# Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2



## fuzzwardo (Sep 16, 2014)

I found one of these near by and was wondering if this was a good bike in its day. I am looking for a older bike that I can ride when I don't feel like taking my Madone out. Any reason this may not withstand a big guy? 

Vintage Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2

What do you guys think?


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Ain't a bad bike, but if you're gonna have a shop do the tune-up you'll probably pay more for that than the bike. Also seeing as the wheels are 27" there isn't a wide selection of tires out there.

Might be worth your while to find a bike with wheels that are compatible with your current bike and group.


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## burkeqc (Sep 25, 2006)

fuzzwardo said:


> I found one of these near by and was wondering if this was a good bike in its day. I am looking for a older bike that I can ride when I don't feel like taking my Madone out. Any reason this may not withstand a big guy?
> 
> Vintage Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2
> 
> What do you guys think?


I have a smiliar Schwinn 11.8 & found 700c wheels will work. Brake pads must be moved a about a quarter inch. Good bike to learn on for maintenance, fairly simple.


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

$75 is cheap but the fork isn't original nor are the derailleurs, but if it rides well and you need a low cost bike then it'll work.


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## LuckyB (Sep 9, 2012)

Why buy the Chinese junk when there are good Chicago Schwinns still out there.......made in Japan. That's funny.


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

LuckyB said:


> Why buy the Chinese junk when there are good Chicago Schwinns still out there.......made in Japan. That's funny.


My Le Tour Luxe and my Voyager was made in Chicago, so actually there are quite a few made in Chicago too.


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## burkeqc (Sep 25, 2006)

My 1980 11.8 name plate says Schwinn Approved, Japan.


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

burkeqc said:


> My 1980 11.8 name plate says Schwinn Approved, Japan.


My mistake, the 83 Voyager I have which I found in dumpster but in decent shape is indeed made in Japan, I never looked at it closely enough till you mentioned it! It's just being stored in the basement till I get around to detailing it more, I did a light detail on it and it came out good so a more intense detailing will really bring to life. No where on this bike though does it say Schwinn approved, maybe the decal came off over the years.

The 85 Le Tour Luxe I can't determine since Japan is not marked anywhere on the bike. I was told that since my serial number does not contain an A that it was made in America (weird since I would think A would stand for America!), HOWEVER, due to this post I did some further checking and apparently because it has an S in the Serial number that it indeed was made in Japan, so now I'm confused on this one. Then I found out, again due to this post, that some head badges had a 4 digit date code which meant it was made in Japan, on close examination mine has that number that I never noticed, so I'm going with that it too was made in Japan.


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## BLUE BOY (May 19, 2005)

Voyager's and Le Tour's (70's thru about mid 80's) were made in Japan. China was not a player yet.


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## Scooper (Mar 4, 2007)

BLUE BOY said:


> Voyager's and Le Tour's (70's thru about mid 80's) were made in Japan. China was not a player yet.


Actually, production of Le Tours was moved from National/Panasonic in Japan to the Chicago factory briefly in the late seventies.

This is the 1979 catalog page for the Super Le Tour II featuring a "...made-in-Chicago X-tra Lite torch brazed lug frame." The 1979 Le Tour IV lugged frame was also made in the Chicago factory.










Voyageurs were never made in Chicago.


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## fuzzwardo (Sep 16, 2014)

I ended up getting the bike for $60. Pretty dirty and a few scratches and scuffs but in good shape for being almost as old as I am. Needs tires and new handlebar tape and need to switch seats. Already threw some better pedals on it that I had laying around. 

On the head badge it has 0858. Does that mean it is a 1978?


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

fuzzwardo said:


> I ended up getting the bike for $60. Pretty dirty and a few scratches and scuffs but in good shape for being almost as old as I am. Needs tires and new handlebar tape and need to switch seats. Already threw some better pedals on it that I had laying around.
> 
> On the head badge it has 0858. Does that mean it is a 1978?
> 
> View attachment 311378


See this in regards to the headbadge number: Later Schwinn serial numbers / years made

And this in regards to the serial number: Schwinn Serial Numbers and Date Codes


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## fuzzwardo (Sep 16, 2014)

froze said:


> See this in regards to the headbadge number: Later Schwinn serial numbers / years made
> 
> And this in regards to the serial number: Schwinn Serial Numbers and Date Codes



Thank you for the link. It confirms my thoughts.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

fuzzwardo said:


> Needs tires and new handlebar tape and need to switch seats.


While you're at it, move the brake cables so they come around *behind* the handlebar. This way, they won't touch your knuckles and it's period-correct.

For some reason, many people now believe that those cables need to go in front of the bars. I've seen people move them into that goofy position on classic bikes.


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## fuzzwardo (Sep 16, 2014)

wim said:


> While you're at it, move the brake cables so they come around *behind* the handlebar. This way, they won't touch your knuckles and it's period-correct.


Oops, lol. I ended up changing the brake levers with some I got at the LBS junk bin. The cables were driving me crazy the way they are ran stock and I like a clean looking bar.








I am liking the look. And anyways, the original levers were toast.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Looks nice. My point just was that if you do have those "spouting" cables, they need to go behind the bar. They went away starting in the early 1980s and no one really missed them. Often, they'd get in the way of something, especially during transport or repair.


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## fuzzwardo (Sep 16, 2014)

I agree. No matter what or how you did things, those cables got caught up or were in the way.


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