'62 Schwinn Corvette "5 speed"

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I don't want any hurt feelings so I'm not claiming this is a "real" 5 speed corvette. It was a 3 speed when it left the schwinn factory. I got it as a frame, forks, neck, and chainguard. I looked at it hanging in the rafters for a couple of years and two summers ago I stripped a girls MTN bike out and put everything on the schwinn frame. Just as a 5 speed. It ran pretty well even if it looked kind of weird...

I never could get the click index shifter to click right so I aquired a 5 speed friction shifter and that's what started the whole makeover. I had a lot of original schwinn parts so I tried to make it as much schwinn as I could. Right now Its almost all schwinn but the wheels, brake calipers, and crank (i wanted to run a 175mm). The derailer got swapped for a short vintage Suntour. The long mtn bike derailer was giving me trouble off roads.

Here it is as of this morning...

I have a very nice araya wheelset that will probably go on this summer but I think it's about done. I can't wait to get it on the trails! Thanks for looking!

 

[TV Casualty]

cool ride!

 

[us56456712]

I don't want any hurt feelings so I'm not claiming this is a "real" 5 speed corvette. It was a 3 speed when it left the schwinn factory. I got it as a frame, forks, neck, and chainguard. I looked at it hanging in the rafters for a couple of years and two summers ago I stripped a girls MTN bike out and put everything on the schwinn frame. Just as a 5 speed. It ran pretty well even if it looked kind of weird...

I never could get the click index shifter to click right so I aquired a 5 speed friction shifter and that's what started the whole makeover. I had a lot of original schwinn parts so I tried to make it as much schwinn as I could. Right now Its almost all schwinn but the wheels, brake calipers, and crank (i wanted to run a 175mm). The derailer got swapped for a short vintage Suntour. The long mtn bike derailer was giving me trouble off roads.

Here it is as of this morning...

I have a very nice araya wheelset that will probably go on this summer but I think it's about done. I can't wait to get it on the trails! Thanks for looking!

I have a 59 Schwinn Corvette with alloy rims and a KT coaster brake with a 23 tooth sprocket. I run the original Schwinn chain wheel. I got chrome replacement fenders as I didn't have the original stainless ones. I rode it a few times with our mountain bike group. I bent both pedals the first ride as the bottom bracket is so low that I could just fit my foot under the pedals. Our trails are hand cut and so in some places they are only 6 inches wide and worn 3 inches into the ground. The pedals hit constantly in these sections and on every root and rock if you were't careful. A 5.5 inch crank from a kids 24 inch or 20 inch bike makes it much more rideable as it gives you another inch. Shallow pedals would also add a little more clearance. The short cranks take some getting used to but they work fine and you have way less issues banging pedals. I would recommend that you put the crank down and put your foot under it to check the clearance to see if the Bottom Bracket is as low as mine is. Part of my problem might be that I have replaced the larger diameter Schwinn rims with standard 559 ones? I catch my pedals going around corners on the Corvette. I have to remember to keep the down side of the crank up. Only one of my other cruisers has a similar problem. My best frame so far for bottom bracket clearance is my 1940 Schwinn DX. The DX is way better than my 2015 full suspension mtn bike as it also has a low BB and I have to make sure I have enough tire pressure and that the suspension is set up a little too firm to ride these trails. The top of a steep hill where it quickly flattens out causes the pedal to strike and the bike stops. Same with big humps on a steep hill, the pedal strikes and you are done. No way to avoid the strike as coasting or back peddling will cause you to stop. You have to be lucky with where your pedal ends out in these places with a low BB. With the DX I never worry about pedal strikes with a standard 6.5 inch crank.

 

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I have a 59 Schwinn Corvette with alloy rims and a KT coaster brake with a 23 tooth sprocket. I run the original Schwinn chain wheel. I got chrome replacement fenders as I didn't have the original stainless ones. I rode it a few times with our mountain bike group. I bent both pedals the first ride as the bottom bracket is so low that I could just fit my foot under the pedals. Our trails are hand cut and so in some places they are only 6 inches wide and worn 3 inches into the ground. The pedals hit constantly in these sections and on every root and rock if you were't careful. A 5.5 inch crank from a kids 24 inch or 20 inch bike makes it much more rideable as it gives you another inch. Shallow pedals would also add a little more clearance. The short cranks take some getting used to but they work fine and you have way less issues banging pedals. I would recommend that you put the crank down and put your foot under it to check the clearance to see if the Bottom Bracket is as low as mine is. Part of my problem might be that I have replaced the larger diameter Schwinn rims with standard 559 ones? I catch my pedals going around corners on the Corvette. I have to remember to keep the down side of the crank up. Only one of my other cruisers has a similar problem. My best frame so far for bottom bracket clearance is my 1940 Schwinn DX. The DX is way better than my 2015 full suspension mtn bike as it also has a low BB and I have to make sure I have enough tire pressure and that the suspension is set up a little too firm to ride these trails. The top of a steep hill where it quickly flattens out causes the pedal to strike and the bike stops. Same with big humps on a steep hill, the pedal strikes and you are done. No way to avoid the strike as coasting or back peddling will cause you to stop. You have to be lucky with where your pedal ends out in these places with a low BB. With the DX I never worry about pedal strikes with a standard 6.5 inch crank.

I have not had any problems with ground clearance, even with the longer crank. Maybe it's the wheels I'm running? I'll get a pic of pedal clearance when I get home tonight...

 

[us56456712]

I have not had any problems with ground clearance, even with the longer crank. Maybe it's the wheels I'm running? I'll get a pic of pedal clearance when I get home tonight...

Perhaps the 1959 model had a lower bb but I think Schwinn made the same frame for many years, but I am not positive. I ran 2.1 inch tires on 559mm rims. Our trails are fairly rough in places but probably not any worse than most places. We have some trails in another trail system in the county where the trails are all machine cut and flow. I have no problem here but this system also has some very rough trails that I can only ride these with shorter cranks. Are you running Schwinn rims? I wonder if the Schwinn rims/tires are a little bigger? I never compared the 559 and Schwinn 571 rim/tire combo. The Schwinn rim is over a cm larger, I wonder?

 

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Perhaps the 1959 model had a lower bb but I think Schwinn made the same frame for many years, but I am not positive. I ran 2.1 inch tires on 559mm rims. Our trails are fairly rough in places but probably not any worse than most places. We have some trails in another trail system in the county where the trails are all machine cut and flow. I have no problem here but this system also has some very rough trails that I can only ride these with shorter cranks. Are you running Schwinn rims? I wonder if the Schwinn rims/tires are a little bigger? I never compared the 559 and Schwinn 571 rim/tire combo. The Schwinn rim is over a cm larger, I wonder?

I'm not sure what size the rims are. They came from the donor mtn bike. I measure about 9 1/2 clearance to the BB and about 3 inches under the pedal with the bike upright. My trails aren't as gnarly as yours sound, I should be ok! Merry Xmas!

 

[us56456712]

I'm not sure what size the rims are. They came from the donor mtn bike. I measure about 9 1/2 clearance to the BB and about 3 inches under the pedal with the bike upright. My trails aren't as gnarly as yours sound, I should be ok! Merry Xmas!

Sounds like plenty of clearance.
Some of the local trails, We have over 200 miles of this stuff within 20 miles of my house. My house is on one of these trailheads.

 

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Awesome trails!!! My local trails don't even come close!

 

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Hit the rail trail today...muddy!