Doug Fattic 

A while back a neighbor brought me this fillet brazed Schwinn frame only. I hope he still has the parts and the fork. The only serial # I could find was on the head badge. 2966. It still had the fixed cup for a normal English threaded Stonglight crank. No big BB for an Ashtabula crank. The dropouts are Huret. It has a little stop on the top of the down tube for a band type of shift levers. The little triangle stop keeps the levers from sliding down under shifting loads. In other words no braze on bosses for down tube levers like my '65 Super Sport nor cable stops for the common shift levers on the head set.

This week and next I'll be teaching another bicycle frame painting class to a couple of locals. I already have a pair of yellow Super Sports we will be painting in class. Steve from Toledo is providing another SS frame for learning purposes. This frame will be part of that party. It came to me with most of the paint removed but some of the residue shows a silver undercoat that was usually used for the candy colors Schwinn often used. My guess is that the original color was silver. I took the pictures with the head badge still attached and before I sandblast it for painting.

I'll need to replace some cable stop braze-ons. The ones Schwinn used back then had a very small diameter. I have some that look the same but a bit larger for today's lined cables. In the background you can see one of the the yellow SSs that we will be repainting in class too.

repechage

Sports Tourer I think. Need to double check the lack of the kickstand barrel...
Above the Super Sports, which while similar had the one piece crank.
Kind of the inverse of how I would name them.

TPL

Sports Tourer

repechage

Doing a bit more referencing, might be a Superior, no kickstand. I don't think these even made the printed catalogs.

Doug Fattic 

I don't think it is a Sports Tourer. Here is a picture of my '71 (I think) Sports Tourer. It has a kickstand braze-on and cable stops on the down tube near the head tube for shifters on the head set. My question should have probably asked what year it is too? Without the kickstand braze-on I would assume this is a before a 1967 model. I'm assuming this was a model underneath the Paramount. Well that was a Sports Tourer but it isn't like my Sports Tourer. So I remain baffled. The 1963 and 64 Superiors with triples up front had Ashtabula cranks. I don't know about earlier models.

This is a 1971 Schwinn Sports Tourer

bikemig 

This has a good discussion of fillet brazed Schwinns:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/schwinn-braze.html

Yeah the lack of a kickstand suggests a Superior, right?

Velo Mule

Yes, according to Mike Rother on the Harris / Sheldon Brown website. The Superior lost the kick stand in 1976.

Schwinn Fillet Lightweight Bicycles

Velo Mule

I can't wait to see the pictures after this is painted. Are your, or your class going to go with a candy apple color? Are you going to use House of Kolors? Do you have a decal set? Can you post pre-paint pictures?

I am hoping that your neighbor can get you the fork. What is your neighbor going to do with the frame after it is painted @Doug Fattic?

Doug Fattic 

First of all many thanks to those contributing to this subject thread identifying my frame as a 1076/78 Superior. I was looking at the wrong years and didn't realize Schwinn made a fillet brazed model in the late 70's. My guess is that they wanted to keep employing the fillet brazing workers. For those that love fillet brazed Schwinns, this is the queen of the liter. It doesn't have the kickstand braze-on but it does have an English threaded bottom bracket so normal cranks can be used. No Ashtabula crank conversions are necessary. As a framebuilder myself, I'm really impressed with the quality of the fillets - they are big and nicely shaped!

My neighbor (that is also the treasurer of our church) doesn't know if he still has the parts. If he does they are located in his shed in the back of his property. He isn't wanting to wade though the snow (SW Michigan gets a lot of "lake effect" snow - we have a lot right now) and cold to see if the parts are still there. I'm certainly hoping they are! He is giving me the frame to do with as I please. I told him I would sell it and use the proceeds to help support our Ukraine Bicycle Project. This is a project we started 22 years ago to provide bicycles to Ukrainian pastors. it is a poor country and having a bike for transportation can make a real difference in their lives. In the last few years the majority of these bicycles have gone to the war zone in the eastern front where Russian forces have already done an enormous amount of damage. They started invading into Ukraine in 2014. We make the frames and assemble them into bicycles on a college campus near Kyiv. I got to see the refugees from the east as they flooded campus for food and clothing. My translator begged me for money for treats for the kids. It is very sobering to see the effects of this war.

I was looking at descriptions of the Superior in Schwinn catalogs to see what colors they were painted. I did see that at one time flamboyant red was an option. The frame came to me with most of the paint already stripped. I think it might have been silver originally. Flam (another word is "candy") red is a much more dramatic color than silver - especially as a built up bicycle. It is also much more difficult and time consuming to paint. So I suppose it will make a good class project demonstration. There is no chance the students will be able to do it. Fortunately I have the yellow Super Sports which will work perfectly for them to paint.

Yes I will use House of Kolor paint. I've learned over the years how to tint the glitter undercoat and mix 2 colors of red to get the best effect. For those that don't know, a candy paint is a transparent paint that allows the glitter undercoat to shine through. It takes a lot more time in the booth to get all the coats of paint on required to get the right effect. It also looks much more dramatic in the sun than with indoor lighting. It is very challenging to get this transparent paint to be evenly applied so it doesn't have light and dark shades. The problem is that where frame tubes come together making it highly likely to get more paint around the joints.

No I don't have a decal set yet. SSSink is one of my suppliers for decals and I will see if they have them. Otherwise I'll have to go looking. And yes I will be happy to post pictures when it is finished. It is always difficult and challenging for me to take decent pictures of newly painted frames.

Sierra

The stop for the downtube shifter clamp was throwing me for a bit. I thought the 70s Superiors had bosses for the downtube shifters until I check a pic of mine.

Doug Fattic 

Your bikes are beautiful! Have they been repainted and are those the decals used on the 76/78 Superiors? If so I am glad to get the reference of what they are and where they belong.

bikemig 

I have a 73 Sports Tourer which I really like but the Superior is probably the pick of the litter when it comes to fillet brazed Schwinns. Losing the kickstand has to be a substantial weight savings.

dmark 

77 Superior. (76-78 frames the same)

Doug Fattic 

Did that come originally as a triple? Or was there an factory option for a triple? These pictures are super for me to get a better idea of what decals I need and their placement. I assume I will paint the frame as original as possible. However some braze-on cable stops were damaged and when I replace them, I'm going to use a slightly larger diameter to better fit today's cable with liner. They will look the same.

DiegoFrogs

Did these all come with Huret-specific RD hangers?

Many of the Superior photos above show Japanese RDs with Campy style mounts.

I'm just curious, because I've always had some lust for the fillet-brazed Schwinns!

Sierra

The bikes have been modified for my use obviously, the the paint & decals are original.
They were offered '76, 77, & '78.
Some have white decals, and some have black. I haven't yet been able to make sense of a pattern of where the two colors were used.
Some had a plate welded/brazed to the bottom of the chain stays for mounting an aftermarket kickstand. I think that was a year dependent thing.
You asked about the option for a triple.
I put a Sugino Mighty Tour triple on my blue '77, but I think what you are seeing on dmark's bike is the original crankset that had a disk/ring between the two chainrings to help with shifting.

Doug Fattic 

Really?! The middle ring looked like it didn't have any teeth but I thought my eyes were deceiving me. I don't ever remember that before. However in my defense my entire cycling history starting with a 10 speed in the early 60's until long after I started building frames after my apprenticeship in England in 75 was almost entirely top end Campy until I equipped some of my frames with Dura Ace in the early 80's. I never paid attention to production bikes of any sort or how they were equipped. Well that isn't entirely true. My first 10 speed was an Ascot Flyer my dad bought at Western Auto in 63 and upgraded to a Super Sport in 65. By 67 I had gotten a used Campy equipped Italian frame made with Columbus tubing. However my liking that SS is what has created my interest in them that continues to this day. Especially Brooks leather saddles. Even the Ashtabula cranks. They are just designed to last. Of course I seldom ride any more on pace line training rides but if I do I still have a bike I have made for that purpose.

dmark 

100% original in the pic and it came as a double.
If you want close ups let me know. A true barn find I bought off FB in Chinatown NYC.
( urban barn?)

JohnDThompson 

I seem to recall that the Superior and Sports Tourer frames were built in the Paramount cage at the Chicago factory. I note that the Huret dropout has the Schwinn modification to accommodate a "Le Tour" (rebadged Shimano Crane GS) derailleur.

N.B. if it's like my Sports Tourer frame, the upper and lower pressed races on the head tube are slightly larger diameter than ISO pressed races. If the original headset is shot, you can braze a sleeve inside the head tube to fit ISO spec races.

dmark 

My 77 has Huret dropout with Suntour vx RD and a keyed washer to orient it properly. (Also Huret FD and shifter)

Jeff Wills

Doug, you might find this thread useful... or lustworthy:
How To Schwinn Lightweight Show Quality Paint Job Start To Finish | Bicycle Restoration Tips | The Classic and Antique Bicycle Exchange (thecabe.com)

I agree that the frame in question is a late-'70's Schwinn Superior. I had a 1978 in Flamboyant Red back when I worked in a Schwinn shop and now I have a 1977 in Flamboyant Green (restomodded with XTR components). My grail bike is a 1977 in Flamingo- only available for the first half of 1977 and really unusual in a 26" frame that would fit me.

The 1976 catalog shows them painted in Silver Mist so that fits your bike, too:

madpogue 

Head badge #2966 would mean October 22, 1976 (I think if it were a '66 it would have an oval head badge, right?).

Sierra

Member Tim S. on The CABE forum has this one. I believe that it's the big 26" frame.
Not for sale AFAIK. Just posting it for your visual enjoyment.

Doug Fattic 

I'm glad you mentioned this! I just assumed they were a normal size headset for a 1" steerer. I may or may not have a complete headset. The frame came to me bare with the 2 headset cups installed but not with the fork where most of the other parts are probably located. I'm anxious to know if my neighbor still has them stored in his shed or if they got taken to the curb. I checked and the thicker head tubes we use when fillet brazing will be a slip fit inside this Superior's head tube. Just like you suggested I can braze 2 short sections of tube inside the Superior's head tube so I can use a normal headset. Luckily you mentioned the problem and the solution!

Of course if the fork is missing I'll need to make a new one. That is easy enough to do except I will want a similar fork crown. I think they used Nervex crowns. Do you have one in your stash? I've got many fork crowns but not a Nervex one like the fillet brazed Schwinns used. On my 65 Super Sport the crown is a little more attractive than the Superiors and later SSs. I'd be happy to use one of those. Hopefully my neighbor still has the fork.

Hobbiano 

There's another solution to the headset issue. I have a Sports Tourer that came to me with a bmx headset. Fits like it was made for it. It's a Tange BMX 125 alloy headset with cartridge bearings. It's very nice. There are other bmx headsets that should work as well.