1988 Schwinn Circuit Project - Before & After

Some before & after pics.

I'm not sure how the red in the frame turned out so 'bright' in the after pics, but I hardly think it was all due to my efforts! I did not do any color adjustments or other manipulation after the pics were taken. I guess the camera used for the after pics was a bit more sensitive.

When I initially inspected the bike, it looked like it was in rough shape. Dirt, rust, dried-on grease. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I did a deeper inspection. No rust inside the frame, bearing surfaces on the BB and headset showed very little wear, uniglide cogs in great shape, and aside from scratching and fading, the components were all mechanically sound.

Very little $$ spent on this project. Everything was in great shape and all I needed was a new KMC chain, cables, tape, and splurged on a Selle San Marco Concor Supercorsa re-issue saddle. Vintage Schwinn aficionados will notice the use of white brake housing instead of the factory clear. I would've liked to go with the clear housing, but it was just too difficult to find and I had some of the white lying around so I used it.




After removing all the components, I rubbed the frame down 5 times. In order: rubbing compound, polishing compound, color restorer, cleaner wax, and finishing wax. Doesn't take as long as you think, and the results look pretty good. I also did my first dabbling in applying Testors as touch-up paint, with mixed results. That was a royal PITA since there were so many little chips to touchup and each on required me to color match and sand down with 8 polishing cloths before doing the above 5 polishing steps.

Headtube




Front Brake



Drivetrain





The cranks and other painted surfaces got the same 5-step treatment as detailed above for the frame. Interestingly, the white pearl finish appeared to be a bit faded and yellowed on the cranks and shifters that no amount of buffing would restore. You can tell the difference by looking at the 'whiteness' of the brake levers and comparing them to the cranks.


Bottom Bracket



The Columbus Tretubi decal is in bad shape, but enough of it is still there to make it readable.

Rear Brake Bridge



I tried a couple different methods to remove the rust here; WD-40 and also Simichrome polish. Unfortunately, I don't think I was careful enough and left some fine scratches on the chrome. Also unfortunately, some of the WD-40 appeared to have run down the seatstays and crazed the cheapo Schwinn decals there.


Rear Brake




Shifters





Rear Cluster

Finally! 1988 Schwinn Circuit complete!

Whew! Almost one year after succumbing to the addiction and acquiring a beat up 1988 Schwinn Circuit, the restoration is finally completed. Without further ado, here are the pics. Note - the actual work performed probably could have been done in a week or two of vacation, but squeezing in the hobby whenever I had a few hours' spare time (rare) ended up taking a year!






First Ride:
I thought the 57cm frame might be a little big for me initially, but once I got the fit dialed in, it turned out perfect! Being a light rider, I don't concern myself with frame flex at all, but through some informal tests, the Circuit frame is definitely the whippiest in my stable by far. Doesn't bother me a bit, though.
The first thought that popped into my mind as I took her for the maiden voyage was "Are my tires leaking?!" I had put some 120psi 700x20c IRC Triathlon Duro tires on and expected the ride to be a bit jittery, but it was so smooth and buttery I seriously thought I was riding on underinflated tires. I can now see why those Tenax Schwinns are so highly regarded. The drivetrain is super-quiet and the hubs feel silky even with 20 year old grease in them. As for the Biopace chainrings - I was halfway through my ride before I even remembered about them! I honestly couldn't tell the difference between those and the round rings I'd ridden up until this point. The Concor Supercorsa re-issue I bought for it was a pleasant surprise too - one of the more, if not most comfortable saddles I've ever ridden. I've been riding the Circuit more and more lately and I just love the way it feels. This bike will definitely be my first pick for any full-day in the saddle ride and is quickly becoming one of my favorite steeds.

Shimano Sante Exploded Diagrams

For all you Shimano Sante nuts out there, here's a couple exploded diagrams (RD-5000 and BR-5000) from my shop manual. Probably the best use for these is if you're like me and immediately forget what went where like 30 secs after you disassemble something.
The other interesting thing about these diagrams is if you compare a Sante part with the other models, you'll find Sante has unique parts not found in other components showing Sante was truly a new group from the ground up (disproving claims that Sante was merely 'painted 600/Ultegra'.)

1988 Schwinn Circuit project - Brake Levers

Here's a couple shots of the Sante brake levers I'd been cleaning up a few weeks ago. This is the "before" shot - I did polish up the lever itself, but the hood is still in its original 'excavated-from-the-tar-pit' condition.



The "after" pic. As I mentioned in a previous post, I used Simple Green on the hoods, which worked very well, followed by some Goo Gone to see if that would help anymore (it didn't). I also gave these a good dousing of bleach solution, but that didn't appear to have much of an effect either.
Like I said, these white hoods get dirty just by looking at them the wrong way, and they appear to have accumlated some grime already inbetween the time I cleaned them and when they were photographed. Sigh.



Photo credit

Shimano Sante Marketing

The above is a smattering of advertisements for Shimano Sante from 1987-1988.
The top three scans are from 1987. Notice that Sante was only available as the basic drivetrain components in 1987. Later, in 1988, the complete gruppo was introduced.
From the top picture down:
"New Products" section in 1987 issue of Bicycling magazine. (Year forgotten, but I'll update when I flip through the mag again).
July 1987 issue of Bicycling magazine.
February 1987 issue of Bicycling two-page spread.
July 1988 issue of Cyclist magazine.
Absolutely gorgeous two-page spread from the March 1988 issue of Cyclist.

Some more Shimano Sante bling to break up the monotony of your day. Shiny.
These pics (and pretty much all the pics on this blog that don't look like crap) were once again taken by my co-worker. The ones that do look like crap were taken by me.
These don't look half bad with a little cleaning and polish/wax. The rear derailleur is in pretty sorry shape cosmetically, but it's 100% functional. Some interesting items of note are: There's a hard plastic piece on the derailleur cage where the chain wraps around the guide pulley. Apparently, I've read that this was to reduce drivetrain noise. Also, the "Centeron" guide pully that features a bit of lateral play to keep the chain "centered on" a cog to further reduce drivetrain noise and probably increase the "Rideable Range of Adjustability". Pulley bushings are ceramic, which as far as I can tell was pretty bling back in the day. All in all, a quality, functional derailleur with some bling to boot.

1988 Schwinn Circuit Project - Uniglide goodness

Here we have the Uniglide cassette cluster off the Circuit. When I first slid it off the hub, it was black with grease - I couldn't tell what was underneath all that gunk. After disassembling the cogs cluster and shooting it with the good ol' Simple Green, I was pleasantly surprised to find the beautiful chrome plating you see in the picture. Awesome!
I was doubly pleased that the cogs show very little wear at all! Uniglide cogs are difficult if not impossible to find in certain sizes these days.
Ultimately, however, bikes and parts are made to be used and this cassette will look great with the rest of the Sante bling!
You can see more of my co-worker's photography on his Flickr photostream.

1988 Schwinn Circuit Project - Brakes

This weekend I finally was able to find some time to re-assemble the rear brake caliper and the results look great! Top 'before' pic was taken by me. The photo to the right was taken courtesy of a co-worker whose photography skill and equipment far surpass my own.
Although the brake caliper themselves typically hold up pretty well over time, I still disassembled the entire unit so I could rub out each arm with polishing compound and wax with a generous dose of elbow grease to coax out every bit of shine that I could.
These are truly beautiful brakes that will look great hanging on the Circuit frame once I get that polished up.

Check out the label index on the right for other Shimano Sante pics and other 80's vintage bicycle info!

1988 Schwinn Circuit Project - Part III - Sante!

(Apologies for the pic. Since I'm still working on the bike, I haven't taken any 'after' pics yet!)

As I've noted in a previous post, Sante is one of those gruppos you love or hate. Perhaps love to hate or even hate to love. I was just a teenager when the group debuted and I thought it to be a bit superfluous; Shimano creating a solution in search of a problem. Even thought I thought the painted parts had a unique look (I think the word I used for it back then was 'pretty', but that was because 'metrosexual' hadn't been invented yet.), for the price, I'd rather pay a bit extra and go with Dura-Ace. That is, of course, if I was was into Shimano - back then I was Accu-Shifting away on my Sprint 9000, happy as a clam.
The Sante group lived for a short three years from roughly 1987 to 1989. In 1987, Sante was only available as a partial group; shifters, front and rear derailleurs and 7 speed freewheel. In 1988, bike makers spec'ed a complete group. In addition to what was available the previous year, a crankset and BB, hubset with rear 7 speed freehub which was previously only available for Dura-Ace, a headset with plastic covers over the locknuts, and SLR brakes and levers with the QR located on the levers.
The feature that stands out the most to me (besides the pearly white paint) is the effort to 'hide' traditional bits and pieces of the components. For example, the headset locknut cover, the single-sided chainring bolts, the QR mech moved from the brakes to the levers, and the closed backside of the cranks for the pedal axles and the 'hidden' fixing bolts on the brakes.
Another 'feature' I've noticed is the inconsistency in the finish of some of the painted parts. The cranks and shift levers, for example, seem badly faded with slight 'yellowing' of the finish. However, the finish on the brake levers is significantly brighter and whiter than the cranks. I happen to have a NOS shift lever whose finish matches the brake levers much more than the cranks or old shift levers. This leads me to the consolusion that the paint quality varied greatly among the parts, with some much more susceptible to fading/yellowing than others. Sad, Shimano's designer "not just a pretty face component group" succumbs to the ravages of time.
Restoration of painted parts is a bit of an unusual experience. Typically for aluminum parts I'd break out the Nev'r Dull or Simichrome and polish away with excellent results. The painted Sante parts exhibit defects in the surface much more readily than bare aluminum, and thus require a smorgasbord of products needed to clean and restore the paint; just as big a PITA as fixing up a frame but on a smaller scale. Rubbing compund, polishing compound, scratch removers, finishing waxes, and micromesh polishing cloths! The upside is I've gotten a bit of a weird high at times inhaling all the fumes from this brew of cleaners.
Anyone care to comment on their experiences with 'faded' Sante finishes? Reminds me of the Transformers movie, "Custom faded?"

1988 Schwinn Circuit Project - Part II - Initial Impressions

Here's some thoughts as I was tearing down the bike and inspecting the frame.

1) The Circuit appears to be original except for the seat, brake pads, bar tape and wheel skewers (wheel skewers? WTF happened to the original wheel skewers??). An interesting item of note is the Rigida HLC2000 rims laced to Sante hubs. The Schwinn catalogs at http://www.trfindley.com/pg_schwinn_cats.htm indicate OEM rims were Wolber Tx Profil. Makes sense, back in those days every other OEM rim was Wolber. I don't recall a whole lot of bikes being spec'ed with Rigida rims. Of course, I've also found mfr. spec sheets are like lane striping in Asian countries - just a suggestion and not the rule. Take for example, my 1987 Allez. The catalog and spec sheelts say (guess what?) Wolber Alpine rims, but mine came with Saturae. I've seen a handful of examples since that have the Alpines on them, just as I've also seen examples of the Circuit with the Tx Profils. My guess would be manufacturers using up old stock or supply/quality problems from the OEM that cause these deviations from the intended specs. I looked through a few spec sheets from the 1987 Schwinn catalogs and there were a few models spec'ed with Rigida rims, although not the HLC2000 model - (want to bet some of 'em came out of the Schwinn factory with Wolber instead? :) So I would guess Rigida maybe sent Schwinn a wrong batch of rims and to save on some costs, Schwinn just used up the overstock Rigidas on a few Circuits they pumped out. Anyone care to comment on Rigida rims and specifically the HLC2000's? I have absolutely zero information on these other than they look as ugly as any other 20 year old rim with the anodization worn off in patches on the braking surface.

2) Tange Aero tubing. The Columbus seat tube decal "Tretubi" indicates 3 main tubes of Columbus SL/SP. The rest, including the fork, I assume are this mysterious Tange Aero tubing. I can't find any information on it other than the odd "Aero-style" bike (Panasonic) made with this tubing and some references to BMX frame/forks. I wonder if this was the same deal as OEM parts - namely Schwinn had some of this extra stuff lying around and to offset the cost of using Columbus main tubes used up the old stock of Tange Aero that would otherwise be collecting dust and spider eggs in a corner of the warehouse. Bikes did experience a huge price jump in 1988. Comparable models in my 1987 and 1988 buyer guide mags jumped as much as $200 from one year to the next. My '87 Allez was $599 MSRP that year. That same price in '88 would've got you a model one step down, the 105-equipped Sirrus, give or take 50 bones.

3) This bike is a paradox. The frame has a well above-average number of nicks, scratches, chips in the paint as well as a smattering of rust on the chrome forks and some serious buildup on the rear brake bridge. And oh man, the grease! Heinous gunky grease embedded in the paint everywhere. I'd give it a 5/10 for cosmetic condition. However, the components, aside from cosmetics, appear to be in excellent shape. BB and headset cups are pit-free and smooth. Hubs and pedals don't have any obvious binding or pitting in the races. Cassette cogs don't show any wear nor do the chainrings. I'd say 8/10 for the bike mechanically or as about as good as I've seen in a bike this age. Perhaps the previous owner(s) rode the bike for a season or two and put it away in a garage to collect shopwear scars. Kind of a shame, it's turning into a beautiful bike with a little TLC.