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85 Schwinn Voyageur Fork question

Old 12-31-10, 10:01 PM
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jjmadaj
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85 Schwinn Voyageur Fork question

Not really specific to the bike, more of a fork question. Im about to buy an 85 voyageur frame in the morning with a non-stock fork, it doesnt have canti bosses and only one set of braze-ons. Im concerned about two things: if it was crashed and has head tube issues will i be able to tell other than checking under the bottom head tube lug? Second concern is: I'm having trouble locating a 1" fork with canti's, low riders, etc. to replace the fork its got, theres a new tange fork out there on the web thats out of stock everywhere.. any other suggestions.

Im going to check the frame out, its an awfully good deal I dont want to pass on

Do you folks have any suggestions or words of wisdoms

Thanks, Justin
happy new year
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Old 01-01-11, 01:18 AM
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pics

i know it aint much but im excited, ive been patiently waiting for this to come along
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Old 01-01-11, 07:38 AM
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Don't know what you are paying for it, or it's intended use, but an alternative might be the $150 touring frame and forks from Nashbar. The frame is aluminum, but the forks are chro moly. The $50 forks are meant for 700C wheels, however, and your Voyageur is probably set up for 27" wheels. Otherwise, buy & hold until the right fork shows up? E-bay? Write a"wanted" posting in the right section on B.F.?
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Old 01-01-11, 08:32 AM
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from what I've been told that frame will take a 700c rear wheel no problem if you use the orig canti brakes, although the orig cantis were used with 27s they will adust to 700c wheels with no problem. So the aftermarket fork from Nashbar should be the answer you're looking for. ;0) Nice frame BTW! Make sure shes straight then give her a good cleaning, you'll never egret buying her. =0)
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Old 01-01-11, 09:01 AM
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To OP

The head tube angle looks pretty steep, maybe its just the way the frame is sitting. I would be wary of the frame.

Recommend taking Cycleheimer's advice and posting on the WANTED section. Yours looks like a 25" frame.
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Old 01-01-11, 11:51 AM
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Thanks for the suggestions.
So I just bought it for $40, which I thought was a great deal. Upon getting it home, I looks a little bit rougher than I thought, now Im not sure it was such a great deal. It may end up get stripped and painted, by summer I should have a nice starter tourer. The money pit has started..





the a from tenax is all thats left of the columbus sticker
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Old 01-01-11, 12:04 PM
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Dude, Clean the **** out of it, remove the rust with soap and water, then wax every inch of her up, she'll look super sick and save you tons of cash.
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Old 01-01-11, 12:15 PM
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It's a fine candidate for powder coating. Velocals has Tenax decals for about $8. OA will bring the headset, FD cage and various bolts back to life.
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Old 01-01-11, 02:29 PM
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looks like a good deal for $40. how does it look around the HT?

it isn't threaded and only one set of eyelets but here is a nice looking fork https://store.somafab.com/lucrcrfo.html
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Old 01-01-11, 02:37 PM
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Can anyone tell me if the orig rear rack on a Voyageur was steel or aluminium?
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Old 01-01-11, 02:39 PM
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Has anybody noticed the headset situation? Some sort of makeshift spacer because the steerer on the replacement fork is a bit too long?

Does it make sense to buy a $120 fork for a $40 frame? You'll find something suitable at the right price if you're patient.
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Old 01-01-11, 03:40 PM
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That is a nice fork, I will wait something will come around, its gonna be a long duration build anyway. The headtube and lugs are all good, what isnt good though is the cussing frozen seatpost, which pisses me off bc the seller told me it comes out.
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Old 01-01-11, 04:18 PM
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This fork looks ideal, but it's not cheap:

https://cgi.ebay.com/TOURING-ROAD-BIK...item43a3d9f950
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Old 01-01-11, 07:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Grand Bois
This fork looks ideal, but it's not cheap:

https://cgi.ebay.com/TOURING-ROAD-BIK...item43a3d9f950
Fork looks identical to fork in my 88 Voyageur. Is the steerer tube the correct length for the head tube?
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Old 01-01-11, 07:17 PM
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Originally Posted by ilikebikes
Can anyone tell me if the orig rear rack on a Voyageur was steel or aluminium?
As far as I know, they were lightweight Jim Blackburne aluminum racks.
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Old 01-01-11, 07:21 PM
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BTW, here is a link to the catalog pages for the '85 Voyageur:
https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...985Ltwt14.html
https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...985Ltwt30.html
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Old 01-01-11, 07:42 PM
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Originally Posted by ilikebikes
Can anyone tell me if the orig rear rack on a Voyageur was steel or aluminium?
Originally Posted by cycleheimer
As far as I know, they were lightweight Jim Blackburne aluminum racks.
If its the same as the one that was on my Panasonic PT-3500 it does appear to be an Aluminum Blackburne. Nice rack. I kept it and it now lives on my Fuji.
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Old 01-01-11, 08:07 PM
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https://sandro.knot.org/blog/bike-sta...touring-bikes/

I posted this link in another thread.
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Old 01-01-11, 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by cycleheimer
As far as I know, they were lightweight Jim Blackburne aluminum racks.
Coolies, thanks. The one that came on the bike when I bought it is steel. I have a BlackBurne sitting around somewheres so I'm OK. Is there a differance between a "Jim Blackburne" and a "Blackburne?" I know its from the same guy, I'm talkin' about the way the name is stamped, is it stamped "Jim Blackburne" or just "Blackburne?" Sorry OP, not tryin' to highjack! ;0)
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Old 01-01-11, 10:02 PM
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Originally Posted by ilikebikes
Coolies, thanks. The one that came on the bike when I bought it is steel. I have a BlackBurne sitting around somewheres so I'm OK. Is there a differance between a "Jim Blackburne" and a "Blackburne?" I know its from the same guy, I'm talkin' about the way the name is stamped, is it stamped "Jim Blackburne" or just "Blackburne?" Sorry OP, not tryin' to highjack! ;0)
UPDATE: Found my aluminium Blackburne but it's the single mount type that attaches to the rear brake bridge.
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Old 01-01-11, 10:25 PM
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I'm probably wrong but I believe the "Jim Blackburn" are earlier versions.
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Old 01-01-11, 11:27 PM
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Yes, the Jim Blackburns are the older ones, before he made the big time. I have both versions, front and rear and they're identical.

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Old 01-02-11, 12:11 AM
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On the original forks, the "low-rider" bosses placed at the middle of the fork blades were a nice idea. But, they were never really optimized by the Jim Blackburn aluminum front racks sold with some models of Voyageur bikes. Those racks just mounted to the fork tip eyelets.

When looking for a replacement fork, if you plan to mount fenders AND a front rack, a second set of eyelets can be useful. But, realistically, one set should do fine and you can just use longer bolts and spacers/washers and then mount both the fender and rack ends to the same pair of eyelets. Unless you plan to use full length front panniers, another simple alternative would be to add a front bag support rack for a rack-top or handlebar mounted bag.

The fork on eBay for $100 looks like a good choice. But... make sure the threading goes down low enough to catch headset threads on your bike. Measure your head tube and ask the Seller how long the steering tube is and how low the threads go down. You do have options: you can cut off any additional length from the top, or add a lot of spacers, or you could even clamp on a 1" threadless stem (if you have around 50mm of excess length at the top). It would be a pain to have to add more threads to the steering tube. Most better bike shops should have a thread cutter (Die) to do that... but, at what additional cost to you?

Although they are an attractive and very available option these days, beware of buying any 1-1/8" THREADLESS fork for that bike... Remember, that is basically the same as the OUTER diameter of your head tube, so it obviously will never fit. You'll need to look for a 1" threaded or threadless fork.

* TANGE currently makes very nice traditional 1" threaded headsets which range from around $20 in chromed steel to $40 for the lighter more fancy alloy models. Should be easy to find at any LBS.

* Make sure you purchase a headset AFTER buying a fork so you can be sure to match the fork crown race of the headset to the flange on your fork crown.

Good Luck!
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Old 01-02-11, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Grand Bois
Yes, the Jim Blackburns are the older ones, before he made the big time. I have both versions, front and rear and they're identical.

Ahhhhh, thanks much guys. =0)
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Old 01-02-11, 03:39 PM
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https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...ls.php?id=7000
I have not seen any surly forks in 1" until this. For $73 bucks it could work for me. However I havent thrown any lines out for a Want to Buy yet.

hmm, I've never built a bike up from a bare frame before, this is gonna take some time, soo many decisions!
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