Another Schwinn Super Le Tour

 Sorry for the crappy photograph.  This is just a quick post.  I know I should stage photographs in some way, other than leaning the bikes against my decaying wooden fence against my faded plastic sawhorses.

Yesterday was the annual Santa Fe Bike Swap.  I walked down there, since it is now being held close to my house at the mid-town campus.

I love the Happy Little Three Speed, and I'm particularly fond of the Schwinn Super Le Tour frame.  Occasionally, I look at them on Ebay, or I look for them on Craig's List, thinking it would be nice to have another frame on hand in case, I don't know, I hit a bump at the HLTS frame snaps in two.  I was thinking about that, and in all honesty, I've only read of one case where a bike frame actually just wore out and broke.  I do think you probably have to ram into something, or do something else equally traumatic to wear out a frame.  Someone out there please correct me if I'm wrong.

I arrived at the swap early, since, like bicycling anywhere, walking anywhere always takes less time than I imagine. I saw this chrome Schwinn Super Le Tour hanging up.  It had no price.  These days, almost anything I want to buy from something like a bike swap, or a thrift store, costs way more than I think it should. I remember picking up manual typewriters for $10-$15.  I saw an Olivetti Studio 44 in a thrift store last weekend for $200.  Geeesh.  I was ready for this bike to be priced more than I would be willing to pay, but it did not have a price tag on it.  I asked about it, and the guy working the swap said if it did not have a price tag, I could make an offer.  I looked at it some more, contemplated the fact I have far too many bikes than I can ride at any one time, and then took it down off the rack and rolled it over to the guy.  In my usual artful bargaining style, I said, "What do you think would be a reasonable offer?"  He countered, "How much do you want to offer?" "Thirty dollars," I said.  He countered with "Forty."  That seemed more than reasonable, so now I have an extra, chrome, Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2.  I have, off and on, wanted a chrome bike.  I've shined up a few patches on the bike with simichrome, and it is, well, very shiny.  A chrome bicycle is very, very shiny.  Is it too much?  I haven't really decided yet.  I pumped up the tires and rode it around the neighborhood a little bit.  Everything is working well.  I did notice that, while the rear tire is new, the front tire's treads are separating, and the casing looks rotten underneath, so I ordered another cheap Kenda tire.

My task now is to refrain from buying a whole bunch of stuff - fenders, lights, Schwalbe marathon tires for those goatheads we have out here - I have three bikes I ride regularly that have all those things.

There are some differences, besides chrome, between this frame and the HLTS frame.  The HLTS has a stem diameter that is smaller than I've seen before. The bike shop had to order a special stem for it when I needed to raise the bars.  I think this one is standard.  At least it has a Nitto stem in there now, though when I was adjusting it, it seemed a little loose actually, once the binder bolt was loosened. This bike has more room for fenders.  Maybe it is just because it is a larger frame, but I think they may have been correcting issues on older frames.

Anyway, I'm happy with it, and $40 seems about right for an old twelve speed in decent shape.

I have been riding the Happy Little Three Speed most days lately.  Sometimes I ride the Rivendell, but there really is something sweet about having only three speeds.  I've been covering it with stickers and trying to treat it like an everyday ride that I don't worry too much about.  Worrying about things, when I start to love them, is one of my biggest character flaws.  What if it gets stolen? (Though how many people would steal a three speed?) What if the rear hub gives out? What if, what if, what if?  "Just ride the bike and enjoy it!" I tell myself.

Here is the Happy Little Three Speed in the same beautiful setting: