Schwinn Breeze Cruiser (1970?) Info?

[ambivalence11]

I just bought a Schwinn Breeze Cruiser. I believe it was made around 1970-72. The girl I bought it from said she had it looked at by a bike mech. friend who said it was in okay shape and fixed up the brakes and converted it to a 1 speed (not sure why). Other than a bit of rust it looks like it's in okay shape, I believe most if not all the bike is stock.

After taking it for a 2mi ride I noticed it squeaks quite a bit and feels a bit off. My question is should I just lube it up myself or should I drag it to a bike shop to have someone look at? I am super poor, and I know for sure the tires need to be replaced. How expensive would tires be and if the bearings need to be replaced how much are those (on average) I would try do it myself, except I don't have any room to work on the bike where I live.

Also, the paint job is kinda dinged up, as well as a little rust. Is there anything I can do about that without replacing parts or repainting the whole bike?

[GeorgeET]

Bike looks OK so I'd just clean it up. You can get some touch up paint , maybe at a automotive store to match your paint. The touch up stick with brush in cap. Use very little dots to fill chips, cut the brush tip to a point. Some people have cleaned rust with a wad of aluminum foil. I never tried that I use polish. It looks clean in the photo.

As per mechanical try to isolate the squeak. However its always a good idea to clean and grease all bearings. Perhaps there are some DIY bicycle clubs in your area. Like Bikerwave here in California
Good luck.
Where are you?

[Bill]

Nice Schwinn you have there!

[Painkiller]

How many speeds did it used to be?

[GeorgeET]

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1961_1970/1970_18.html

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1971_1980/1971_21.html

The one pictured is a coaster brake, yours looks like internal 3 speed hub.Yours looks more like the 71.

Here is the page for more Schwinns.

http://www.trfindley.com/pg_schwinn_cats.htm

[ambivalence11]

Painkiller it was a 3 speed, I'm a little bummed that they changed that, is it hard/expensive to go back? From what GeorgeET said it was probably a '71. She's not bad for 40 yrs old! I live in Phoenix, AZ so I'm sure the dry air has something to do with how little rust it has. The rust is mostly on the inside of the wheel fenders and supports, so it's not really noticeable, I just want to prevent any more from happening.

[Painkiller]

(04-30-2011, 06:20 PM)ambivalence11 Wrote:  Painkiller it was a 3 speed, I'm a little bummed that they changed that, is it hard/expensive to go back? From what GeorgeET said it was probably a '71. She's not bad for 40 yrs old! I live in Phoenix, AZ so I'm sure the dry air has something to do with how little rust it has. The rust is mostly on the inside of the wheel fenders and supports, so it's not really noticeable, I just want to prevent any more from happening.

Ibet, I have a red one about the same age, but it is a 5speed and I have never found one like it.

[Painkiller]

(04-30-2011, 07:41 PM)painkiller Wrote:  

(04-30-2011, 06:20 PM)ambivalence11 Wrote:  Painkiller it was a 3 speed, I'm a little bummed that they changed that, is it hard/expensive to go back? From what GeorgeET said it was probably a '71. She's not bad for 40 yrs old! I live in Phoenix, AZ so I'm sure the dry air has something to do with how little rust it has. The rust is mostly on the inside of the wheel fenders and supports, so it's not really noticeable, I just want to prevent any more from happening.

Ibet, I have a red one about the same age, but it is a 5speed and I have never found one like it.

I just went to the garage to look at it and I must say, they are the same.mine says 5speed on the chainguard. Every thing I find online
is always about single speed or 3 speed
mix the two bikes and you have the perfect one I think.
can you tell us how much you paid for it?
I would love to see more and closer pics of it

[Painkiller]

(04-30-2011, 07:56 PM)painkiller Wrote:  

(04-30-2011, 07:41 PM)painkiller Wrote:  

(04-30-2011, 06:20 PM)ambivalence11 Wrote:  Painkiller it was a 3 speed, I'm a little bummed that they changed that, is it hard/expensive to go back? From what GeorgeET said it was probably a '71. She's not bad for 40 yrs old! I live in Phoenix, AZ so I'm sure the dry air has something to do with how little rust it has. The rust is mostly on the inside of the wheel fenders and supports, so it's not really noticeable, I just want to prevent any more from happening.

Ibet, I have a red one about the same age, but it is a 5speed and I have never found one like it.

I just went to the garage to look at it and I must say, they are the same.mine says 5speed on the chainguard. Every thing I find online
is always about single speed or 3 speed
mix the two bikes and you have the perfect one I think.
can you tell us how much you paid for it?
I would love to see more and closer pics of it

using the link above mine is a 1975 it seems

[GeorgeET]

Most likely all the mechanic did was unscrew the linkage from the hub axle center ( look for an opening in the axle.) and remove the cable and shifter. Not sure why perhaps it had internal damage.

RobAr has a lot of old parts contact him and see. Robs Garage, in marketplace section, he has a current post running.

Do a google search on three speed hubs.If you know what mechanic did the removal ask him why.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/english-3.html

Glad you found some info on your bike pain .:-))

[RobAR]

Hi Ambi. My bet is that your rear hub is a Sturmey-Archer with internal gearing. Does it say SA-303 or anything like that on the hub shell? Those are a major headache to work on and probably explains why the mech set it to single speed if money was an issue. Parts are not readily available.

[ambivalence11]

It does say Sturmey-Archer but the only letters I can see are AW below the logo. Here's a bunch of pic's that may give more info. I got it from a girl on Craigslist for $80. From what research I could do without seeing it first it seemed like $80 was pretty reasonable, so hopefully I didn't get taken too bad, LOL. She said she had it only since Dec, and had lost her job so that's why she was selling it. She said she had paid $120.

---

Here's the promised pics. Hopefully I did a good job getting the important stuff.

[GeorgeET]

Good job on the photos. The paint looks great. Thats the one thing thats not restore-able, and the logos. The rest can be cleaned up and polished.

You can see the linkage from the 3 speed hub hanging from axle on the chain side.

[Bill]

$80.00 for this marvelous piece of machinery??? YES you did very very well! It is still a 3 speed just do not have the shifting apparatus. The shifter, cable, and guide are really not much at all!

[ambivalence11]

That's great news. I found a store nearish by where I live that specializes in Schwinns, so if I need it looked at I think I'll take it there.

How would I go about polishing up the chrome? Is there a specific product you think works best?

[JohnV]

Quote:How would I go about polishing up the chrome?

I agree with Bill, that is a nice looking classic and for $80.00, I think you got a very good deal.

On cleaning the chrome, if the chrome isn't rusted, you can go to an auto parts store and pick up some chrome polish that is used for chrome wheels. I like the Eagle One paste that comes in a can. I use it on my show car wheels and it does a great job.

If the chrome has rust on it, there are several ways to remove the rust. One guy that has been posted on this site, shows some results that he got with aluminum foil and water. I haven't had the need to use that method, but I've been dying for someone else to try it and report back with a "yea" or "nea" as to how it works. If that doesn't work in removing the rust, you can always use the tried and true method of very fine steel wool (0000 grade) and lubricating oil. Motor oil will do, but make sure you don't get it into the parts because if you don't get the motor oil out, it will eventually gum up.

I'm sure others will have more ways to remove rust from chrome. Pick one and go with it.