An American Touring Bike

[Gravity Aided]

Not the sort of verbage one sees together often. I am working on a deal to get a Schwinn Passage Frame from a fellow in Northern Illinois. Travel, a meeting at a truck stop on an interstate highway,( in a small town with 4 intercontinental Amtrak trains a day)((side trip)) ) and the maximum of bike buying skullduggery are involved. The Schwinn Passage was a touring bike made by Schwinn in the mid 1980s, with double butted Columbus steel, a full set of braze-ons, and a long wheel base. Schwinn was trying to reclaim top spot in the American market against stiff competition by their suppliers like Giant and Panasonic, who were trying to make their own way in the market by this time. The upper end of the Schwinn Bicycle catalog was full of great machines, like the Prelude, Premis, Peloton, Passage and Voyageur. The Passage and Voyageur were the touring options.This frame had been offered on an American forum quite a few times, with the price decreasing as it went. As I had owned one of these before, I bought it when the price was right. And the seller was only about 150 miles away. 33 years old

 

[Gravity Aided]

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1986Ltwt17.html
Catalog page.

 

[uphillstruggler]

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1986Ltwt17.html
Catalog page.

looking forward to seeing that once you have it.

best of luck with it

 

[Cycleops]

That sounds like a great buy. I decided to Google it and came up with the 1986 catalogue and there it was right next to my Traveler;
https://bikehistory.org/catalogs/1986.html
I thought I would give the Traveler a bit of action after not using it for a while and since last week I've used it in preference to my Specialized AWOL. I've swapped the tyres out for 28c ones and they just about clear the frame. This is in deference to what passes for roads around here. Id forgotten what a lovely bike it was, beautifully smooth and comfortable. It's actually a bit big for me as its the 25" frame but it's manageable. Tru temper cro-mo steel, not particularly light but a lovely ride. All original apart from the saddle;

When did Schwinn desert the higher end of the market? All the models I see down here are budget types.

 

[Leaway2]

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1986Ltwt17.html
Catalog page.

A nice looking bike apart from the rack which looks as though it is at an angle. It may be the picture.

 

[Gravity Aided]

That sounds like a great buy. I decided to Google it and came up with the 1986 catalogue and there it was right next to my Traveler;
https://bikehistory.org/catalogs/1986.html
I thought I would give the Traveler a bit of action after not using it for a while and since last week I've used it in preference to my Specialized AWOL. I've swapped the tyres out for 28c ones and they just about clear the frame. This is in deference to what passes for roads around here. Id forgotten what a lovely bike it was, beautifully smooth and comfortable. It's actually a bit big for me as its the 25" frame but it's manageable. Tru temper cro-mo steel, not particularly light but a lovely ride. All original apart from the saddle;

View attachment 474874

When did Schwinn desert the higher end of the market? All the models I see down here are budget types.

About the time a company called Dorel bought them, after their bankruptcy. The Paramount line of cycles has gone to a Schwinn relative, and produced under the Waterford name. But Dorel has bought quite a few marques over the years. The real problem are retailers like Wal*Mart, who supposedly tell them to move their production to China, because that's the only way they are going to meet Wal*Marts' price point. It seems true. Mongoose was also a great maker in their day, but now they grace the aisles of big box stores as well. Higher end offerings are out there, but the same attention to detail you would expect with a $1000+ bike just isn't there. They own Schwinn, Caloi, GT, Cannondale, Charge, Fabric, and Mongoose.
Hear what this guy says about $1,000 + Mongoose.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmlVxKb3OHw

 

[Gravity Aided]

That Schwinn Traveler is a great bike. I did a mixed surface metric century on one. A fine bike, they should bring it back for gravel riding. Only that years' model, and I think the year before. I still have a Trek 950, customized for touring, made from True Temper. Watch rust doesn't get hold. It's a fantastic steel, just prone to rust for some reason.

 

[Cycleops]

I see from my Google news feed that Walmart are going up market starting with this rather nice gravel bike;
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/a28197361/viathon-g1-review/

 

[Gravity Aided]

I worry about how Wal*Mart intends to service these bikes. Will the same kid who assembles them with the forks on backward be handling that? Other than that, I have to admit, look like a goer.

 

[Gravity Aided]

 

[Gravity Aided]

Pretty neat, and the previous owner was able to meet an hour's drive away, instead of me driving almost all the way to Wisconsin.
(about 2 hours by Inter-state).

 

[Gravity Aided]

Three cage braze ons, (2 water, 1 fuel) as well as braze ons for rear rack and front rack base, pump peg, but no spare spoke braze on. I can always tape those to the rack, though. I have an old Shimano Octalink crank set, a Deore rear derailleur, and a Tiagra front derailleur, as well as some indexed bar ends awaiting placement. And maybe cooler weather. I may work this, and the finish of the Falcon, concurrently.

 

[Cycleops]

That looks to be about the same size as my Traveler. Never come across Tenax before.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I think it's a mix of Columbus tubing, but it is light, and rides well.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I believe it to be cosmetically blemished SL and SP that Columbus sold to Schwinn for the American Market, but I think @froze probably knows volumes more about such things. He's the nearest expert I know of on these topics.