27 inch Schwinn World Tourist with the Shimano FF system

[sedb]

http://www.cyclingforums.com/newthread.php?s=&action=newthread&forumid=48

Someone gave me an old, rather rusty 27 inch Schwinn World Tourist with the Shimano FF system. The crank freewheels on this one. The rear gear cluster has been removed and dissassembled and is missing a pawl. (sprocket sizes 14-17-20-24-28) I have a chance to purchase a complete rear wheel with 5 speed sprocket and am wondering if its really worth the trouble and expense to fix the bike? Is this nothing but a junker or are some riders still enjoying this old ten speed?

Has anyone had experience using or servicing this FF system?

Also is the bottom bracket easy to remove with standard wrenches? Is lubrication and reinstallation easy on this model. LBS mechanic discouraged my removing it at all but I'm not sure that he is really familiar with this system.

I notice that the search engine will not accept two character words such as FF so I have not been able to find anything on this system via cyclingforums.

 

[pudster]

I use to work on the FF system and it is not too hard to work on if I remember. The freewheel on the back is'nt really a freewheel, it a cog set that can not turn on the wheel like todays freewheels and cassettes. It was made so that you could shift the bike and not be pedaling. It was kinda neat, so maybe your freewheel is ok. As far as the freewheel in the chainrings I would try to take it apart if you are good with junk like that. Maybe I should not use junk, it's just what I call everything it is not junk. I will look into some old books that I have to tell you more. I hope this helps and I would love to hear how it is going for you.

 

[sedb]

Thanks for responding!

The cog set is evidently permanently disassembled. I also noticed that the rear wheel's hub race is deeply gouged and cracked. The wheel is steel. I have other bikes to work on and am considering abandoning this project. My main bike is 1991 (or thereaboit) Specialized Crossroads Cruz with 700c wheels. I like it but have been considering long tours and have wanted to be able to buy tires and tubes in "anytown, usa," so have wanted a 26" wheel, since those seem the most available at superstores. 700c tires would be hard to find in the rural southeast.

I noticed an FF system which had been removed from a Schwinn for sale on ebay for $30 plus shipping (800 miles or so away). The seller wrote me that his crank was two piece, but that made no sense to me. Can there be a two piece crank set? I have seen one piece and three piece. What does anyone mean by a two piece? What I really need for this 27 inch Schwinn World Tourist is a good rear wheel with cog set installed, or I need to abandon the project altogether.

Originally posted by pudster
I use to work on the FF system and it is not too hard to work on if I remember. The freewheel on the back is'nt really a freewheel, it a cog set that can not turn on the wheel like todays freewheels and cassettes. It was made so that you could shift the bike and not be pedaling. It was kinda neat, so maybe your freewheel is ok. As far as the freewheel in the chainrings I would try to take it apart if you are good with junk like that. Maybe I should not use junk, it's just what I call everything it is not junk. I will look into some old books that I have to tell you more. I hope this helps and I would love to hear how it is going for you.

 

[pudster]

I believe the FF is only a one piece crank.I would not know what a two piece is except that he might not be including the BB. Maybe he is talking about the cassette style chainring set up being two piece.

 

[sedb]

I guess most of us are self-taught bike mechanics and we describe parts with our own special vocabulary.