built-4-2

The Schwinn Built for Two tandem is back in action this spring. Here's the list of things to do:

Remove, clean, and reinstall both cranks

Replace all four pedals with new ones (the ones on it were Wald's, not Schwinn's, and pretty rickety; just bought 2 pair of 1/2" ones on eBay)

Remove, clean, and reinstall headset

Replace 9" seatposts (just bought a 12" and a 16" from Nearly New Bikes)

Get the chain working with the little "guide wheel" (forgetting the name of this chain regulator - or maybe that's the name?)

Figure out if we can use quick-release levers on seat posts (which would be awesome given anticipated different rider heights, and would let me finally use the levers I bought last year for this purpose)

Figure out if we can put new padding in the seats, and check out vinyl paint options

Install front brake (taken off of a partial 3-speed bought for $20)

Install fenders (taken off same partial 3-speed)

Remove white paint from front basket (taken off same partial 3-speed)

Only one scary thing to do which is to remove, clean, and reinstall the  coaster hub. Braking is "soft" and I'm thinking the problem is dirt and old broken down grease in the hub. What I've read makes me wonder if I'm up to this challenge. I may drop the wheel at an LBS. Or I may give it a whirl. Will see how I feel once I get through the list above. 

So, first stop: hardware store up the street for a can of mineral spirits. :)

I am loving this bike. Still riding in rain and snow, still enjoying the ride!

The only tweak I've *had* to do is adjust the gears. Very simple thing to do, took all of 2 minutes at a leisurely pace.

A tweak I'm planning to do is swap out the 22-tooth sprocket that the Oxford ships with for a smaller sprocket. We have zero hills in Chicago, and I run out of 1st gear in about 3 or 4 cranks of the pedals. It would be great if 2nd gear was actually 1st gear, and 3rd gear was 2nd gear. Did a little research and am thinking that moving down to an 18-tooth sprocket will get me close to what I am looking for. Parts are cheap - I ordered an 18t and a 16t (just in case) plus a couple of snap rings through a bike shop on Amazon.com and the total came to under $13 shipped.

I think with this modification, this bike is going to be pretty much perfect. Will post an update once I have it!

Smooth. Quiet. Fun! Expected to do a bit of seat and handlebar adjusting and once I had everything lined up, the bike really rode great. Even in snow and slush. Rode until my fingers hurt -- off to the post office, over to the local bike shop for replacement allen screws (see post on assembly). The only thing I'll now have to do is adjust the gears -- kept popping out of 2nd gear and back into 1st whenever I started pedaling. I'm pretty sure this is a minor adjustment to make.

To sum up my experience to date:

Purchasing was a breeze -- good communication with Bikeshopwarehouse.com, PayPal payment went without a hitch, delivery was fast (ordered Saturday, delivered Wednesday) and boxes arrived in good condition.

Assembly was straightforward (except for one small problem with the forks, and a strange blown tire episode), and took about an hours worth of labor to complete.

The bike is really nice looking -- the finish is great, very stylish design, the parts are adequate, and it feels light and solid.

The ride is just fine -- very smooth, quiet, and responsive.

To do: I will be swapping out the seat in order to use my trusty Velo brown leather seat. I'll also be looking into ergonomic grips which I need since I have carpal tunnel (nothing against the grips that come with this bike, they're very nice as is the seat). The pedals are okay too, nice wide platform, and while a little more plastic-y looking/feeling than I like, they do seem sturdy. However, I may swap these for something that let's me strap/cinch my feet in.

Then again, that could just be a need manufactured by years of rehabbing beaters. It is strange to just have a bike without all of the problems and angst. I guess the good news is that I do still have a ton of work to do on the tandem! 

Here are some posts that I found helpful in making a decision about my purchase:

Slickdeals.net Forums - discussion about value and parts used on the Windsor.

Discussion on Chainlink.org - includes a post on April 18, 2011 re: buying from an ecommerce store vs a local bike shop (LBS) and talks a little about buying and updating a vintage bike. 

Windsor Essex Bicycle Urban City Bikesdirect - A recent Windsor single-speed purchaser takes us on a tour of his bike.

Design Sponge - blog seems a little more concerned with style..., but there are actual Windsor rider comments available.

See Rach Play - this person got a Windsor Oxford as a present and loves it. 

Retro city bikes bikesdirect - promo piece for Windsor 3-speeds.

Windsor: A couple of other notes before the first ride

There is snow on the ground here in Chicago, and it's pretty cold outside. But the sun is out and I'm just minutes away from taking the Windsor out for the first ride. Exciting! Before I go, here are some thoughts about this purchase so far.

Of course, once the Windsor was fully assembled I couldn't help but think about my '69 Hercules. They do look similar, especially since I went with a black paint job (for obvious reasons). I am pleased with how nice looking this bike is. It looks great.

The assembly feels pretty tight. I bounced the bike on its inflated tires a few times once it was all put together -- sounds quiet, feels solid. It's also quite light which is a nice surprise. The rack does add a noticeable few pounds... Hauling this bike up and down stairs to get to and from my third floor apartment makes me think about reconsidering using this rack.

Windsor: Arrival and Assembly

The Deluxe version comes in two boxes: a big one containing the bike frame and wheels, and a small one containing the back rack and cup holder. All made it to me in good condition. The bike was well packaged, lots of padding and protection.

Assembly is minimal, and took about an hour. I've built bikes from scratch so building out this bike was super simple (note: no instructions are included if that's important to you). It was also clean - nothing like working on a 40 year old bike to truly understand grime (which has its own charm - see all posts on my tandem, for example).

Anyway, here's what you will have to do:

Install front fender

Install front wheel

Install seat (comes with seat attached to seat post)

Install handlebars (comes with handlebars attached to stem)

Install pedals

Install rack (optional)

Install cupholder (optional)

Install front and rear reflectors (reflectors come installed on wheel spokes)

Install bell (optional)

Pump tires

Glitches and gotchas

1) Front wheel installation: I noticed when I unpacked the bike that the plastic piece slotted into the front fork dropouts to protect the forks from bending during shipment was pretty beat up. The forks looked fine, but when I tried to install the front wheel one side of the axle wouldn't slide into its dropout. Looking closely, the bottom curve of the dropout appeared to be a little bit bent in/upward, so the slot was smaller than the axle. To correct this problem, I looped the closed end of a 15mm wrench around this bent part and slowly, gently, carefully, applied pressure to bend the end of the dropout back out a couple of millimeters. This worked, and the front wheel then slid into the dropouts easily, as it should.

2) Tires: The bike comes with Kenda 700x32 tires already installed on the alloy rims. The pressure rating is 85psi max (which is great!). I pumped the rear tire with a hand pump to 80 psi. When I detached the pump hose - kaPOW! - the tire blew. I thought maybe the rim didn't have rim tape, but I removed and disassembled the wheel and all looked fine. I ran out, bought a replacement innertube (and an extra just in case...), installed and pumped up the tire again. All is well so far. Will reserve judgement until I have ridden the bike on the street.

3) Rear rack: Two things about the rack: while it's really nice looking with curvy lines that really compliment the style of the bike, it's heavy. I have a nice aluminum light-weight rack on another bike and this one feels like it's easily twice the weight. It is nice! But if weight is an issue for you, know that there are lighter options. The other thing about the rack is that the bike didn't come with enough screws to attach rack to frame. I had to remove the screws that were installed on the downtube (typically used to attach a water bottle cage) and re-use them to attach the rack to the bike. Means I'll have to run out and get replacement screws at a local bike store. 

Windsor: Decisions, Decisions

I fell in and out of coveting the Windsor, and dismissing it as cheap junk, throughout the 2+ years that I kept an eye on it. Partly, I was having a hard time with the idea of a brand new bike. I have owned a lot of bikes and only two came to me new -- a Raleigh Sport 3-speed  when I was 6 or 7, and a Nishiki 10-speed that I went halfsies on with my mother when I was around 14. The rest of the bikes I've owned came at no cost, relics in need of rescue and TLC.

One bike in particular, a black 1969 Hercules 3-speed, was my main ride for a few years. I lovingly transformed it from a rusty broke down beater to a glorious compliment-grabbing ride complete with Schwalbe tires, new fenders, Brooks leather seat, etc. And then it was stolen. Not my first stolen bike, but the experience really smarted and made it difficult to think about getting another English style 3-speed. Enter the Windsor.

I was wary that the Windsor might just be a lot of junk. There weren't many reviews out there, and there still aren't a ton, though you can find a few good insights about it nowadays. The one thing I noticed, as have others, is how much the Windsor looks like a Linus 3-speed. If you are into this style of bike, the Linus is a sweet looking bike. However, I test drove the Linus and wasn't impressed, at least not when I considered the price tag which was easily more than double that of the Windsor. Here's a good thread comparing the two, worth a read. 

I have gone back and forth between buying new and getting another vintage 3-speed and refurbishing it. But honestly, in Chicago you can't get a vintage 3-speed for under $150 and that sucker will be in bad shape. I've heard/read/felt all of the arguments about vintage 3-speeds being the better purchase -- better materials, better build, made to last, etc. I get it. But I guess this time around I just wanted to go the easy and not so familiar route -- new bike, new components, alloy out-of-the-box, lighter weight, less noise... So, after much hand wringing, I finally bought the Windsor.