stringbreaker

Has anyone done the conversion from ball bearings and cones to the modern BB using and adapter I have seen on several sites. Looks like a neat deal from what I see. I'm just starting to get into older bikes with this set up and if I decide to get a better vintage than the Varsity I have I might want to go with this set up or just for giggles and grins I might do it to the Varsity.

bigbossman 

A modern cartridge BB will swap straight in for older cup and cone units on most bikes, except bikes like the Varsity. That's mainly because the Varsity has a one piece crank and does not use a standard cup and cone BB like most other bikes with 3 piece cranks.

There are a few threads here about doing the conversion, and from what I remember it is pretty straightforward and works well. Here's one I remember - the pics are gone now, which is too bad, but the discussion might be useful:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hlight=Varsity

stringbreaker

Thats the ticket. I saw those before and wondered if they wouuld work. I think the sora components would be a big improvement to the original stuff although I'm keeping all the stock stuff in case I ever sell this thing. When I tear it down this winter I'm going to do a paint job and get the schwinn decals and put on it though just cause I really like em

raverson

Both of my Miyata 210's have been converted over to sealed BB's. One was updated with Shimano Sora drivetrain and the other stayed original except for the BB. As bossman said, it is straight forward and works well.

pastorbobnlnh 

It's easy. The only hard part can be getting the length of the cartridge BB correct. I used the FMF adapter. Once it's in, I suggest taking the frame and crankset to the LBS and let them determine the length of the BB. I have one on my '62 Continental. It works very well.