VegasTriker

Lots of the Schwinn Varsities were bought by parents who rode Schwinn bikes when they were kids so knew the brand name. To any fan of lightweight bikes the Varsity screams "cheap" from the welded frame to the one-piece Ashtabula crank. The Le Tour models of the early to mid 70s were made in Japan by Panasonic who employed craftsmen who could braze rather than weld the frame. I doubt there were many real craftsmen in the Chicago factory. The real rub was that we had one independent bike store and one Schwinn shop in town that both sold the same Panasonic bike. The one with "Schwinn Approved" stamped all over it sold for $30 more than the identical bike with Panasonic on the frame. It was Schwinn's reluctance to build a reasonably priced lightweight bike that did them in eventually.

I was lucky enough when I bought my first bike as an adult to have the choice between two used bikes for the same price. One was the Varsity and the other a 29 pound Italian Fiorelli 10 speed bike with low end Campi components. The Fiorelli was way nicer looking so I bought it. What a lucky choice. It served me well for a decade and kept me riding. I can't imagine riding a 70 pound version of the Varsity. That was half my body weight at the time I bought the Fiorelli.

base2 

20190105_133655 by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr

base2 

They do tend to be overpriced here, in Seattle. The troll was a volunteer project by a local art professor. The local news does a fluff story every once in a while. Fun fact: the artists nose was the model they used for the troll. If you've ever seen the guy, it's about proportionate!
FWIW: Here is my wife's Varsity
QLC2Ckg5uLvGxL4lUbAUdGFmj6ewk66G6eSflITih7M-2048x1536 by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr

nomadmax 

Those Varsitys are awesome! Thanks for sharing the pics Can you elaborate on the cantilevered rear dropouts on yours?

base2 

I had the work done by Haulin' Colin. Steel is pretty versital stuff. Mostly I wanted to get the axle on the other side of the Panniers so that the front end wouldn't get light when it was fully loaded. Most people load front panniers to keep things in balance, but the super relaxed geometry & high trail number of 86mm (47mm rake fork was the best I could do) would've made steering unbearable. Thanks to the extended rear drop outs, the cg is just forward of the bottom bracket for both loaded/unloaded conditions. It rides much more consistantly across a broader range than otherwise.
The canti brakes were a response to marginal long reach brake performance. Since I was using 700c rims, I figured it was then or never. They also allow 47mm wide tires. Ideally suited for gravel riding.

There is also WoundUp disc forks & work done on the head tube to accommodate a 1 1/8 headset. For my wifes bike, I bought a VPH755 headset from Porkchop bmx & a Nashbar carbon fork for about $75 It saved about 3 pounds and got modern short reach dual pivot brakes. A huge upgrade well worth the cost. The locknut on the my Vph755 headset did need to be enlarged a schoche for the quill stem adapter. That was an easy task.

tallbikeman

Base 2 I put brazed cantilever brake posts onto a 26" Varsity frame 36 yrs ago to use in early MTB racing here in Northern California. I had no trouble with the Ashtabula fork using this system but the Mafac Tandem cantilever brakes actually started bending the seat stays forward. Smaller Varsity frames might not have that problem. The bicycle was being used as a race bicycle where conditions are much worse than for everyday riding. Racing tends to weed out the weaknesses rapidly. Varsity's are not alone in having this problem. After a while MTB frame makers put on stouter seat stays that would not bend when using very strong brakes. I love your idea of longer rear forks. Rivendell has gone to this idea and if I get enough scratch together I would love to get one of their long wheelbase bicycles.

BrocLuno

I sold my old Schwinn w/o looking back. I had ridden it for decades, but not often once I found other brands were more entertaining. Sold my Peugeot shortly after as I was moving away from pure road bikes. Prolly would rather have the P back, or a good used Raleigh Grand Prix than a Varsity. I was riding when they were all "new" current bikes. Schwinn Paramount maybe ... But Varsity - not going there ever again. Even nostalgia can't beat the slow heavy nature ...

downhillmaster

tallbikeman

I bought a brand new Schwinn Paramount in 1971 with the Weinmann brake option on an otherwise all Campagnolo gruppo package. The bicycle had sew up rims and was bought in the 26" frame size. I'm 6'5". The bicycle weighed 26 lbs ready to roll. My Paramount had very laid back angles on the headtube and seatpost and was absolutely comfortable to ride. The Reynolds 531 double butted tube frame would bend this way and that at the cranks and it would flex on high G turns. Unfortunately the bike was a one trick pony and I started riding all road/gravel road/mountain bicycles and eventually sold that Paramount. I had found the Varsity for off road racing in my frame size and that experience opened my eyes to another world of cycling out there. By the way the Varsity ready to go with 26x1.75" tires and all aluminum components weighed 31lbs ready to roll. Not bad for a 26" framed off road racing bicycle in the early 1980's. Base 2 I just love what you've done to your Varsity. I believe a longer wheelbase generally benefits bicycle handling in mostly positive ways. It also splits the weight more equally between the front and rear wheel. If you have occasion to really abuse that rear brake let us know if the frame stays bend forward as mine have done in the past. I just kept riding mine and it never seemed to hurt the overall performance. Your smaller frame size may not allow this to happen. Tom Ritchey has a great video out there that was recorded in Germany at a discussion session. One of the things he had to say was all steel bicycles are cold bent during assembly and bending one back to original specs is OK as long as the damage bend was not severe. Good luck.

cyclist2000

I had a Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2, it was a fine bike. I was stolen

nomadmax 

Awesome bikes!

restlessswind

My suggestion is to try to get an older one (pre 1975). the Q.C. was better. I had a '72 and it was really solid. Check the rims. They tend to be rusty on the inside from water entering the flat tire beads. They are super easy to fully disassemble and reassemble. They are heavy, but ride so smoothly and balance nicely. I'd get a small (20" frame) for your height. (this size seems to be fairly common around here)

acidfast7

Damn, that's rough.

tallbikeman

Jan 1973, Velo Orange hubs 36 spokes, Velocity Chukar rims, Tektro 559 brakes, Shimano Shadow MTB long cage deraileur, 1x10 cassette on 135mm MTB spacing on rear wheel. S and S chrome moly cruiser handlebar with a BMX 4 bolt quill stem. Profile 180mm crank. I use Spiderflex noseless saddles. 35mm rear tire and a 40mm front tire. Sort of a mullet. This bike rocks. I have lighter faster bikes but this bike remains the favorite bike. I just completed a repaint of the bike using powder coat.
Base 2 with my current Varsity rear 700c wheel in the stock position I can get a 40mm tire on a Velocity Chukkar rim to work. I is tight with about 4mm of clearance per side. Not much room for mud or a broken spoke. Getting 47mm is quite a bit more. The stock Varsity fork probably would fit a 47mm tire. I'll have to check it out. I really like the 40mm tire. It is not big enough to slow down overall average speed but does make a big difference offroading. Your 47mm tire is going to be a very good off road tire. I find that street tread patterns are fine off road as long as you aren't racing or riding in a lot of mud. Love your project.

tallbikeman

All please ignore my feeble efforts to post photos in my last post. My phone has the wrong photo output for this website. Going to try a different camera.

base2 

No worries. I just found out I mis-spoke. The Woundup fork for has room for a 41, but nothing more. About 3mm clearance on each side. The rear of mine only has room because the axle is moved back. Here is a pic I took from this morning's commute. I just put a set of knobby 41's on last night because of the thick sand on the roadways from snow removal efforts. I still have about 1/2 inch clearance on each side. So I'm still sure a 47 would fit.

I think you're right. Not so big as to slow you down, but plenty big enough to be useful for less than optimal conditions.

Usually, for photos, people upload to Flickr, then get the BB Code from the "share photo" option, then paste right into the "reply" text box here.
20190218_050706 by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr

Kent T

Seconded on that thought, lighter, much better frame, better componentry, and much nicer to ride overall.

Bikesplendor

You might find that there are other bikes you will like as much or more than the venerable Varsity. You might be pleasantly surprised by some of the others.

somedodo

seeing a guy on facebook marketplace selling a 1976 bicentennial schwinn varsity for 80 bucks. it's in pretty good shape. good value?

rumrunn6

I've often read that a bike is worth what someone is willing to pay. go ride it, do you want it? what is it worth to you? we can speculate about you & the bike but that's all it would be, speculation

personally, if I needed a bike & it was ride-ready for only 80 bucks, it might be worth it. right now, for me, no

rsbob 

My first racing style bike in HS was a green Continental. Had that for a couple of years until stolen. Insurance only paid at the Varsity level rate, so I ended up with a light metallic brown Varsity. I probably probably put 40,000 miles on that bike since it was my college commuter and later my go to work commuter. Then it became my recreational rider for several years. However I test rode a Bianchi road bike and OMG, bye bye Schwinn. My saying was that the Schwinn was so indestructible it would probably outlive all of us.

rumrunn6

+1

Vintage Schwinn

The greatest asset of the old SCHWINN VARSITY (circa 1965 - 1980 ) is its SIMPLICITY, EXTREME DURABILITY, & A HUGE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FRAME SIZES THAT ARE SURE TO FIT ANYONE from a dwarf to a giant!!!!

Weight isn't everything! Yeah it is gonna be if you aren't already a very strong rider, if your aim is to keep pace on the A-group weekly rides on Wednesday evening from the local bike shop. If you are already a capable, and very strong rider, you'd have no problem staying amongst the pack of an A-group 25 mile evening ride. Gears and human leg power and physical fitness will see to that. Those rides aren't an all out tour de france type as fast as possible race, but a medium to moderately quick paced group ride of better riders. Most anyone among that A-group ride would be capable of riding a 40 pound ten speed at the expected pace for the entire 25 mile ride. Weight wouldn't make a damn bit of difference in keeping pace for A-group folks that are truly A-group riders with the strength, experience and physical conditioning. Yeah, a Johnny Comelately who struggles to keep the pace on the B-group 15 mile rides while riding his 14 pound late model quality road bike, isn't gonna be able to jump on a 28 pound vintage Raleigh Grand Prix, or an ancient 24 pound PARAMOUNT, and be able to maintain the pace with the A-group no matter what! Johnny C. certainly won't be able to keep pace enough with the shorter B-group rides either. If Johnny C. cannot keep pace on 28 pound Raleigh even if it had a gas engine attached to it, he sure as hell won't be able to keep pace on a Varsity with a gas engine attached to it on even a three mile ride.
The 14 pound BIANCHI or whatever fourteen pound 'cycle allows Johhny C. to be the "cyclist" that he dreams of being.
Yeah, ol Johnny Comelately is a poser but still a "cyclist" by todays generally accepted cycling norms.
Someone riding something like a KENT GENESIS, which is the current name-incarnation of the old former KENT GMC DENALI would not be considered a "cyclist" at first glance by the judgemental local clique of "cyclists" which make such judgements at a glance by the age, brand-marque, model and its pedigree and whether the most elite of the local bike shops would carry such a model or even consider servicing/repairing such a perceived BSO, POS that "nobody would be caught dead riding" as proper "cyclists" would rather walk than ride such an "unacceptable" ride.
Now, yes those Wallyworld and other box store's website's Kents are functional bicycles if properly assembled. They will do the job adequately at a low price point despite what the annointed "cyclists" among this forum might have to say. Ordinary folks typically seeking a bicycle to ride for regular exercise or daily 15 mile rides can do very well with something basic inexpensive or with something ancient but super simple and durable-bombproof weighing 4 tons like the old Varsity.
Now if you wanna see yourself emulating Lance Armstrong, Greg LeMond, or Eddy, then you've got to have the matching equipment with the provenance, distinction and pedigree because then that will be your only relative link to any commonality with those world class greats. Sure, maybe two percent of you would qualify as near world class based on your extraordinary riding ability and accomplishments, but perhaps the other 98% can only daydream and gain a common association via the similar equipment and attire. Nothing is wrong that and it certainly is a great way to bond and fraternize with thousands of like minded souls who really enjoy doing the same thing. It is "cycling". It certainly is fun! Fun is what it should be, or if it isn't fun then you are doing it the wrong way!!!
Everybody loves riding bicycles at some point in their lives. Don't let the good life pass you by because you want to be a cyclist that rides but you don't feel like you can fit in as a "cyclist" that rides fast, in the drops, in tight fitting lycra & spandex on bicycles that cost more than your current car is worth.
GET ON A BICYCLE, AND BEGIN TO LEISURELY RIDE AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK, and perhaps more frequently if time and your schedule permits.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO RIDE FAST AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO RIDE FAR. You do have to ride regularly to get the best exercise benefit. You'll enjoy it too!
An ancient SCHWINN VARSITY would be perfect for such an exercise and leisure bicycle for you. It is so simple that a 12 year old kid in the Sixties and Seventies could do nearly all the service work and adjustments required to get one perfectly road-worthy again. They are that simple! They are extremely durable unlike anything that has been seen in about 43+ years, aboutl since the VARSITY was available new.

Now having said that, THE SUBURBAN five speed ( of 1970 - 1976 ) and THE COLLEGIATE five speed (of 1970 -1977) have a 14-32 model J freewheel
that WILL SIGNIFICANTLY UPGRADE any VARSITY / CONTINENTAL / 10sp SUBURBAN.

Here is why:
The Varsity & Continental from the mid sixties til the electroforged Chicago end have 52 big 39 small on the one piece Ashtabula crank.
VARSITY & CONTINENTAL and 10 sp SUBURBAN and the '64-'69 Collegiate, they all HAVE the 14-28 model F freewheel ........28....24....20....16....14

The 1970-1977 COLLEGIATE and 1970-1976 SUBURBAN 5 SPEED have the 14-32 model J freewheel..............32....26....21....17....14

*** You can greatly IMPROVE ANY VARSITY or CONTINENTAL or 10 speed SUBURBAN by swapping the 14-32 model J from those SEVENTIES era Collegiates and five speed Suburbans before the FFS arrived in 1977.


Did you know that the 1970 - 1977 Collegiates have a BETTER HILL CLIMBING ability than any of the VARSITY / CONTINENTAL / 10 speed Suburans ???
Yes, it is true from only FIVE SPEEDS with just the 46 TEETH single front chainring.
Why? Because the 46 teeth front and 32 cog rear with the 597mm TWENTY SIX wheel yields a better LOW GEAR than does the 39 small front and 28 rear with 630mm TWENTY SEVEN wheel.
--------------------------on the 1970 and later Collegiate, you get a (37 GEAR) from a combination of 46 front and 32 rear with TWENTY SIX (597mm) WHEEL
=======on the VARSITY / Continental and 10 speed Suburban you get a (38 GEAR) from a combination of 39 small front and 28 rear with TWENTY SEVEN (630mm)

----------------------the SUBURBAN five speed has the same exact gearing as the 1970 and later Collegiate, EXCEPT THE ALL SUBURBANS have TWENTY SEVEN(630mm) wheels.

++++++++++++++ The Suburban 5 speed has 46 Teeth front and 32 teeth rear 1st gear cog which gives you a (39 GEAR) from that combination with the TWENTY SEVEN (630mm) inch wheels.



****** You DO NOT WANT the freewheel from the 1964-1969 COLLEGIATE because it is the same exact model F 14-28 freewheel that the VARSITY-Continental-10spSUB
continued to use throughout the decade of the seventies!!!
The 1970 Collegiate and the 1970 Suburban 5 speed WERE THE RECIPIENTS of Shimano's 14-32 MODEL J. Schwinn's first ever use of Shimano.
THE JAPANESE were the only manufacturers that could make a rear derailleur that would reliably shift a 32 cog or larger cog.
Though the MODEL J freewheel was featured on ordinary adult upright city cruiser bicycles like the Collegiate, it was groundbreaking in featuring Shimano's patented new sealing design and superior construction to anything that had been produced before up through its late 1969, 1970 model introduction.
It is an extremely durable freewheel which is superior to the otherwise excellent French made model F.
+++ The huge benefit of the Japanese shimano built MODEL J 14-32 freewheel is of course the fact that the 32 first gear cog IS A MAJOR IMPROVEMENT over just having the 28 first gear cog BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE ONE HELLUVA DIFFERENCE FOR MOST EVERYONE IN HILL CLIMBING ABILITY..........And When You Are Talking About The Hill Climbing Ability For Most People On Any TW0-T0N Ten Speed Like a VARSITY or Continental, it does make a helluva lot of difference for the average person. As Karl Malden used to say about riding the streets of san francisco on any two-ton schwinn ten speed: "Don't leave home without it....without doing the 14-32 model J freewheel swap from the 1970 onward Collegiate/5 speed Suburb before FFS came on the scene in 1977."


Hey, the old VARSITY & CONTINENTAL bikes do make GREAT UPRIGHT CITY STYLE 10 speed CRUISERS........you only need to obtain the 7881 SCHWINN handlebars and a pair of Weinmman/diacompe 22.2(7/8") tourist brake levers red dot, gold dot, orange dot......who cares as it doesn't matter as anything of those brake levers from about 1963 to at least 1980 will be perfect as they are all functionally exactly the same.

The $12 BELL PITCREW 600 replacement cable set WILL have everything you'd need for a VARSITY/Continental....
You will NEED a $16 basic generic "red handle" BICYCLE BRAKE CABLE CUTTER from say bikesmiths or other such vendors on the bay.
YOU DON'T NEED the more expensive Pedro's branded version which is the same but a different color, and YOU DON'T NEED the PARK's version which is the same exact type of design, although the Park's version may be of better metal construction, but unless you have 80 to 100 bikes to replace the cables on, the generic no-name red colored handle version sold by bikesmiths and others for about $16 will be perfect for you.

You'll need a 12" / 300mm inexpensive Harbor Freight or Wallyworld crescent wrench .........expected current cost, about $11 for one of these new elcheapo chinese TWELVE INCH crescent wrenches. You DO NEED THE 12 inch version BECAUSE THE JAWS MUST OPEN WIDE ENOUGH FOR FITTING THE NUT ON THE ONE PIECE CRANK. Harbor Freight may have the least expensive 12 INCH (300mm) crescent wrenches that will be perfect for the job.
You do not need a vintage Craftsman, or Snapon, or MacTools crescent wrench because minimal quality is all that is needed of such a monkey wrench for use on ancient bicycles. It doesn't matter if the chrome on the wrench is poor or it will rust easily, the steel is twenty times stronger than you'll ever need for working on an old Schwinn, even if it is an $8 Harbor Freight special with the coupon.........that is all that you'll need from that 12 inch crescent wrench for use with a bicycle.

Yeah, you'll need an approx $8 freewheel tool specific to the freewheels, and perhaps a bench vise, or just take the wheel to one of your local bike shops and pay them to remove it for you. The cost will likely not be much more than you might pay to acquire the tools to remove them.

The #64 (number 64, caged bearings) bearings, TWO OF THEM that are your one piece crank's bearings (bottom bracket....hanger set , etc) ARE SIMPLE TO REMOVE & CLEAN-ReINSTALL regrease or REPLACE IF NECESSARY.....................................these caged bearings (#64) are inexpensive at no more than about $5 each NEW online if none of your bike shops have them locally.
Beware though that the old SCHWINN stamped #64 caged bearings of the sixties and seventies are the FINEST QUALITY of any ever available.
Still it does not matter, as any new ones will certainly be okay, however your cleaned and regreased original SCHWINN stamped bearings will be just as good as long as the ball bearings show no pitting or defects and didn't exhibit any problems or noises while previously riding. The metal quality of the ancient SCHWINN stamped #64 caged bearings was far superior to anything else then and certainly now available in any #64 caged bearings for the One piece crank.
It is literally so easy to remove clean, regrease and re-install the one piece crank assembly in old Schwinns, just like a pro, on the first attempt.
Your 11 year old grandson could do it, as even the stoned and high from sniffing airplane glue 11 year olds could do it in 1969, back when there was no internet and you only probably had two or three television stations and the whole generation was lost in space and everything was far out

The VARSITY is still a great bicycle for what it is.
Extremely simple. You can DIY revive and get it back on the road very easily. Yes, you can't take it to a local bike shop and have them revive it for you (THEY CAN OF COURSE , AND WOULD DO A GREAT JOB BUT THEY WOULD LIKELY CHARGE YOU MORE THAN $200 for something that your labor will be able to do a fine job too.......it will take you on your first try, probably ten times longer to do everything than even a greenhorn in the bikeshop could do, but even on the first try, you can easily revive a VARSITY in a weekend (sat & sun). I'd bet that on your second attempt at re-doing a Varsity or other similar old Schwinn that you could do it all within five hours. Your third attempt, well it might only take you three hours total time. It is the simplest bike on the planet as far as ten speed bicycles are concerned.
I would upgrade to a Maeda SUNTOUR or SHIMANO rear derailleur even if you keep the original model F 14-28 freewheel, as the Japanese rear derailleurs are significantly better than the best european rear derailleurs, though the Varsity's Huret Allvit is among the best- most durable of the europeans. Keep the Allvit only if it is working perfectly otherwise always your best move is to go Japanese --SHIMANO or SUNTOUR.
(****You WILL BE REQUIRED TO go with either a SHIMANO or SUNTOUR rear derailleur IF YOU DO GO WITH Any FREEWHEEL with either a 32 or 34 teeth 1st gear cog BECAUSE NONE OF THE european rear derailleurs are worth a damn at shifting anything like a 32 teeth cog or a 34. .......you have no choice but to turn to the Japanese no matter how much you might worship Campagnolo.


GET THE OLD ANCIENT SCHWINN BIKE OUTTA THE GARAGE. Get it cleaned up, and Do-It-yourself. It won't cost you much to do so.
Everything that you will need IS STILL WIDELY AVAILABLE and doesn't cost much.

You can get just as much exercise and riding enjoyment on an ancient SCHWINN VARSITY as you can on any new BIANCHI, or new SPECIALIZED or whatever bicycles that your local bike shop currently carries.

Is the ancient SCHWINN better than what is currently carried by your local bike shop? NO, they quality new offerings that your local bike shop offers, have tremendous advantages in overall weight, overall speed potential from a much more technically advanced gearing, gear selection and much more advanced braking system WHICH IS SUPREMELY ADVANTAGEOUS given the average riding speeds which those quality new bikes are capable of.
However if weight of the bike isn't an issue and your desire isn't to ride as fast as your feet can fly, and you won't be riding in the rain, than the ancient Schwinn Varsity is perfectly adequate for any type of recreational exercise, all around use. Now certainly many more folks than you would guess, actually did ride Varsities long distances during the early Seventies, and some even crossed the entire country on Schwinn Varsities. Yeah, you could also say the same thing about folks crossing the entire country in VW Busses back in the early seventies.......so yep, thousands did it but argueably, no sane person would ever recommend using a VW Bus or a Varsity for that task today. Just like then, they could still do it but you still have major issues with adequate speed and wet weather braking with the Schwinn and other major issues with the VW like sidewinds and wind turbulence from trucks and the inability to accelerate fast enough to merge into traffic from onramps onto freeways and interstates.
VW Busses were notoriously dangerous automobiles and it was known back then as Cornell University research and Ralph Nader had published much information subsequent to the similar study of the Corvair. I guess that you could still say that travelling across the country in a VW Bus is much safer than making the cross country trip via any bicycle. Still it isn't something that I'd recommend that anyone would ever consider trying to do as there are far better and much safer ways to go from sea to shining sea or anywhere in between. Yep, I travelled more than a few miles in VW's way back in the day..... However, I would never recommend that anyone ever would use them on any Freeway or Interstate or for any highway travel at all today, maybe going to Lowes or Home Depot or to Safeway for groceries but going from Boston to Miami and Charleston to New Orleans to Houston on to Phoenix etc is long ago in the past and not something this old fart would ever do again, just like I haven't owned or ridden any motorcycles since the seventies...... Schwinns, sure I ride them often depending on the nature of the ride. I'd consider riding a seventies PARAMOUNT in a sprint tri, just for the heck of it, or emblazing-decalling some other quality old non-Schwinn bike with decal set for the 1966 -1974 Varsity and riding that for the heck of it in a sprint tri.

A Varsity still can be a very useful and enjoyable bike for the right person and the right riding conditions!
A Continental has ONLY the TUBULAR front fork and Centerpull brakes and aluminum handlebars and stem to DIFFER FROM the VARSITY!!
*****The SUBURBAN is an UPGRADED Varsity Tourist as the SUBURBANS have the tubular front fork of the CONTINENTAL but share the L.S. 2.4 weinmann SIDEPULL
BRAKES that the Varsity has.
The Varsity has the Ashtabula forged blade fork that is common to the Collegiate and other similar eletroforged variants.
Thus, heck if you want a tourist 10 speed, THE SUBURBAN 10 speed already has the TUBULAR FRONT fork and tourist handlebars and seat and fenders, although the colors offered for the SUBURBANS were more conservative than those for the Varsity, and certainly for at least 1970-1975 the Varsity's schwinn decals and graphics was more complimentary to the coordinating paint color than the Suburban's graphics which on some colored models would ghost blend into the exterior paint color. The Suburban also featured paint color matched painted fenders while the optional fenders on Varsity from about 1967 onwards were all chromed.
The Suburban appeared in 1970 and replaced the VARSITY TOURIST model whose last appearance was 1969.
The Suburban was available in 10 speed and 5 speed models, and also the 3 speed model was available also in 1970 and 1971 before being discontinued.
******The FIVE SPEED SUBURBAN is arguably a much better built bicycle than either the VARSITY or the CONTINENTAL thanks to having SHIMANO rear derailleur, and SHIMANO built model J freewheel as well as the simplicity of just five speeds, with no front derailleur, yet having nearly the same HILL CLIMBING capability as the ten speed VARSITY-Continental-10sp Suburban without giving up too much in top end capability. Those SUBURBAN five speeds have better HILL CLIMBING ability than many common European 10 speeds of the early seventies thanks to the 46 front and 32 teeth 1st gear cog of the model J 14-32 freewheel. As I mentioned earlier, the 1970 on Collegiate has slightly superior HILL CLIMBING capability than both the VARSITY and CONTINENTAL thanks to the TWENTY SIX (597mm) wheels versus the TWENTY SEVEN (630mm) wheels of the VARSITY-CONTINENTAL-SUBURBANS.




......................Stay Slim, Ride a SCHWINN, that extra weight will do you good......
.................
..........The SIMPLICITY and BULLETPROOF DURABILITY OF THOSE ANCIENT SCHWINNS CANNOT BE BEAT if you just want a good basic bicycle!

Yeah, Chicago Schwinn and perhaps some of the Schwinn family members get all the blame today for not changing with the times and making competitive lightweight bicycles, but rarely does anyone under sixty years of age on this forum board of bikeforums rightfully acknowledge that Chicago Schwinn did build some of the most durable bicycles that the world has ever seen. Weight isn't everything for everyone.
Schwinn was once synomous with delivering a quality durable product.
Once the imported Japanese bicycles of all the Japanese makers came to the US in the seventies while offering a level of overall operational-functional quality and durabilty on par with Schwinn but with the lightweight attributes of European bikes except with superior Japanese quality and engineering of derailleurs and freewheels and bottom brackets and at a price point below every Schwinn and below every comparable European model too. Once this happened, many of the Europeans were wiped out, and it was beyond bad moon rising for Schwinn. Schwinn also gave rise to a giant outside of Japan. The Schwinn dealer network as it was become unsustainable and huge problem that could not have been overcome regardless of what Schwinn might have done. Bike sales dropped significantly as the seventies were in the disco era and dealers/bike sellers wanted anything that would sell, and just as in the auto biz, one time Cadillac and Lincoln Mercury dealerships would morph into Mercedes, Audi, BMW , Volvo, Toyota, Datsun, Honda dealer franchises...... In retrospect, there is nothing that SCHWINN could have done that they didn't try that could have saved such a large USA bicycle manufacturer. All of the other large scale US bicycle manufacturers fell on hard times by late 1980 / 1981.
Their only recourse for all the large scale US bike maufacturers would have been to get large protective tariffs against imported bikes (as they all did lobby for at one time during the eighties). The US bike industry once had huge protective tariffs in place that guaranteed that they did well as it did when Pres. Kennedy allowed high tariffs against overseas imported bikes. The US bike industry wasn't competitive enough on price a decade later when the tariffs were long gone and the Japanese and European offerings were tough to compete with and when inflation crept up around '69/70 and then began raging in 1973, ordinary folks began to look for the lowest priced coaster brake model offerings to put under the Xmas tree for their 6 to 11 year olds and this assault on the bread and butter for all the large scale US bike manufacturers would begin a long term trend away from any brand loyalty for any US product. Most all the big US bike manufacturers attempted to reduce manufacturing related costs to better compete with the lower cost imports, but this resulted in some paint related/quality control issues that customers took notice of , further escalating the trend towards no-name lowest cost Xmas bikes for their youngsters especially during the late seventies.
There was essentially no way for any large scale USA manufacturer to continue making a full range wide line of bicycles in the USA and continue as an ongoing concern. The current big box store Chinese made "BSO" and "outright junk" as many here refer to those low cost bicycles, aren't perhaps as bad as folks here on this forum would have you believe. A good number of LBS proprietors and employees are frequent and vocal contributors to this myth. It isn't too hard to understand why they are so biased and militantly against anyone buying and riding a new big box store bicycle. It is a severe threat to them or at least one person not potentially buying from them. The biggest threat would however be if greater public acceptance of big box store were to occur. They thus militantly hail exaggerations and half truths so that they can further shame and discourage ordinary folks seeking basic bicycles from shopping at Wallyworld, Tar-Jay , the internet and other low discount stores.
Now certainly you might find a few junky bikes at big box stores but probably more than 85% of the chinese bikes offered at those big box stores are decent enough for what they are if properly assembled and would serve well the bike rider that seeks a new bike at the lowest possible price point.
You can be the judge. Those bikes sell in quantity. With proper assembly and reasonable care, not leaving them in the rain to rust like crazy, those new big box store bicycles will give you your money's worth in riding enjoyment if you only want a bicycle and you aren't picky about long term quality and durability of some components.
Yes, they are perhaps mostcost effective as disposable bikes, buy a new one when something breaks other than maybe replacing an innertube, seat, pedals or handlebar grips. The rear derailleur can often be replaced with a cheap NEW $10 heavy steel shimano lark knockoff like the chinese XUNDAH or chinese FALCON or anything new or used Shimano or used ancient SUNTOUR assuming you only have 7 cogs and you're okay with friction shifting on the elcheapo Big Box store bike, but most folks can't do such repairs and by that time the 3 piece bottom bracket has issues, wear and problems that those folks can't do if they can't or don't know how to replace the broken rear derailleur. ....And so it goes to the SALVATION ARMY, GOODWILL or the Dump. If it goes to Salvation Army or Goodwill, it will likely again see the road again, after being repaired by some kind soul who helps to get repaired bicycles donated free to the city's homeless population via the Salvation Army shelters and other outreach agencies. A functioning bicycle has its merits no matter what age or make of the bicycle.
The ancient Varsity may be a better overall bicycle from a reliability , durability, and ease of Do It Yourself restoration/rebuilding perspective but a functional bicycle whatever it is will get ya from point A to point B. Some folks who otherwise would have nothing to ride are glad to have anything functional that they can ride.

Before you sit back and say, "Oh I wouldn't be caught dead riding that bike, as it is to old, too heavy, or from Walmart, or whatever your idiotic excuse for not getting your rear end off of the couch and getting some regular exercise that such a bicycle could provide, you might find yourself getting larger and larger such that one day it might present health related problems that you wish never materialized.......

GET OUT AND HAVE SOME FUN IN THE SUN ON A BICYCLE AS SOON AS YOU CAN.
It might be the best exercise that you actually enjoy doing.
Have a great day riding your bike.
Wear a helmet because you just never know......you might need it and asphalt/concrete is a lot harder on impact to the human skull than you may think.

Have Fun.

You might love riding enough that you do want to buy a new high quality lightweight performance BIANCHI or whatever SPECIALIZED from your local bike shop.

Get started. Get off of the couch, and begin riding whatever it is that you've already got, or whatever........ but get going.......if the VARSITY does that, do it!!!
It doesn't matter the age, or the make and model of the bike, as every bike will be beneficial for some exercise, though you'll want a bike with some gearing that at least enables adequate tackling of minor hills, unless you live near the ocean where the terrain in flat and level like a billiard (pool) table.

SurferRosa

rumrunn6

OMG that was awesome

had 2 as a kid
decades later bought another & fixed it up. yes heavy, but silent & very comfortable, aka "plush"

here's my Varsity Commuter from June 2009


but this 1985 LeTour was lighter & more efficient, for the 26 mile round trip commute & joy rides