Classic & Vintage - Respect to the Schwinn Varsity

I know it was fashionable to dis the so-called Schwinn "lightweights" back in the day, but I consider the Varsity and Continental series to be right up there with the Model T Ford and the Piper Cub in terms of making their form of transportation popular and accessible. The method of construction of the frame was unique too, and if Schwinn had used more alloy parts in other places the weight could have been made competitive (more or less) with their rivals.

I found eBay to be a wonderful source for NOS and slightly used parts to restore and maintain my 1977 Schwinn Sportabout (a cheaper version of the Varsity but with better derailleurs than the Continental of the same vintage). Again it was about respect: the Japanese SunTour derailleurs were dissed just because they were Japanese instead of French or Italian, even though their slant parallelogram design was the best in the world at the time.

I am proud to ride a vintage Schwinn of the Varsity family of bicycles. They are tough and reliable.

I hear ya man, and its good to be proud of what you ride regardless of what it is. After all, you're the one working on and riding it so why try to please other people?

Gaspipe Forever :D

Well said enjoy your vintage ride.

Suntour showed Campy and Shimano what a derailleur ought to be. I am going to start collecting all things Cyclone and VX-GT...For they are the finest ever made. My cyclone deraileur is one of the lightest meanest, badest shifting unites of all time :)

Its a shame that all the tooling for Suntour got sold for scrap...Somebody with big bucks and good marketing could have brought the Suntour name back. Oh well the old parts live on.

I hear them called "Varsinentals"-- what are the differences between a Varsity and a Continental?

I hear them called "Varsinentals"-- what are the differences between a Varsity and a Continental?

$20 and a chrome fork. :D

I confess to dissing the Varsities back in the day, even though I had one for a brief time. No dis at all to the SunTour derailleurs, as I had a VGT on a Nishiki and I was amazed with how well it worked. I wish SunTour had survived and could continue to innovate.

My Conti had an aluminum handlebar and a forged front fork instead of the blade type fork.

I hear them called "Varsinentals"-- what are the differences between a Varsity and a Continental?Aluminum handlebar, center-pull brakes, quick release hubs are the obvious.

My '80 Continental has chrome forks, as well.


Added images of cool Lemon, 1970 work in process, and 1980 Continental, not II version.

Continental II's had the chrome fork. Earlier Continentals do not:

http://www.jaysmarine.com/schwinncontinental_71_1.jpg

-Kurt

In the mid 1960s, my older brother was the first in the neighborhood to move from a BMX-type bike to an "English Racer": a blue Schwinn Varsity. It was coveted by all--and eventually run over accidentally by a neighbor as he was backing out of his driveway. He bought my brother a new bike and somehow bent the first back into alignment, and his son would ride it around the neighborhood.

When it was time for me to get my first "racer" bike, I got a yellow Vista Flyer. Hmm.

Neal

There is a story I read on another site, that a Schwinn employee took his Varsity to the top of his buildling, through it to the ground from the roof, 3 or 4 stories, went down, picked it up, realigned the handle bars, and maybe the seat, then rode of down the street.

Much of the weight is in the steel rims, change over to aluminum or alloy rims improve performance I have been told.

The Schwinn Varsity:

My dad had a late 60's Varsity that he passed onto me when he upgraded to the Raleigh Competition. I was in my early teens, too young to drive, too old to want Mom schlepping me about. It was my life. I had my first "date" with that bike, used it to ride to my first girlfriends house.

Deep blue with a Brooks saddle. Down tube shifters, center pull brakes (may have been upgrades). Had the little black saddle bag and the rat trap rear rack. No dork disk or chainring guard.

I remember tearing it down almost weekly, lovingly cleaning the bits and pieces, putting it all back together. Bars would get retaped almost as often as I changed socks. My friend and I would spend countless hours at the Schwinn dealer, hanging out in the air conditioned comfort, checking out all the bikes. I so wanted to be a mechanic.

It was stolen off the front porch one afternoon. I was absolutely devastated, I cried for days. We replaced it with a Sprint but it just wasn't the same. The next year I started driving and the bike was consigned to the garage.

Continental II's had the chrome fork. Earlier Continentals do not:
Ahhh--- but some do young grasshopper, including my '62. :)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Continental/Campagnoloed%20Continental/HuretShifters.jpg

The OP mentions the weight. The one above which I modified weighs just over 29 lbs. but under 30!
Not too shabby for electro forged!

Hey there Bike Guitarist! Welcome!

It's Alice with the 77 Sportabout! Remember me?

I still have Birdie and she is still all original.

I saw you on the Old Ten Speed Gallery (http://oldtenspeedgallery.com/tag/1977/)!

Hey there Bike Guitarist! Welcome!

It's Alice with the 77 Sportabout! Remember me?

I still have Birdie and she is still all original.

I saw you on the Old Ten Speed Gallery (http://oldtenspeedgallery.com/tag/1977/)!

Yep. Hello again Alice. I'd love to have some photographs of Birdie and maybe some stories to put on my web site if you're willing. Sportabouts are relatively unknown compared to the ubiquitous Varsinentals.

Ahhh--- but some do young grasshopper, including my '62. :)

Thank you for correcting me on that point, Bob. I failed to recall the early models.


The OP mentions the weight. The one above which I modified weighs just over 29 lbs. but under 30!
Not too shabby for electro forged!

Not bad - my '61 Schwinn Paramount weighs around 25 with the original aluminum seatpost jammed in the center of the seattube and rather heavy Phil Wood touring hubs and SACHS 7-speed freewheel. Says a lot for the Continental, if you ask me!

-Kurt

P.S.: Speaking of forks from Continental II's, I could use three of them, if anyone has happened to have stripped a couple. Either from a 22" men's frame, or a ladies' frame of any size.

-Kurt

You Schwinn people are infectious. I've been a Raleigh man all my life. Never would have jumped in a dumpster for an old Schwinn.
Last week there was an old Continental at the dump. after reading a few of these threads, I didn't figure I aughta leave it there.
i haven't had time to look it over yet, it's pretty far gone at this point and not my size but somehow I fielt I needed an EF Schwinn.

You Schwinn people are infectious.

You mean SCHWINNfectious, lol
Thanks for rescuing the Continental.

The Schwinn Varsity:

My dad had a late 60's Varsity that he passed onto me when he upgraded to the Raleigh Competition. I was in my early teens, too young to drive, too old to want Mom schlepping me about. It was my life. I had my first "date" with that bike, used it to ride to my first girlfriends house.

Deep blue with a Brooks saddle. Down tube shifters, center pull brakes (may have been upgrades). Had the little black saddle bag and the rat trap rear rack. No dork disk or chainring guard.

I remember tearing it down almost weekly, lovingly cleaning the bits and pieces, putting it all back together. Bars would get retaped almost as often as I changed socks. My friend and I would spend countless hours at the Schwinn dealer, hanging out in the air conditioned comfort, checking out all the bikes. I so wanted to be a mechanic.

It was stolen off the front porch one afternoon. I was absolutely devastated, I cried for days. We replaced it with a Sprint but it just wasn't the same. The next year I started driving and the bike was consigned to the garage.

Haiku-ish. Thank you

I never owned a Schwinn. My Uncle was a Raleigh dealer. :D

While I appreciate Varsinentals as well made, durable icons, and will rescue ones that are in good condition, I've never been able to bring myself to keep one. It would probably be different if I had ridden one whilst growing up. My soft spot for entry level bicycles is reserved for the Raleigh Grand Prix.

It is possible to get a varsinental under 30 pounds, I know, I've done it. Swap out most of the steel components for alloy, include a 3 piece crank conversion, and you can get it to come in @ about 28-29 pounds. That's not too bad for a geared bike with a nuke-proof frame.

EF Schwinn frames make very good starting points for utility/commuter bike build ups.

My youngest brother still waxes nostalgic about his continental!

I rode my Conti to work today! For some reason, I ride faster on the Continental than on my Super Course...maybe that's just on the downhills. ;)

I don't have a Varsity or Continental but I'm pretty proud of my LeTour. I'm still running steel wheels. I love the way the chrome shines in my face when the suns hits it right going down the road. I would like to change to a set of alloys if they come along cheap enough. I've never weighed it but I would guess in the mid 20's. I just installed aero levers and bar end shifters and can't wait to take it for a long ride. As I've heard mentioned here before "why worry about weight-are you caring your bike"...

I ride my brown 1969 Varsity every day ~ 50 miles per week. It is mostly stock but with alloy wheel and weighs about 35 pounds. For a daily ride in the flat city it is a great bike!

I never owned a Schwinn. My Uncle was a Raleigh dealer. :D

While I appreciate Varsinentals as well made, durable icons, and will rescue ones that are in good condition, I've never been able to bring myself to keep one. It would probably be different if I had ridden one whilst growing up. My soft spot for entry level bicycles is reserved for the Raleigh Grand Prix.

+100

I only still have a couple EF's because they are too heavy to haul out of the basement. :D :D

By the way, for those of you currently living in Oregon, and for those of you who grew up in/live in the SF Bay Area, do any of you remember seeing BG?

Hey all! We have a new member, BikeGuitarist, who is well known in Northern California and Oregon for riding a Schwinn ten-speed bicycle while simultaneously playing a Fender Stratocaster guitar. He has done this tens of thousands of miles the past thirty years, all on the same bicycle: a 1977 Schwinn Sportabout (sort of like a cross between a Varsity and a Continental).

BikeGuitarist would really, really love to hear from any of us who may have seen him out and about. If you remember seeing BikeGuitarist, could you please let him know? Either send him a PM, or drop by his website. Either way, it would be cool if we could gather some memories.

Here's his website:

http://www.thebicyclingguitarist.net/



East Hill

Like most riders of my age (46), I started on a Stingray & graduated to a Varsity- Lemon Yellow. 60% of the bikes at Portola Junior High were Varsitys. Mine was a used rental; never worked too well. I rode the hell out of it until '79 when it was trashed after a misguided effort on my part to invent mountain bikes. I rode my Dad's Continental of unknown vintage until it was stolen when I was in High School. Never have or will forgive those bastuhds. Had to ride a women's Raliegh 3-speed after that. Birth control on wheels.

Looking for another as my beach bike-cruiser-grocery hauler. Desn't have to be pristine, just decent. Has to have the chromy dork disc intact. None of us kids had a clue how or the tools to take them off.

When I had my Nishiki International in 1973, I used to tell my friend with a Varsity that I liked locking my bike to his. His, of course, was the heavy object used to make sure no one took the Nishiki.

Yep. Hello again Alice. I'd love to have some photographs of Birdie and maybe some stories to put on my web site if you're willing. Sportabouts are relatively unknown compared to the ubiquitous Varsinentals.


I'd love to, as soon as I have a free minute!

By the way, any idea where to get a "sportabout" decal??:p

I'd love to, as soon as I have a free minute!

By the way, any idea where to get a "sportabout" decal??:pcall Memory Lane, they're in the midwest somewhere.

Grand Rapids Ohio.

The Schwinn Varsity:

My dad had a late 60's Varsity that he passed onto me when he upgraded to the Raleigh Competition. I was in my early teens, too young to drive, too old to want Mom schlepping me about. It was my life. I had my first "date" with that bike, used it to ride to my first girlfriends house.

Deep blue with a Brooks saddle. Down tube shifters, center pull brakes (may have been upgrades). Had the little black saddle bag and the rat trap rear rack. No dork disk or chainring guard.

I remember tearing it down almost weekly, lovingly cleaning the bits and pieces, putting it all back together. Bars would get retaped almost as often as I changed socks. My friend and I would spend countless hours at the Schwinn dealer, hanging out in the air conditioned comfort, checking out all the bikes. I so wanted to be a mechanic.

It was stolen off the front porch one afternoon. I was absolutely devastated, I cried for days. We replaced it with a Sprint but it just wasn't the same. The next year I started driving and the bike was consigned to the garage.

What a great story, Dobber. Thanks.

One of the really cool parts of this story is that your Dad gave you the Varisity so that he could upgrade his bike! How cool is that?! Your dad was surely a very unique adult back in those days to be riding a rode bike.

I also felt the twang in my heart when you abandoned the bicycle for the automobile. We all did it. YOu can't kiss your girlfriend in the backseat of a bicycle...

But here we are, years later returning to the love we once had of our worthy bicycles. Those old machines survived better than most of our girlfriends and still wait in anticipation for our return and the blessings of our affections.

What a great story, Dobber. Thanks.

One of the really cool parts of this story is that your Dad gave you the Varisity so that he could upgrade his bike! How cool is that?! Your dad was surely a very unique adult back in those days to be riding a rode bike.

I also felt the twang in my heart when you abandoned the bicycle for the automobile. We all did it. YOu can't kiss your girlfriend in the backseat of a bicycle...

But here we are, years later returning to the love we once had of our worthy bicycles. Those old machines survived better than most of our girlfriends and still wait in anticipation for our return and the blessings of our affections.

30+ years later I acquired the Raleigh also:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/unregisteredcoward/sets/72157603220672327/

Doing a search for this obscure bike has inspired me to reconsider putting money into the 7up green varsity that has languished for decades in my deceased grandfather's shed. I think it might be my size, or close.

i have had two varsities in my day, rode the HELL out of them and no matter what i put them thur, they took a lickin and kept on tickin. most all REAL schwinns i have found to be bullit proof. now that pacific cycle bought them out, i stay away from the new psudo- schwinns.

i got a varsity i think 71-73 brown gold in a garage sail for $5 !!!!!!!!! i myght convert to fixie
should i do it and if yes how??

i have had two varsities in my day, rode the HELL out of them and no matter what i put them thur, they took a lickin and kept on tickin. most all REAL schwinns i have found to be bullit proof. now that pacific cycle bought them out, i stay away from the new psudo- schwinns.


true!!:)
my freind bought a schwinn what ever from walmart and he litelary broke the front fork no suspention what a horiblle bike!!!

i got a varsity i think 71-73 brown gold in a garage sail for $5 !!!!!!!!! i myght convert to fixie
should i do it and if yes how??

yes duet!!! how?? read thiz! http://www.sheldonbrown.com/deakins/how-to-fixed-conversion.html

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii125/vincev_2008/1969varsitymine.jpg?t=1231557208
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii125/vincev_2008/1969varsityruths.jpg?t=1231557305


i still have the two varsity's my wife and i bought in 1969.they are both original down to the tires.this bike started me on a hobby thats been a lot of fun over the years.i have many bikes but the two varsity's still are in the front of the pack.i take one out once in a while and kind of remember the days when we would ride and try to figure how to go thru all those gears.yup ,im not ashamed of them when a light new bike speeds past me calling "on your left". heres the pics .i know her seat is crooked and ill get to adjusting it some day.

I once had an old blue Varsity. It was way too small for me so I sold it. Way stout, though.

If there ever is a nuclear holocaust, the giant cockroaches will have something to ride.

Since I first replied to this thread, I DID find some alloy rims, and new tires (Continentals Ultra Sports), added a bottle holder, a Brooks B17I, and seat bag, and used this ride for many daily excursions.

As pictured weighs 34#s, 1#s more than likely fitted Super Sport. And being a 2XL size guy, getting rolling and keeping pace is of little problem.

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m394/GLVander/Bikes%20and%20related/IMGP1549.jpg

the only bad thing I could ever think of about these bikes is the 1 piece cranks

Ok, not quite a Varsity story, but Schwinn related...when I was growing up, my grandfather had a Kool Lemon Le Tour that sat on the front porch of his house and never moved. He passed away when I was 12, and I soon after put the Le Tour back on the road. It was way too big for me...I didn't care...I grew into it. I rode it from then all through high school, until I got into an accident with it riding home from my girlfriends house. I foolishly, foolishly, foolishly dragged it home and left it on the curb for the trashmen. I still get angry at myself for doing that.

A couple of years later, I got the itch to ride again while in college, and bought a new 1990 World Sport from the local Schwinn dealer (I wanted another Le Tour, but they were out of my price range.) I rode it a couple of times and stuck it in my moms garage, where it sat until last spring. It just wasn't the same.

Fast forward 18 years...I married my girlfriend, and finally got the itch to start riding again. I pulled the World Sport out of the garage, took it back to the local Schwinn dealer for a tune up (he remarked that it looked like I rode it out of a time machine) and rode it in a bikeathon in my grandfather's honor this past summer (he died of cancer).

I still couldn't get the Le Tour out of my head, so I found a '75 Conti from the orginial owner. I then found a '73 Super Sport in Kool Lemon. I'm getting closer to my old Le Tour.

You just can't get these old Schwinns out of your head, they become part of you...:)

I just bought the Varsity below on Tuesday...a great entry-level fixed gear bike. I knew it would weigh a ton, but also knew that it wouldn't break under my 200+ lbs of torquing on the fixed gear on the back. But then I didn't know if I'd want a fixed gear bike, so glad I didn't spend much & it's been great so far. I fear before the end of the year, I'll be parting it out for a lighter frame.

I commuted 10 miles on it today in Kansas City.

I swapped out the bars that had been flopped & chopped for wider bars (the 38mm was too narrow for me), but other than that my only complaint is not being able to swap the chainring...I don't mind the 1-piece cranks for my purposes - I doubt I'll be able to bend them ever!

Sorry forgot to attach photo

IIRC, Varsities have flat blade (solid) forks and Continentals have tubular forks.

More (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/varsity-shaddox.html) on the Varsity.

tcs