This is a 1972 Schwinn Super Sport in Kool Lemon with Black decals. It is a 24″ / 61 cm / Large (center of bottom bracket to top of seat tube) Cro-Mo Fillet Brazed Steel frame with 1020 steel Stays and a tubular steel fork. The stand over height is 33″ directly in front of the saddle. 

There are 10 speeds available through the Schwinn Ashtabula two ring (39 / 52t) chrome crank set and the 5 gear (14-32t) freewheel. 

The rear derailleur is a Schwinn Approved Huret long cage and the front is also a Schwinn Approved Huret. Shifting is through Schwinn Twin Stik Stem Mounted Friction Shifters. 

 

Both wheels are alloy Weinmann rims drilled for Schrader valves laced to Schwinn Approved Maillard quick release alloy hubs with the original Schwinn Approved skewers. Both wheels have brand new 27″X1 1/4″ blackwall tires. 

Braking is handled by front and rear Schwinn Approved Weinmann center pull calipers. The brake levers are alloy Weinmann levers. 

The original Brooks B-15 leather saddle is mounted to a chrome seat post that moves freely in the seat tube. 

Alloy GB Randonneur handlebars are mounted to a Schwinn alloy stem. The stem is not frozen in the steering tube.

The original rear reflector is still mounted.

The bicycle rides, turns, stops and shifts through all of the gears and rings as it should.

I bought this bike from the original owner who bought it in Findlay, Ohio from Jim The Bicycle Man who was the Authorized Schwinn Dealer back when the Schwinn name meant quality and if you wanted to sell Schwinn Bicycles then you needed to have a Schwinn only dealership. The 24″ frame was the middle size in between the 22″ and the 26″ frame. According to the serial number, this bicycle was made in November of 1971 and originally listed for $136.95 ($932.63 in today’s dollars). While visually similar to the Varsity and Continental models that were ‘Electro-Forged’ from straight gauge steel, the Super Sport was fillet brazed Chrome Molybdenum steel built in the same part of the Chicago plant as Superiors and Paramounts.  A Varsity or Continental might weigh in the upper 30 to lower 40 pound range which made the Cro-Mo Super Sport a featherweight at a mere 33 pounds. If you wanted to shave off another two pounds you could spend an additional $59.05 to step up to the Super Sport Tourer with it’s alloy three piece crankset. The Ashtabula crankset on the Super Sport tips the scales at 4.5 pounds and the kickstand ads another pound, so their is some weight savings to be had if you’re into that kind of thing (I have a 1974 Opaque Blue Super Sport and replaced the crankset with an alloy Stronglight and Suntour Cyclone derailleurs. I did leave the kickstand because the convenience is worth a pound). It is a 50 year old steel bicycle that is not unblemished. There are some rust spots mainly along the bottom part of the seat tube near the derailleur and where you would expect it on the chain stay and on the inside of the chrome chain guard and chrome spoke protector. The Brooks Saddle is in very nice condition. The bottom bracket and both wheel hubs have been cleaned and re-greased (all of them had good grease in them when I opened them) and it has new tires and the correct color (if not type) of handlebar tape, so you can continue to ride this bicycle for another 50 years. I kinda doubt that you could say that about many other bikes that you could buy at this price.

For less than the price of a generic Bike Shaped Object that anyone might buy online or from a store that sells bicycles in the Toy Department, you could be riding this vintage bicycle with quality components. The fact that it is still rolling down the road is a testament to how well it was built.

Please examine the photographs and ask any questions you may have about this bicycle or let us know if you need any other photos by emailing us at info@rode-bike.com

 

If any of the terms used in the description are unfamiliar, please check out the Bicycle Jargon page for definitions of common bicycle terms.