As always , my recommendation is :
http://www.geocities.com/
The information there spans 1960 - 1979 .
Schwinn information I happen to have handy ( up to 1978 ) does not show a bicycle called "Schwinn LeTour Luxe" . And a Japanese Schwinn touring bicycle with cantilever brakes is news to me . Sounds like a really nice machine !
I've never paid enough attention to the frame materials in the Japanese Schwinns before . From the catalogs I have here , right now , it looks as if the more ordinary models were "single butted top and down tube , 1020 steel" . The nicer ones were full double butted chromium molybdenum . And the Japanese Schwinn Volare was Reynolds 531 double butted manganese molybdenum .
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas
Among the used bikes for sale in a shop in my neighborhood, I spotted yesterday a nice blue Schwinn LeTour Luxe in my size. I couldn't look at it closely because it was hard to get at, but it appeared barely used. The stem and seatpost are SR, the brakes Dia-Compe cantilevers, the saddle Avocet, the derailleurs Suntour, the pedals Maillard. There's a Blackburn rear rack and a triple chainring, half-step plus granny gearing. Would the tubing be 4130 chrome-moly or Columbus or something else? Where did the LeTour Luxe fit in the Schwinn line? I think that the Voyageur was also a true touring bike and had similar components, but the Super LeTour was more of a sport bike, with double chainring and alpine gearing. Were the Voyageur and LeTour Luxe produced at the same time?
Any information is appreciated.
Mordecai Silver
NY, NY