make ‘em like they used to.

Note the “SUBURBAN” top tube decals just added two weeks ago (last photo below), putting my recently purchased vinyl cutting machine to good use.





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Old 08-08-22, 03:57 PM
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That is very nice, I have the step through version in a similar color. Mine is in rough shape, I wanted to restore it but got tired of waiting and had the lbs make it rideable. I am enjoying it for short rides.
I found the rack from Schwinn NOS on eBay but I don't think it looks right and it isn't level. I'll probably take it off.

Last edited by m.c.; 08-08-22 at 06:30 PM.
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Old 08-08-22, 05:14 PM
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,suburban

Nice looking Suburban. My first bike as an adult was a new 1970 (!) Suburban in metallic brown after I graduated from college. I’m afraid I butchered it up pretty good as I didn’t really know much about bikes
back then. My first serious road bike a couple of years later was a Raleigh Competition, with sew-ups even.
The difference in ride and handling was amazing. Bill
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Old 08-08-22, 05:51 PM
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Suburbans are nice bikes and often overlooked. Great to see one back on the road. Excellent job on making it look good again. The chrome looks clean and shiny. The bow pedals are original and seemed to be unique to the Suburban at the time. Also the 5 speed versions allowed the use of a chainguard.

One of the things that I like about the Suburban is the tubular fork. Although not as strong when running into curbs as the forged fork on the Varsity, Collegiate and Racer, it provides a better ride. The tubular fork was meant for adults.

Suburbans can be pretty heavy, starting off on the heavy side, plus the built in kickstand is heavy but won't break, add steel fenders, and the mattress style seat, and it's got some momentum. The mattress seats are comfortable though. Your Cadillac analogy is about right.
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Old 08-08-22, 07:31 PM
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Very nice work !
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Old 08-08-22, 07:38 PM
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What is the difference between the Suburban and Collegiate? My wife has a blue lady's Collegiate 5 speed. Other than having chrome fenders, it looks like the Suburban in the second post above.
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Old 08-08-22, 07:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Pompiere
What is the difference between the Suburban and Collegiate? My wife has a blue lady's Collegiate 5 speed. Other than having chrome fenders, it looks like the Suburban in the second post above.
I believe the collegiate has flat blade steel forks and the Suburban has tubular steel forks. Probably a bit of difference in the components maybe too.

OP, great job on that restoration! It looks wonderful. I agree, something feels right about a good upright Schwinn.
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Old 08-09-22, 02:56 AM
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The difference between a SUBURBAN 5 speed and a 1970 - 1977 Schwinn COLLEGIATE is that the Collegiate has 37-597mm tires (26 x 1 3 /8 ) on the S5/S6 597mm (26 inch SCHWINN WHEELS).
The COLLEGIATE has perhaps even more of a Rolls-Royce/'65-'76 big Cadillac Sedan Deville type ride, ASSUMING THAT THE Kenda 597mm tires are seated evenly!

The 1964 - 1969 Collegiate IS NOT NEARLY AS GOOD OF A BICYCLE AS THE 1970 on COLLEGIATE or the 1970 on SUBURBAN five speed!!!
Why? The gearing on the 1964-1969 is not nearly as useable, particularly in Hill Climbing. The rear derailleur is French (Huret Allvit) and the freewheel is French made on the 1964-1969. In fact it is the same freewheel and derailleur that the mid sixties thru the seventies era VARSITY/10speed SUB/Continental employed...the 28-14 with Allvit. Now as you know, the sixties era Collegiates and mid sixties and all seventies era Varsity/Continentals are excellent durable bicycles, but they are not the quality of the 1970 and later Collegiates & 5 speed Suburbans because those 1970 and later 5 speed Collegiates and 5 speed Suburbans came with an even better quality Model J , 32-14 freewheel built in Japan by Shimano for SCHWINN, and a Shimano built for Schwinn rear derailleur that could shift that large 32 cog first gear.
****the 1970 COLLEGIATE & the 1970 SUBURBAN 5 speed was the first time that SCHWINN engineers had collaborated with SHIMANO on a project. This also gave Shimano additional national recognition and publicity as the March 1970 Bicycling Magazine technical editors found that the new made for Schwinn shimano built GT-100 rear derailleur was the most durable and reliable rear derailleur that Bicycling Magazine had ever tested. Columbia was already employing the relatively new Shimano Lark rear derailleur on its Columbia Tourist V by 1969 or 1968. ( Columbia's Tourist V model bicycle was exactly like the Schwinn Collegiate 5 speed, except that the Columbia Tourist V employed ordinary-common 590mm 26 x 1 3/8 wheels-tires............the Columbia Tourist V had been in production since at least the 1966 model year, but Columbia switched from European rear derailleur to the superior Japanese made Shimano Lark soon not long after the Lark arrived around 1967) My guess is that Schwinn saw that Columbia's "Collegiate Clone" was employing a much much better rear derailleur(Shimano Lark) so they(Schwinn engineering) sought out Shimano to build Schwinn a Lark with Schwinn engineer input design for cable saver and a massive protective bashguard and nearly bombproof-indestructible materials....thus the GT-100 was born, which was essentially a Lark with the high and low limit screws done completely different, the end result looked like part schwinn approvedAllvit and part Lark. *** In case anyone cares, re: COLLEGIATE clones: COLUMBIA made the TOURIST V from 1966 or so......... MURRAY made the Murray Alpine (I remember this being on the market by at least 1971 -1972).................HUFFY made the HUFFY TOURISTER ( on the market by 1971-1972)........... AMF had one also, I can't recall now what the name of AMF's collegiate clone was. The AMF model had the worst frame of all of them, though the mechanicals were decent and you had shimano rear derailleur.
ROSS made the Eurotour, they may have also used a different name prior to Eurotour. I seem to recall that John Deere and Browning also made models that were clones circa 1972-1974. I probably haven't seen one in person since about 1977, I might be wrong in my recollection but I seem to recall that the Deere and Browning models were on par with the AMF model which was far below the Columbia/Murray/Huffy/Ross clones of pre 1976. The Browning one probably had an OK frame but AMF's frame construction was poorly done.....area nearest the rear dropouts shows that............ All are simple and dependable enough if the frames are poorly assembled-joined-welded on a couple of those collegiateCLONES. Most of the lesser quality ones have long since made their way to the dump-landfill, metal recycler.
Thats pretty much it for the collegiateCLONES (with ONE PIECE Ashtabula cranks..."american style bottom brackets" hanger sets FIVE SPEED derailleur tourist bikes).
RALEIGH made an excellent bike called the SPRITE that was a five speed, that though not near the quality of a Collegiate/Suburban 5 speed or the best years of the Columbia Tourist V and maybe the Murray/Huffy/Ross 5 speeds' best years. The Raleigh SPRITE 5 speed from late sixties on is available in several frame sizes and very understated but classic colors that look great. The 3 piece crank and the Huret Allvit are the only minor let downs on the SPRITE, though the ancient Columbia Tourist V has a smoother, cushier, nicer ride than the very very nice Raleigh Sprite which does ride nice.

...........BACK to SUBURBAN 5 speed vs COLLEGIATE 5 speed DIFFERENCES:
** as has been mentioned, SUBURBAN has the tubular front fork from the Continental, the COLLEGIATE has the forged Ashtabula blade fork, common to Varsity and most all the electroforged variant models.

Okay just so you have the perspective on the GEARING for the 1970 and later COLLEGIATE & SUBURBAN 5 speeds:

*************Did You Know that the 1970 and later COLLEGIATE 5 speed has SUPERIOR HILL CLIMBING ABILITY than does the ten speed VARSITY/CONTINENTAL???
Yes, it sure does.
1970 onward COLLEGIATE has (37 GEAR) first gear while the mid sixties through the seventies era VARSITY/CONTINENTAL/10spSUBURBAN has (38 GEAR)1st.

How is that possible? 1970 onward Collegiate has 46 teeth in front and 32 teeth in rear when in 1st(LOW) gear..............
.................VARSITY-CONTI-10spSUB has 39 teeth in front on small chainwheel and 28 teeth in rear when in 1st (LOW) gear.....

The MATH does not lie.
front sprocket is NUMERATOR
rear sprocket is DENOMINATOR

front DIVIDED by rear = "result"

Take that "result" and MULTIPLY IT BY THE DIAMETER OF THE WHEEL (use 27 for wheel diameter if 630mm-27" & 700C-622mm.....USE 26 if 597mm/590mm/559)

"result" X DIAMETER OF THE WHEEL = GEAR Number

example:
45 teeth on front
15 teeth on rear
bicycle has 27" wheel

45 divided by 15 = "result"
45 divided by 15 = 3

3 X 27 = 81 GEAR

That is the simple math.................simple but highly useful, and very meaningful when comparing similar bicycles.........certainly it is simple math that doesn't account for minor variances in tire tread circumference among different tire brands and tire models within brands, but that is largely meaningless if the bicycles being compared are very similar.

Okay here is how the math computations play out in the calculations as published in Schwinn GEAR Charts back in the day:
1970 and later COLLEGIATE with 46 TEETH in front and model J freewheel with 32-26-21-17-14 with the S5/S6 597mm 26 x 1 3/8 wheel
so to compute 1st(LOW GEAR)....... 46 divided by 32 =1.4375.....................1.4375 X 26 = 37.375 ........37.375 rounded to nearest whole number = 37
so you see how the 37 GEAR Number was calculated for 1st gear of the 1970 and later COLLEGIATE

here is the VARSITY/CONTINENTAL/10 speed SUBURBAN.......39 TEETH in front(on small chainring) and model F freewheel with 28-24-20-16-14 with 27 x 1 1/4 ,630mm
so to compute 1st(LOW GEAR).........39 divided by 28 =1.3928571..................1.3928571 X 27 = 37.607141.........rounded to nearest whole number =38
so you see how the 38 GEAR Number was calculated for 1st gear of the mid sixties thru the seventies era VARSITY/CONTINENTAL/10speedSUBURBAN.
****Now obviously, you can see the calculations are so close, that they are less than half a GEAR NUMBER point apart, though the rounding to 37 and 38 appears as if they are farther apart.
My guess is that SCHWINN engineers knew that bringing on the 32 tooth cog, model J, shimano built freewheel WOULD TRANSFORM THE Collegiate into a great bicycle with all of the useful-practical gearing of the TEN SPEED Varsity/Continental. They knew that nobody else had anything that useful-practical in a 5 speed at that point in time at the end of the sixties. The NEW for 1970 SUBURBAN models would be in 10 speed version, the Varsity tourist REPLACEMENT (Varsity Tourist model's final year was 1969).....you also had a NEW for 1970 3 speed SUBURBAN (essentially a 27"-630mm wheeled three speed)....*****3 speed SUBURBAN was available in 1970 and 1971.......the three speed SUBURBAN did not return in 1972...........................You Also had the NEW for 1970, FIVE SPEED SUBURBAN, which essentially was a 27" 630mm collegiate-copy with more subdued, conservative, less flashy colors, and paint color fenders aimed to capture more adult(25 to 40 year old) riders.
All the Suburbans took the tubular front fork of the CONTINENTAL, but other than that and that the Varsity/Continental/Collegiate got better colors and graphics, the ELECTROFORGED frames are exactly the same. Yes the 5 speed Suburbans & 5 speed Collegiates have a round eye hole on top of crank hanger(bottom bracket portion) part of the frame to bolt the stamped steel Schwinn Chainguard that all single speeds/three speeds/5 speeds would typically have. THE 10 speed's ELECTROFORGED FRAME does not have the round eye hole mount for bolting the front portion of the ordinary stamped steel Schwinn Chainguard.
Now for folks that are entertaining the possibility of using a 10 Speed VARSITY/Continental/10speed Suburban electroforged frame as a single speed, 5 speed, 3 speed, 7 speed....whatever, but do wish to use the full ordinary stamped steel Schwinn Chainguard................all you gotta do is go to HOME DEPOT/LOWES/TRACTOR SUPPLY/ACE HARDWARE etc, and purchase an Eyebolt of the same approx round size as what the size of the Eyehole on non ten speed Schwinns........drill/tap a hole in the hanger set housing(top of bottom bracket housing) and apply J.B. WELD as you screw the Eyebolt in, and be sure to orient the eyehole as needed...wait a day for the JB WELD to set....and you are all set......paint the eyebolt a near match to the frame color.....TESTORS model paint comes in tiny bottles in a huge number of colors for about $2 at Hobby Lobby and other such stores etc.

**** Now your BLUE 1976 SUBURBAN five speed EXAMPLE ABOVE is one of the best LOOKING factory graphics and colors that the SUBURBAN ever received!!
The 1976 SUBURBAN graphics were much improved over what the SUBURBAN received from 1970 - 1973. What happens with the 1970 - 1973 SUBURBANS is that the colors Schwinn employed for the graphics/decals.....they are muted and after a few years, the graphics/decals would ghost out......blending in with the factory paint on many of Schwinn's best Suburban colors of those eras. The CAMPUS GREEN Suburbans have beautiful paint but the graphics/decals though physically undamaged would seem to ghost out, as they were never really bold to begin with. This is also true for the BROWN Suburbans.
1974 in particular brought out some UGLY color offerings for the SUBURBAN, in particular, that opaque sky blue. The SUBURBAN deserved better.
1974 was the only year that the SUBURBAN five speed ditched the Schwinn SINGLE STIK and received the shimano Thumb Shifter.
My guess is that Schwinn did this to further distinguish the Suburban from the Collegiate, and maybe appear more upscale, but it was not well received, and in practical terms, the Schwinn Single STIK on the stem worked a helluva lot better than the Thumb Shifter, so for 1975 model the SCHWINN Single STIK stem shifter returned to the five speed SUBURBAN.
.....Anyway your 1976 BLUE SUBURBAN is among the best looking of all the SUBURBANS offered.
It isn't that Schwinn didn't offer some very nice colors early on, because they did but the coordinated graphics/decal colors, and decal designs, looked mostly like dew dew compared to those colors and decal colors seen on COLLEGIATES/BREEZE/SPEEDSTER during the early seventies, or the VARSITY and non electroforged SUPER SPORT, SPORTS TOURER etc...
Did you ever notice how ugly (or understated..depending on your viewpoint) that the SUBURBAN's Chainguard decal and front fork decals are? Dullsville.
Yeah, these are minor points but compared to other Schwinns of 1970 - 1975, it took Schwinn a really long time to give the SUBURBAN coordinated decal colors and graphics that looked almost as nice as their other bicycles did.
Several pals of ours that have added a Suburban to their collection, followed my wife's example. Years ago, she ordered a reproduction Seventies era SPEEDSTER chainguard decal and installed that on to her custom painted regal PURPLE Suburban, a color Prince seemed to like on most everything. She liked the way the block SPEEDSTER chainguard decal looked. The fenders are purple also but instead of pinstripes, she has a center gold painted single fat stripe down the middle.....think how the NY Giants helmet stripe is, or Penn State or Alabama's helmet stripe is. So her bike has the classic mid sixties thru mid seventies Schwinn frame decals, similar to the Collegiate & Varsity etc, except she took a repro early seventies Schwinn SUPER SPORT decal set for the frame with the seventies era SPEEDSTER chainguard decal on her purple painted Suburban. It looks neat, as her '72 Suburban has that factory headbadge that isn't white and black.


NOW HERE IS WHY THAT YOU WANT TO CONCENTRATE ON FINDING 1970 and LATER SCHWINN COLLEGIATES instead of 1964-1969 models:
........As I mentioned before the '64 thru '69 has 28-24-20-16-14 at REAR and 46TEETH in FRONT
................The 1970 onward has 32-26-21-17-14 at REAR and 46TEETH in FRONT

...........you already know that the 1970 and later COLLEGIATE produces a very useful 37 GEAR number for 1st gear low gear Hill Climbing

Here is the math on how the 1964 thru 1969 COLLEGIATE calculates out for 1st gear low gear Hill Climbing:
46 divided by 28 =1.6428571 .......... 1.6428571 X 26 = 42.714284 it gets rounded to 43 GEAR

..................AS YOU CAN SEE 37 GEAR is a helluva lot better than 43 GEAR when it comes to a useable low gear on a 5 speed bicycle that will help to climb hills.



..................Lastly, Here is the SUBURBAN Five Speed's calculation for its 1st gear:
as stated earlier, the Suburban five speed has the exact same freewheel and 46T front as the 1970 and later Collegiate.. Collegiate benefits from smaller 26(597mm)wheel
Suburban five speed has 32-26-21-17-14 at rear and 46 T at front
46 divided by 32 =1.4375 .......... 1.4375 X 27 = 38.8125 it gets rounded to 39 GEAR
So you see that the SUBURBAN five speed is a helluva lot better than the 1964-1969 COLLEGIATE as far as having a rideable, practical useable 1st gear for climbing hills

THE SUBURBAN 5 speed's 1st gear is very close to that of the TEN SPEED Varsity/Continental/10speedSuburban .....39 GEAR versus 38 GEAR of the 10 speeds

The 1970 and later COLLEGIATE is slightly better than the TEN SPEEDS with 37 GEAR versus 38 GEAR of the 10 speeds, and versus 39 GEAR of Suburban 5 speed.
*****the reason the '70 on Collegiate bests is because the smaller 26 inch (597mm) wheel gives it effectively better overall gearing as far as low gear is concerned, although it has the exact same freewheel as the SUBURBAN five speed. Do the calculation for the top-end and you'll see that the SUBURBAN five speed will best the Collegiate on top end.................89 GEAR for Suburban five speed versus 85 GEAR for Collegiate five speeds.

Summary:
SUBURBAN five speed has overall gear range from 39 GEAR to 89 GEAR

1970 onward Collegiate five speed has range from 37 GEAR to 85 GEAR

1964-1969 Collegiate five speed has range from 43 GEAR to 85 GEAR

Varsity/Conti/Sub ten speed have range from 38 GEAR to 100 GEAR (this applies to all mid sixties thru the seventies VARSITY/CONTINENTALS)

1971 PARAMOUNT has an overall range from 55 GEAR to 100 GEAR ('71 Paramount has freewheel of 24-21-18-16-14 at rear and 52/49 at front)

1971 SPORTS TOURER has overall range from 28 GEAR to 104 GEAR ('71 Sports Tourer has freewheel of 34-28-22-17-14 at rear and 54/36 at front)

1971 SUPER SPORT has overall range from 33 GEAR to 100 GEAR ('71 Super Sport has freewheel of 32-26-21-17-14 at rear and 52/39 at front)

******That should give you some perspective............you should know that after 1971 the SPORTS TOURER reduced its overall range as the smaller front of 36 was dropped, and a larger smaller front was installed for 1972 on the SPORTS TOURER.)



+++++++++++++ Suburbans are great bicycles. It is great that so many people are taking notice today of just how good these old Schwinns are if your aim is for leisurely, relaxed (slow by road biker standards) riding. You cannot beat the comfort of an old COLLEGIATE, converted to upright tourist ridin' CONTI/VARSITY, or a SUBURBAN. They are the same electroforged frames. THE S5/S6 597mm 26 inch 26 x 1 3/8 wheeled COLLEGIATE rides even better than the 27" (630mm) SUBURBANS/CONTINENTALS & VARSITIES, ****IF THE Kenda 597mm tire is MOUNTED EVENLY and the wheels are relatively round !!! ****
Now you land of the giants folks should know that the 24 inch FRAME size was the largest offered in the SUBURBANS & COLLEGIATES but there were plenty of huge VARSITY & CONTINENTAL FRAMES made between about 1973 and 1977, so in addition to the 24 INCH FRAME, you have some 25 INCH, and 26 INCH FRAMES that aren't too hard to find because folks under 6 foot 3 find it difficult at best to ride a 25 INCH Schwinn FRAME and almost impossible to ride a 26 INCH Schwinn FRAME.
There are a tremendous number of frame sizes both step through and diamond frame that will fit MEN that are 5' 10 to 6'1........................the (19) womens and the (21) womens, as well as the (20) mens, (22) mens, and (24) mens.
All of the above are way bigger than the largest frames that are offered in your TARGET/WALLYWORLD/DICKS SPORTING GOODS...box store bikes!!
There are also the smaller (17) womens and (18) mens that are probably larger than most of the mens and womens offerings at the big box stores today.
These ancient SCHWINNS will have a much longer wheelbase (probably +1.25") than those current offerings too.
Yep, they are heavy, but the ride is smooth...........you'll get a workout if you've gotta carry the old Schwinn up five flights of stairs, but I'm certain yall's fitness level is sufficient to roll them into your house up maybe eight stairs or so, and to lift it when loading your truck or car.
..................Stay Thin, Ride A Schwinn...................you'll get a better workout within fewer miles, and you'll enjoy the ride.......Don't be tempted to ride NO HANDED because it isn't 1972 when emergency room visits didn't cost anything and your Blue Cross policy covered everything.............also to old farts that lived life in '72, remember that old bones don't heal so well, and remember you don't have to impress the pretty girl in the halter top and cut-off blue jeans.....you married her in '76 and she'd rather not see you break your hip, ribs or clavicle..........the old I've fallen and can't get up was comical until you have come of age that it becomes a realistic possibility if you were to do something really stupid like try to ride NO HANDED. Too many old boomers, getting on and riding such an ancient Schwinn for the first time since the Seventies, all seem to say: "uh ya know that I could ride these things no handed..". Ya don't wanna be the person that says that and then goes uh, oh no boom splat, owww oww..... Just don't do it, no matter how tempted that you might be to show off, to ride the Schwinn no handed like you did when Nixon was President.
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Old 08-09-22, 08:21 AM
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What he ^ said.
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Old 08-09-22, 08:43 AM
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Originally Posted by m.c.

That is very nice, I have the step through version in a similar color. Mine is in rough shape, I wanted to restore it but got tired of waiting and had the lbs make it rideable. I am enjoying it for short rides.
I found the rack from Schwinn NOS on eBay but I don't think it looks right and it isn't level. I'll probably take it off.
Really nice step through version, I don't find it very rough at all. It's in far better condition than how I found mine. It is definitely worth whatever TLC is needed to get it going if bearing need re-doing, etc.

While I am quite proud of my DYI "SUBURBAN" top tube decal it is not how it should be. Yours is the real deal


My skills with the vinyl cutter are not quite there yet to produce white letter outline only let alone two tone black with white outline but all the same, I am still pleased to have the model name on the frame finally. I feel the size and font work quite well and were a challenge to find and pump out of my computer software as is.

Again, I encourage you to get yours rolling again
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Old 08-09-22, 08:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Vintage Schwinn
The difference between a SUBURBAN 5 speed and a 1970 - 1977 Schwinn COLLEGIATE is that the Collegiate has 37-597mm tires (26 x 1 3 /8 ) on the S5/S6 597mm (26 inch SCHWINN WHEELS).
The COLLEGIATE has perhaps even more of a Rolls-Royce/'65-'76 big Cadillac Sedan Deville type ride, ASSUMING THAT THE Kenda 597mm tires are seated evenly!

The 1964 - 1969 Collegiate IS NOT NEARLY AS GOOD OF A BICYCLE AS THE 1970 on COLLEGIATE or the 1970 on SUBURBAN five speed!!!
Why? The gearing on the 1964-1969 is not nearly as useable, particularly in Hill Climbing. The rear derailleur is French (Huret Allvit) and the freewheel is French made on the 1964-1969. In fact it is the same freewheel and derailleur that the mid sixties thru the seventies era VARSITY/10speed SUB/Continental employed...the 28-14 with Allvit. Now as you know, the sixties era Collegiates and mid sixties and all seventies era Varsity/Continentals are excellent durable bicycles, but they are not the quality of the 1970 and later Collegiates & 5 speed Suburbans because those 1970 and later 5 speed Collegiates and 5 speed Suburbans came with an even better quality Model J , 32-14 freewheel built in Japan by Shimano for SCHWINN, and a Shimano built for Schwinn rear derailleur that could shift that large 32 cog first gear.
****the 1970 COLLEGIATE & the 1970 SUBURBAN 5 speed was the first time that SCHWINN engineers had collaborated with SHIMANO on a project. This also gave Shimano additional national recognition and publicity as the March 1970 Bicycling Magazine technical editors found that the new made for Schwinn shimano built GT-100 rear derailleur was the most durable and reliable rear derailleur that Bicycling Magazine had ever tested. Columbia was already employing the relatively new Shimano Lark rear derailleur on its Columbia Tourist V by 1969 or 1968. ( Columbia's Tourist V model bicycle was exactly like the Schwinn Collegiate 5 speed, except that the Columbia Tourist V employed ordinary-common 590mm 26 x 1 3/8 wheels-tires............the Columbia Tourist V had been in production since at least the 1966 model year, but Columbia switched from European rear derailleur to the superior Japanese made Shimano Lark soon not long after the Lark arrived around 1967) My guess is that Schwinn saw that Columbia's "Collegiate Clone" was employing a much much better rear derailleur(Shimano Lark) so they(Schwinn engineering) sought out Shimano to build Schwinn a Lark with Schwinn engineer input design for cable saver and a massive protective bashguard and nearly bombproof-indestructible materials....thus the GT-100 was born, which was essentially a Lark with the high and low limit screws done completely different, the end result looked like part schwinn approvedAllvit and part Lark. *** In case anyone cares, re: COLLEGIATE clones: COLUMBIA made the TOURIST V from 1966 or so......... MURRAY made the Murray Alpine (I remember this being on the market by at least 1971 -1972).................HUFFY made the HUFFY TOURISTER ( on the market by 1971-1972)........... AMF had one also, I can't recall now what the name of AMF's collegiate clone was. The AMF model had the worst frame of all of them, though the mechanicals were decent and you had shimano rear derailleur.
ROSS made the Eurotour, they may have also used a different name prior to Eurotour. I seem to recall that John Deere and Browning also made models that were clones circa 1972-1974. I probably haven't seen one in person since about 1977, I might be wrong in my recollection but I seem to recall that the Deere and Browning models were on par with the AMF model which was far below the Columbia/Murray/Huffy/Ross clones of pre 1976. The Browning one probably had an OK frame but AMF's frame construction was poorly done.....area nearest the rear dropouts shows that............ All are simple and dependable enough if the frames are poorly assembled-joined-welded on a couple of those collegiateCLONES. Most of the lesser quality ones have long since made their way to the dump-landfill, metal recycler.
Thats pretty much it for the collegiateCLONES (with ONE PIECE Ashtabula cranks..."american style bottom brackets" hanger sets FIVE SPEED derailleur tourist bikes).
RALEIGH made an excellent bike called the SPRITE that was a five speed, that though not near the quality of a Collegiate/Suburban 5 speed or the best years of the Columbia Tourist V and maybe the Murray/Huffy/Ross 5 speeds' best years. The Raleigh SPRITE 5 speed from late sixties on is available in several frame sizes and very understated but classic colors that look great. The 3 piece crank and the Huret Allvit are the only minor let downs on the SPRITE, though the ancient Columbia Tourist V has a smoother, cushier, nicer ride than the very very nice Raleigh Sprite which does ride nice.

...........BACK to SUBURBAN 5 speed vs COLLEGIATE 5 speed DIFFERENCES:
** as has been mentioned, SUBURBAN has the tubular front fork from the Continental, the COLLEGIATE has the forged Ashtabula blade fork, common to Varsity and most all the electroforged variant models.

Okay just so you have the perspective on the GEARING for the 1970 and later COLLEGIATE & SUBURBAN 5 speeds:

*************Did You Know that the 1970 and later COLLEGIATE 5 speed has SUPERIOR HILL CLIMBING ABILITY than does the ten speed VARSITY/CONTINENTAL???
Yes, it sure does.
1970 onward COLLEGIATE has (37 GEAR) first gear while the mid sixties through the seventies era VARSITY/CONTINENTAL/10spSUBURBAN has (38 GEAR)1st.

How is that possible? 1970 onward Collegiate has 46 teeth in front and 32 teeth in rear when in 1st(LOW) gear..............
.................VARSITY-CONTI-10spSUB has 39 teeth in front on small chainwheel and 28 teeth in rear when in 1st (LOW) gear.....

The MATH does not lie.
front sprocket is NUMERATOR
rear sprocket is DENOMINATOR

front DIVIDED by rear = "result"

Take that "result" and MULTIPLY IT BY THE DIAMETER OF THE WHEEL (use 27 for wheel diameter if 630mm-27" & 700C-622mm.....USE 26 if 597mm/590mm/559)

"result" X DIAMETER OF THE WHEEL = GEAR Number

example:
45 teeth on front
15 teeth on rear
bicycle has 27" wheel

45 divided by 15 = "result"
45 divided by 15 = 3

3 X 27 = 81 GEAR

That is the simple math.................simple but highly useful, and very meaningful when comparing similar bicycles.........certainly it is simple math that doesn't account for minor variances in tire tread circumference among different tire brands and tire models within brands, but that is largely meaningless if the bicycles being compared are very similar.

Okay here is how the math computations play out in the calculations as published in Schwinn GEAR Charts back in the day:
1970 and later COLLEGIATE with 46 TEETH in front and model J freewheel with 32-26-21-17-14 with the S5/S6 597mm 26 x 1 3/8 wheel
so to compute 1st(LOW GEAR)....... 46 divided by 32 =1.4375.....................1.4375 X 26 = 37.375 ........37.375 rounded to nearest whole number = 37
so you see how the 37 GEAR Number was calculated for 1st gear of the 1970 and later COLLEGIATE

here is the VARSITY/CONTINENTAL/10 speed SUBURBAN.......39 TEETH in front(on small chainring) and model F freewheel with 28-24-20-16-14 with 27 x 1 1/4 ,630mm
so to compute 1st(LOW GEAR).........39 divided by 28 =1.3928571..................1.3928571 X 27 = 37.607141.........rounded to nearest whole number =38
so you see how the 38 GEAR Number was calculated for 1st gear of the mid sixties thru the seventies era VARSITY/CONTINENTAL/10speedSUBURBAN.
****Now obviously, you can see the calculations are so close, that they are less than half a GEAR NUMBER point apart, though the rounding to 37 and 38 appears as if they are farther apart.
My guess is that SCHWINN engineers knew that bringing on the 32 tooth cog, model J, shimano built freewheel WOULD TRANSFORM THE Collegiate into a great bicycle with all of the useful-practical gearing of the TEN SPEED Varsity/Continental. They knew that nobody else had anything that useful-practical in a 5 speed at that point in time at the end of the sixties. The NEW for 1970 SUBURBAN models would be in 10 speed version, the Varsity tourist REPLACEMENT (Varsity Tourist model's final year was 1969).....you also had a NEW for 1970 3 speed SUBURBAN (essentially a 27"-630mm wheeled three speed)....*****3 speed SUBURBAN was available in 1970 and 1971.......the three speed SUBURBAN did not return in 1972...........................You Also had the NEW for 1970, FIVE SPEED SUBURBAN, which essentially was a 27" 630mm collegiate-copy with more subdued, conservative, less flashy colors, and paint color fenders aimed to capture more adult(25 to 40 year old) riders.
All the Suburbans took the tubular front fork of the CONTINENTAL, but other than that and that the Varsity/Continental/Collegiate got better colors and graphics, the ELECTROFORGED frames are exactly the same. Yes the 5 speed Suburbans & 5 speed Collegiates have a round eye hole on top of crank hanger(bottom bracket portion) part of the frame to bolt the stamped steel Schwinn Chainguard that all single speeds/three speeds/5 speeds would typically have. THE 10 speed's ELECTROFORGED FRAME does not have the round eye hole mount for bolting the front portion of the ordinary stamped steel Schwinn Chainguard.
Now for folks that are entertaining the possibility of using a 10 Speed VARSITY/Continental/10speed Suburban electroforged frame as a single speed, 5 speed, 3 speed, 7 speed....whatever, but do wish to use the full ordinary stamped steel Schwinn Chainguard................all you gotta do is go to HOME DEPOT/LOWES/TRACTOR SUPPLY/ACE HARDWARE etc, and purchase an Eyebolt of the same approx round size as what the size of the Eyehole on non ten speed Schwinns........drill/tap a hole in the hanger set housing(top of bottom bracket housing) and apply J.B. WELD as you screw the Eyebolt in, and be sure to orient the eyehole as needed...wait a day for the JB WELD to set....and you are all set......paint the eyebolt a near match to the frame color.....TESTORS model paint comes in tiny bottles in a huge number of colors for about $2 at Hobby Lobby and other such stores etc.

**** Now your BLUE 1976 SUBURBAN five speed EXAMPLE ABOVE is one of the best LOOKING factory graphics and colors that the SUBURBAN ever received!!
The 1976 SUBURBAN graphics were much improved over what the SUBURBAN received from 1970 - 1973. What happens with the 1970 - 1973 SUBURBANS is that the colors Schwinn employed for the graphics/decals.....they are muted and after a few years, the graphics/decals would ghost out......blending in with the factory paint on many of Schwinn's best Suburban colors of those eras. The CAMPUS GREEN Suburbans have beautiful paint but the graphics/decals though physically undamaged would seem to ghost out, as they were never really bold to begin with. This is also true for the BROWN Suburbans.
1974 in particular brought out some UGLY color offerings for the SUBURBAN, in particular, that opaque sky blue. The SUBURBAN deserved better.
1974 was the only year that the SUBURBAN five speed ditched the Schwinn SINGLE STIK and received the shimano Thumb Shifter.
My guess is that Schwinn did this to further distinguish the Suburban from the Collegiate, and maybe appear more upscale, but it was not well received, and in practical terms, the Schwinn Single STIK on the stem worked a helluva lot better than the Thumb Shifter, so for 1975 model the SCHWINN Single STIK stem shifter returned to the five speed SUBURBAN.
.....Anyway your 1976 BLUE SUBURBAN is among the best looking of all the SUBURBANS offered.
It isn't that Schwinn didn't offer some very nice colors early on, because they did but the coordinated graphics/decal colors, and decal designs, looked mostly like dew dew compared to those colors and decal colors seen on COLLEGIATES/BREEZE/SPEEDSTER during the early seventies, or the VARSITY and non electroforged SUPER SPORT, SPORTS TOURER etc...
Did you ever notice how ugly (or understated..depending on your viewpoint) that the SUBURBAN's Chainguard decal and front fork decals are? Dullsville.
Yeah, these are minor points but compared to other Schwinns of 1970 - 1975, it took Schwinn a really long time to give the SUBURBAN coordinated decal colors and graphics that looked almost as nice as their other bicycles did.
Several pals of ours that have added a Suburban to their collection, followed my wife's example. Years ago, she ordered a reproduction Seventies era SPEEDSTER chainguard decal and installed that on to her custom painted regal PURPLE Suburban, a color Prince seemed to like on most everything. She liked the way the block SPEEDSTER chainguard decal looked. The fenders are purple also but instead of pinstripes, she has a center gold painted single fat stripe down the middle.....think how the NY Giants helmet stripe is, or Penn State or Alabama's helmet stripe is. So her bike has the classic mid sixties thru mid seventies Schwinn frame decals, similar to the Collegiate & Varsity etc, except she took a repro early seventies Schwinn SUPER SPORT decal set for the frame with the seventies era SPEEDSTER chainguard decal on her purple painted Suburban. It looks neat, as her '72 Suburban has that factory headbadge that isn't white and black.


NOW HERE IS WHY THAT YOU WANT TO CONCENTRATE ON FINDING 1970 and LATER SCHWINN COLLEGIATES instead of 1964-1969 models:
........As I mentioned before the '64 thru '69 has 28-24-20-16-14 at REAR and 46TEETH in FRONT
................The 1970 onward has 32-26-21-17-14 at REAR and 46TEETH in FRONT

...........you already know that the 1970 and later COLLEGIATE produces a very useful 37 GEAR number for 1st gear low gear Hill Climbing

Here is the math on how the 1964 thru 1969 COLLEGIATE calculates out for 1st gear low gear Hill Climbing:
46 divided by 28 =1.6428571 .......... 1.6428571 X 26 = 42.714284 it gets rounded to 43 GEAR

..................AS YOU CAN SEE 37 GEAR is a helluva lot better than 43 GEAR when it comes to a useable low gear on a 5 speed bicycle that will help to climb hills.



..................Lastly, Here is the SUBURBAN Five Speed's calculation for its 1st gear:
as stated earlier, the Suburban five speed has the exact same freewheel and 46T front as the 1970 and later Collegiate.. Collegiate benefits from smaller 26(597mm)wheel
Suburban five speed has 32-26-21-17-14 at rear and 46 T at front
46 divided by 32 =1.4375 .......... 1.4375 X 27 = 38.8125 it gets rounded to 39 GEAR
So you see that the SUBURBAN five speed is a helluva lot better than the 1964-1969 COLLEGIATE as far as having a rideable, practical useable 1st gear for climbing hills

THE SUBURBAN 5 speed's 1st gear is very close to that of the TEN SPEED Varsity/Continental/10speedSuburban .....39 GEAR versus 38 GEAR of the 10 speeds

The 1970 and later COLLEGIATE is slightly better than the TEN SPEEDS with 37 GEAR versus 38 GEAR of the 10 speeds, and versus 39 GEAR of Suburban 5 speed.
*****the reason the '70 on Collegiate bests is because the smaller 26 inch (597mm) wheel gives it effectively better overall gearing as far as low gear is concerned, although it has the exact same freewheel as the SUBURBAN five speed. Do the calculation for the top-end and you'll see that the SUBURBAN five speed will best the Collegiate on top end.................89 GEAR for Suburban five speed versus 85 GEAR for Collegiate five speeds.

Summary:
SUBURBAN five speed has overall gear range from 39 GEAR to 89 GEAR

1970 onward Collegiate five speed has range from 37 GEAR to 85 GEAR

1964-1969 Collegiate five speed has range from 43 GEAR to 85 GEAR

Varsity/Conti/Sub ten speed have range from 38 GEAR to 100 GEAR (this applies to all mid sixties thru the seventies VARSITY/CONTINENTALS)

1971 PARAMOUNT has an overall range from 55 GEAR to 100 GEAR ('71 Paramount has freewheel of 24-21-18-16-14 at rear and 52/49 at front)

1971 SPORTS TOURER has overall range from 28 GEAR to 104 GEAR ('71 Sports Tourer has freewheel of 34-28-22-17-14 at rear and 54/36 at front)

1971 SUPER SPORT has overall range from 33 GEAR to 100 GEAR ('71 Super Sport has freewheel of 32-26-21-17-14 at rear and 52/39 at front)

******That should give you some perspective............you should know that after 1971 the SPORTS TOURER reduced its overall range as the smaller front of 36 was dropped, and a larger smaller front was installed for 1972 on the SPORTS TOURER.)



+++++++++++++ Suburbans are great bicycles. It is great that so many people are taking notice today of just how good these old Schwinns are if your aim is for leisurely, relaxed (slow by road biker standards) riding. You cannot beat the comfort of an old COLLEGIATE, converted to upright tourist ridin' CONTI/VARSITY, or a SUBURBAN. They are the same electroforged frames. THE S5/S6 597mm 26 inch 26 x 1 3/8 wheeled COLLEGIATE rides even better than the 27" (630mm) SUBURBANS/CONTINENTALS & VARSITIES, ****IF THE Kenda 597mm tire is MOUNTED EVENLY and the wheels are relatively round !!! ****
Now you land of the giants folks should know that the 24 inch FRAME size was the largest offered in the SUBURBANS & COLLEGIATES but there were plenty of huge VARSITY & CONTINENTAL FRAMES made between about 1973 and 1977, so in addition to the 24 INCH FRAME, you have some 25 INCH, and 26 INCH FRAMES that aren't too hard to find because folks under 6 foot 3 find it difficult at best to ride a 25 INCH Schwinn FRAME and almost impossible to ride a 26 INCH Schwinn FRAME.
There are a tremendous number of frame sizes both step through and diamond frame that will fit MEN that are 5' 10 to 6'1........................the (19) womens and the (21) womens, as well as the (20) mens, (22) mens, and (24) mens.
All of the above are way bigger than the largest frames that are offered in your TARGET/WALLYWORLD/DICKS SPORTING GOODS...box store bikes!!
There are also the smaller (17) womens and (18) mens that are probably larger than most of the mens and womens offerings at the big box stores today.
These ancient SCHWINNS will have a much longer wheelbase (probably +1.25") than those current offerings too.
Yep, they are heavy, but the ride is smooth...........you'll get a workout if you've gotta carry the old Schwinn up five flights of stairs, but I'm certain yall's fitness level is sufficient to roll them into your house up maybe eight stairs or so, and to lift it when loading your truck or car.
..................Stay Thin, Ride A Schwinn...................you'll get a better workout within fewer miles, and you'll enjoy the ride.......Don't be tempted to ride NO HANDED because it isn't 1972 when emergency room visits didn't cost anything and your Blue Cross policy covered everything.............also to old farts that lived life in '72, remember that old bones don't heal so well, and remember you don't have to impress the pretty girl in the halter top and cut-off blue jeans.....you married her in '76 and she'd rather not see you break your hip, ribs or clavicle..........the old I've fallen and can't get up was comical until you have come of age that it becomes a realistic possibility if you were to do something really stupid like try to ride NO HANDED. Too many old boomers, getting on and riding such an ancient Schwinn for the first time since the Seventies, all seem to say: "uh ya know that I could ride these things no handed..". Ya don't wanna be the person that says that and then goes uh, oh no boom splat, owww oww..... Just don't do it, no matter how tempted that you might be to show off, to ride the Schwinn no handed like you did when Nixon was President.
Wow! Fantastic history, thank you so much for sharing. Yes, I recall being fascinated by the Shimano (Schwinn approved) rear derailleur while cleaning up every part. It's nice to hear mine has the better shifting parts compared to earlier models, I do really love the stem mounted shifter. The built-in kick stand was another item that really impressed me (my Schwinn is the only bike I own with a kickstand). The Schwinn unit is such a great bullet proof design.

Also interesting to know my year received some of the more desirable paint/graphics. I've always been fond of them and received many compliments in the trailer park where it gets ridden the most.

I stand 5'-7", so, it's a bit big. Note the seatpost is not completely buried. As it is though, I'm not sure I'd want a smaller fame, especially if the top tube was shorter. Once I'm on it, as mentioned, it rides wonderfully
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Old 08-09-22, 08:57 AM
  #12  
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Bikes: 1984 & 1990 Marinoni Specials - 1990 Bianchi Sika - 1993 Cannondale M800 - 1996 GT Zaskar - 1993 Kona Kilauea - 1987 Ritchey Ascent - 1996 Rocky Mountain Vertex - 2008 Kona Dogma - 1976 Schwinn Suburban - 1994 Kuwahara Makai

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Thanks to all others for the positive feedback. Makes our hobby even more fun to share our passion and receive such kind words
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Old 08-09-22, 09:34 AM
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Originally Posted by retrodude
Really nice step through version, I don't find it very rough at all. It's in far better condition than how I found mine. It is definitely worth whatever TLC is needed to get it going if bearing need re-doing, etc.

While I am quite proud of my DYI "SUBURBAN" top tube decal it is not how it should be. Yours is the real deal


My skills with the vinyl cutter are not quite there yet to produce white letter outline only let alone two tone black with white outline but all the same, I am still pleased to have the model name on the frame finally. I feel the size and font work quite well and were a challenge to find and pump out of my computer software as is.

Again, I encourage you to get yours rolling again

Thanks, the shop got it operational and I am enjoying it. I probably won't do more to it right now. I've got other projects and a move coming up soon.
Your decals look nice. If you are looking for decals velocals has selection of schwinn decals.
Do you use a cricut machine?
I have a trek that is going to be stripped and repainted. Ive thought about trying a cricut machine for the decals. I want to do something different than what is being pre-made.
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Old 08-09-22, 03:50 PM
  #14  
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Bikes: 1984 & 1990 Marinoni Specials - 1990 Bianchi Sika - 1993 Cannondale M800 - 1996 GT Zaskar - 1993 Kona Kilauea - 1987 Ritchey Ascent - 1996 Rocky Mountain Vertex - 2008 Kona Dogma - 1976 Schwinn Suburban - 1994 Kuwahara Makai

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Originally Posted by m.c.
Thanks, the shop got it operational and I am enjoying it. I probably won't do more to it right now. I've got other projects and a move coming up soon.
Your decals look nice. If you are looking for decals velocals has selection of schwinn decals.
Do you use a cricut machine?
I have a trek that is going to be stripped and repainted. Ive thought about trying a cricut machine for the decals. I want to do something different than what is being pre-made.
I ended up getting a Brother Scan n Cut. I though the scanning part would make it more versatile but ended up finding out it will not cut good quality lines unless a vector image file is used (the Brother unit scans low res and results are not good in my experience). The Brother unit does however cut very nicely even in small versions if given a good file. I have used Adobe Illustrator to produce vector files which then need to be converted to the Brother format. I cut a new decal for an old Ringle hub that looks bang on for example. Another good result was for an 87' Cannondale top tube single color (white) decal. A bit of white vinyl and some transfer tape and you have a home made decal. I'm sure the Cricut will do the same. Check out what the OldShovel guy does on youtube making his own rattle can spray paint stencils, he does very nice work
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Old 08-09-22, 04:06 PM
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This spring I picked up (what I was told was) a 1970 Suburban, in S/A 3-spd. Black with gold lettering and pinstriping. It wasn’t in as nice condition as the one shown here (years of grunge from what appeared to be oiling with used motor oil), but it is in far better shape now, than when received.

Thanks Vintage Schwinn, for posting that great bit of info on these bikes. I also wound up with a few Continentals and LeTours. I’ve been reading and learning a great deal here. Thanks all! .
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Old 08-09-22, 04:07 PM
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Nice job OP on the saving of your Suburban. It makes me want to get my step-thru out of storage and finish it for my granddaughters to ride. I had to get it as part of a deal to get my wife a mixte. I got tired of looking at it sitting around one day and started on it, I just need to get back to it. The Schwinn saddle for it was on the mixte I got for my wife and while I was loading everything, the seller handed me another saddle and said he didn't know what it was for but I could have it. It was the Bridgestone branded saddle for the mixte which I was happy about.




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Old 08-09-22, 05:08 PM
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Originally Posted by retrodude
I ended up getting a Brother Scan n Cut. I though the scanning part would make it more versatile but ended up finding out it will not cut good quality lines unless a vector image file is used (the Brother unit scans low res and results are not good in my experience). The Brother unit does however cut very nicely even in small versions if given a good file. I have used Adobe Illustrator to produce vector files which then need to be converted to the Brother format. I cut a new decal for an old Ringle hub that looks bang on for example. Another good result was for an 87' Cannondale top tube single color (white) decal. A bit of white vinyl and some transfer tape and you have a home made decal. I'm sure the Cricut will do the same. Check out what the OldShovel guy does on youtube making his own rattle can spray paint stencils, he does very nice work
Thanks, I'll look at those too and the YouTube video.
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Old 08-09-22, 05:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Chuck M
Nice job OP on the saving of your Suburban. It makes me want to get my step-thru out of storage and finish it for my granddaughters to ride. I had to get it as part of a deal to get my wife a mixte. I got tired of looking at it sitting around one day and started on it, I just need to get back to it. The Schwinn saddle for it was on the mixte I got for my wife and while I was loading everything, the seller handed me another saddle and said he didn't know what it was for but I could have it. It was the Bridgestone branded saddle for the mixte which I was happy about.

That is a very nice color.
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Old 08-09-22, 05:17 PM
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Originally Posted by m.c.
That is a very nice color.
I think it is what Schwinn called Sierra Brown. It has plenty of scratches and scrapes, but after 48 years it isn't that bad.
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Old 08-10-22, 04:51 AM
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Hey Chuck M, that is a great looking OCT 1973 ( KJ 549079 ) SUBURBAN that you have got there!
You see there on Chuck's 1973 CHESTNUT colored SUBURBAN, that SCHWINN did choose a perfect color for the frame decals, where on some other Suburban color choices, the frame decal colors don't stand out( ghost into the paint is the only way I can describe it...) On some of the same paint colors that Schwinn employed across the Varsity-Collegiate-Breeze-Speedster, others...etc, well, they(Schwinn) employed either white or black coloring for those bikes' decals (depending on bike's paint color) and those decals seemed to "pop" and be highly visible in a nice classic tasteful way. On Some early seventies SUBURBANS, Schwinn's choice of a gold like decal color for example on the Campus Green SUBURBANS......you can't really see or read the frame decals as it ghosts into the green. Now if your head and eyes are within two feet to maybe thirty inches of a parked, not moving bicycle, you can see and read the decals, but otherwise you don't really see them...
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE (1972 Campus Green 21" frame the largest Step Through ridden by a pretty brunette in the 1972 SCHWINN CATALOG...you can't see the decals and it was a brand new bike......................the gold decal coloring makes the decals nearly invisible, hence why I say it ghosts into the green. Now, I'm not certain that product planners there at Schwinn really thought that out............no doubt that the colors combine in a good, classy, understated way but I doubt that their intent was to make their name and logo invisible (frame decals) to other bike riders, pedestrians, and other onlookers ......certainly the classic OVAL headbadge with Black S-C-H-W-I-N-N vertically on a metallic, not white background on that '72 Suburban is highly visible almost as much as the traditional Black on White background headbadge on most other Schwinns of the era. Unless you saw the headbadge comin at ya, ...well that is about all the Schwinn that you would be able to read.
This was true on several of the otherwise great colors used on the SUBURBAN in those years. Look at the same paint color on other Schwinns like the Collegiate/Varsity/Breeze/Speedster/Racer...etc and you'll see those models have the same overall decal design for the frame but they use a color(either white or black..depending..) for the decal that "pops" and is highly visible.
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...0/1972_22.html

I could post other direct waterford links to at least a dozen more catalog pictures of various Collegiates/Varsities/SUBURBANS etc from say 1970 to 1975 that clearly show you a few more examples, but instead of doing that I am going to provide the links below to waterford's 1971-1980 schwinn catalog pages and 1961-1970 schwinn catalog pages, so that anyone can flip through hundreds of pages of those catalogs.
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...inn_1971_1980/
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...inn_1961_1970/


Chuck's CHESTNUT Oct '73 Suburban is a great looking bike. You see the decal colors that SCHWINN chose to use are White, and they are visible and look great on that Suburban. SIERRA BROWN was a brown. Sierra Brown was closer to HERSHEY BAR color and Chuck's CHESTNUT was what you might get if you were to mix the Jim Rockford Pontiac Firebird color with a very light brown.
I have a '71 SIERRA BROWN Suburban which has dark old gold colored decals(dark brass-old gold color for decals....).....they ghost into the SIERRA BROWN where you cannot read anything unless you are literally less than two feet away with eyes and the bike is parked and not moving. I have once owned/worked on/donated about a dozen different '70, '71, '72 SUBURBANS that were SIERRA BROWN and they all are like that. Its a deep classic color that looks great, but the decal colors that the VARSITY utilized for SIERRA BROWN frames look better than that invisible brass gold color decal that the SUBURBAN chose for SIERRA BROWN frames.
That CHESTNUT looks great.

Previously, I failed to mention that the SUBURBAN frames have a unique hole(eyelet) front and rear where their fender braces(struts) attach. The Collegiate and Varsity, etc have their particular fender braces(struts) which mount traditionally on to the axle, underneath the axle nuts.
The SUBURBAN was also the first Schwinn to employ their new patented comfort grip handle bar grip which was BLACK and looked ordinary until you look at it with your eyeball looking at grip opening that slides on to the 7/8" 22.2mm outer diameter handlebar.......What you'll see is a hollow pocket that helps absorb road vibrations on your hands..... I might be wrong but I think the new comfort grips may have been introduced for '71 model. They are the most comfortable of all the Schwinn handlebar grips.
We used to joke back in the seventies as how to tell, is that if you look at the black Schwinn grip and see a visible hollow pocket where you could hide just the smallest roach, that is how you could tell.
The SUBURBAN's black mattress spring saddle that has the additional little horizontal springs underneath it that look very much like the bridge tremelo springs from a Stratocaster, is one of Schwinn's most comfortable oem seats. That '71 and up Collegiate's black schwinn approved Messinger T-85 spring saddle that has the rubber like covering is in my opinion the most comfortable of any Schwinn upright-tourist rider bicycle, ever offered. Those older style two tone color S seats are horrible by comparison, although they look cool.
The SUBURBAN came with the best ever Schwinn cruiser-tourist type pedals in my opinion, those German made schwinn approved BOW pedals with the reflectors on them. Like the seats, the pedals are heavy, but heck if you are riding a 41 pound Suburban with the oem Schwinn black matress spring saddle seat that probably weighs almost 5 pounds, you don't really concern yourself with the weight of the pedals or the weight of the seat.......you just care that your butt is comfortable , and that your feet like pedalling those Bow pedals. It gets back to that mid sixties through early seventies gigantic Cadillac Sedan DeVille that was almost a football field long and the interior of those Cadillacs, particularly the seats were as plush as Thurston Howell III 's living room sofa, that you don't feel the road at all as you cruise on down the road. The SUBURBAN and Collegiate deliver that same riding among the clouds road feel.
My opinion is that the Schwinn 7881 handlebars contribute to that.
There isn't much difference in the COLLEGIATE with the blade fork and 37mm wide front tire tread (37-597)26 x 1 3/8 597mm & the SUBURBAN with the tubular front fork and 32mm wide front tire tread(32-630)27 x 1 1/4 630mm.
THE COLLEGIATE has the most Rolls-Royce like ride of the two bicycles, as it rides better than the SUBURBAN does, assuming the KENDA (37-597mm) tires are mounted evenly and the rim is relatively round.
BOTH bikes use the 7881 handlebars during the seventies. The 7881 handlebars were introduced in 1967, probably first on the Breeze.
The 7881 handlebars were in use for about a decade. They are the best ever tourist handlebars that SCHWINN ever offered in my opinion.
They were on a bunch of different Schwinn models.
..........Yall might notice that in about the 1975 model year, that SCHWINN for some unknown reason began using a different stamped metal chainguard on the 5 speed Suburbans and Collegiates. This seemed to add more material and thus apparently more weight. It was another stamped metal chainguard that had been in use by Schwinn since at least the late fifties. The better in my opinion chainguard that was employed through 1974, makes less vibrating and less noise while riding than the 1975 version which has the v -curve down. The Yardstick-Ruler straight version seen through 1974 is perhaps better, though they both are excellent
.... In about 1975 the chromed steel stem that was employed on Varsity/Suburban/Collegiate and other variants was slightly scalloped out (less beefy in appearance when viewed from the side bottom) this probably reduced weight a little bit with zero impact on structural strength.
.........Yall also probably have seen that the Suburban does not have the brightwork at the top portion of the fork, while the Collegiate, Varsity, Continental, and other electroforged variants do.
..........Folks with COLLEGIATES/SUBURBANS/BREEZES etc with fenders through the 1973 / 1974 model year with ROUND REFLECTOR. For REPLACEMENT RED REFLECTOR, go to Ebay and search: 41mm reflector (on All Categories on EBAY).................this should bring up several China & Hong Kong based vendors that carry these 41mm Motorcycle Reflectors that are the EXACT SIZE needed for the round bezel on the rear fender. ****THE LENGTH OF THE INTEGRAL THREADED, NUTTED STUD IS TOO LONG BY APPROX 3mm or 4mm**** Other than that the red reflector fits perfectly. In order to cut the integral stud of this motorcycle reflector to needed length, you will need to first find a scrap piece of wood about the thickness of a yardstick or ruler, or lid of can, or metal strap scrap that you can drill a hole into and bolt the reflector securely to, In Order To Place The Scrap wood/metal Piece into a vice, so you can cut off the needed 4mm or so...........you gotta use scrap to hold the reflector so as to not mar it up or ruin it while trying to clamp it by itself. You could use the Chinese Motorcycle Reflector as is Without cutting the integral stud to the perfect length but Clearance with your tire rubber will be reduced,..........you might have more than enough clearance depending on the bike......I still would cut it to the perfect length so if anyone looked at the fender, sitting on a work bench, off of the bike , that it looked like it was factory done....and belonged that way. ......the 41mm reflector , you'll see it, red with silver outer perimeter just like the oem Schwinn. I have replaced six of them on various old Schwinn's from the sixties and early seventies that had the bezel pad on the fender but the original oem Schwinn red reflector was long gone decades ago. You remove existing the carriage bolt nut that holds that Schwinn bezel pad.....................THE 41mm CHINESE Motorcycle REFLECTOR's integral threaded stud is the perfect size to fit through the existing hole and it the Chinese Reflector's integral threaded stud has a nut that comes with it............YOU SIMPLY stick the REFLECTOR through the existing hole in the bezel, with bezel in same position as it was previously.........NUT the integral stud behind the fender with a thin washer, or lock washer, or just place a tip of a golf tee's worth of clear epoxy on as you snug the nut securely....................... The last time that I ordered the 41mm reflectors they were about $4 for a pair of them and FREE SHIPPING. They arrived in a small padded mailing envelope about 18 days later . I have ordered from at least two, perhaps three different Chinese parts vendors, but all had lots of transactions and were highly rated % on Ebay. There were others offering the same exact item for maybe fourteen cents or twelve cents less than the firms that I ordered from but saving fourteen cents and paying only $3.86 for the pair from someone only rated 98.6% did not seem smart when the others were at least 99.9% with thousands of transactions.


The SUBURBANS also employ large flange factory Schwinn steel 27" wheels. They aren't any better or worse than the VARSITY's steel 27" wheels. Sure, the SUBURBAN five speed has a better freewheel than that of the VARSITY/CONTINENTAL/10sp SUBURBAN, but the freewheel on the Varsity/Conti etc is excellent, so there are no worries about that. ANYBODY CONTEMPLATING A PROJECT INVOLVING A Varsity/Continental/10speedSUB/or 1964-1969 Collegiate SHOULD CONSIDER UPGRADING TO THE 32-14 model J FREEWHEEL FROM THE 1970-1976 SUBURBAN 5 speeds & 1970-1977 COLLEGIATE 5 speeds.

Earlier, I mentioned that the sixties era Collegiate is INFERIOR to the 1970-1977 Collegiate, and this is true, but as you know, you can upgrade the FREEWHEEL and REAR DERAILLEUR of the sixties era Collegiate to the FREEWHEEL & REAR DERAILLEUR that was employed on Seventies era COLLEGIATES, and you will then have the same quality. You'd have to upgrade the shifter of at least the 1964 and 1965 as though they do work, they are awful compared to the 1967 (s) Schwinn Single STIK stem shifter, .....the 1966 Collegiate has a Huret clamp on shift lever which is functional and perhaps not as awful but still awful compared to the 1967 (s) Schwinn STIK stem shifter.

Other noteworthy considerations if anyone is considering building a 5 speed collegiate like or suburban like.....simple single front chain ring NO FRONT DERAILLEUR and just a rear derailleur:
****** Remember that you can do so from most any 10 SPEED that has at least a 28 - 14 freewheel gearing at rear and a ONE PIECE ASHTABULA CRANK

---The Ashtabula ONE PIECE CRANK simplifies such a project BECAUSE IT ALLOWS YOU TO Easily change the FRONT CHAIN RING to any useable chainring with for example anywhere between forty two and forty six.....(42T)..(44T)...(46T)..................there are others you could pick also...................those all are easy to find, NEW aftermkt for about $15 for steel......
........Now say for example that you have some old Kmart/Jc Penney/Sears free spirit/Western Auto/OTASCO../MURRAY/HUFFY/ROSS/COLUMBIA ten speed or five speed with the ONE PIECE CRANK.....................you can swap in a old used SCHWINN CRANKSET if you want chrome quality that looks new, even though the old Schwinn crankset might be sixty years old...............YOU JUST HAVE TO USE ALL OF THE SCHWINN PARTS...CUPS...CRANKSET etc in place of the non-schwinn parts.................you can also do the same with using a non-schwinn one piece crankset in a Schwinn...... Heck, though, whatever one piece crank, does not care what ordinary front chain ring you choose to employ......those all interchange on whatever typical One Piece Crank.
Many of those ancient seventies 10 speeds with one piece cranks and early eighties one piece crank ten speed greenbriar & brittany "FREE SPIRITS" that SEARS sold likely made by Murray, are often decent enough to salvage from the junkpile or shed. GET RID OF THE FRONT DERAILLEUR which is probably not in good shape/needing cables/bent or rusted..... GET A SINGLE FRONT Chainring for the ASHTABULA Crank, or just get the entire crank assembly with cups, bearings,etc from an old SCHWINN with 46T anything from 1950's thru 1980,,,,,,,,,,best bet for best condition and chrome would be about 1963 thru 1980....
Heck it doesn't matter too much what you choose........you cannot use an ancient skiptooth front chainring, but most anything else from the fifties on up will work.
There isn't a significant difference in the width that would cause any chain problems. Its an ancient bicycle. You aren't talking about high tech cassettes or teeth with unique profiles that require extremely specific chain compatibility.
...................Look at it this way, often times, an old basic ten speed, has sat for ages in a shed or basement or the rafters of a garage, because it became unreliable in that the rider kept dropping the chain when shifting from the big front to the little front or vice versa. The rider of said bicycle didn't know anything about bicycles, only that something wasn't right.......the rider owner figures that bike will cost too much to take to a shop for adjustment, so they figure oh what the hell, I will try to make it work, and then they just give up after they ride it several more times after trying to adjust it themselves, and it still doesn't work............. This same former rider of said bike gathering cobwebs, also has no clue that they could have removed the front derailleur and converted the bike into a useable 5 speed. Well truthfully, someone who can change a bike tire can. A person who can change a bike tire can also probably re-adjust a front derailleur, or remove replace the cable and re-adjust, or swap out the front derailleur on an ancient simple friction shifting ten or twelve speed. It just takes patience and a little knowledge on that particular front derailleurs adjusting screws. It is nothing compared to doing the most minor mechanical automobile repair or tuning.
Still with something so simple that must do something repetitively and reliably like moving the chain from the big ring to the small ring and vice versa, if it is bent and excessively worn, it may be difficult to get it to function acceptably even after tinkering and adjusting for an hour.
Though if you have a couple of such "junk pile" parts, you might often find that in the dead of winter when you are stuck inside because it is 18F, you might pass the time assembling and comingling a rideable bicycle from the assortment of junk pile parts. Hey, no joke, you might often find that you have got enough parts that, you'll have decent enough reliable parts that once swapped, will allow you to create something that isn't half bad, even if the bike started life as something from JC Penney, or Western Auto.

The old saying of Do The Best You Can With What You Have Got, certainly applies to making something decently rideable from a parts-junk pile. Old Bicycles are not too complicated. You aren't gonna mess anything up by trying to build or put something together from a few trashpile bicycles. It might be a fun learning experience and project for a bitter cold winter day when it is too cold and nasty to ride. Just don't spend any significant money on replacement parts and tires & accessories UNTIL YOU HAVE PROVEN THROUGH TEST RIDING & TORTURE-DURABILITY TESTING THAT THE PROJECT BIKE IS DECENT ENOUGH TO BE WORTHY OF THOSE PARTS. Just build and MacGyver using what you already have until the bike proves through test riding afterwards that it decent enough that you want to put new tires, seat, etc. You also want to make certain to not go crazy building on frame size that does not fit you or your spouse or other family member.
Perhaps keep the too small or too gigantic old basic ten speed or 5 speed bike, and just find a basic whatever brand old late sixties thru early eighties one piece crank 10 speed/5 speed/3 speed frame that has caliper hand brakes, not a coaster brake only model.

Now for example, lets say that you find an old 10 speed with the typical 28-14 freewheel.
You want to make it into a five speed.....with a single front chain ring on this old Ashtabula one piece crank ancient 10 speed.
Well with 27" wheel(630mm) 27 x 1 1/4 and assuming that you wanted to just adapt the old Schwinn 46 T one piece Schwinn crank and cups..bearings..bolts hardware.... ............Well assuming that you DO NOT CHANGE your existing 28-14 freewheel, you likely will find that 46 T will be too many teeth up front if the area where you ride has any hills at all.
...............YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER using a 42T front chainring with your existing 28-14 freewheel.
Just keep whatever existing one piece crank that came with the bike (unless its so rusty and unsightly......rust & pitting would have zero impact on functionality)
Anyway, the bike doesn't care if the crank assembly came from an old JC Higgins, Murray, Huffy, Columbia, Ross, Schwinn, or other etc.
All will fit the standard old American style One Piece....................you just have to use the proper hardware for whatever the old crank you choose.
Now the reason I suggest (42T) for 28-14 freewheel for 27" wheeled bicycle is that will give you 41 GEAR Number for the lowest gear, 1st gear 28 cog.
At the same time, your top-end is not compromised too much as you will have 81 GEAR Number for the highest gear, 5th gear 14 cog.
----thus the 42T with 28-14 freewheel for 27" wheeled bike would have an overall gear range of 41 GEAR to 81 GEAR...................
You might find that it is billiard table flat where you ride so that then maybe that top-end matters more than hill climbing ability.
You know how to compute and calculate potential possibilities.
This information on calculating GEAR Number also can be extremely helpful to someone with a single speed coaster brake "beach cruiser" type bike, as you can buy the cog(s) that swap out with you existing coaster brake single speed cruiser. They are very inexpensive, less than $20, and widely available New.
This might allow someone with a Beach Cruiser coaster brake bike to make it more rideable for a mature adult that doesn't have the leg power of a 12 year old kid anymore.
THERE ARE NO RIGHT Gear Numbers or "RiGHT" Overall Gear Number range. YOU DETERMINE THAT. As the common saying goes: "YOU DO YOU."
Do whatever makes the most sense to you and makes your riding more pleasant and enjoyable
Yes, Schwinn probably did do some things better than other bike manufacturers did, but all the others made bikes that folks bought and enjoyed riding for years.
Don't worry about a bicycle being too ancient, or being a product from a manufacturer that perhaps wasn't the best. All of them did make decent enough, enjoyable, basic bikes that are fun to ride, that if you didn't see a mfr badge or decals or markings that you'd never know otherwise that a certain low rent manufacturer made that bike.
If you like the bike and it fits you and you find it comfortable and enjoyable to ride often, then not much else matters, other than maybe a blue sky and a sunny day.
Have Fun
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Old 08-24-22, 06:04 AM
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Just saw a Suburban for sale and I quickly came to this forum to learn more. Wow! This place is an incredible resource. When I read posts from Vintage Schwinn I feel like I am reading from Catcher in the Rye... and I mean that as the highest compliment (one of my favorite books).
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Old 08-24-22, 08:45 AM
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On the Suburban (or any of the older Schwinns) I'm curious as to what the most significant factor is in the weight? Is it a super heavy frame by comparison or is it just everything together? Would a Suburban frame make a good candidate for a fixed gear (if you swapped out the wheels) or is the frame weight and geometry just not conducive to anything other than upright cruising? Pardon the newbie questions... but my status says I'm allowed
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Old 08-24-22, 09:33 AM
  #23  
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Well done!

Fortunately, this era Schwinn's really are indestructible, meaning there remains something to restore. Mid-70's working in a shop, these would be dragged in in deplorable condition and we could get them useable again.

That said, the smallest of my childhood friends got one of these as a first "adult" bike, somewhere around 1970-71, right when our group began doing "cycling" as more than just in the neighborhood. His prime transportation until 1974. Some of those rides were 60+ miles... on a Suburban. There's possibly the reason he is still a strong rider in his mid-60's.
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Old 08-29-22, 08:40 AM
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Regrading weight I'd say everything is heavier. I never weighted the frame by it's self but it's not built from lightweight steel. Wheels are steel, cranks are steel, etc. The brake calipers are nice quality aluminum along with the levers.

My recommendation is if you buy I'd do so for restoration proposes. I'm not riding up any steep hills so the 40lb weight doesn't bother me for the routes it's taken. I'm not joking when saying is one of the best riding bikes I've ever ridden in stock form.
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Old 08-29-22, 11:35 AM
  #25  
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Nice whitewalls!
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