unprintable

"You think that's a SCHWINN!"

Never thought I'd have a Schwinn in my shed. I've never liked their cheap mass-produced bikes and have never gotten to touch a Paramount. But yesterday I paid $250 for a 1987 Circuit in almost mint condition (a few tiny, tiny scratches/scuffs in the paint), with everything that was original to it, including a white San Marco Concor Supercorsa Profil that, after a bit of scrubbing, is clean and sparkly. Considering it wasn't what was on the bike as sold, I'm not sure how much it was ever used, but it hardly looks worn. Even the tires that came on it are the original Schwinn "Pro Circuit" tires. I'll probably want to change these out pretty soon, but it's still cool.

It also came with some upgraded clipless pedals and shoes that happened to fit my feet, some extra pairs of cleats, and the original MKS pedals.

The matte black finish is something else. Gorgeous! and I love that the Araya rims that came with it and the cable housing are also black.

Both wheels could use a little bit of truing, but I have a spoke wrench in the mail that should be arriving any day now. And it's just my size! Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked. It also means I'm gonna have to move a bike out of here, but I'll make that tough decision in a few days.

What was funny (and also sucky) was that on the way back home (mind you, it's almost 8:00pm at this point) a hose connected to my car's radiator blew so I had green antifreeze all over the inside of the engine. I pulled over as quickly as I could to prevent engine overheating, but there wasn't a mile marker in sight.... so the Circuit saved me probably about 20 minutes as it was getting dark, while I searched for a mile marker. Called AAA and had them tow me to a mechanic, and from there rode the bike home. My Schwinn the Hero.

The only bummer, really, is that from what I can tell, the Zefal frame pump doesn't work, or maybe I'm just not doing it right. Have never had a frame pump before so it's quite new to me. But at least it does match the matte black of the frame.

Pictures to come. I grabbed my camera but saw that I had left it on last time I used it, so the battery's charging.

Chicago Al 

I am about the least mystical person around, but it sure does sound like that bike appeared at just the right time for you.

BTW we just caught up with that movie ('Burn After Reading') some weeks back. That's become a favorite quote of my teen son. I suspect the Coens are cyclists themselves, due to that joke and the later line about how the bike is locked up but 'you can pick those locks with a Bic pen!'

wrk101

I grew up with the bottom end Schwinns, so I got where I really could not stand them. But then I picked up several of the Tenax framed models from the late 80s, and I changed my opinion (they all moved on, none was my size). I had been looking for either a Prologue or a Circuit from the late 80s to add to my personal fleet. Finally found a Prologue in my size (been looking for well over a year). It even came with a color matched frame pump (that works).

While I have found many nice bikes in the last couple of years, its a lot harder to find a specific model in a specific size...

My Prologue when bought was in excellent original condition, but the gods of ebay/bike shipping frowned upon me, so it was kind of trashed up by the time it got to SC. But it has been in my bike "hospital" (the basement workshop), and has recovered nicely. Definitely a keeper. I may keep looking for a Circuit, I have always been a fan of the Sante components.

Enjoy that Circuit, and post some pictures.

unprintable

Some pictures for you all.

All I've done up to this point was clean up the saddle and put it on the bike.

unprintable

I think Sante came on later models of the Circuit, maybe?. (EDIT: Just confirmed this, thanks to tugrul's efforts to put the catalogs back online. in '88 the Circuit came with Sante). In '87 the Circuit came with Sprint (not 9000... so friction-shifting) all over. Good luck with the search. Although, I've found that the bikes I actually seek never come up, so all of my bikes up to this point have been "surprises" in a way. I certainly never dreamed I would want a Schwinn or love a Schwinn so much.

rumrunn6

jealous! :-)

kirke

Oooh, I like late 1980s Schwinns. Columbus tubing, Japanese-built, nice componentry. The Suntour Sprint stuff is awesome.
Does anyone know how to identity whether a Schwinn is built by Panasonic?

EjustE

Very pretty! I love these Columbus Schwinns. I got an '87 Super Sport (a model down from yours; differences is the SL/SP vs Tenax and Sprint vs 600EX) and love it. All the Columbus Schwinns of that era were built in Taiwan by Giant (Paramounts excluded). For the older Japanese Panasonic Schwinns, just look at the head badge: "Schwinn Approved" = Panasonic built bike.

unprintable

I remember reading a post from some time ago in which somebody said they asked Richard Schwinn where the Circuits were made and he replied that they were hand-made in Chicago. But I actually can't find it now so maybe I made that up.

EDIT: OK found it. Was mistaken, it was Mississippi, not Chicago. Not sure if this is true, but assuming the guy really did ask Richard, I would think it accurate.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=1#post4041979

miamijim

My black Circuit is U.S. made. Definitly NOT a Panasonic made bike.

tmh657

Nice find unprintable. I think you did well. That saddle in VGC is worth $100.

I had the black Circuit and really liked the Sprint components. It was a 58cm. A few months later I found the red Circuit w/ Sante parts in a 60cm. It fits like it was made for me so the black one moved on.

I put 9 speed briftrers, a mix of 105, Ultegra and a Mavic Open pro wheelset on it. I do a 40 mile group ride every Sunday. I am the only one with a steel bike and I like it that way. It's a fantastic ride.

I have had the fork off and it's pretty heavy. I would love to find A Scwhinn Peleton that fit me. It has a Columbus fork to go with the frame.

Have fun with your bike and ride it hard.

RobbieTunes

Yes. Outstanding paint quality is a dead give-away.

unprintable

So I've heard. I want to actually use but it did also come with what appears to be an early Velo Senso saddle or something like that. Not sure if it's nice at all but it seems somewhat generic. The demon on my shoulder keeps telling me I should recoup some of the expense for the bike by selling it, while I guess the angel on the other shoulder tells me that it's too cool and pretty not to keep and use. It's possible I have my angels and demons mixed up.

Oregon Southpaw

^What RobbieTunes said.

My dad's 86 Tempo (built presumably at Panasonic) has the most beautiful paint, and is barely scratched after all these years of use.

I have an 88 Circuit (Built in Miss) that came to me basically NOS, and in one season of riding, the paint is going to hell.

I love love love my Circuit, and am working to restore it to OEM equipment, the Sante group, which is great since I frequently see bits going for $$$

miamijim

Panasonic built have the serial number stramped into the bottom eidge of the lower head tube lug. They also require the dreaded 30.0mm headset cups versus the 30.2mm that the rest of know civilization uses.

Sierra

I think there may have been a mid year change on this.

I bought one that had the Sprint friction components on it. The seller had misrepresented the size and it was a bit too big for me so I bought another one that fit me.
The second one had Sprint 9000 index shifting rear derailleur and shifters.

I've seen enough photos of others which also had the Sprint 9000 to convince me that some of them came with it from the factory.

Nice find at a good price! I paid more for both of mine(and had to pay shipping to boot).