I had an opaque blue one back when they were new, added tubulars, fenders and racks and proceeded to pedal all over the northeast. Absolutely wonderful bike for the money, one of the best long haul tourers I've ever ridden, probably my favorite Schwinn.
That bike (and the cheaper Traveller - lugged frame with a Varsity crankset) was a major change for Schwinn. I know the Voyageurs didn't sell well in western PA (I got mine at a real discount from the LBs in my old hometown - it was too pricey for the local market and the dealer complained the customers were griping that it "wasn't a Schwinn". Go figure.)
72-73 was the only years made if you're talking a World Voyageur, I know they brought it back under the Schwinn name after I dropped out of the sport. I don't remember any brake lever hoods coming with it, but I'm fairly certain I put Weinmann gum hood on the levers.
Would love to find another one somday. Have closed bids on Vaoyageur frames (one yellow, one orange) at various times and both fell through when the seller discovered the seat post was terminally rusted into the seat tube. Seems to be a common malady on those if they sat too long.
George R. "Syke" Paczolt Montpelier, VA
classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org wrote:
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 00:47:58 EDT From: Carb7008@cs.com To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Schwinn World Voyageur Message-ID: <21a.ae3b99d.316748fe@cs.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Precedence: list Message: 10
Adopted another orphan, a '72/73 (only year made) World Voyageur. Very interesting MIJ (Panasonic-Built?) Schwinn that featured chromed socks and long-point headlugs, Suntour dropouts and early DuraAce along with mix of mostly Shimano components, exception is period-correct Brooks . Of interest is the only reference to Schwinn is a small obscure decal on the seat tube (cool headbadge just says WORLD)...almost as if Schwinn was reluctant to admit it was outsourcing construction.
The DuraAce-marked brake levers are a Weinmann lookalike with red-anodized pivots and very shiney, maybe chromed, finish. No hoods were present and I wonder if there should be hoods and what color they should be on this orange bike? Lacking this info, I guess I'll stick with an orange and black color scheme.
Jack Romans Sacramento, CA
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