Roger A’s Schwinn Varsity

Over the last 4 years we have had countless Schwinn Varsity grace our homepage, but I’m fairly certain that this the first yellow one we’ve ever had. This is Roger A’s Yellow ’70s Schwinn Varsity.

Year ??
Make Schwinn Chicago
Model Varsity

A little bit about it: I paid way too much for this one given its condition, but the seller extolled the virtues of the Varsity in his craigslist ad. I also decided that I would take a shot at painting the frame. It was yellow and it is still yellow. My skills with a spray can are not great, but it does look better than it did. I filled the hole in the chain stay with body putty. The after picture shows a set of vintage Schwinn approved wheels and the original french derailleurs and freewheel. I tried to replace the vintage kickstand but the one I bought on eBay stuck out too far and the crank ran into it. During my restoration I acquired some spare wheels and I picked what I thought were the roundest. The ones came with the bike were shinier but had a lot more hop, the jointing on the FEMCO rims was terrible. Since then I recycled the original hubs and laced them to CR-18 aluminum rims. It rides very smooth now.

As you may surmise the cost of the restoration was astronomical. This will be a one time extravagance, I have vowed that all my other rescues will be low budget and low impact.

BeaterRezQ

Roger A.,….but the awesome “hands on” experience you gained, not to mention the bonding that takes place between owner and rehabbed new toy——Priceless! I love yellow bikes, and just like motor vehicles,(minus taxi cabs/school buses) not so often seen. Drive by the school bike rack someday and count how many yellow bikes you come across, go for broke and check out the local college campus–you’ll be lucky to count 5 out of hundreds.
–And we know better than to ask “How much was invested in said restoration?” It is what you created and your means at arriving there…so long as you had fun in the process.
BRQ

**to note: I sorta have a collection of yellow “cruisers” if you will.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Scott-Vandeweghe/100001050687076 Scott Vandeweghe

With appropriate storage you can pass your Varsity to your grandchildren. Divide the resto cost by 10 or 20 years, it is still a good deal. Check out http://www.sheldonbrown.com/varsity-shaddox.html and http://www.sheldonbrown.com/varsity.html. It is hard to kill a Chicago Schwinn Varsity. I just “sold” the Schwinn Continental I bought in 1967 to a nephew. Scott V.
- BeaterRezQ
  
  Upright touring bars, white walls, spring-loaded saddle…..NICE!
  Me and that Continental could enjoy many meaningful moments together—–B
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Scott-Vandeweghe/100001050687076 Scott Vandeweghe
    
    Well, I’m taking a survey. Would you rather have an Old Ten speed as is, or with upright touring bars and a comfortable saddle? I’m a bike flipper. I take OTS’s and show them some love. I buff the chrome & alloy, repack ALL the bearings and at least change the handlebars. Depending on initial cost, most go out the door for $100 to $140. Why should you spend more for a nice ride? I won’t get rich, I hate to see an OTS die from neglect.
    - BeaterRezQ
      
      Scott V., if you can add comfort to classic–to me that’s a winning combo. I love the old 5 and 10 speeds, though old and heavy many were nicely made. Adding era appropriate saddles or bars when ever possible only enhances their vintage uniqueness, imho.
      b
    - Theoneb4mylast Afterafirstuvde
      
      I have a banana yellow continental 1972. Email me if interested
- Ryan Surface
  
  Wow that is a beauty Scott your Nephew is a lucky dude. I have a Women’s Raliegh Record that I am going to rehab for my Anglophile Niece -once I get the %$#^& stuck stem out. Some north road bars, cork grips maybe a Nantucket basket and it will be a whole new ride.
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Scott-Vandeweghe/100001050687076 Scott Vandeweghe
    
    Ryan:
    
    A stuck stem, never heard of that….. The best penetrant you can buy is Silikroil by Kano Labs http://www.kanolabs.com/. It makes WD-40 (good stuff) seem like a joke. Also check out
    http://sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html. good luck, no using of bad words.
Roger A

An update on the year, I checked the serial number on steering tube, it’s a ’75. The 1975 Schwinn Catalog confirms that yellow as an available color. I have seen a number of yellow Varsities and Continentals on Craigslist here in the St. Louis area.
- BeaterRezQ
  
  Roger, yeah you’re right. I’ve seen many yellow Schwinn’s, even had a few; Speedster, Traveler, Collegiate but generally speaking, at least in my “hunting expeditions” I hardly ever run across yellow bikes. Chromed and yellow bicycles seem to be a bit odd and rare around here, and I think both are very attractive. Your Varsity is no exception.
  B
Flying Merkel

My Varsity was Lemon Yellow back in the 70s! We had a love/hate relationship. Hated the horrible brakes, 4-out-of-5 rear freewheel, crappy rims. I suspect mine had a bent frame- it was a used rental that never went in a straight line. Racked up a lot of miles on and off road. I killed it trying to independently invent the mountain bike. Would have succeeded except a lack of knowledge, ability, resources or clue. I now have a ’64 Varsity converted to a 26″ coaster braked cruiser, exactly what I wanted all those years ago. Maybe you put out more than expected, but you definitely ended up with an heirloom.
- BeaterRezQ
  
  Flying Merkel
  I would like to see photo of your 64 Varsity converted to a 26” single speed coaster braked cruiser (that’s a mouth full) someday, just to see your conversion results. I recently took a 80 Varsity to a 700×35 single speed coaster braked cruiser. A. I was trying to see just how light I could make it, B. The ten speed positron front freewheeling system was toast. I actually came up with a fairly(?) light cruiser with an awesome rock-solid ride. Here’s my end results, and if you can shoot a picture of yours, awesome. thx—
  BRQ
Ryan Surface

Good on ya Roger for rescuing a classic, old yeller is a rare bird lots of blues and reds and some greens but the yellows seem to be hard to come across.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1005405137 Scott A Wells

Nice, Roger.
Anybody have any thoughts as to why that hole was in the chainstay? Poor frame…kinda reminds me of an abused child with a cigaretter burn.
http://www.facebook.com/wellroundedengineer Roger Allison

My guess was that the hole was for mounting an after market kickstand.
Theoneb4mylast Afterafirstuvde

I have a 1972 Schwinn Continental in Banana Yellow. All original parts, it’s in great condition if someone is interested email me romanellij2@gmail.com

Old Ten Speed Gallery

Show us your derailers, and we'll let you in for free.

Roger A’s Schwinn Varsity