I bought my fiance a Schwinn Chicago and am in the final stages of making it the bike she wants. I decided to grease the bearings last night. I noticed there were smaller ball bearings on the inner part of the crank. Turns out the free wheel is located there. I thought it would be a good idea to grease those as well. Now i can't figure out how to get those bearings back to there original spot. They do not have slots like every other bike ball bearings I have seen. Any direction with this would be a great help. It would be a tragedy for my fiance to call of the wedding because you didn't help me! ha!

From the picture it looks like your electroforged Schwinn Varsity (made in Chicago) is a 1-piece crank. If the bearing cages are gone and your are just dealing with loose bearings it can be a bit of a challenge to put them back in. Do the drive side first where the front chainwheel goes. First put a nice thick layer of grease in the bottom bracket all the way around the cups, spread it around on there like you're making peanut butter sandwich and you're real hungry like. Or maybe a better analogy is put a ring of grease in there like you're putting cream cheese on a bagel. The thick grease helps hold the balls in place while you work. Now put the crank into the bottom bracket but not all the way on, leave a 1" gap to work with. Put the bearing balls in one-by-one on that side using the crank assembly to keep them in while you grab another bearing. After all the bearing balls are in on that side, rest the bike on the side you just did so that the pressure of the bike pushes down on the crank assembly and holds the bearings in. Next do the other side. The crank shouldn't let the balls fall through out of the cup, so you should have an easier time of this. Thread on your cone and adjustment assembly on the crank and get it finger tight. Everything should be held in place. Finally either put the bike on a stand if you have one, or flip it over on it's seat & bars and adjust the bearing play where the crank is free to spin. This is how I did my varsity, you should be able to get it without too much trouble.

You have a Varsity with a Front Freewheeling system. I don't know anything about them (but I think there's plenty of info out there on the interwebs) and I suspect you're a bit in over your head. If it were me I would use this opportunity to replace the crank with an inexpensive alloy crank and new/used bottom bracket if required.

+1 Convert it. There is a simple piece sold by several vendors that will allow you to convert the bike to a traditional three piece crank. Since it is a keeper, that would be a really good move.

I agree upgrading to a three piece crank is a great idea. What becomes of the free wheel then? Does it take another conversion kit to get the freewheel back by the cassette? I have never had problems with freewheels therefore i don't know much about them. I'm all for upgrades, I just need to know the best process!

that beer can makes that picture

If that is the FF system and you replace the front crankset to a regular set you will also need to replace the rear cog set with a regular freewheel.

If convert the cranks to 3-piece and keep the existing rear wheel, you will have a wicked fixie

The existing rear freewheel won't work for a fixie, there is a safety mechanism built in that allows it to freewheel, just not easily. This is so if you get your pantleg stuck in the chain, the bike doesn't toss you over the bars.

So, as Thrifty Bill says, in order to convert this to a normal freewheel system you need an adapter that fits into the bottom bracket shell that will allow a modern 3-piece crank and bottom bracket to be installed. The Schwinn has a 1-piece crank and normal bottom brackets/cranks won't work without the adapter. Some call these American to European adapters (or something similar). I've never actually seen one of these, but pictures make it appear to be simple to install.

Then, you need an inexpensive crank set and bottom bracket. If you are in someplace flat, you might consider a single chainwheel in front -- someplace like Houston or Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Most people probably disagree with me on this.

Then, you need a new freewheel. Probably 5-speed unless you want to respace the wheel and re-dish and cold set or spread the rear. You have to get the old freewheel/sprocket cluster off. Most Schwinns of that vintage used an Atom, I think. An LBS should be able to remove it for almost no cost, or loan you the tool, or you can look at the cluster and figure out what tool you need and buy it for $5 to $10. A first guess is the Park FR-4 -- but check it.

All told, not a lot of money -- particularly if you can do the work yourself. Personally, I would do it if your fiance likes the bike. It's a nice, good looking bike in apparently pretty good condition and putting a couple bucks into it is well worth the cost, in my opinion.

How much are you going to be riding? If you plan to bike a lot, then make the upgrades, you'll get a better riding experience. If it's just a couple times a summer, just put it back together and enjoy it as-is. If it were me I'd just put it back together and enjoy the ride, and if my wife wanted to ride more often I'd be on the look out for a lighter weight bike w/cro-mo tubes and alloy wheels.

Good to know. The one I worked on seemed pretty well seized up.

Or just get it back together & keep that type system. Some like it, some don't . Beautiful bike !!!

Another vote for getting it back together... just because the cost of the upgrade/conversion will FAR outweigh the resale value of the bike.

Depending on how you do it, you might be able to get the crank/BB/adapter for about $50. There is one setup which looks like it includes the adapter and BB in one assembly (cage, not sealed, bearings) for less than $20. Has a 130mm spindle, so the trick may be finding a crank that will give a proper chain line with 130mm spindle. But, the adapter, and a bottom bracket and a crankset should come in about $50 to $65 or so. Freewheel is another $10 to $20, depending on choice, and then you probably need pedals with 9/16" threading. Maybe put a new chain on there, but that might be needed anyway. So, you should be able to do this for $100 -- maybe considerably less.

I understand that it doesn't make sense to do this on this sort of bike if you're worried about resale value, but I don't think $100 is too much to put into a bike that you're going to keep and ride.