I finished the Takara conversion and was riding it when my neighbor Ted saw it and wanted to buy it. I said this one was mine but I’d build him one like it.

Since I owed Ted big-time for some plumbing he did for me I built this bike for the cost of the parts, $165, since he wouldn’t let me give it to him.

The Takara and Ted’s new Schwinn World Sport are ‘badge twins’ since both came out the Giant bike factory in Taiwan in December, 1983, though you can see the lugs are not identical.

Only the stock Star Schwinn side-pull brakes and maybe the front wheel are from the factory. It’s a Gentleman brand with Presta valve and 27″ X 1 1/4″ Kenda tire. Sealed Shimano bottom bracket.

The rear wheel is a Shimano 105 with a French Wolber rim that I converted to singlespeed with a 17-tooth cog using black plastic spacers. Tire is 700x28c with Schrader valve.

Chain-line was excellent from the start, very quiet. Robert at Pedal Pros in Roseville gave me a good deal on the 155mm Origin8 crankset with FSA 42-tooth chainring.

Seat is a gel Bontrager Sport; quill stem is an Kalloy adjusted high to go with the short-rise handlebar. Kickstand is a very old Greenfield USA that I cleaned up with a wire brush. Luggage rack is from Jim Blackburn.

I rode it about 6 miles up the bike trail and found it light, smooth, quiet and nimble. The 42×17 gear ratio was about right, giving me work on the short hills but not requiring me to get off and walk either. Brakes worked well and the short cranks means little chance of pedal strike on turns.

As a bike builder I get a thrill from seeing my creations used so I’m getting lots of thrills seeing Ted and Nick come flying by my house on the Schwinn. And money, of course, is always welcome.

 

 

 

 

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