Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John C. Wilson on September 10, 2013 at 9:19am

That bike could be fixed.

Before going any further grab the stays with your bare hands and give them a pull. You will be amazed how soft that tubing is. Getting it to bend and go where you want it to go is a different story.
There are guys who could do a rough and ready functional alignment of that frame in less than 5 minutes. Wish I could point you to the right guy in Chicago at this moment. Other than the usual recommendations to Nearly New, workingbikes or The Recyclery I got no inside info for you at this moment. A shop that reluctantly estimated at $100 (value of the bike) would not be wrong.

If you don't have massive sentimental attachment to this old bike I'd say make it a donation. Good practice piece for someone to learn on with resale value when they are done. The nice thing about the old Schwinn tubing is you can bend and bend and bend and bend some more until it lines up and you can't much hurt them. Of course you could try that yourself if you are so inclined. I've done it myself, enough to know I've no talent in that direction, and the bikes were finally rideable.
Chitown_Mike said:

And for those that might have an answer, here is the frame, if you think it can be fixed.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on September 10, 2013 at 9:21am

Or you could repurpose it as a bike rack:

http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/i-need-4-bike-frames-and-a...

:-)

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on September 10, 2013 at 5:41pm

Terrible advice; please learn about working with metal before offering opinions in the future.

It's done.

John C. Wilson said:

That bike could be fixed.

Before going any further grab the stays with your bare hands and give them a pull. You will be amazed how soft that tubing is. Getting it to bend and go where you want it to go is a different story.
There are guys who could do a rough and ready functional alignment of that frame in less than 5 minutes. Wish I could point you to the right guy in Chicago at this moment. Other than the usual recommendations to Nearly New, workingbikes or The Recyclery I got no inside info for you at this moment. A shop that reluctantly estimated at $100 (value of the bike) would not be wrong.

If you don't have massive sentimental attachment to this old bike I'd say make it a donation. Good practice piece for someone to learn on with resale value when they are done. The nice thing about the old Schwinn tubing is you can bend and bend and bend and bend some more until it lines up and you can't much hurt them. Of course you could try that yourself if you are so inclined. I've done it myself, enough to know I've no talent in that direction, and the bikes were finally rideable.
Chitown_Mike said:

And for those that might have an answer, here is the frame, if you think it can be fixed.

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Permalink Reply by Gecko on September 11, 2013 at 3:00am

+1  DUG.  Once the metal has a crease or bend, the strength of the tube is compromised and will be MUCH weaker from now on.  Depending on the severity of the bend/crease (those look borderline severe), it'll be either a very shady, flexy ride, or it could be downright dangerous.

I'm still trying to figure out how an 80's Continental qualifies as a "classic road bike".  Sure, it's old, and it looks like a road bike, but it's totally bottom of the barrel as far as quality and weight, basically the same as a bike you can get at Wal-Mart these days: They look like bikes and work mostly like bikes, but they are not meant for serious riding.  Go browse around Working Bikes and ask lots of questions.  You can get a real classic road bike for 2-300 bucks there.  The difference is seriously night and day.

notoriousDUG said:

Terrible advice; please learn about working with metal before offering opinions in the future.

It's done.

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Permalink Reply by Juan Primo on September 11, 2013 at 3:28am

I disagree with you on old Schwinns.  They were quality-made bicycles opposed to what you find in Wal Mart bikes.  You see Schwinns on your commute every day that are 40 or 50 years old with original parts.  These bikes do a lot of serious riding.  They were not bottom of the barrel in their day nor are they now.

Regarding "classic":  In car collecting, it is legit to call a 20-40 year old car with original specifications "classic".  I feel the same about the OP's bike.

Nick G said:

I'm still trying to figure out how an 80's Continental qualifies as a "classic road bike".  Sure, it's old, and it looks like a road bike, but it's totally bottom of the barrel as far as quality and weight, basically the same as a bike you can get at Wal-Mart these days: They look like bikes and work mostly like bikes, but they are not meant for serious riding.

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Permalink Reply by Gecko on September 11, 2013 at 3:47am

If we're using a classic car analogy, please explain to me who thinks 1982 Chevy Cavaliers are classic.  1982 Camaros and Corvettes, yes - those are nice cars that perform well and look good - and that's my point.  Things are classic because they are fast and/or good-looking, and are usually made of better/lighter/stronger parts than the stock econoboxes everyone drives to work and back.  A 1982 Cavalier is exactly like a 1982 Schwinn Continental: bottom of the price range, made of sturdy yet heavy parts that may hold up to normal/light use for years, but as soon as you start doing more serious things with either of them, their shortcomings and weaknesses surface very quickly.

Juan Primo said:

I disagree with you on old Schwinns.  They were quality-made bicycles opposed to what you find in Wal Mart bikes.  You see Schwinns on your commute every day that are 40 or 50 years old with original parts.  These bikes do a lot of serious riding.  They were not bottom of the barrel in their day nor are they now.

Regarding "classic":  In car collecting, it is legit to call a 20-40 year old car with original specifications "classic".  I feel the same about the OP's bike.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on September 11, 2013 at 4:06am

I think you have to compare Schwinn Continentals to the higher quality bikes of the day, not to the Wal-Mart bikes of today.  I am into vintage bikes (I currently have a Masi, Medici, and RRB, and a Trek in the wings). I would not consider a Continental to be in their league. Even if you confine yourself to the Schwinn offerings of the day, you will see that the Continental does not have the collectible status of the other higher-end Schwinns, esp. Paramounts.

I don't have time to look in detail right now, but Waterford Cycles (still owned by Richard Schwinn, I believe) has helpfully scanned a lot of Schwinn catalogs:

http://waterfordbikes.com/w/culture/schwinn-catalogs/

If this topic interests you, browsing those catalogs is a pleasant diversion.

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Permalink Reply by Gecko on September 11, 2013 at 4:17am

Yes, exactly.  Paramounts are more collectible than Continentals because they had better build quality using better materials for a higher performance machine.

Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

I think you have to compare Schwinn Continentals to the higher quality bikes of the day, not to the Wal-Mart bikes of today.  I am into vintage bikes (I currently have a Masi, Medici, and RRB, and a Trek in the wings). I would not consider a Continental to be in their league. Even if you confine yourself to the Schwinn offerings of the day, you will see that the Continental does not have the collectible status of the other higher-end Schwinns, esp. Paramounts.

I don't have time to look in detail right now, but Waterford Cycles (still owned by Richard Schwinn, I believe) has helpfully scanned a lot of Schwinn catalogs:

http://waterfordbikes.com/w/culture/schwinn-catalogs/

If this topic interests you, browsing those catalogs is a pleasant diversion.

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Permalink Reply by Gecko on September 11, 2013 at 4:38am

The 1895 World Racer weighed 19lbs complete?  Amazing how little has changed over the last hundred or so years :)

Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

I don't have time to look in detail right now, but Waterford Cycles (still owned by Richard Schwinn, I believe) has helpfully scanned a lot of Schwinn catalogs:

http://waterfordbikes.com/w/culture/schwinn-catalogs/

If this topic interests you, browsing those catalogs is a pleasant diversion.

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Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on September 11, 2013 at 4:49am

This comes down to the definition of classic.  Classic does not necessarily mean "top of the line".   Is a Model A or a Model T a classic?   Most people would say "yes".   They were the Schwinn's of early cars.   Clearly not the top of the line, produced for the masses, but built with the intention that they would last.  And they were well known at the time.  That's the Schwinn Continental.   A bicycle for its time that was not particularly expensive, was intended for the mass market.    That was not particularly high performance, but which was consistently built and designed to last for a long time.  Its a classic in the way that a Model A or Model T is a classic.   Are Masi and Medici "classics"?   If you use the "well known" to the general populous, the answer is "no".   I am old enough that I grew up in the prime of Schwinn.   I never had a Schwinn.  My first "new" Bicycle was a British Three Speed.   My first "ten speed" was a tank purchased from J.C. Penny.  I quickly upgraded to a Motobecane (a real, French Built Motobecane with metric components...)  and always stayed at least at that level of quality moving forward.    

The Schwinn Continental and Schwinn Varsity were some of the most popular (if not the most popular) bicycle lines ever sold.   They are classics.   That doesn't mean that I would want to ride one -- but I also wouldn't want to drive a Model A or Model T either..

Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

I think you have to compare Schwinn Continentals to the higher quality bikes of the day, not to the Wal-Mart bikes of today.  I am into vintage bikes (I currently have a Masi, Medici, and RRB, and a Trek in the wings). I would not consider a Continental to be in their league. Even if you confine yourself to the Schwinn offerings of the day, you will see that the Continental does not have the collectible status of the other higher-end Schwinns, esp. Paramounts.

I don't have time to look in detail right now, but Waterford Cycles (still owned by Richard Schwinn, I believe) has helpfully scanned a lot of Schwinn catalogs:

http://waterfordbikes.com/w/culture/schwinn-catalogs/

If this topic interests you, browsing those catalogs is a pleasant diversion.

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Permalink Reply by Gecko on September 11, 2013 at 5:27am

Look, I'm not trying to be a snob here.  I ride an '89 Schwinn Sprint around town because I got it for free, but the only original parts are the frame/fork, headset and brake calipers because the other parts were either too heavy or too weak.  That said, even though it's nearly 25 years old, it doesn't seem like a 'classic' road bike to me.  If it was an '89 Paramount or similar, yes it definitely would be.  Classic implies desirability, rarity, a high level of craftsmanship, and pedigree, which a Continental doesn't really have.  Pedigree can be argued (it only shares a name badge with the better bikes) and they made so many of them that they're still everywhere you look and I bet I could find somebody on Craigslist trying to get rid of one for under 20 bucks.  That wouldn't happen with a Model T.

I liken the Continentals and other heavy old Schwinn 10-speeds (Varsity, Sprint, etc.) to the Trek 820 mountain bike.  They're everywhere on every college campus because they're the cheapest model Trek makes, and although you *can* ride them off-road, a higher-end model will be leaps and bounds better in every area.  Like the Continental, the Trek 820 is not built well or unique enough to become a true classic, which is why I originally compared the Continental to Wal-Mart bikes:  They're everywhere and they're cheap, but even the old ones are not classic.

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Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on September 11, 2013 at 5:40am

We will have to agree to disagree.   If you come from the school of thought that a VW Beetle or a Model T or Model A is a classic, then you will also find the Schwinn Conti to be a "classic".   They were all well known, very popular (the most popular of their particular item), and designed for the masses.   They were not the vehicles for the "experts" or "collectors".   They were the "item" that came to mind when the word "car" or "ten speed" was spoken to the general public at the time.   If you said "car" from 1909 to 1927 or so, the image of the Model T and name plate would come to mind.  In the US if you said name a "bicycle" maker through the early to mid 1970's, the first response would be Schwinn.  If you asked them to name a "ten speed" they would say Schwinn Varsity or Continental.  That, to my mind, is a classic.

Nick G said:

Look, I'm not trying to be a snob here.  I ride an '89 Schwinn Sprint around town because I got it for free, but the only original parts are the frame/fork, headset and brake calipers because the other parts were either too heavy or too weak.  That said, even though it's nearly 25 years old, it doesn't seem like a 'classic' road bike to me.  If it was an '89 Paramount or similar, yes it definitely would be.  Classic implies desirability, rarity, a high level of craftsmanship, and pedigree, which a Continental doesn't really have.  Pedigree can be argued (it only shares a name badge with the better bikes) and they made so many of them that they're still everywhere you look and I bet I could find somebody on Craigslist trying to get rid of one for under 20 bucks.  That wouldn't happen with a Model T.

I liken the Continentals and other heavy old Schwinn 10-speeds (Varsity, Sprint, etc.) to the Trek 820 mountain bike.  They're everywhere on every college campus because they're the cheapest model Trek makes, and although you *can* ride them off-road, a higher-end model will be leaps and bounds better in every area.  Like the Continental, the Trek 820 is not built well or unique enough to become a true classic, which is why I originally compared the Continental to Wal-Mart bikes:  They're everywhere and they're cheap, but even the old ones are not classic.

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