Originally Posted by sbarner

It's a fairly low-end model. I sold these in the early '80s. Ross was trying to adapt to the changing market by producing a lighter series of bikes than their traditional tire store models. (Ross only sold through "bicycle shops," but some of those were also lawnmower or toy/hobby stores.) They saw their competition primarily as Schwinn, but both companies had sized up the lightweight market wrong. Ross never quite matched Schwinn in the quality department, unless you get to the Jim Redkay models, but they tried. All the US mass producers were really out of touch with the adult bike market in the 70s and 80s, with the exception of Trek and the private label operations, like Specialized. Your bike would make a good beater or give it to a kid. I once rode a century on my Schwinn Varsity, but I wouldn't suggest going more than 10 miles on a bike like that today. Cycling can easily be a lot more fun than that.