How good is this system and can the bottom bracket be converted to a standard setup? I have not looked at the bike yet but there's one for sale in my area that's my size which is 68+ cm or 27" so very hard to find.

Do they work fine? For the most part. Some repair parts have become harder to find.

Sheldon Brown called FFS, "A solution in search of a problem".

Yes, it works fine, but Sheldon was right, that it was not needed.

I'm also curious to know how much work it is to convert to a regular old BB. Does anyone know?

The frames have standard OPC or 3-piece 68mm English threaded BB shells, so standard non-FFS parts will retrofit perfectly. To convert you'll need to replace the crankset, bottom bracket and freewheel with standard parts.

Good to know, I'll have to go check it out. I had always thought Schwinn was the only one that tried something like this, never did understand why.

-Steve

Doesn't say the model he has, but I had a Panasonic Villager with the FFS and the bb shell was not threaded.

My World Tourist had a standard threaded shell. I had to go to THREE bike shops before I found one that had the freewheel tool to remove the cups though. It's a small diameter old school Shimano remover. That's the main trouble you might run into. That and you will need an actual freewheel. Other than that it was straightforward.,,,,BD

Like any good company, they were trying to court prospective users and thought that the ability to shift while not pedaling might entice more people to ride. Remember that derailleur bikes were still a relatively new thing in America.

Was that a one-piece crank? Of course those were not threaded. If it was a 3-piece crank with a 68mm wide shell that was unthreaded then that is something I've not seen before.

Derailleurs were a new thing in the US in the early to mid 80's? Try 20 years earlier than that?,,,,BD

My take on Scott's remark is that he was referring to the mass market (i.e. bike boom), not racing & touring aficionados. Could have been more clearly expressed, I guess.

It is a Villager, appears to be a 1977 since they started calling them Mk2/Mk3 after that.

No threads in your bottom bracket eh? Hmmm.

The only reasonable option I saw with the unthreaded shell was to go with a unthreaded BB. They are available for around $25 and up. I was going to convert the Villager into a basic SS. Not really worth that added investment (along with all the other costs), so I aborted the project at that point.

Still have to look at it and see if it fits, if it does and that system works okay it wouldn't "have" to be changed but it's nice to have options.

They weren't new here, but a lot of people had no experience with them. I worked in shops at the time and taught many people for their first times.

And we've come full circle, I've rebuilt and sold a LOT of bikes the last fews years and it's amazing how many people have no clue how to work the derailleurs.

Even had one guy that almost killed himself because I lived on a slight hill on a dead end and he could't figure out the brakes on his test ride, had my then 12 year old son laughing out loud.

-Steve

I just had one fall into my lap.It has one scratch on the top tube.Wheels need to be replaced.