Outcast

[JA331]

A couple of weeks back I joined a mate on a 50 mile drive to pick up a GT Transeo mtb which had a set of 700c wheels with an 8 speed nexus hub. He only wanted the hub and was planning to lace it into a 26” 36 hole rim he already had. After checking out the bike I discovered the hub had 32 holes which was useless to him. I offered to give him a new nexus 7 hub I bought for around $60 a couple of years back if he paid for the bike which was around the same cost as the Nexus 7 hub. He agreed.

Since then I’ve been looking for a bike I could use the wheel set on. A few days ago a pair of 1977 Suburbans turned up for sale on Facebook marketplace. The young seller inherited them from his grandparents but didn’t have the skills to fix them and wanted them gone. USA made Schwinn bikes were never sold in Australia and the bikes were purchased from a dealer in Virginia while his grandparents were working and living there. He offered them to me for around USD$60 so I paid the kid, threw them in the van and headed home.

I plan to keep the lady’s bike as a display piece as its almost completely original with the exception of the front tire. The men’s bike has an unusable front wheel and is well used but solid. It has the freewheeling crank and locked rear cluster known as the FF system. The behemoth of a crank assembly weighs over 4 lbs and will find a new home on the shelf as I put the bike on a diet. I have some decent 700c tires and almost everything I need to rebuild it with the exception of a chain, new brake pads and bottom bracket kit should I decide to fit a 3 piece crank set instead of the 1 piece.

I tried the 700c wheels and they went in easily. I’ve named the bike Outcast as it will look out of place among the 12 or so cruisers and bmx cruisers parked in my shed.

 

[OddJob]

I was just thinking yesterday how out of place my Schwinn Racer 'Skinny, Single' build looked in my shed full of wide tired, low slung, laid back cruisers. Your 'Outcast' is a perfect name for this cool build!

Keep those progress posts and photos coming! sKinNy oN~!

 

[Ulu]

Well those are definitely not the heavy duty 1960s Schwinns that I remember.

 

[tucker]

I have one of those cranks, every time I think of using it, it just turns out to be a bad idea. Like Sheldon Brown said “it was a solution looking for a problem”. Great start to your buiild, have fun

 

[Son of Kradus]

I regard myself as a big tough bloke but that girls bike is saying ride me!! ride me!!!, its fantastic and is worth way more than the $60 you paid for both!
what a score!

 

[JA331]

I regard myself as a big tough bloke but that girls bike is saying ride me!! ride me!!!, its fantastic and is worth way more than the $60 you paid for both!
what a score!

I’m a big bloke too and would have no issue riding it either except its on the small side.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I was just thinking yesterday how out of place my Schwinn Racer 'Skinny, Single' build looked in my shed full of wide tired, low slung, laid back cruisers

I think this build off is going to change things up around here as people realize the fun to be had. Gas Money is my first skinny bike, but now my eyes have definitely been opened. I even brought home a pair of drop bars yesterday!

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

I think this build off is going to change things up around here as people realize the fun to be had. Gas Money is my first skinny bike, but now my eyes have definitely been opened. I even brought home a pair of drop bars yesterday!

Taking the "seriousness" out of riding pavement and making it FUN.

 

[JA331]

I contemplated fitting a set of lightweight 3 piece cranks but settled for a new one piece crank for a more original appearance. I don’t like original Schwinn one piece cranks as they are narrow compared to most of the new ones available. The new crank is the same length as the original at 170mm but 30mm wider. I also fitted an old Schwinn sprocket, a new bottom bracket and a pair of reproduction Schwinn pedals I removed from a late model lady’s cruiser last year.

Before I finished up for the day I replaced the low stem and tourer bars with a higher classic Schwinn stem and Nirve handlebar from my part bins.

I’ll get stuck into the brakes and wheels later this week.

 

[JA331]

I’ve been sick all week with another miserable cold the kids brought home from school so I haven’t done much bike work. The weather has also been terrible with record levels of rainfall and widespread flooding in our state. Many people have lost everything and there is more heavy rain expected in the next few days.

Today I just had to get out of the house and do some work so I finished the Schwinn alloy cruiser I began working on last week for a work mate. He needed a bike to ride from the train station to the office but wanted gears and a rack so I fitted a 3 speed Nexus wheel set to it, a Top Peak rack I had laying around and gave it a full service. He lives about 50 miles from town, brings the bike on the train with him and then has a 15 minute ride to the office.

I also had time to work on Outkast so I got started on servicing the wheel set. The front hub just needed a simple service but both rims had some corrosion on the spoke nipples so I cleaned them up.

The tires I was hoping to use got ditched as the rubber along the beads began to break up into plastic like shards as I fitted them. Not having any other 700c tires laying around I made a quick dash to the local bike store and got a deal on a pair of Schwalbe marathons as they were having a closing down sale. The tires went on the double wall rims easily and I was relieved to find they cleared the fenders. Being 700 x 35 tires they are a little wider than the 27 x 1.25 tires that were fitted to the original rims.

Next I got to work on the brakes. I discovered the right hand brake lever interfered with the shifter so I fitted a pair of 80’s Dia-compe MTB levers instead. I also fitted a new chain, front brake pads and grips. I was keen to go for a quick test ride and left the rear brake for another day.

A quick blast around the car park at work revealed how nice the bike rode on its skinny tires compared to my similarly equipped aluminium frame Trek Allant. It is also very comfortable for a big 6’2 bloke like me largely in part to the 24” seat mast and 23” top tube. I think this is the largest Suburban frame Schwinn offered and it is definitely the biggest skinny tire bike I have ridden! The 8 speed Nexus freewheeling hub is super smooth and I’m hoping the front brake improves once the new pads bed in.

To improve this ride further I would probably change the original style pedals for a pair with more real estate and swap the mattress saddle for a Brooks B67 from one of my other rides.

 

[OddJob]

Liking the look of this! The patina-ed frame and fork with the modern parts is always a win.
I'm so used to riding bikes that feel small to me after 8 years of RRB, that when I get on my optimally sized modern gravel bike, it feels like a dream!

A light sand paper rubbing across the brake pad surfaces will help them grab better from the start. Get that manufacturing coating off.

 

[JA331]

Thanks for the brake tip Oddjob.

 

[Pondo]

Liking the look of this! The patina-ed frame and fork with the modern parts is always a win.

Agreed. The bike is looking great! That it is comfy too is quite the bonus.

80’s Dia-compe MTB levers

Brooks B67

Tasty ingredients!

Sorry to hear about the weather issues. We'll take some of that extra rain off your hands, can you ship it to California?

 

[Jude Ephesus]

I’ve been sick all week with another miserable cold the kids brought home from school so I haven’t done much bike work. The weather has also been terrible with record levels of rainfall and widespread flooding in our state. Many people have lost everything and there is more heavy rain expected in the next few days.

Today I just had to get out of the house and do some work so I finished the Schwinn alloy cruiser I began working on last week for a work mate. He needed a bike to ride from the train station to the office but wanted gears and a rack so I fitted a 3 speed Nexus wheel set to it, a Top Peak rack I had laying around and gave it a full service. He lives about 50 miles from town, brings the bike on the train with him and then has a 15 minute ride to the office.

I also had time to work on Outkast so I got started on servicing the wheel set. The front hub just needed a simple service but both rims had some corrosion on the spoke nipples so I cleaned them up.

The tires I was hoping to use got ditched as the rubber along the beads began to break up into plastic like shards as I fitted them. Not having any other 700c tires laying around I made a quick dash to the local bike store and got a deal on a pair of Schwalbe marathons as they were having a closing down sale. The tires went on the double wall rims easily and I was relieved to find they cleared the fenders. Being 700 x 35 tires they are a little wider than the 27 x 1.25 tires that were fitted to the original rims.

Next I got to work on the brakes. I discovered the right hand brake lever interfered with the shifter so I fitted a pair of 80’s Dia-compe MTB levers instead. I also fitted a new chain, front brake pads and grips. I was keen to go for a quick test ride and left the rear brake for another day.

A quick blast around the car park at work revealed how nice the bike rode on its skinny tires compared to my similarly equipped aluminium frame Trek Allant. It is also very comfortable for a big 6’2 bloke like me largely in part to the 24” seat mast and 23” top tube. I think this is the largest Suburban frame Schwinn offered and it is definitely the biggest skinny tire bike I have ridden! The 8 speed Nexus freewheeling hub is super smooth and I’m hoping the front brake improves once the new pads bed in.

To improve this ride further I would probably change the original style pedals for a pair with more real estate and swap the mattress saddle for a Brooks B67 from one of my other rides. View attachment 214006View attachment 214005View attachment 214004
View attachment 214008View attachment 214009

I got the cold now too….. kids and wifey brought home from school too….. draggin’ today! It was about a week for them.

 

[JA331]

Including covid this is the 5th respiratory illness I have had this year. This one is reminiscent of the previous bug I got 6 weeks ago and it was far worse than covid.

Take care mate.

 

[JA331]

I got to work early this morning so I could finish Outkast. First I pulled the fork to service the headset. A quick clean, adding 2 balls that were missing and new grease got the 45 year old assembly working like new. Then I fitted a set of MKS plastic pedals a friend left with me a couple of weeks back for fitting a new crank set to his Avenger. They look out of place on the bike but work well and are miles better than any of the other 1/2 pedals I had in my stash.

The old Schwinn mattress saddle was in good condition and felt reasonably comfortable but my previous experience with soft saddles is they become annoying on long rides so I stored it for the next owner and replaced it with a Brooks B67 I borrowed from one of my other bikes.

The brakes took the most time to get working properly. I decided to keep the 80’s Dia-compe levers for a future build and instead used a pair of levers from one of the many lady’s bikes I’ve parted out in recent years. I wasn’t too keen on the bright anodised finish and gave them a quick rub with a Scotch-brite pad. I then fitted new Shimano pads (pre scuffed at the factory @OddJob), took the bike for a quick test ride and found them completely useless, replacing the front set with a used pair of grey Kool Stops. The difference in braking was amazing.

With the brakes sorted I took off for a short ride before the rain returned. The diet of new parts has worked and the bike feels much lighter than before. I love the combination of modern parts with the scratches and patina of a 45 year old bike. The gear changes of the Nexus 8 speed are super smooth as is the ride on the new Schwalbe tyres. The addition of 700c wheels to Schwinn’s classic steel frame result in a ride far better than I expected and is comparable to the ride of a typical steel frame cruiser on wider tyres. The 24” frame, taller Schwinn classic stem and Nirve handlebars suit me perfectly.

I’m really pleased and surprised with the end result and hope do do some serious miles on it should the rain ever let up as we move into summer downunder.

 

[OddJob]

Nice work on getting a 'satin' finish on those brake levers. The Kool Stop pads in either grey or salmon color are softer material than any black pads, and work well with lower pull ratio side pull calipers. Also add a nice vintage look to your build. Ride the heck out of this cool build and keep the photo tour of your neighborhood coming on future rides!

 

[JA331]

Thanks Oddjob. I ordered 2 pairs of the KS salmon pads today. The original pads fitted to the bike were also salmon in colour.

It will be raining here heavily for the next week and I hope to get in at least one decent ride. In the last 3 months I have only been on 8 rides as the weather has been woeful and it is not expected to improve for another month.

 

[GTHOtrod]

Cool ride, turning out great.
We have had some flooding issues with all this rain on our property down in Tasmania, plenty of preventative work to keep everything safe, and got through OK.

 

[JA331]

Good to hear. Not much joy for so many people across the country at the moment.