The original tires are as good as new, no cracks, no dry rot, they're not even darkened or hardened by age. The tires say Schwinn on the sidewall.
I pulled all the bearings out today, all the grease was like new but I redid it anyway using modern Park grease.
The bike was stored pretty much sealed in plastic in a heated/air conditioned area so it hasn't aged much. The chrome is in super nice shape, no pitting or rust, it's not even faded. I wiped the bike down with a rag dampened with some light cleaner wax and it looks almost new.
The cables are all in good shape, it needs nothing to be ridden daily. If the tires can take my 360lbs they can't be in too bad of shape.
The wheels are still true, it shifts all 10 speeds, and feels good on the road.
I haven't tried to market it anywhere yet, just from past experience, CL is probably a waste of time, I've listed bikes there before with all sorts of pics and a detailed description as well as with a minor description, nothing works, the average buyer around here wants a new bike for $10. I've also listed in Philly, but most buyers won't travel the 40 minutes to where I am. I get one reply after the other about wanting to meet in the city or will I deliver it for an extra $5.
I'm not delivering it, and I'm not shipping it. Its not worth the trouble to ship to me, it takes time to disassemble a bike and pack it properly, and finding a box to fit a full size road bike is nearly impossible.
I'm not as much worried about selling it, just what it should be worth. Basically I'm after an opinion of someone in a better bike area. Here, I see decent Varsity bikes listed anywhere from $30 to $100. I think a clean survivor like this has to have more value than a case of beer or two. You can't buy anything like it new, let alone something made in the USA.
I don't see the weight as an issue, the buyer of a bike like this most likely isn't looking for a light bike, I'd hope it would go to someone that appreciates it for what it is.
As a big man, there's not many bikes like this that would hold me, this does. At 365lbs could you imagine what graphite components would do? How about bladed spoke wheels on a high end racer?
After looking at eBay, I see listing just about anything there these days is a waste, after all the fees I'd end up giving it away if it even drew a bid. Over the past few weeks I've watched several similar bikes go without bids with $20 to $50 starting bids and one had free shipping.
I have no doubt there's a lot of these left but I don't know how many are still in really nice condition, especially one in a larger frame like this.
As someone who has always ridden 63cm/24" frame bikes, I can attest for how hard finding one used can be. There's a ton of little bikes, but not many big ones.
I should also note that the camera flash makes the orange look more peach in color, it's not faded, it matches the bar tape in person. I took the pic in a dim lighted garage after dark. I tried several shots, it came out the same each time, yet in person it looks much darker.