Could I get an opinion or advice on the rear brake cable routing in the image below? Can't say I'm happy with it, but can't really see any other option either. I suppose I should have taken a closer look the other day before snipping off the original.

For being a women's frame , it the way it done . The downside is when it get wet it will rust and you need to replace more often .

The housing between the stop and the brake is about 2 to 4 inches too short; resulting in too tight a bend at the brake.

Indeed. The old cable was rusted and non-functional. I guess I have it ok then. Kind of a hokey routing. Easy to press the cable into the tire tread. But if that's the design, then that's the design.

Yes that the way it is . With the seat stay ,the cable shouldn't rub on the tire .

didn't these originally have solid (non stranded) cables? or was that just the shifters? either way i have a bunch of that stuff on my living room floor if you have any need for it.

Yes they did. But I have found any housing will work .

Yes your housing does need to be longer . Have more of a loop to it .

Thanks all, for the heads up on housing length. I see your point. We will try a longer run next time. Letting it ride for now though, because the cable is working and the brakes are braking.

Yes that great and you should do that the next time .

Chiming in a little late... as others have said, the housing is a little short. It's acceptable, though. To be 100% stock, the housing should be gray.

I have had success using a 90 degree V-brake noodle to make the turn into the caliper. It made the cable routing shorter and with more gradual bends and seemed to work smoother.

+1, water puddles in the upturned U , so grease the cable to slow that happening.

add a V brake rubber piece over the cable between the side pull arms to resist water going in from that end.

We are not too worried about stock. The kid is planning to snag my On One Midge bar for its wider grip. That will probably necessitate a new stem with larger clamp diameter. Newish aluminum bar on an old steel bike. That'll be an unusual look.

Plus, I have about a third of a shop spool of black cable. We are more likely to redo the other cables to black.

Except that Positron one. We are stuck with grey for that.

Dsbrandtjr, what a great idea. I will remember and hopefully someday try that one.

Had been thinking just last night how much better a bottom up cable approach would work.

Jonathan... yep, many sidepull brakes are changeable from top pull to bottom pull... I've done this many a time while putting spinner units onto BMX bikes.

FWIW: the stock Varsity's stem clamp is 1" (25.4mm) I.D., not the more-common-now 26.0mm or 31.8mm. That means you can substitute an old/cheap standard mountain bike handlebar without changing the stem.

I did a couple handlebar conversions on Schwinn bikes way back when. It was kind of fun when many different handlebar were easily interchangeable.