Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,194
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Mentioned: 132 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1565 Post(s)
Varsities/Continentals are quite easy to maintain, and survive outdoor storage way better than most other bikes. Oversize BB bearing hold up!
For serious riding, one must size-up, i.e. buy the biggest frame you can straddle or the reach to the bars will feel incredibly short and a longer stem makes the steering floppy plus the stem quill diameter is usually the odd .833" / 21.1mm i.e. 13/16" size.
One annoyance is the crown race often fits slopily on the steerer, needs to be LocTited in place.
A SuperSport is the more sporting choice, with modern geometry and resulting normal fit. Still quite heavy, scarcely lighter than a Continental!