Schwinn Cross bikes ,The original Hybrid

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It’s hard to believe these bikes are close to thirty years old .
I think I’ve been lucky to find two of these great riding bikes .
I have a CrissCross and a CrossCut .
Both have been overhauled with new wheels, gears, and brakes . The cranks and chainrings are original.
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Upgraded my Crosscut today . Ever since I bought it ,over ten years ago , I’ve been trying to move the old beat up cage pedals from the cranks .
I’ve ruined more wrenched trying to get them off and neither side has moved a micro .
So I got to thinking , why not change out the cranks ? Then I can put whatever pedals I want on it .
I also have been toying with the idea of going to a 1x8 drivetrain and eliminate the front derailleur and shifter .
I‘d already upgraded the cassette to an 8 speed (11-30) and a better rear derailleur .
Today , I borrowed the cranks off my 4th of July bike , ( I’ve got plenty of time to replace them before next years parade ) and installed them and a 36 tooth oval wide narrow chainring.
Installed a set of pedal extenders and a set of platform pedals .
Then took her for a test ride .
I’m in LOVE .
With this setup , I get to use those middle gears that used to be at the top end spinning down hill to get the mo to get up the next hill .
Riding around the the neighborhood , I got up to sixth gear and purposely approached a few hills slow so I could try out the new low gear . Wow! I just spin right on up the hills .
I‘m going to ride the Crosscut for a little trail period, but I’m thinking I may be
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switching my CrissCross over to 1x8 and my Hardrock to a 1x7 .
 
Karate Chicken Industries said:
Most of the custom/resto geared bikes I've been building the past few years go on the no front derailleur diet. I just picked up a 1981 Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 that is going to be hybridized in that manner for a client.
Click to expand...
I don’t see the need in having 21 or 24 speeds when I only use 5 or 6.
It’s simplifying without going single speed .
I love single speeds coaster brakes , but some of my riding ( and my old knees) need a little help .
 
Before on the Voyageur 11.8:
20200807_103350.jpg

It's currently in the stand and has already lost most of the extra weight being taken off of it. The paint and chrome are really good, as most of the obvious marring seems to be sticker smut. Somehow Schwinn seems to have missed the mark on the OE spec in that this smaller frame should have come with 165mm cranks IMO. The Sugino Super Maxy 170s are going to be replaced with a set of Shimano 600 165s with either a 39 or 40 single chainring. Tires, most likely Schwalbe HS-159 Gumwall to complete the "hybridization". It'll be more attractive, much lighter and more well made than just about any hybrid one can buy in this day and age of junquetastic cookie-cutter hybrids.
 
Karate Chicken Industries said:
Before on the Voyageur 11.8:
View attachment 132413
It's currently in the stand and has already lost most of the extra weight being taken off of it. The paint and chrome are really good, as most of the obvious marring seems to be sticker smut. Somehow Schwinn seems to have missed the mark on the OE spec in that this smaller frame should have come with 165mm cranks IMO. The Sugino Super Maxy 170s are going to be replaced with a set of Shimano 600 165s with either a 39 or 40 single chainring. Tires, most likely Schwalbe HS-159 Gumwall to complete the "hybridization". It'll be more attractive, much lighter and more well made than just about any hybrid one can buy in this day and age of junquetastic cookie-cutter hybrids.
Click to expand...
I love this bike! I built a 25" this same year of bike for my brother in the late '80s and he still has it. I worked in a Schwinn shop as a kid and built an '85 super letour for myself (red). Your're going to have another cool bike!!
 
stik70 said:
I love this bike! I built a 25" this same year of bike for my brother in the late '80s and he still has it. I worked in a Schwinn shop as a kid and built an '85 super letour for myself (red). Your're going to have another cool bike!!
Click to expand...
This Voyageur is going to be for a client. She had a trade-in that was way too big for her and largely a heavy pile of junk, though it had some viable parts on it. It's just waiting on grips and tires and will be cabled-up after they arrive.
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Serendipity on this build was high, the biggest thing being the Schwinn branded brake levers. They were listed on CL yesterday ($10) and came from the same seller who the bike was purchased from last week.
 
I like the 1X8 gearing on my Crosscut so much , today I did the transformation on my Schwinn CrissCross .
The CrossCut has a 34 tooth oval Narrow wide chainring with 11-30 cassette, the Crisscross got a 34 tooth oval narrow wide chainring , but with a 11-34 cassette, making the granny gear super low .
Should be able to handle any hill around here .
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