Dadbike’s dadbikes

This is going to be an ongoing project, I imagine. This story started many years ago when I found Jobst Brandt's writing on the email lists and found some blurry internet pictures of his tours through the Alps. Those gigantic road bikes on 28s, doing those huge rides with just a saddle bag and not a bottle in sight. For whatever reason those adventures really captured my imagination. And so, I started the long but passive search for the right frameset. I could have gotten a big enough frameset on ebay that satisfied most of my requirements, but I kinda wanted one with nice steel and I didn't want to fork over loads of money. That was the real problem. I'm kinda cheap.

The requirements were:
Big
Nice steel
Lugged or brazed
Room for 28s

Optional:
Rack and fender eyelets
Canti brakes

Earlier this year, a friend sent me a link to an auction for a local bike non-profit fundraiser. A 62cm Schwinn Paramount. Apparently an '85 or '86. These were Schwinn's top of the line frames, made well and with good steel. a complete bike with 105 5600, a mismatched but close modern wheelset, 28mm Roly Poly/Ruffy Tuffy combo, and an Ultegra crank. I won the auction(obviously), and came away with something that hits super close to what I was looking for, and got it really inexpensively.

Now for what to do to it. I pretty quickly stripped off the 5600 shifters, and installed down tube shifters for that analog feel. The stem and bars came off because they're 25.4 and I wanted to use some 26.0 bars I have. The black post and saddle have gone, and I put on the cheap Kalloy post and the Selle Italia that I like. Tried the steel salsa stem on an adapter, but went back to a Technomic for adjustability and aesthetics.

The modern wheels were really too wide and made for limited clearance with the 28s. 7700 hubs on open pros to the rescue. The classic look plays nicely with the big picture and the extra spokes give me confidence at ~200lbs. The narrower rims also open up plenty of space around the tires as well. Win win win.

After a few rides on the down tube shifters, I've pretty much decided on moving to bar ends. I think they hit a nice middle ground of looking classic enough, being simple and long lasting, and keeping the shifting closer to hand. Also, I just like them. I want this to be a rider, not just a looker. I've since installed the right bar end shifter and will likely put on the left soon. Haven't decided about running the housing all the way under the tape or doing the exposed loop. No bar bag or front rack, so interference isn't an issue.

I also switched out the 5600 derailleur to a silver Veloce 10sp with a long enough cage to handle a road triple if I want to go that route. Rides in these parts can exceed 100'/mi elevation, and I'm not nearly as strong as I think I am. Something like the Campagnolo "Racing Triple" would look really good and give decent gearing with 52/42/30 and a 12-28 in the back, or something like that. The goal is an all-day bike.

Not-immediate changes will likely include some new paint. most of the paint is in pristine shape, but there are a few spots of exposed metal with some surface rust. I'd like to get that all taken care of. I don't feel terribly sentimental about the original paint, so I may even sand those spots and spray with some spray.bike that I have around to protect it until I get around to a full, and professional job.

I haven't been able to take the bike too far afield yet, but it rides quite nicely, and while it's obviously a skinny tubed steel bike it's stiffer than I expected. It goes when I want it to. I'll document progress as it happens and hopefully share some photos from the road as well.

2 Attachments