Boise Bicycle Project

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PRESERVATION BICYCLE #27: The 1988 Schwinn Premis

Plus 2 Preservation Bikes Still on the Shelf

About the Bike:

Preservation Bike #27 (2021: 4/12) is a Columbus-Tubed 1988 Schwinn Premis, one of their famous pretty-painted 80s lightweights. Look at that blue-to-pink-to-purple fade! The striped block lettering! The matching white component group-o! I’ve never seen a 32-year-old bicycle so easy on the eyes! While this was intended to be a performance-based (racing) bicycle, it could certainly fit some larger tires and become one of the sharpest looking commuters in town. Everything on this bike is totally rad, totally rebuildable/customizable, and totally worth preserving.

#27 Facts and Figures:

MAKE: Schwinn MODEL: Premis

YEAR/AGE: 1988 (the year Jamaica debuted their bobsled team, inspiring the movie Cool Runnings).

SIZE: 59cm (If you’re around 5’10 to 6’2, you’re probably within the range)

ADOPTION FEE: $175, and we’ll throw in a $50 BBP gift cert to help with used parts.

OG Catalogue: See the sweaty image to the right. https://bikehistory.org/catalogs/1988.html

RECOMMENDED REPAIRS:

BASIC: Air in tires, lube on the chain, an adjustment here and there… and you’ve got a rad bike on skinny tires. With $175 adoption fee and the $50 gift certificate + 3 hours of minimal work, you shouldn’t have to spend another dime.

BETTER: I think this would fit 700c x 28 tires, maybe 32s, and it’s absolutely worth making that change. We should have those available used or new. Maybe add a taller stem and/or an upright handlebar, which will likely trigger a need for longer cables and cable housing and maybe some different brake levers. Your $50 gift cert will cover a lot of this, but maybe add an extra $60 and invest in new puncture-resistant tires.

BEST: If you invested an extra $300-400 into this bike, you’d really have something that could suit all your paved road riding needs. If it were me, I’d get a new and slightly beefier wheelset, the biggest tire I could fit without rubbing the frame or brakes, the curviest swoopiest handlebar that Nitto makes, and some really classy matching handlebar/saddle bags. With all these upgrades, you’d still be under $600 for an unbelievable bike.

BICYCLE HISTORY:

This beauty was made with Columbus tubing from Italy, but I believe the bike was welded together in Japan. I could be wrong about that. It was originally sold at Jerry and Sparkey’s Bike Shop in Davenport, Iowa. And then I guess they rode it all the way to Boise?

WHAT OTHER STORIES CAN WE DISCOVER FROM THESE PICTURES?

WHO WILL ADOPT THIS PRESERVATION BICYCLE AND BECOME THE 27th MEMBER OF BBP’S BICYCLE PRESERVATION SOCIETY, and the first of 2021?