khd1991

Hello everyone, I looked around and searched the forums before posting this, but I couldn't really get the information that I was looking for clearly and I believe this is the best place for it to be posted. If it needs to be moved, feel free.

I acquired a World Sport at the beginning of last summer and thought it would be great for getting around college and the small town I live in. It was free and I didn't really plan on doing much to it, but it was missing a crank shaft so I went in to my LBS and started asking questions. The guy was very helpful, but he didn't seem too enthused about the bike. He ended up telling me that I would be better off not wasting any money on the bike before I could leave.

After getting the crankshaft put on and doing some light maintenance on it, I took it out for a spin and it was great. I have never had a road bike before so it was definitely different, but I loved it. It wasn't long though before spokes started to snap. The bike wasn't stored very well, so it wasn't surprising but I don't know what I should do.

Most of the drive train is rusted, and I'm not sure that I feel safe with the wheels that are on it. It is an 84 with friction shifters that are a little touchy, but still worked last time I rode it. The frame overall has a few rust spots and the paint is not in very good condition, which mostly makes it less of a target for theives.

I guess what I'm trying to get at with all of this nonsense is:
1. Is it worth it to fix the bike? I'm a college student without many resources just looking for a cheep form of transportation. I prefer this style of bike over others though.

2. If it is worth is, is there any sort of guide or list that I could refer to on what parts I would need and how to do the repairs that are necessary. After dealing with the LBS, I would be happy to bring a newer bike to him, but he seemed to look down on having this rust bucket in his shop.

Sorry for such a long post and thanks for the help.

nwbikeman

I would start with some chrome cleaner and some very fine steel wool to clean the chrome and see what that does. If not cleaning up the I would probably look for a nicer bike at school or CL.Most bike shops have the basic parts to keep you going, cables,tires,tubes, brake pads ect. But unless they work with used bikes. New replacement parts like deraileurs,cranks,shifters won't work on your bike as they are being made for 10 and 11 speed rear wheels not 6 and 7. So most of the modern parts won't work without a complete make over and that requires modifying the frame as well, not in your budget. Look for the Zinn repair book road or mountain and you can look online at Park Tool for repairs also.

frantik

i also just bought a world sport this weekend.. mostly because i love the paint job on it and have nostalgia for the old world sport i used to have

what needs to be repaired besides the wheels? if you keep an eye on CL you can get wheels for cheap sometimes. if the entire drive train is rusted, you're going to spend more to replace the drive train than you could potentially spend on a different used bike.

The World Sport is just slightly above the "Varsity" style heavy schwinn bikes that people around here call "boat anchors".. World Sport has lighter cr-mo main tubes but the rest of the bike is heavier 'high tensile" steel. that's probably why the LBS guy was being a d-bag. i'm glad my LBS aren't a bunch of bike snobs.. In college I rode my world sport everywhere.. comfortable for long rides and heavy duty enough to handle city riding.

frenchbikefan

I have a traveler parts bike in my collection, if I have what you need I would be happy to send you parts.

dynne

Be careful how much time and money you spend on that bike. Schwinn World Sports are great. I built one up for my roommate and he loves it. But if you can't do the work yourself, you may end up being better off spending 100-150 on something that is safer and ready to ride from craigslist. I know that may sound like a lot of money, but if you end up enjoying the bike for thousands of miles, it'll be worth it.

FrenchFit 

I commute on an old hi tensile steel ten speed with chrome-steel rims - no issues. In fact, it is a wonderfully smooth & fun ride. However, it was garaged during its life and I did top to bottom maintenance when I got it. If you have no place to work on the bike, and no tools, and no time, I think your bike is going to be a real drain on your resources. Sounds to me like you need a new wheelset, and even on eBay that isn't going to be cheap. It would be smarter to get an older MTB hardtail in decent shape, or even a FG...and put off rebuilding that 10 speed.

marley mission

i think its worth the time and energy if you have it - also - you may have to tool up a bit and learn some bike maintenance but if you are feeling enthused about bikes then this project could become a very rewarding and educational experience for you - good luck whichever way you go - just rode my world sport this morning - great bike - way lighter than my varsity imo

khd1991

Thanks for the advice everyone. I guess I'm going to end up giving up on this bike, but hopefully one will come along soon enough. In the area that I live, craigslist isn't the most fruitful source for many things, but maybe somebody will decide to get rid of their bike. Thanks for shooting straight with me and not trying to make things seem more promising than they are.

sonatageek

So how about a picture of the bike so we can see what you are walking away from?

The Golden Boy 

I think the 84ish World Sports are pretty nice (and cool) bikes-

However, not so much for dumping money into- If you can find a cheap CL bike to scavenge the wheels from- that would be cool. But you might be able to find a "better" whole bike for as much as you might be putting into the WS.

frantik

80s World Sport is listed at 27 lbs (stock) in the catalogs.. varsities are in the 30lb range i guess

you can quickly shave some weight on a stock World Sport by putting on 700c wheels, though newer World Sports came with alloy 27" wheels so there isn't a lot of difference

my world sport is in clean up mode right now gotta clean the chainrings and rebuild the rear derailleur then i can take it for a spin. now that it finally stopped raining i'm itching to ride

marley mission

frantik

pretty sweet

marley mission

thanks man - the world sport came to me in pretty good shape - the varsity was beat to heck and became my first 'very educational' tear down project - i've been addicted ever since

frantik

nice.. my world sport is also in pretty good shape, just got ridden in the rain a lot recently so it needs to be cleaned up. I got a 1990s GT Force yesterday for $25 with cool triple triangle frame that i think i will tear down and build up from the frame.. and in the mean time put the 700c wheels from the GT on the world sport

marley mission

yeah i dont mind riding in the rain - but the cleanup is a killer

jeepr

Don't a lot of colleges have a bike co-op type thing? Where you can go learn how to do your own maintenance.

frantik

i like to keep my bikes clean because they get stored inside my apartment, so i don't take them out in the rain. i just ride for fun and getting all wet isn't fun for me. luckily here in california it normally doesn't rain very much. this march has been very unusual.