# 1987 Schwinn Super Sport with Dura Ace



## forgivenick (May 25, 2012)

Hi, I just inherited this bike and would love to learn more about it.
I found the schwinn catalog from 1987 and found out that it was originally spec'd with a full 600 groupo.
It has a full Dura Ace drive train now with a sachs 8 speed free wheel on campy hubs.
I don't have any other vintage/retro bikes, but would love to get familiar with period correct replacement parts as well as suppliers of those parts since I really like this bike so far and would like to keep it going while keeping the retro style.


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## Tucson_2011 (Nov 10, 2011)

That seems like a nice set of upgrades, does it all work together well? It really isn't a collectible bike really, they made so many of them but the pink is a little rare I suppose. Just keep it the way it is if it works and look for a real vintage bike if you are still interested down the road.

As for the original parts other than the Shimano 600's, well, every bike collector has a big bin of overflowing parts labeled Schwinn that we take down to empty at the recycling once or twice a year,...


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## forgivenick (May 25, 2012)

Not interested in true collectibles, just want this one to work as well as possible with parts that look correct for its period.
Not sure why, but the chain skips in some gears under heavier torquing.
I have been told the sachs free wheel doesn't work as well with the shimano stuff, but it might just need some minor adjustments.
The teeth on the free wheel look nearly brand new with virtually no visible wear.


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## forgivenick (May 25, 2012)

Took her out for our first real ride this am.
I am really liking the ride.
Shifting was actually really good.
I am wondering if there are any great 7 speed free wheels to keep my eyes out for.
I would ask about 8 speed, but they are few and far between.
I also have a new hugi hub that could take a cassette.
I may just build it up when this free wheel wears out.


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## raymonda (Jan 31, 2007)

Back in 1995, I bought a used 87 Super Sport for my wife, with hopes she would take to road riding. However, she never did and I ended up keeping as an alternative ride. It was the pink color, which I couldn't stand. Her favorite color is purple, so I painted it purple. 

The bike rides really well and fitted with good group is suited for all but racing. I wouldn't worry about getting it period correct or back to original. Just get the best you can on it and enjoy. Dura Ace is a great group and should fit the bill well. 

Oh, as I did, I would paint it. You can get NOS or replica decals off ebay. I went with the simple but classic look.


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## forgivenick (May 25, 2012)

Nice! 
Yeah, not really wanting to get it back to original.
I really won't do much to it unless something wears out or breaks.
like it a lot as is....the pink isn't my favorite, but the paint is in such great shape that it would hurt for me to spend money on stripping/refinishing it.
I probably wouldn't paint mine purple though.


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## raymonda (Jan 31, 2007)

forgivenick said:


> Nice!
> Yeah, not really wanting to get it back to original.
> I really won't do much to it unless something wears out or breaks.
> like it a lot as is....the pink isn't my favorite, but the paint is in such great shape that it would hurt for me to spend money on stripping/refinishing it.
> I probably wouldn't paint mine purple though.


I like red, black or white. But the wife liked purple. For $100.00 an auto body place can paint it to your liking. It certainly won't change the ride but it might make you feel better. Or, keep it the way it is and enjoy it. You'll certainly garner compliments.


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## forgivenick (May 25, 2012)

I have already gotten a few compliments.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

I am fixing up a Schwinn Collegiate now - like you I'm as close to correct as possible (without spending any money-the bike was given to me). I have a whole Campy triple group and I think I'll install it on the best Schwinn frame I can find. The bike Raymonda posted is a real inspiration. Very nice build.


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## forgivenick (May 25, 2012)

Sweet. What year is the Collegiate? Post up a link to a new thread with pictures and your progress when you can.

I am loving this Super Sport more every time I ride it!


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

Here it is waiting for brakes:










I have it as a single speed. I'm going to leave the patina and not paint it. I have ridden it some where I don't have to worry about stopping and it feels great. 26" wheels with new Kenda S-6 schwinn tires - they have the original tread design. I lubed the wheel bearings but left the crank alone - it felt OK. The serial number is on the head tube and translated to 1974. This thing is turning me into a Schwinn-phile. I want to build up a super sport, braised frame; or an old paramount frame with a Campy triple group I have.


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## forgivenick (May 25, 2012)

Nice! Yeah I am scouring teh interwebz for more and more on old schwinn bikes and old road components. I know many will not consider my 1987 super sport to be old, vintage, classic, or whatever, but that was around the time when I first started riding bikes with my friends to places without my parents. It was a big deal for a kid who wasn't even 10 yet.
Let me know different web pages for more info on schwinn stuff...especially late eighties.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

Isn't that super sport a braised frame - almost Paramount-ish? Look at what the Sheldon Brown site has to say:

http://sheldonbrown.com/schwinn-braze.html


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## forgivenick (May 25, 2012)

Biking In Dallas » 1987 Schwinn Super Sport

Here is more on this bike, not mine, but the same model and year, with the stock components.

Regarding the fillet brazing:
The Columbus Tenax tubed frame was not made in Chicago by Schwinn and Sheldon Brown's article says that there were no fillet brazed frames built by Schwinn after 1979. 
I am looking into the Columbus Tenax frame through interwebz searches, so I will post more if I find something definitive.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

The eBay Schwinn brakes arrived - here it is as a SS


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## Vintageparts_1978 (May 23, 2012)

veru nice bike


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## forgivenick (May 25, 2012)

Thanks!


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

The Super Sport is beautiful. I always liked Shimano 600, too. Very nice!


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## Albatrosspro (Jun 8, 2012)

Would look great on Venice Beach!


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## aptivaboy (Nov 21, 2009)

_The Columbus Tenax tubed frame was not made in Chicago by Schwinn and Sheldon Brown's article says that there were no fillet brazed frames built by Schwinn after 1979.
I am looking into the Columbus Tenax frame through interwebz searches, so I will post more if I find something definitive. _

There is some speculation on Tenax, but it appears to be a form of SL/SP made by Columbus for Schwinn. An old issue of Bicycle Guide specifically states as much. Urban legend is that the tubes were somehow cosmetically blemished but otherwise structurally sound, so Schwinn got a deal on them. Do a search here on thee forums and you'll find several threads referring to Tenax's history. 

Robert


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## 23802211 (Jun 15, 2012)

I'm glad you can inherit this bike I also have three


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

Scooper would probably have the juice, but from what I remember the lugged Columbus Tenax frames were made in either Kentucky or Tennesee.

Tenax was essentially Columbus SL and really, how could you "blemish" a raw tubeset?


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## aptivaboy (Nov 21, 2009)

Depending upon how the tubeset was chemically finished, you can blemish or stain the steel. Many steels receive various chemical baths to remove impurities and surface "grime" from the drawing or milling processes, and sometimes they can go wrong. There's nothing wrong with the steel, and the cosmetic issues are just that - cosmetic - and they are capable of being erased, but at some extra cost in finishing. I'm guessing/surmising that framebuilders would have looked at the tubing and wondered if it was sound based upon looks and perhaps rejecting it, and perhaps that had a bearing on Columbus rebranding it as Tenax. 

Anyway, that's what my Grandpa told me back in the day, and he did thirty years at Republic Steel, doing everything from milling to rolling to chemical baths. Take it for what its worth.


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## Hallsey (Feb 4, 2018)

Beautiful cycle. What you have there is a super sport with the original "Miami Vice" paint job. I have an identical bike with Shimano 600, on which I ride thousands of miles every year. Tenax is good tubing, fairly high end Columbus steel from a lot that was said to be not quite visually "perfect" enough to be sold as genuine Columbus SL. But with paint on it, who can tell? It's good, stiff high-quality stuff. Maybe not a collectors item, but I'd ride the heck out of that thing with pride. And Dura-Ace is nice upgrade. Enjoy it.


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