1972 Schwinn Super Sport

Here's my latest project: a 1972 Schwinn Super Sport 10-speed. This bicycle is certainly a generation or two later than the 1940s-era 3-speed Schwinns I have, but it's something to ride where the terrain has more climbing involved.





This bike had a lot wrong with it when it arrived. In fact, the original hubs were shot, the original freewheel was missing teeth, and the original front derailleur had been eaten through on one side (the chain actually ate a hole in the derailleur's cage.

So this turned out to be more involved and more expensive than usual. They never come in cheaper than expected, but if you're lucky, they come in on-budget. This one was a lot more than I thought it would be, but I really wanted to save this bike because it is such a cool color and is a hand-built, fillet brazed frame.

So here we are in time for the 4th of July, an American-built road bike with some nice extras.










The fenders are Velo Orange, the wheels are Wheelmaster, and the freewheel is a basic SunRace. I even threw the old pie plate spoke protector back on to give it an "old-ish" look.









The shifters and rear derailleur are working, and I acquired a correct, Schwinn-approved French front derailleur. The grip tape is Newbaum's cotton cloth, though their "light blue" really is more "light" than it is "blue". It looks fine and it probably will darken some as it gets some wear on it. It sure beats the old "thin plastic" stock stuff that was falling apart when I got the bike.

It's a good, basic 10-speed road bike with some "Cadillac looking" style. I will say the aluminum rims sure stop nicely with the Kool Stop brake pads.