I'm definitely trying that bar setup. So much happier with that than spending 7 times as much on bars as I did on the bike. Hmmmmm. How will cork tape get on out in the rain? Or is vinyl a better idea?

Ah, the drivetrain did it. I wanted to tour on the bike so I dropped a touring triple on it and a long cage deraillure. :)

I retired recently but when I was a daily commuter, these 2 bikes were in the rotation: $9.95 each at Goodwill. Just put "Zebra bars" back together after giving it an overhaul & orange respray.

Hey, those look like nice bikes!

My beater started as a dark green Varsity, parked in a neighborhood front lawn with a large FREE sign taped to it. So it came home with me. The original brake pads had never even touched the rims; it just took up space for decades.
Spinning parts felt gravelly when (if) they turned. Brakes and derailleurs were frozen solid. So I went for the zero investment option, and flooded every pivot and bearing with Marvel Mystery Oil. It took a week of repeated applications, and shoving things around, but everything works smoothly now. Smells like mystery oil, but such is life.
A coworker inflicted a worn out Le Tour upon me about the same time. The only useable part (other than the frame) was the front wheel. It is aluminum, and I like being able to stop, and so that's my one performance upgrade. I have to admit, I did get carried away and tightened/trued the wheels.
It carries a steel rack with steel fold out grocery bins on the back.
The tires were on sale at the hardware store for $3 each.
The steel drops were chucked in favor of steel cruiser bars, which were outfitted with mismatched brake levers.
Safety related stuff is new; brakes, chain, tires, and tubes. It needs a front fender, but I haven't found one made of steel and junky enough in my price range yet.

It's 43.7 pounds, by the shipping scale at work. I think I'll name it Oof.

Sounds like you could have a decent bike (albeit aheavy) for a commuter. I'd get the bottom bracket, headset and hubs repacked. The mystery oil helps, but can't completely rejuvenate the old grease in these parts. When I've taken old bikes apart I often find that the grease has dried to the consistency of beeswax or worse.

If you are feeling up to a little wrenching you might want to swap the components (except for the crank & BB) onto that Le Tour frame. You'll shave ten pounds on the weight.

I ride my nice bike. It's also my only bike, but life's too short to ride a really crappy bike around most of the time. I can understand if it is truly a financial necessity, but bikes were made to be ridden. Even the ones that are still shiny.

FWIW, my bike cost $150 on ebay. Through fixing/replacing parts, lights, fenders, etc I've got close to $500 in it now.

Thats what I tell my wife (everytime I buy/find/pickup another bike).

I'm getting around to it. The hubs are full of fresh grease, but not the bottom bracket yet...

That's the plan! Well, maybe some better components, but the Le Tour shall live again! The original plan was to use the Varsity as a completely undesirable form of reliable transportation; immune to theft. Yesterday, I chased off the THIRD tweaker in two weeks who was standing around trying to figure out what to do about the krypto chain. I tell you, there is absolutely nothing in the world a tweaker will not steal, and therefore, why in Hades am I pedalling around this juggernaut?