I thought I'd put some photos up of the Le Tour. This is a nice, simple US-made Schwinn that I am tempted to build a cool, "city bike" style bike out of. The running gear is all good. I have a feeling that some of this bike was grafted with a Peugeot at some point in time because it has Hueret detrailleurs (as opposed to SIS Shimano, which I believe would have been correct for '87), a Stronglight crankset and French Rigida 27" aluminum rims. In it's current state, it's a few cm too small for me, but I am thinking with stem, bar and seatpost changes it could be a great upright greenway cruiser.
The original drivetrain remains on this bike. I changed the handlebars for mustache style bars and installed Suntour ratcheting bar end shifters. The seatpost was replaced for something longer and a new take-off seat gifted from a friend was installed on it. I used a set of aero brake levers (circa late 80s) paired to a set of 105 dual pivot brake calipers also of a late '80s/early '90s vintage. I added the rear rack and usually run some type of SPD pedals. It got new cables, re-lubed bearings and the usual fare of "clean up" work you would expect. It makes a very nice urban bike that isn't bad at all to log 30+ miles at a time. I am hopeful the 27" Rigida wheels hold out. I was lucky to find a pair of virtually new, good tires for the bike from the local Craigslist for $5 for the pair. I am sure this bike will continue to evolve. In fact, it has already evolved a little bit since these photos were taken!
