As a young teenager I put a few miles on one of the early Varsitys and it was a huge step up from my Monark middle weight. A close friend had a "gold" Schwinn road bike of the same vintage as the Varsity I road and it was a big step up from the Varsity with aluminum wheels and components. It weighed probably half of what the Varsity did but I do not know what model it was. I thought it was a Conti but........??? I have a Columbus tubed Prelude frame in the shop and it is a real nice frame and I would be riding it but it is just too big at 62cm. Is a Varsity or Conti a high quality bike,,,,no, but if I was not able to own a quality alloy steel frame or aluminum frame you can bet that I would be on a 'EF' Schwinn. They ride just fine, just too heavy and too long of a wheel base.