Mid 80s Schwinn Varsity Drivetrain question
I may be remembering this wrong but i figured you guys would know..
When I was 10 or 11 my parents replaced my Schwinn Bantam with a Schwinn Varisty 10-speed. I really wanted a BMX bike and treated that varsity like a Cyclocross bike. A little later my friends parents got the same idea and got him a Schwinn Varsity that had an interesting/strange drivetrain (that is - if i'm remembering correctly).
On his bike the chain would revolve around the drivetrain when he was coasting. It was as if the freewheel was located in the crankset or chainrings rather than rear hub. It was pretty weird but allowed him to shift gears while coasting rather than having to pedal.
This would have been around the early/mid-80's. The bikes were great - painted in that sparkly blue varsity color. Mine wasn't full size and was given away at some point after years of using it for jumps and off-road riding. His was full-size, same color, similar setup.
It was the only bike i've seen like this, before or since. (Or my at the time, young head is making this all up, i've been curious about it for a while)