Vintage bike TRANSFORMED: Full Schwinn Restoration
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2024
- This 1977 Schwinn Traveler III was one of my most enjoyable projects in a while. Watch as I fully restore and tell you how to do it yourself this classic vintage Schwinn road bike. Full vintage Schwinn bike restoration.
#vintagebike #bikerestoration #schwinn
0:00 Intro
0:43 First cleaning
1:13 Initial disassembly
3:05 Fork disassembly
3:31 Handlebars and shifter cleaning
4:44 Brakes
5:20 Chain and RD
5:32 Crankset
8:50 Small parts polishing
9:34 RD cleaning
10:36 Shifter and pedals cleaning
11:40 Rust removal / Handlebars
12:00 Freehub and wheel bearings
13:10 Paint polishing
13:57 Headset bearings
14:55 Stem and bars
15:15 Brakes
15:55 Cockpit assembly
16:32 Brooks Swallow saddle
17:43 Bottom bracket / crank assembly
18:58 Cabling
19:32 Bar taping
19:44 Complete - Sport
FREE ? holy crap , you hit the lottery . that thing is gorgeous .
When restoring or even just getting an old Craigslist bike back on the road, new ball bearings and grease I like to hope some young kid is gonna get it 20 years from now and ride it all over the place and put hundreds of miles on it.
Not to be a chud but I really appreciate how you break down the process of repair and restoration for those that have no knowledge of mechanics...but also throwing out great suggestions for those that are still experienced but haven't gotten too serious. Sonication for the rust removal/cleaning process is noice.
I love this video . Satisfy my OCD and now I’m motivated to fix a bike my brother found at his neighbor trash
I love how you focus on what’s important for *you*. It feels like you restore it enough to feel proud over it, not perfect.
Appreciate it! That's the mindset
i just bought a voyageur 11.8 that needs this kind of love and attention. your traveler looks immaculate i cant wait to take your tips and processes to my vintage schwinn
I do some design work with a huge interest in oldschool design from the 1920's to the 2000's and man, the weirdest things can date something so perfectly. Everything from a man's briefcase, their bike, the pen they use and the arrangement of their livingroom can be dated to just a few years. This bike just screams the late 70's. You can tell they tried to get away from some choices that stayed from the 60's. It's difficult to decide whether something is designed that way because an engineer saw no other solution, or because they or someone on the team was an artist and understood design that was contemporary at the time. Really interesting stuff. Fantastic video, loved every second.
omg you’re such an inspiration!yesterday i bought myself an old motobecane bike from the 1970s. I have an idea of slowly renewing it while acquiring the skills i’d need to bring this bike back to its grace. thank you for showing that such project is totaly possible and it actually can turn out great ❤
James Bowling just gave me an old Schwinn Traveler, red, think it's 24 inch. I intend to give it to a kid that tells me he likes my bike as I am riding my 27 inch 78 La Tours, but first I gotta fix a broken brake lever you don't like. I liked your video. I ride my 2 La Tours and my 25 inch World sits, as does my electric bike..
I just got a mid-seventies Motobecane Mirage, in pretty good condition. It is the exact back that I rode when I was in Jr High and High School before I started driving. I loved that bike. This one is the same, except a different color. I plan to do a restoration like you just did, clean it up, replace the cables, probably needs a new seat, and it needs new tires. I haven't really gotten into the project yet, but I have all winter to work on it. I loved your video. Nicely detailed. Thanks!
That's awesome! Yeah, winter is the best time to work on bikes. I love just doing 30 min a night. Have fun!
Schwinn bikes are very classic no doubt, good restoration job
Like the bike, the result and the approaches you're using, great job 👍 additional thanks for some very useful comments!
I just purchased an old ccm 70s and planning on doing the same.Great job!
They may never win a Tour De France, these vintage Schwinn's are close to alot of old timers.
I love them they were made to be an every mans bike, built like a tank, bullet proof for an affordable bike. Easily customizable.
Just a great all around bike!
There are no new bikes that looks this nice.
I appreciate the video and I would like that the bike looks like a really nicely maintained original bike. And nothing more.
the bike is legendary and you are lucky that bike give you for free thats a piece of history❤😊
Beautiful restoration dude, got so much knowledge out of this. I am just begining a venture where I restore cheap or donated bikes and give them away to children who can't afford to buy new and this will be an amazing resource for me, thank you.
Awesome, so so nice to see! I like the way you explain the steps. It came out really nice again, no overdone restoration. Greetings from Germany and keep on going! 👍🌞🍀
my bike!! i still ride it everyday and just got it cleaned up today. love it ❤
i did this to a 1971 La Tour that someone toss out on garbage day but i even took the rear cassette apart and cleaned and re greased the 80 tiny bearings .... I found a three inch 3m style buffer pad that fits in my drill to polish up the chrome- aluminum and all of the spokes and chrome rims ...WOW it saved me a lot of time and it turned out great with shining them up !
I also give old bikes a new life, but you're on another level, great respect for your dedication.
My only trick is spending way more time than is reasonable on every part 😂 thanks!
@@JustinDoesTriathlon Aren't you afraid to lose a little piece, when you dismantle a brake or something?
@@DietrichStockman Sorry, I missed this. CZcams doesn't give me good alerts on replies to replies. I'm not at all nervous about outright losing parts, no, that's just a lot of baggies. What does concern me is not getting things assembled properly, and that's what the video is for! There are so many little bits and similar nuts/bolts that you really have to keep things super organized and be careful, but as long as you do that, it's okay.
Just bought an 87 super sport and I can't wait to do this process to it and make her shine 😊
Fantastic! Enjoy! :)
Ive just done similar with a 70s Peugeot. I'm with you on the frame - unless its really rough, leave the original paint. It is what it is. Patina is good :)
Justin - great to see you back on CZcams and love the restoration project. I'll be rewatching this all winter as a guide for restoring a 30 year old Peugeot Sport. Thanks - and looking forward to more videos.
I somehow missed this comment. My fault! Appreciate that, and I hope you enjoy the resto!
Its so beautiful ❤❤❤❤
Gorgeous job once again! This and your Suburban video are underrated! I love the fact that you let the bike remain what it was meant to be instead of trying to upgrade this with modern components. Well done 👍🏼
Thank you very much! And to you. There's a few of us keeping these things alive! :)
Just picked a Schwinn Le Tour from the side of the road and started disassembling today. Thank you for this guide, it made me decide not to half ass the restore and to do my best. It's in a lot rougher shape but if I can get it to 75% of what you did I'm going to be stoked.
As a woman who grew up in the midwest in the 60's & 70;s, I LOVED this video and your contagious joy of restoring these vintage gems. I have a 70's, orange Schwinn Twinn. The chain just broke and local bike shop says they can't fix these old broken chains (small town).. I felt discouraged, came home & found your video - so encouraging that it CAN be done. Any suggestions on how & where to look in Ohio.?
Thanks so much! That's awesome that you have a Twinn! It 100% can be fixed. I know nothing about Ohio but I find it a little suspect that a bike shop can't fix a chain, that's crazy. I found a post on bikeforums from someone in a similar situation to you (linked at the end of comment) Basically, they were told to buy two 5/6 speed bike chains. If you've got the old chain, that's gold, because you know exactly how long to make it. And then all you would need is a chain breaker tool (7-$10 on Amazon.) Try to confirm it with a little more checking of what you've got, but a KMC 5/6 speed chain ($10) and a chain tool ($10) should get you most of the way up and running! I’ve also linked a Park Tool video that will walk you through replacing the chain. You can do it! :D
czcams.com/video/VdUQKVMPF5I/video.html
www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/756346-chain-question-my-schwinn-tandem.html
@@JustinDoesTriathlonsend a chain
The number of notes I took on the various cleaning and polishing techniques fills a page. What a stunning result, amazingly executed! One nitpick point is the mounting of the Weinmann brake calipers to the front fork and rear frame. The aluminum escutcheons are specific to the outward-facing and inward-facing sides. The square escutcheons' knurled surfaces are designed to interface (facing outwards) with the Weinmann caliper mounting surface for a non-rotating fit. The round escutcheons are designed to provide a flat surface for the caliper retaining nut. They face inwards.
Brilliant! Thank you for catching that, I'll fix it asap! And thanks for the comments. :)
I thoroughly enjoyed that. Thanks.
The restoration turned out great. What I like about bicycles built in Asia, is that smaller hands tend to go in deeper into the weld areas forming a good bond. Thank you for sharing
Excellent work, sir! Thanks for posting!
I do one last thing to the bikes that I rescue: tire shine! It really adds to the effect ☺
this is amazing Justin enjoy it
Amazing
Yay, a restorer who uses evaporust... It's the best for this to reuse old bits. Good job & narration fella 👍
Give me a jug of evaporust and a tube of antiseize, and I can fix anything. ;)
killer bike
Отличный проект получился, молодец! Настоящий велосипед и есть возможность ремонта даже спустя много лет. Спасибо за видео!
Спасибо!
i just bought this bike! i love it!
Loved that. great job with the restoration. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
amazing work
I enjoyed your aesthetic on this build. You rescued a bike and put it back to near new- no need to add a bunch of modern parts or redo the paint. It is good to go for a few thousand miles now, good job.
Thanks! I haven't put as many miles into it as I'd hoped yet, but it's a fun bike. Very different ride feel than my modern bikes! Sidenote... I may have another one of these I'm working on now too 😃
Just beautiful! Makes me miss my 1980's Takara.
Thanks you! Trying to get the vid done by Sunday, but I just finished up a really clean 88 Schwinn Premis. I LOVE these 80s frames.
I love it !
I love this. I have an old Raleigh Capri (that I’ll be using for for my first Tri in August) and this makes me want to clean it up this winter.
Gorgeous. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
One of the best resto videos. Honest. Bravo!
Appreciate it!
Great video...I still have the light blue Schwinn Super Sport that I bought new in 1972. I put thousands of miles on it. This video has inspired me to give her some lovin'!
That's awesome! I love Super Sports. The dead flat top tube is a great look. I actually just picked up a sky blue 1980 Suburban that's currently down to the frame for another resto project! Hope you can make some good progress with yours too!
Great video, Justin. Love your content and hope to see more in the future if your life allows.
Thanks. :)
Wow, stupendo video....ho comprato una bicicletta simile se non uguale e mi sono salvato questo video, la restaurerò usando questi preziosi consigli!!!!❤️❤️❤️
Awesome!
great job, been thinking of doing an old bike up myself and this has just given me even more incentive. loved the butter knife crank cap tool . thanks
Oh don't be fooled, that's the special BTR3.1 Butter Knife by Park Tool! 😅 You should absolutely do it! It's a lot of fun, especially if you don't set yourself a deadline and just work on it whenever you're in the mood.
It's so cool that you know how to do all that!
✌Just been learning for a long, long time.
Great restoration! Looks great man
Thanks!
So cool to see you get that bike and clean it up and restore it.
Thanks! Yeah I got really lucky, and I'm super happy with how it ended up.
Nicely done. That bike was made in Japan by Panasonic. In many ways, they were superior to the US made Schwinns of that time. For years, at least well into the mid 80's, the seat post binder bolts on Panasonic branded bikes still had the Schwinn "S" on them. The only minor goof I noticed was the crescent washers on the brake center bolts, The shallower ones are used on the fork, the deeper ones on the caliper bridge.
You're right! I've since fixed that. No idea how I did that 😁🤣 thanks !
nice work and great result !!!
Thanks!
I love what you did here.
I don't generally have time to fully polish up everything, so reasonably clean, well lubricated and safe are my typical goals. Might have to go the extra mile on my newest to me bike, a '75 Varsity in chestnut brown. It just needed tires and a new handlebar (original had crash damage) to be good. I had it out for a decent ride last night, but will eventually pull it apart for bearing repacks and further cleaning.
Love your philosophy about refurbishing and enjoying the process! I’m doing the same to a 72 Continental. Cheers!
Nice, I bet that looks great!
I have what I believe is a 1983 Schwinn Ten Speed with quick release skewers. I want to do what you've done since I finally got great tires and inner tubes from Walmart in instead of buying online. I only need a rear wheel reflector, a spoke guard. I might rip the plastic remains off. I found a brand new beautiful Schwinn extra large cushioned seat at Goodwill It may look weird, but it will be comfortable. I needed your video for advice on removing dingy rust spots. Even though I won't break mine all the way down. Your thoroughness makes the idea enticing.
I have Raleigh from 70’s and I would say it is rocket science. Cotter pins? Check! Weird non standard bottom bracket? Check! Unfamiliar brand on derailleurs? Check! Other than those it could be easy. Bikes from 80/90’s are just much more easier. They have standards.
Good job!!!
Thanks!
Man that's a very cool bike ❤❤it
Beautiful!!+
I love it
This is a satisfying restoration, while also being informative. Thanks for all the suggestions on budget cleaning and maintenance. I was gifted a late 70s Schwinn made in Japan, and this has inspired me to do some serious maintenance. Might need to add some better tires for riding around the city
Excellent, enjoy it! I'm working on an 88 Premis as well right now. They're great bikes.
Wait what, free? Tons of good tips in here. (ziplock to save degreaser 🤯) The polish obsession is a good thing. It's very enjoyable to watch. It's doing wonders for my OCD right now. This might be my favorite video of yours. Gorgeous clean up. 🙌
Ha, thanks! Yeah, the baggie trick works great. Better in every way. Polishing + Anti-seize are basically the takeaways of this vid lol
Justin you rule, great to have a project bike, my father in law has an old colnago that i fancy giving a go
Do it! It's a fun task to take on. :)
I absolutely adore this, you did such a marvelous job. I just bought a Schwinn Le Tour today, and I'm going to embark on a similar restoration project to yours :)
Thanks so much, enjoy the process!
Enjoyed your video !!
ℹ actually have a similar one stored !
Was wondering if you were going to post more videos. Loved the restoration. Thanks for sharing.
Getting back into it. Thanks! :)
Hey Justin, Man I love that degreaser hack! I have a very nice stainless ultrasonic cleaner, but I didn't want to muck it up. I'm just getting ready to restore my pop's 1980 Schwinn Super Le Tour 12 speed (made in Chicago) and will definitely use your hack, thanks! I will be stripping it completely as the decals are almost gone, and I'm going to do some custom paint work. Purists won't like it, but I've restored old cars and turned them into resto-mods. All of the components will be original except the saddle, as I do plan to ride it, and the OG saddle just won't do. Super nice job 🤜🤛, and you're right, there's something about taking one apart and bringing it back to life. To me it's very relaxing and slows down the world a bit. Doing these bikes is way cheaper than doing cars that's for sure!😁
Bikes < cars < boats < planes on the $$$ front for sure! I grew up working on cars, so I definitely understand that struggle. And hey, that's the nice thing about Schwinns and such too; they really aren't rare or expensive, so if it's pretty shot and needs to get stripped down, it makes a great canvas. That'll be a fun project!
Easy to assemble! Comfortable ride. Easy gear changes.
Butter knife screwdriver :)
Looks awesome,great work...!!
😅
If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupid! I destroyed the dust caps on my project bike by trying to use a normal screwdriver. The plastic was old and brittle and shattered under a small amount of torque.
I think your treatment of the paint was a great decision 🤷
Cool
Old inexpensive bikes are great if they're mechanically sound. I use them as loaners to house guests to ride around town. If they're wrecked, no big deal. Plus, not many would steal a bike that's not worth much.
Very true! This is basically a perfect loaner bike.
Great video! I’m restoring my dads Continental and your video has been perfect. What degreaser do you use and will it work without ultrasonic?
This video got me even more motivated to bring the old bike of my dad back to life. So many tips i'm going to use on my project, thanks for that! How big is your ultrasonic bath by the way?
Happy to hear that! Mine's not very big. Maybe 7x"5" or so
LEMBRE-SE !
ITENS DE SEGURANÇA, NÃO SE RESTAURA.
"SE MELHORA"
Great video and great restoration! Have you had any issues with running cable housing straight into the braze-on cable stops without ferrules at the ends? I'm working on restoring a similar 1981 Schwinn Sports Tourer, but the new housing i have is loose in the braze-ons and the modern ferrules that came with the housing are too wide for the braze-ons. Wondering if i can get away without "step down" ferrules. Thanks!
Wow! Thanks for this video. I purchased this bike new in the 70’s. Mine needs the gears adjusted & new brake pads. One question, I’m over 60 & would love to find out your opinion on having some sort of adjustable stem put on so I can ride more upright?
Oh that's fun! I hope it's been enjoyable for you! :) Yeah, you can definitely get it more upright. There's two things that would help with that: bringing the bars up vertically and also bringing them back (closer to you) so you don't have to reach as far. The googling term that I would look up is "Height adjustable quill stem." You could also do a "Quill stem to threadless adapter" which would then let you put on any of the current modern stems. I would start with the first just because that's a 1 piece solution, but if you don't fine anything that's tall or angled enough, then you could look at a cheap adapter + high rise stem. But yes, don't worry, 100% doable. Have fun!
Penetrating oil and a blowtorch have always been my goto for stuck bolts and nuts. A little heat goes a long way when penetrating oil won't get it.
Can't be solid if it's a liquid!
Nice that you didnt Paint the frame, original it is 😎
Hey! I just found a western flyer which looks almost 1:1 with this beautiful ride! It was sitting at this abandoned shed next to my house for many years exposed to elements and this will be my first project! For the parts I cannot restore is it possible to obtain a list of compatible parts to properly replace the corroded pieces currently on the bike? I've never worked or rode on my own bike and I have almost no knowledge. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!
You should have pumped evaporust into the whole frame. Fun fact, Panasonic built those bikes to Schwinn's specifications.Also, Panasonic also built bikes for Miyata as well. And Miyata built bikes under the Panasonic banner as well as Univega and vice versa.
I actually thought about that re: Evap! Good idea. I might do it at some point in the future , maybe a winter project. Probably a good idea. Thanks for the history, I didn't know that (though I had some idea that Panasonic was involved somehow.) Very cool
@@JustinDoesTriathlon Just look it up in 'Wikipedia' And, Thanks Again for answering my reply.
Looks great! I have a Schwinn Varsity with a good amount of rust on the bike frame. Can I submerge portions of the frame in Evapo-Rust, similar to how you did for other parts?
If you've got enouph evaporust, I wouldn't see why not! I haven't had any issues with it touching paint or anything (but test it somewhere inconspicuous first). There's also an old school method of plugging the frame and filling it with hot oil to form a moisture barrier against future internal corrosion, but I've never done this. Less messy, you can get spray in vapro shields.
It looks so much like my 70's Raleigh 10 speed. I was happy with the 10 speed range. Never could figure out why the more modern bikes have so many more. Seemed like overkill.
I totally get that. I freely admit that when I'm on my 24sp (2x12) road bike, I love the range and use it all. But.... when I'm on a bike with a lot less, I adapt instantly and it's never a problem!
👍
About a month ago I bought an 84 World Sport. I have it torn apart in the garage, I’m in a slow restoration of it. Even though I’m putting the wheels back together and got new tubes and tires, I’m still debating putting a 700c wheel set.
I'm a slow restoration guy myself. Throw an hour or two into it a night over a month or two. My 2c, depends how you're going to ride it. Sunny cruiser around the neighborhood? Keep the stock wheels. Anything at speed where you might actually 'need' brakes? Probably something with alu. hoops. The steel wheels are just not great. Brakes are probably the biggest change in bikes in the last few decades imo. Hell, I just built up bike with downtubes, but I'd never seriously ride chrome steel rim brakes.
@@JustinDoesTriathlon my mistake, it’s an 1980.
It’ll be a ride a couple hours on the greenbelt every blue moon type of bike. Probably wouldn’t have taken it apart if it hadn’t sat for what seemed years in the Texas sun.
@@JustinDoesTriathlon my progress just got slower. I lost a few bearings that go in the free wheel.
Been there done that! 🤣! Bearings are cheap on Amazon thankfully. your LBS may have some if you're lucky
Hello, how do you disassemble the double brake levers for refurbishing, I have the same and I don't know how to disassemble them for cleaning?. Thank you
cleaned my thrift shop purchase up... but I'm not as detailed as you!!
Did you replace the spokes? Or just clean? I have a similar project going. Thanks
I just cleaned them. I don't have the knowledge to wheel true (nor the equipment) so I didn't go down that road. Also, the spokes were in good condition. I did add about 1/4 turn of tension to them all though (doing it in 3 revolutions by every third spoke
My father own a schwinn varsity model and I'm planning to completely restore it however there's a small allowance at the opposite side of the RD where the wheel lock is attached. Is there anything attached in it or is it just a free space? I've seen other vintage bike that has screw stopping wheel lock going backwards and avoiding the potential wheel detachment (which i experienced) but this one doesn't had the hole for it.
Hmmm... Not sure exactly what you mean. If you can be more specific about what exactly you need, I can try to check my footage/bike for you and help out. If you haven't seen it, I *highly* reccomend the "That 70s Schwinn Bike Channel" on YT. They have great, extremely detailed videos: czcams.com/channels/N2s93dTyzLwV30rmuXfXdg.html
FYI - You can use vinegar instead of Evapo-Rust and it will do the same job without destroying the planet. Good video though!
Is Evaporust bad? I don't know either way, but they claim: "Evapo-Rust® is an environmentally safe water-based product that removes rust in minutes without scrubbing or sanding. It’s non-toxic, biodegradable, non-corrosive, safe on skin and eyes, doesn’t release fumes or bad odors, and contains no acids, bases, solvents, or VOCs. This rust remover requires no special equipment and will not harm unrusted steel or affect plastic, PVC, Viton, and most paints. It’s safe to use on various products"
I've got an old Pallas (about 65 years) touring bicycle that I'm just too old to restore. How can I sell it?
What did you use to clean up the wheels? Must have been tricky to clean up the hub without taking the spokes out.
Slowly, painfully, with a rag and some polish. I'm currently working on a few builds and yeah, just unlaced the wheels. Rebuilding takes some time but it's so hard to really get around all the spokes and the hub it's worth it
@@JustinDoesTriathlon I just found this exact bike on the side of the road for free. Taking the wheels apart to clean them up is probably the best way even if I don't want to admit it. Lacing/truing a wheel can be relaxing until its not. That's when you take a break and come back the next day or a few hours later. I find getting rid of hop to be the most painful part.
@@konarider9472 Ha *exactly*. You can't stress during wheel building. I'm not an expert at it but I'm decent. But yes, once you get that spot that just starts annoying you, come back to it the next day. That's actually why all my bike builds take 6+ weeks excluding parts. I love just throwing 30-60 minutes at them a few times per week. That's freaking awesome you got one off the road!
does anyone know what chain is used in this? just picked up one of these bikes and needs a new one
For projects like this I typically use KMC chains. You'll need to see how many cogs you have in the rear and they likely make a chain for it.
thank you, I did buy a kmc chain not knowing what one I should get haha, ill be honest Im brand new to all the intricate details and specifications of these bikes!! appreciate the help a lot @@JustinDoesTriathlon
@@tresman7180 No prob! KMC is perfectly fine for this sort of stuff. Have fun!
19:05 That's what I say when I go to my doctor.😉
🤣