Schwinn S6 weight limit?

[handyandy1100]

As a little old fat man, I feel better on fatter tires. But there's a couple of nice looking '70's Schwinn 5 speed camelbacks for sale in the area. How much can those skinny tires support?

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[Wildcat]

I had a friend back in the 60's who rode a lightweight Raleigh at 491 lbs. When those tires were new, I would trust them, but not at their age now. The new S-5's, and S-6s are made in China. Even new I don't trust them.
However, I've converted lightweight bikes to 26 x 1.75 or 2.125 wheels and tires. You could do that with the camel backs I believe. There's a lot of good standard tires 26 x 1.75 that I would trust, and they roll and look better than the old S-5/6 tires.
The downside is brakes, the 26 x 1.75 standard rims are a smaller diameter, hand brakes won't reach. Coaster brakes or mods to a handbrake mount will work though. Here's a 71 Varsity with 26 x 2 S-7 rear and a 26 x 2.125 front and a 65 Continental I converted to 26 x 1.95 on both wheels. Both have coaster brakes, 2 or 3 speeds. Those frames are probably the same width as a camel back bikes you saw, so at least a 26 x 1.75 will fit for sure. Then you would have a quality tire from a wide selection.

 

[handyandy1100]

Thanks Wildcat.
I was wondering if I could just swap wheels. Would like to keep it a 5 speed though. I've seen some longer brake calipers online so maybe a wheel swap is the hot ticket.
I figured I would be swapping some parts and saving the originals anyways.
Thanks.

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[Wildcat]

If you find longer brakes, a cheap mountain bike off of craigslist with 26" wheels would get you both rims and tires and maybe give you one or two extra speeds on the cluster. Also, the camel backs may be 26", if so, then you probably can find brakes that will fit. If they're 27", like my Varsity and Continental were, that might be tougher to find brakes long enough.
I'd like to see how that might turn out.

 

[handyandy1100]

A little interweb search leads me to believe the 5 speed Collegiate runs S6 wheels. Hope that's right. Cheapo mtb for wheels sounds like a plan!
Thanks.

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[handyandy1100]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/321859132582

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[Wildcat]

I picked up a couple extra long ones for our bikes recently. Measure from the mounting hole to the rim side edge to get the reach length. 99mm is the longest I've found, but there are probably longer ones somewhere.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BLM4EJY/ref=dp_cerb_1

 

[RustySprockets]

A little interweb search leads me to believe the 5 speed Collegiate runs S6 wheels. Hope that's right. Cheapo mtb for wheels sounds like a plan!
Thanks.

You'd better check the actual bike. I've got a '70s camelback Varsity that sports 27" S-7 rims. Wrapped in new rubber, those skinny hoops (27 x 1¼) support my chubbiness just fine. The Varsity is a 10-speed, so isn't that just a Collegiate with a front derailleur added?

 

[handyandy1100]

You'd better check the actual bike. I've got a '70s camelback Varsity that sports 27" S-7 rims. Wrapped in new rubber, those skinny hoops (27 x 1¼) support my chubbiness just fine. The Varsity is a 10-speed, so isn't that just a Collegiate with a front derailleur added?

Supposed to meet the guy this afternoon and tire size will be checked! Found a site about the Schwinn catalog that says Vatsity had 26 x 1-1/4 tires while Collegiate had 26 x 1-3/8 tires. Going by metric rim size, the current 650b or 27.5 tire size is right in there too. Geez, why do they make this stuff so confusing? LOL

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[RustySprockets]

Geez, why do they make this stuff so confusing? LOL

PROFIT! Replacement tires were a lucrative money-maker for these companies at one time. Locking a buyer into a proprietary size worked to the manufacturer's advantage.

Work around bikes for any length of time, and you'll probably find yourself gravitating toward the ISO system of measurement--i.e. the Bead Seat Diameter quoted in millimeters.

 

[Wildcat]

You'd better check the actual bike. I've got a '70s camelback Varsity that sports 27" S-7 rims. Wrapped in new rubber, those skinny hoops (27 x 1¼) support my chubbiness just fine. The Varsity is a 10-speed, so isn't that just a Collegiate with a front derailleur added?

I think those would be S-6 wheels, S-7 are 26".

 

[Wildcat]

PROFIT! Replacement tires were a lucrative money-maker for these companies at one time. Locking a buyer into a proprietary size worked to the manufacturer's advantage.

Work around bikes for any length of time, and you'll probably find yourself gravitating toward the ISO system of measurement--i.e. the Bead Seat Diameter quoted in millimeters.

When us kids needed tires on our bikes, you could hear my dad cussing. Schwinn made their rims just a hair bigger in diameter so regular tires wouldn't fit, you had to buy Schwinn tires.

 

[handyandy1100]

I rember the struggle as a kid trying to fit a tire on a rim only to discover it was a Schwinn rim and a "normal" tire. Using big screw drivers instead of tire irons didn't help my tire changing experince, even when tires and rims matched! LOL

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[Chad T]

A great conversion for the 26 X 1 3/8 (S5/S6) lightweight Schwinns is to put newer 700c size rims and tires on. These work great on those frames with hand brakes and plenty of modern high quality tires that will fit.

Here's my '73 Collegiate converted to 700c.

700c wheels are slightly larger in diameter so rim brakes work quite nicely.

Those are modern road bike brakes but the Schwinn brakes work good with the 700c wheels too.

The Schwinn 27 inch rims were not proprietary so they were the same as any other 27. S7 rims came in 20, 24 and 26 and were 1 3/4 inch wide but different diameter than a tire designated as 1.75 (decimal).

 

[handyandy1100]

Well, I feel like an idiot. After all the online research, and picking y'alls brains, I went to go get the bike. Pulled up in the drive and there it sat. Right then the question of 27 or 26 inch wheels was answered. Neither. It was a 24 incher!!!

I totally forgot the fact that Schwinn made the 5 speed humpback in 24" as well. LOL

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[RustySprockets]

Oof! That happens.

...and Wildcat caught me again. The 26" S-7 rim was ISO571--my bike is clearly ISO630.