1984 Schwinn High Sierra, DONE!

My 1984 Schwinn High Sierra has been done for a while now, but a busy travel schedule has prevented me from finding time to photograph it, much less ride it—at least for a ride of more than a lap or two around the block. But I can say that tiny bit of riding has proved this neighborhood cruiser to be limo-smooth with a very comfy upright and laid back riding position. Here’s a closer look…

The Dimension alloy handlebars are nicely polished with smooth bends and a well-formed clamping area. The stem is a Kalloy AL-222 and further raises the bars to a comfortably high position. Grips are "cork" (foam with bits of cork in them). It's a firm foam with a nice texture, not squishy stuff.

 

The SunTour micro-ratchet shifters cleaned up nicely with about five minutes of mag wheel polish (I like Mothers, but any aluminum polish will do). The levers are mounted directly over the bar, which makes them a little less comfortable to operate than the designs that followed a couple of years later which mounted the lever ahead of the bar, but I like ‘em anyway. And, they're original equipment. Ditto for the oversized Dia Compe levers. Back in the halcyon days of early mass-produced "all terrain bikes," big levers (and bull-moose bars) were a defining feature. They're heavy as heck compared to modern levers, but provide mounds of leverage to squeeze the cantis against the rims. 

I've got one Brooks B17 that goes from bike to bike, I really should get another. Brooks saddles are trendy now, but I'm riding one because I know they are indeed very comfortable. If you don't mind the weight (and you shouldn't) and the price tag (which you can easily justify against A. the cost of a plastic racing saddle and B. the lack of discomfort you'll have compared to said plastic saddle), a B17 or any of the other Brooks models are excellent. The seatpost is a Kalloy Uno, perfectly effective and a great value for such a nicely finished post.

Michelin Country Rock tires, original equipment Dia-Compe "frog legs," red Kool Stop pads. The tires are ostensibly for rocks (duh) like Moab, but they're great street rollers with all the tread you need for dirt paths. The brakes polished up nicely (Mothers again), you can't beat natural aluminum. No paint means it can't scratch, fade or chip. Aluminum can go dull with oxidation, but then you just polish it.

These are the original Sugino cranks and chainrings, and the original bottom bracket is installed in there as well. Original front derailer too. A bath in Simple Green made short work of the old grease on these parts. These cranks, like many others of this vintage, use a spindle that has more offset on the drive side than on the left side. If you install a modern bottom bracket with equal offset on each side, you wind up with greater crankarm clearance on one side of the bike than the other. So, I just repacked the old BB and in it went. The pedals are Victor beartraps, another favorite of mine.

New stuff here, a Deore LX derailer, low-end Shimano HG22 freewheel, and a plated KMC chain. This setup is absolutely silent and shifts as fantastically as any ramped freewheel does these days. The original SunTour Mountech rear derailer was bent and needed a rebuild, and I didn't want the hassle of disassembling its combination pivot/guide pulley. Were I sentimental I would have made the effort to revive it, as the Mountech was the first derailer offered expressly for mountain bikes.

Original headset, all steel, spins smoothly and looks nice. I picked up a sexier aluminum cable hanger to replace the steel one shown here (it was rusty), but it left too few threads for the headset nut. A little naval jelly and more Mothers polish revived the shine of the original.

Inexpensive blinky light and a nice view of how the powdercoating gives the TIG welds a nearly fillet-brazed look.

There you have it, my 1984 Schwinn High Sierra. This was a fun project, and I'm looking forward to lots of cruising with it.