Hugs and kisses from San Francisco

[hydralique]

Nice!

I have a couple of mid '60s Schwinns, a green Varisty and a gold Continental. Neither has been ridden for years. Are parts still easily available?

 

[vulcanchef]

hmmm

ya know it could be worse , regular unleaded here is $5.89 a gallon and hi-octane is a terrifying $6.24 a gallon

 

[rickr]

Hey there Hydalique!

Parts are still available for most any road bike. The parts interchange from manufacture to manufacture. Tire sizes vary, but the 27" tire is a popular size even today. I do my own work on the Schwinns, but any bike shop could perform the same services that I am doing. You should get those classic Schwinns out and have them tuned up,bearings repacked, replace the tires and tubes and hit the road. You will be shocked at the things that you will see, that you miss out on when you are driving a car.

Don't worry Vulcanchef, we will catch up to your $6.24 per gallon within a month or two. Don't forget, we have the oil companies in charge of the White House here in the USA. The GOP is the party of low taxes for the super rich, and BIG OIL for themselves.

 

[rp2813]

Caddy

Rick! What a beautiful Caddy you've got there! Makes me miss my old Lincoln--for a few seconds anyway!

Ralph

 

[foraloysius]

~a terrifying $6.24 a gallon

Send some over, overhere that is considered a bargain!!!

 

[toggleswitch]

Hey Louis, how much of a typical salary is sucked out "off the top" as income taxes by you?

We lose around 35%, but varies by state and inocme level and local (city) taxes.

$6.24 (net)/ 0.65 = $9.60 (grossed up) so it may be an explainable difference.

Commodities around the world are theoretically nearly the same price other than taxes and transportation charges.
My gut tells me otherwise however!

 

[foraloysius]

Steve,

Income taxes are progressive here. We have four percentages.

The percentages for 2007 were"

0 - 17,319.- : 33.65%
17,319 - 31,122.- : 41.40%
31,122 - 53,064.- : 42%
53,064.- + : 52%

Louis

 

[toggleswitch]

Thanks.

 

[sudsmaster]

I think that when you factor in state, local, federal income taxes, plus our taxes for Social Security, Medicare, and Disability, our US tax rates are not much lower than that of the Netherlands - and we wind up getting a lot less, socially, for it. Of course we have a huge military-industrial complex to support - which probably sucks up all the funds that countries like Holland funnel back into the betterment of their land and people.

 

[letim]

Interesting!

Where I live in the UK it's currently £1.11 per litre at the petrol station around the corner.

I think I've worked this out correctly, but I believe that based on a US Gallon this equals $8.23 a gallon!

The price per litre was under 90p a year ago...

 

[hydralique]

Interesting indeed. Here in the US we keep hearing that others (especially in Europe) aren't being hit as hard as we are by the increase in fuel prices, as it's partly due to the current low dollar. These numbers are proof that Europeans are being hit really hard too.

I'm now paying $4.50/gallon for diesel, but have no choice as if I don't drive I can't run my business.

 

[sudsmaster]

I think countries in Europe tend to have much higher gas taxes, both to raise funds and to encourage conservation. The generally better design and quality of European small cars is testament to that. With the North Sea oil fields, England is a net exporter of petroleum, but I doubt that gasoline there is much cheaper there than it is in, say, France. Of course they sell the stuff in liters there so for a visiting American it's usually a mystery as to how much euro gas costs in US dollars/gallon.

 

[hydralique]

Rickr

Thanks for the info on the Schwinns! I've had the Varsity and Continental since I was about 12 back in the early '70s. At that time I'd outgrown my old 3 speed bike with the Sturmey-Archer gearset and my dad found the Schwinns being sold by a family that had bought them in the '60s for their sons. Neither bike had been ridden hard and were mostly like new - turns out the sons got cars not long after getting the bikes and so they were just taking up garage space. I only needed one but my dad made a package deal so we got both.

At the time I fit the Varsity better as it had a slightly smaller frame. Once I grew a bit I tried to transition to the Continental, but it always had a problem with the rear bearing partially seizing up after awhile so I stayed with the Varsity. It was a great bike and took lots of abuse, even being ridden on railroad tracks and such. Quite a few of my buddies had new and much inferior 10 speeds that were always knocking out derailleurs or gearsets, but mine was like an anvil. When I was 17 I got my first car and so lost interest in the bikes. To this day they're under a carport in my parent's back yard, but I think I'm going to try and save at least the Continental for myself. Then I can divide my spare time between old cars and bikes, perhaps you know something about that!

 

[rickr]

.

The wheels should be 27" on both the Varsity and Continental. You could change out the rear wheel from the Varsity to the Continental, and end your bearing troubles. The bearings do need repacked from now and again. If they are repacked every 5 years or so, it will prolong the bearing life. It will also improve the rolling resistance, which results in less pedaling, and more coasting.

My bike is a 1971 Varsity. I replaced the side pull brakes with centre pull a few years ago. I love my Varsity! I ride whenever I can. The Varsity has over 42,000 miles on it now. The bearings finally had to be replaced about 5 years ago. The bike has the original paint, and is in great condition. It is a heavy bike, but it is very sturdy, and it rides like a dream.

Here is a nice pixs of my 1971 Varsity

 

[hydralique]

I love the Schwinn logo, so stylish! I know my Continental had 27" wheels, but I seem to recall that the Varsity had 26" wheels. Certainly, something was lower on the Varsity because when I initially got them it was easier for me to get on the Varsity. You're right about them being heavy, but hey I'm too old to care about that now! Maybe the Continental is lighter than the Varsity, as I don't know what the differences are.

BTW, since this thread started out about fuel prices, I had to pay $4.67/gal of diesel last night, and that was at a consistently cheap station! Five years ago I remember paying $1.35 at the same station . . .

 

[rickr]

.

Could have been a 26" frame, but the wheel size are all 27"

Here is s pixs of 3 vintage Schwinn road bikes. The red one is the one that I restored for my friend George. His is a 26" Mine is the orange one, and it is a 27" The blue one is my boyfriends, and it was still under restoration when this pixs was taken. (note, no cables or decals are on it yet)
The blue one is HUGE bike, and it is a Continental. My boyfriend is a big dude, so it fits him perfectly. I do not know the frame size on the blue one,(29" or 30" maybe) but all these Schwinn road bikes have 27" wheels. The frames are larger however. You can see in this pixs that the space where the Schwinn badge is (on the head tube) much larger on the top and bottom of the badge.

 

[rickr]

..

Here is another one that shows the frame sizes.

I do realize that this thread is about fuel prices, but thought that this would show that there are other ways of getting around, at least around your city. When we ride just to ride, we will put on 15 to 20 miles.

Tuesday I was off work, and I rode to go vote in our primary, rode to the barber for my haircut, and later rode to a couple friends houses. Total milage for the day was only 8.5 miles, but I did not even start a car that day.