1989 Schwinn Prelude
1989 Schwinn Prelude. No, this ain't a fixie or some fancy Campy'd-out Italian job. It's the Toyota Camry of bikes — silky smooth ride and shifting, not super light but not heavy, just fast enough, decent Japanese components that are easily fixed or replaced, and a good lugged steel frame. A strictly midrange ride from that era, but good enough for my 2006 booze cruising and bike/bus commuting.
I bought it in near-deadstock condition with all original equipment except for the Schwinn Paramount water cage. The bike looked like it had been ridden gently for less than 100 miles.
I've since made it more urban roadster-ish by adding a Rivendell/Nitto Albatross bar with different levers and rubber grips, thicker 26mm tires, touring pedals without clips, and CatEye lights. Mike and Kevin from Mike's Bike Shop hooked up the bars. Future changes may include a higher stem, even thicker tires (spacing is an issue, though), a round chainwheel, prettier Sugino cranks, cork grips, or bar-end shifters. At this point I'll have enough spare parts to make another bike. A single-speed, perhaps?
Specs:
Most likely made in Greenville, Mississippi
19"/48.5cm frame size
Dark grey with red and blue accents
BB Serial number E994789
Headbadge number 1529
Columbus Tenax chromoly tubing
Headset: Tange SE-ll sealed
Crankset: Sakae SR Edge, 165mm crankarms, 42/52T alloy OvalTech chainrings
Bottom Bracket: Sakae SR chrome-moly
Derailleurs: SunTour Edge (front), SunTour Edge AccuShift (rear)
Shifters: SunTour Edge, AccuShift downtube
Pedals: MKS AR-2
Chain: SunTour Alpha
Freewheel: SunTour Alpha. 7-speed. 13-14-16-18-20-23-26T
Brakes: Dia-Compe Edge, Aero brake levers
Handlebars: Sakae SR Custom, Alloy, 390mm
Stem: Sakae SR Custom alloy, 60mm extension
Hubs: Maillard Atom Sport. Small flange, alloy, 32 hole, sealed, quick release
Rims: Weinmann Alesa 9013. Aero, 700 x 20C, silver anodized, 32 hole
Tires: Schwinn Super Record. 700 x 25C, dual hard, 100 psi, skinwall
Saddle: Viscount Lycra Turbo Gel.
Seat Post: Sakae SR CTP-5E 26.6mm.
Weight: Approximately 24 pounds
Mods made:
Rivendell/Nitto Albatross 54cm aluminum handlebars
Sakae SR Custom alloy stem with 100mm extension
Nirve rubber cruiser grips
Alhonga brake levers
Panaracer Stradius Sport 700C X 26mm tires with kevlar TourGuard
MKS Sylvan Tour Wide pedals
Brooks B17 Standard saddle
CatEye HL-EL500 headlight and TL-LD1000 tail light
Incredibell bell
Topeak Road Morph G pump
1989 Schwinn Prelude
1989 Schwinn Prelude. No, this ain't a fixie or some fancy Campy'd-out Italian job. It's the Toyota Camry of bikes — silky smooth ride and shifting, not super light but not heavy, just fast enough, decent Japanese components that are easily fixed or replaced, and a good lugged steel frame. A strictly midrange ride from that era, but good enough for my 2006 booze cruising and bike/bus commuting.
I bought it in near-deadstock condition with all original equipment except for the Schwinn Paramount water cage. The bike looked like it had been ridden gently for less than 100 miles.
I've since made it more urban roadster-ish by adding a Rivendell/Nitto Albatross bar with different levers and rubber grips, thicker 26mm tires, touring pedals without clips, and CatEye lights. Mike and Kevin from Mike's Bike Shop hooked up the bars. Future changes may include a higher stem, even thicker tires (spacing is an issue, though), a round chainwheel, prettier Sugino cranks, cork grips, or bar-end shifters. At this point I'll have enough spare parts to make another bike. A single-speed, perhaps?
Specs:
Most likely made in Greenville, Mississippi
19"/48.5cm frame size
Dark grey with red and blue accents
BB Serial number E994789
Headbadge number 1529
Columbus Tenax chromoly tubing
Headset: Tange SE-ll sealed
Crankset: Sakae SR Edge, 165mm crankarms, 42/52T alloy OvalTech chainrings
Bottom Bracket: Sakae SR chrome-moly
Derailleurs: SunTour Edge (front), SunTour Edge AccuShift (rear)
Shifters: SunTour Edge, AccuShift downtube
Pedals: MKS AR-2
Chain: SunTour Alpha
Freewheel: SunTour Alpha. 7-speed. 13-14-16-18-20-23-26T
Brakes: Dia-Compe Edge, Aero brake levers
Handlebars: Sakae SR Custom, Alloy, 390mm
Stem: Sakae SR Custom alloy, 60mm extension
Hubs: Maillard Atom Sport. Small flange, alloy, 32 hole, sealed, quick release
Rims: Weinmann Alesa 9013. Aero, 700 x 20C, silver anodized, 32 hole
Tires: Schwinn Super Record. 700 x 25C, dual hard, 100 psi, skinwall
Saddle: Viscount Lycra Turbo Gel.
Seat Post: Sakae SR CTP-5E 26.6mm.
Weight: Approximately 24 pounds
Mods made:
Rivendell/Nitto Albatross 54cm aluminum handlebars
Sakae SR Custom alloy stem with 100mm extension
Nirve rubber cruiser grips
Alhonga brake levers
Panaracer Stradius Sport 700C X 26mm tires with kevlar TourGuard
MKS Sylvan Tour Wide pedals
Brooks B17 Standard saddle
CatEye HL-EL500 headlight and TL-LD1000 tail light
Incredibell bell
Topeak Road Morph G pump