Varsity restoration almost complete!
 

Hello all the helpful people, this forum has helped me a lot just by browsing and reading over it. I received my Varsity from my grandpa even though it was my dads old bike.. It probably didnt have 10 miles on it when i got it. It was hanging in the garage for 20 plus years then when my grandpa got older and downsized his shop for hot rods to the two car garage in the back the Varsities went outside :( (wouldve been in much better condition when i got it.)

So heres how i got it... when my VW Gti broke on me, freaking loved that turbo, i needed transportation. My dad said i could have his mountain bike, cheap diamondback crap, if you can believe it didnt even come with a kickstand haha! I said id rather get the varsity working. So we took it to lbs, $100, no problem all it needed was two new cables, tires and tube. Got it riding!!! :thumb:
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/1966/johnsbike2.jpg

Holy crap i was addicted! I put miles on it everyday. At first 3-4 was a struggle now i can ride around my neighborhood so many times it gets boring haha.
I live in Augusta, GA (where the masters golf tournament is held) and down here theyve never even heard of share the road! It is ridiculous to ride on the road. Cars come way to close one out of two is within a foot, no exaggeration. But ill do it anyway, they look so dumb and fat polluting the atmosphere while they get enrage for having to be delayed by 10 seconds, how small minded, we are so tiny on this huge earth (srry, save that tirade for another time.) Well ive decided to paint it heres the before and after. Quality is a little slack, cell phone for when it was yellow.
http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/3715/johnsbike.jpg

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/944/johnsbike3.jpg
I ordered replica stickers off ebay, disassembled it (super tough,) taped it off, painted it, and clear coated over all the decals and tried to reassemble it. I messed up a little on that part so a trip to the lbs will hopefully have it working properly again.. Tell me what you think! i decided to post after reading a few well guided, but lazy, half-assed attempts to restore some vintage Schwinns.

I rode a Lemon Yellow Varsity back in the 70s when everyone rode Varsitys. I do mean everyone. The bike racks at school held about 80% Varsity, 15% Stingray, and who cared about the balance. Won't lie to you about being a fan of the lime green stuff, but the rest of the bike looks good. It's a keeper. 40 years from now you can still be riding it. Good job, dude.

Finished! for now haha..
My new fizik test saddle arrived from ebay, im stoked!! i put 20 miles on it today and its was pretty comfy except i needed to adjust it halfway through my ride.. its a different comfort than i expected its not as padded feeling but I can feel the pressure and weight of my body spread out across the whole surface instead of one spot. heres the picture.. chain guard removed..
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/8229/imag0124rl.jpg

I commuted on a Varsity for several months. I do strongly recommend aluminum rims, toeclips (mount by punching out one reflector per pedal), and losing the brake lever extensions and the pie plates.

thanks for the input dood, some new rims would be really nice. santa please give me a nice set of mavics... I could see the toe clips but a brake lever delete idk.. i like them, the bike may be slightly to small or handle bars to low (unadjustable, locknut cannot be budged) but i dont ride bentover all the time where i could reach the front part of the brakes. They are very useful when i grip the handle bars like so... the second picture is my most used grip position.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=181544http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=181545

Now its complete :) (again)
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6985/fixedvarsity2.jpg

Nice. How's the chain ring ratio feel?

Is that single-speed-freewheel or fixed-gear? I don't see any brakes.

Thanks, pretty good. I was worried about it being too small in the back but i shoulve gone smaller, it feels like i could cruise a little faster. Im mainly just going to use this for flat path riding, basically a workout so im not that worried about hills and I told the guy on the phone how many teeth are on my crank and he suggested a 17 tooth cog. He also said the handlebars would fit my stem and they didnt. He said the spare 27 inch tubes i had were fine and would fit the rims but they didnt so I kinda feel like he was just telling me what i wanted to hear.

Its fixed, no brakes for now haha, im avoiding traffic on this beast for a while..

You'll be wise to put a front brake on. I know this is rife with opinions, and now you have mine.

Ha, thanks man, im good to listen as long as your trying to be constructive.. I prob will go with a front brake I just love the way it looks so clean.

I can't argue with that. Maybe you can route the cable in some way to hide it. Or use a hub brake!

Yeah, it looks great as a fixie. Great job man! But as a fixie rider I do recommend a front brake for a few reasons, but it can still look good too. Heres a couple examples from the fixedgeargallery

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=186231http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=186233http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=186232

Its just easier on the knees and and you wont have to change your pants if the pickup truck in front of you (who hugs the curb so you cant pass him at red lights) slams on the brakes to pull into the burger king. And also, sometimes chains break, it is possible for them to fall off, then how ya gonna stop? It happened to me before, i dont remember how I stopped...

I dont want you to mess up that sweet looking bike, or for you to get messed up

I like it. The green bugged me at first but with the seat and wheels it starts to tie together. I've got brakes on my fixy. It'd look better without but I've got a wife and kids who need me round the house.

Mayb I could route them, idk. Im prob just going to put the reg front brake on it.. A hub brake? hmm.... ha

Thanks dood. Yeah, with traffic around here it is ridiculous, the car people are unwilling to wait a second. Ha idk how id stop, these bmx kids I was talking to use their foot on the wheel in the back to stop. AWww, thanks for the concern ha I def dont want my first bike and anything collision to be bc of no brake..
Thanks man, glad you like it.. ha well props to you: family> hippster status.

Just browsed the thread, so maybe someone mentioned this, but your seat mount is backwards. The bolt should be behind the post. You did do a fine job on it, though. Sweet Varsity!

"they get enrage for having to be delayed by 10 seconds, how small minded"

That's an interesting view of it. Then there's also the fact that if they're having to come that close to you, you might not be riding responsibly. And are you going the speed limit for the roads you're riding? If it's not a neighborhood, and there isn't adequate room for you to ride without impeding traffic, on the road that was built for cars (might even be illegal for you to ride depending on the road), I think they would have every right to be a little upset at you tooling down the narrow high speed road on your 10mph bike. Especially considering if you accidentally do something when you're destracted or blow a tire, they could end up in prison for life for hitting you even if it's your fault (sorry, save that tirade for another time).

Just make sure you're being safe and considering everything. Even if they are in the wrong, and they're the ones wrongfully endangering you, you'll loose the fight against the speeding car every time, and you could end up with more than some scrapes and bruises. That's not a thread any of us want to read about.

haha, preesh guy, never even noticed that.

bangin!

I was saying that 10 seconds thing because i used to be like screw anybody who delays me now i try to have patience. Im speaking about how they dont have any patience, me on a bike or in a car i still see the same stupidity. I have the most problems a half mile from my house and its a four lane highway. I understand 3000 vs 200, im never going to win. You cannot avoid these crazy people when you have only one way to get somewhere and when im in the gutter or right on the side of the asphalt. Theres plenty of room just they wont spare any. but anyway, i appreciate what you are saying and def hear it. Im glad to hear your concern and im learning more and more everytime i ride and hear possitive critisism on this forum.

Ha, thanks pimpin.