Schwinn Varsity and Collegiate Sport upgrades
 

I want to upgrade these vintage Schwinn Varsity and Collegiate sport bikes with new gears, wheels, seats, brakes and shifters, but this is the first time I would ever do so and need some help from the community on how to buy the parts for it and where. I got these bikes from a garage sale and the frames are in good shape and seem easy to put new parts on it. I believe these bikes are from the 70's or 80's, and when I go on them for a ride the wheels are bumpy from uneven wear and the shifters are friction based, so its harder to shift compared to newer bikes.

Where can I go to find out which parts fit on these bikes, or all parts universal?

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...your most reasonable upgrade on a Varsity is a different bike.

so the frame is just not worth it? It's difficult to find new bikes nowadays8.3.0

My recommendation would be new tires, new tubes, new brake pads. Leave the rest alone, other than giving it an overhaul (regrease) and a full tune up. If you want to go crazy hot rodding, lace on some new alloy rims. That's about the only performance mod that will actually improve performance, besides tires.

It will take a lot less time -- and infinitely less money -- to learn how to friction shift than it would to convert those bikes to indexed shifting.

A lot of standards have changed since those bikes were new, and 'upgrading' them as you propose is way way more involved than simply bolting on new modern parts. The original parts work well enough if properly set up and adjusted. It's not really a matter of the frame "not being worth it" as much as it is pure pragmatism.

One heads up, many Schwinn Collegiates used the now very rare Schwinn S6 tire/rim size (26 x 1 3/8 x 1 1/4" ISO 597). Kenda still makes a tire for it, and it's the only one available. This size is different than the normal 3 speed 26 x 1 3/8" (ISO 590) tire size.

People here like old Schwinns so it's not a knock on the brand. These are tough bikes to upgrade for the reasons others have pointed out and unless you have parts on hand (or know how to get them cheaply), it will not be cost effective. Aluminum alloy wheels would be the biggest bang for the buck upgrade. Other than that, just overhaul the bike, replace the consumables, and enjoy riding them.

I have a 1975 Varsity Deluxe that I enjoy very much. That said, I couldn't agree more. There's a reason they're plentiful and cheap. They made millions of them, they're built like battleships and weigh nearly as much. Many only got ridden a few times because they were so heavy and then they got put away and forgotten. If there's ever all out nuclear war the cockroaches will be riding around on "Varsinentals" after the fallout has settled.

If you want to ride a bicycle and the Schwinns are the only bikes available, my advice is do the absolute minimum to them to get them roadworthy, no more. Bikes and bike parts are in short supply now but that will not last forever. In particular changing to indexed shifting will be costly and for a beginner potentially a technical nightmare. For the money you would spend you can buy something used (normally) that has the upgrades you want and at a cost probably less than upgrading the Schwinns and it will be a much better bicycle.

There are people that love Schwinns but yours are old and were entry level or lower way back. Compared to others at the same price point they were heavy. Well built but heavy.

LOL, when I was a kid Schwinns were the fancy bikes for rich kids. Everyone else rode Huffy, All-Pro, Royce Union and similar boat anchors.

The Schwinn Varsities, Continentals, Collegiates were well built utility bikes, meant for riding to high school or around college, or going to the beach/lake/etc on weekends, going to the store. For that they are well suited. They were never meant to be sporting bikes. Circa the 70s the target market was still mostly teenagers and young people. The heavy duty build was a feature.

I may as well just try and sell the bikes then. they are classic bikes with everything still OE parts on it. How much can these bikes go for nowadays?8.3.0

probably not much unless someone is looking for parts or just wants to practice learning how to fix them up. I just bought this 1984 Schwinn World Sport for $10 off Facebook and I’m keeping it and just using it to learn how to take apart and replace old parts and fix it up a little bit. But if you are looking to make a profit off these somehow you probably won’t.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a97c1d367.jpeg

Hopefully you didn't pay much. I'd just try to get my money back. They're common as dirt and contrary to what many people think not especially valuable. I've seen more than one in like new mint condition barely break $100 after being on the market for weeks. That's the main reason I have one, it wouldn't even bring the price of the tires I put on it.

Why not just get them to function and ride them? Just because the majority opinion is that it isn't worth major upgrading doesn't mean it could not be a low cost entry into basic cycling.

Nope I payed $60 total for both bikes. I thought it was going to be a fun side project to try to get new parts on it, but it doesn't seem to be the case based on this forum, but if I was to go through the route of buying the parts how would I even buy the parts to then replace the parts on my existing bike?

Look on Ebay for them, I have already found some good stuff there

I agree. The Varsity tires need to be replaced eventually because of the wear. I did want a decent bike to ride with a couple miles every once in a while. I'm still interested in possibly upgrading it, but I wouldn't know where to start.

Post some pictures of the bikes and the parts, close up pictures of the parts will help the forum members if they look like they need to be replaced. You can post 10 photos in each reply

When I was a teenager, the last bike that I wanted was a Schwinn Varsity or Continental. European and then Japanese bikes, including the Schwinn LeTour, were considered better bikes. Now, some 40 years later, I look at the Varsity and Continental as iconic American bicycles. And pretty well built. I care less about weight, don't mind going slower and also getting more of a workout riding it. I have a Continental that I am in the process of repainting.

If this appeals to you and you don't mind spending time and money on these bikes, then the Varsities are worth keeping. You will get people that will tell you about when they had a Varsity or Continental when they were teenagers. You will get comments about your Varsity, even if it is not always positive (like here). But the important thing is if you like it and enjoy riding it, then keep going.

For keeping your Varsities my advice is similar to those above, if the wheels are not straight, get new alloy rims. This could be either buying just the rims or complete new wheels. It depends upon how much you want to take on.

On the other hand, you could sell the Varsities and pick up a decent bike if you are patient. I like Treks, Schwinn lugged framed bikes, Fuji, and most other Japanese bikes. As bikes get newer they get better.

If you ditch the Varsities, let us know what you are interested in, or ask for what to look for. We are usually pretty helpful. We also have biases, but we'll get you into something good. If you let us know were you live, some of us will even point you to decent buys in your neighborhood.

The Varsity is a special bike with it's super-relaxed frame geometry and sturdy kickstand keeping the parked bike ever so well-planted.

The easiest upgrade process might be to find a better bike having 700c wheels to act as a parts donor.

My 1964 Varsity went together in a day using discarded parts I had laying about, I only had to buy the inexpensive SRAM 8s cassette, a longer chromed seatpost and the green tires and handlebar tape. See below.
I would leave the original crankset in place and maybe just upgrade the parts that you find a need to improve upon.
700c wheels work with the original brakes and lower the bike slightly which is all for the better since these bikes have such a high bottom bracket. You save several pounds there.

When servicing the rear brake cabling be sure not to lose the cable housing ferrules, they're special.

How does your bike look? If you like the color then that might be reason enough to proceed. There's nothing like a Varsity, except for a Continental perhaps.
The Varsity also takes well to use of a swept-back upright bar, and some of them were sold that way. They handle great with such handlebars.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f42264bc1f.jpg

Here's mine, Paid $30 for it, it had one new tire, one "ok" tire and was pretty much all original. The original wheels had something spilled or splashed on them that ate clear through them so I put a set of steel wheels off a later Schwinn with a 6 speed freewheel. I put new brake pads on it, new bar tape right over the decent original then cleaned and adjusted everything. Eventually it got the Panaracer Paselas, saddle and some other add ons seen in the picture but nothing major. I tried to sell it 3 different times and couldn't get a single nibble at $100. I'm sure the frame size had more than a little to do with it but I've sold several other road bikes with tall frames before, while this one was for sale and since. By all means fix yours up and ride them, they're great for putzing around on a nice casual cruise, but I sure wouldn't do much "upgrading" or modernizing. Fix what needs to be fixed, put some decent tires and saddles on them and ride them. Something more worthy of serious upgrading will come along, trust me it always does LOL.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7e1aef26b1.jpg

Unless you know what you are doing, swapping out parts may not improve the performance of the bike. You'll have a bike that will cost you more money than it is worth.

The most cost effective and valuable "upgrade" would be to overhaul the bike, you'll then have the satisfaction of learning how to restore, repair and maintaintain your own bicycle. After putting some miles on it, you can then figure out what needs to be modified or upgraded.

So, before you put your credit card to work, put your hands and tools to work...:thumb:

Here's the pic from his gallery. He'll have to wait until tomorrow to make 5 more posts before he can post more himself.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1a52b9bca.jpeg

Those bikes look like they are in great shape, even the tires look good. I wouldn't change anything, Schwinn's of that era were built to last.

A couple weeks ago I helped out my neighbor by cleaning up and selling his 73 Varsity for him. It's the first Varsity I've worked on, and I was impressed with how well it rode, and how well the original parts worked. All I had to do was new cables, grease and brake pads, and it rode like new. I threw on some used but decent tires. I sold it on Craigslist for 150, and that guy got a nice bike for 150 which should last him several years. They're good bikes.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0ad7d47d42.jpg
Before
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...18fc1e13eb.jpg
After
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d1a0b0f72a.jpg

More inspiration for you. I bought this Traveler because the seller had put a Camagnolo Nuovo Record rear derailleur, Mafac Racer brakes and a Dura Ace freewheel on it a few decades ago. I pulled the goodies and rebuilt it with parts from Schwinns I had parted out over the years.

BEFORE:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...72105f175b.jpg

AFTER:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ff09fe51f2.jpg

Depends on what you're doing with the bikes.

As city bikes, commuters, point a to point b riders, Schwinn's electro-forged bikes are fine. More than fine, actually, assuming you don't need the latest conveniences - and can deal with the cheapo saddles they sometimes came with and can renew the tires, cables, brake shoes, etc.

There are two main issues with the electro-forged bikes. Firstly, they are boat-anchor heavy, and (like other Schwinns of the era) over-built. Because they were over-built, Schwinns held up when Huffys and Murrays blew up. You could jump them over garbage cans, assuming you had enough of a downhill run to compensate for the 40+lbs you had to spin up.

Secondly, there were a lot of those bikes made, and because of their longevity, there are a lot of them still around. They aren't Paramounts. Forget about getting very much for them on the collector's market.