Feeler F/T: 54cm Jamis Ventura Sport Road Bike (for vintage steel)

So, I rode my dad's old Lotus over the weekend, and absolutely fell in love with the feel of steel and the look of an absolutely horizontal top tube. 

Here are the specs of my bike:

http://jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/road/ventura/10_venturasport.html

Upgrades include: new rear wheel (Mavic Open Pro laced with DT Swiss spokes to Ultegra hub) , Prologo Scratch saddle, Bontrager hard-case tires. The picture below shows it with the stock saddle (which I also have) and an uncut steerer tube (which has since been cut.)

If you have something that may be of interest, give me a shout.

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Permalink Reply by spencewine on August 23, 2012 at 2:01am

That's a pretty sweet ride, I've always loved those Voyageurs, I just wish they had barcons & 700c tires...but most bikes from that era don't have them. The biopace chain rings are pretty cool, I gifted a miyata 1000 to my brother that had them.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 23, 2012 at 2:07am

I'll admit that browsing around for 27-1/4" tires takes a lot more time than 700c, though it's not impossible. Bontrager makes a hardcase 27" tire, so I'm probably going to go with that when I get a chance. One of the things I've mulled over for the future is barcons, mostly because I've been drooling over those dura-ace indexed barcon shifters. The current setup is friction, which I've surprisingly gotten pretty used to already.

 

The biopace rings are a pretty cool relic from a moment in bicycle time. I don't notice any marked difference in my riding, but it was pretty wild at first to look down while I was pedaling and see a 'wobbling' chain ring.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 23, 2012 at 2:19am

The Dura-Ace bar ends are 9-speed while the Ultegra bar ends are 8-speed.    Besides the number of clicks they have when in index mode the cable-pull between each click is slightly different.

Personally I think that 8-speed is the way to go.  The Cassettes & Chains cost about half as much to replace, and they last nearly twice as many miles before wearing out.  Even the difference in the price of the bar ends is $20.

You can run either in friction mode but if you ever want to upgrade to an indexed system in the future all you will need is a new rear cassette hub or wheel and a newer derailleur.  You may  have to respace the rear end to 130mm but that isn't a big deal on a steel frame.   A cassette hub can be laced into a 27" rim pretty easily -or one can experiment with converting to 700c but that may cause you need different canti brakes that have more adjustabilty to hit the rim 4mm lower.   A conversion would give you more room to run fatter tires and still use fenders.

All things to think about.  But if you decide to go bar ends you need to choose whether you want to go 8 speed or 9 speed in the future as you'll be pretty locked-in at that point.   People do run 8-speed cassettes on 9-speed shifters but indexing will be slightly off and be harder to set-up and keep adjusted.  Personally, I like 8-speed because it is cheaper and more durable and I don't miss that one extra gear.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 23, 2012 at 2:24am

How do I know how much spacing the current rear end has? I don't see it listed in spec sheets anywhere.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 23, 2012 at 2:27am

Take the rear wheel out and measure the axle  with a caliper or the dropouts with a good ruler with mm scale.

See Sheldon's Page.

If I were a betting man I'd go with 126mm.

Permalink Reply by Moc Artsy on August 23, 2012 at 3:21am

Hello Jim,

Here are some resources that might be useful to you. This is a link to the Schwinn catalogues from 1981 - 1990: http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/index.html

You're Voyageur is from 1986-1988.  Those were the years the Schwinn decal ran along the seat tube and 19987 was the year they introduced Biopace chain rings on the Voyageur. Hard to tell the exact date because of color and the possibility of upgrades to your bike. 

Here is the catalogue picture and text for the 86 model: http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1986Ltwt16.html

Specs: http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1986Ltwt31.html

87 model: http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1987_13.html

Specs: http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1987_17.html

(Scroll all the way to the right.) 

88 model: http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1988_12.html

Specs: http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1988_16.html

Also, here is a link to most of the 27" tires that are still available. The selection is limited, but there are still some great choices: 

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/search/27in-road-tires

Hope you enjoy the bike.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 23, 2012 at 3:44am

Moc, thanks very much. It looks like it's an '86 , much to my surprise. I had started to wonder why mine had a selle san marco saddle as opposed to the avocet that the '85 had. Apparently, the official color is "British Pine", not "British Green."

Permalink Reply by Adam Z on August 23, 2012 at 4:33am

Nice find, Jim!  She looks like a keeper.

Permalink Reply by mark stetson on August 23, 2012 at 8:17am

8 speed DA barcons were made, they are model SL-BS50-8. 

 

The Ultegra 7 speed SL-BS50 shifters can also be used for six speed, with a little plastic insert that increases the cable pull.  The insert can also be used to convert a (non DA) downtube shifter to 6 speed.  I ran the 6 speed barcon setup on my 1987 Cannondale (with 6200 series 600) after the downtube shifter failed.   If you don't want to change the hub/freewheel, you should be able to run those shifters as 5 speed as 5 and 6 speed freewheels have the same spacing.  The limit screw on the RD will simply keep the shifter from going to the last position.

Permalink Reply by Moc Artsy on August 23, 2012 at 12:19pm

Easy way to tell what year your bike is. There are a series a numbers stamped onto your headbadge. The last number should be a 6, 7 or 8, and this will tell you 86, 87 or 88.

Jim S said:

Moc, thanks very much. It looks like it's an '86 , much to my surprise. I had started to wonder why mine had a selle san marco saddle as opposed to the avocet that the '85 had. Apparently, the official color is "British Pine", not "British Green."

Permalink Reply by ilter on August 23, 2012 at 12:27pm

Congrats Jim!  I would say do a long ride and a few hundred miles in total to see what is working & what is not, you may like  many things the way they are.  Rotating handlebars should give you more room on the ramps, drops need not be parallel to ground..  My bike has similar half-step gearing with a small chainring as a quick bailout uphill. I like it a lot.  Finally, and perhaps most importantly, looks like you too were charmed & got a bike that is one or two sizes too small.  Now your quest for your perfect vintage bike begins :))

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on August 23, 2012 at 12:54pm

The stamp on the headbadge is 3625. If I read correctly, this should be the 362nd day of 1985, which would make perfect sense as they probably started to gear up and build 1986 models at the end of 1985. 

Moc Artsy said:

Easy way to tell what year your bike is. There are a series a numbers stamped onto your headbadge. The last number should be a 6, 7 or 8, and this will tell you 86, 87 or 88.

Jim S said:

Moc, thanks very much. It looks like it's an '86 , much to my surprise. I had started to wonder why mine had a selle san marco saddle as opposed to the avocet that the '85 had. Apparently, the official color is "British Pine", not "British Green."

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