tecznotes

Between the yellow cargo bike and the green commuter bike, I have a mid-90s Trek that I use for errands around town. It’s not very interesting, so it’s time to replace it with a new project like the others.

Earlier in the fall, I picked up this 1985 Schwinn Tour De Luxe frame:

Here it is in its original glory, minus the Surly fork and Box Dog sticker. I’m borrowing a page from the religious fervor for agile/lean development process at work and building this one up starting with the pile of bike parts I already have in the garage.

I had to pick up the stem, front wheel, brake levers, and backwards-mounted bullhorn handlebars. Everything else is from other bike projects. I’ve started riding it a bit this week, and I’m really happy with the stiff frame and upright riding position. I did find one problem with the rear brake bosses: one of them is slightly loose, so I’m using a caliper brake instead of a cantilever until I can get a welder to help.

The back wheel is clearly about to fall apart. I want to replace it with an internally-geared hub, probably one of the Sturmey-Archer 5-speeds that can fit in the 126mm of rear spacing.