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1997 Schwinn Project Underground:

This bike has been somewhat difficult to research.  It appears that Schwinn started the "Project Underground" in the mid 1990's to try and prove that they were still alive and kicking.  The bikes were produced in limited runs of between 150-250 frames and sold primarily to shop owners.  I have seen several materials listed for this frame: carbon fiber, thermoplastic and fiberglass so I am not 100% sure of the construction.  This model was designed by Steve Levine over a 3 year period and produced by Top Key in Taiwan.  The Bass Boat paint was done by Rainbow Cycle Paint in Niwot, CO.  Since these were sold as a frame only, we used a nice mixture of mid to upper end components from that year.  If anyone has and additional details, please let me know. 

Looks like a little extra material for bottom bracket stiffness

Titanium Schwinn drop out

Project Underground decal (not terribly durable)

Kinda interesting wishbone shape.

Click on thumbnails above for larger image

 

 

Frame Carbon w/ Ti drop outs
Fork Rock Shox Judy SL
Rear Shock NA
Rims Mavic Crossland
Hubs Mavic Crossland
Spokes Stainless Steel radial front and non-drive, cross 3 drive
Tires WTB Velociraptor and Motoraptor
Pedals onZa HO
Crank Ritchey Logic Compact, Real outer and middle ring, Shimano inner
Chain SRAM
Rear Cogs SRAM cassette, 8 speed
Bottom Bracket Sealed Cartridge
Front Derailleur Shimano Deore XT 8 speed
Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore XT 8 speed
Shifters Shimano Rapid Fire pods
Handlebars Titec Hell Bent
Stem Titec
Headset Dia Compe Aheadset
Brake set Onza HO
Brake levers Paul
Saddle Specialized
Seat Post Control Tech
Colors Bass Boat Blue
Size 19" top of seat tube
Serial #   609019


Parts marked with as * are known to be non-original parts.  Bikes were often customized at the time of purchase or were different as shown in the catalogs so exact specifications were subject to change.