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Road Test/Bike Review (1978) Consumers Guide to $100 - $150 Bikes

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Road Test/Bike Review (1978) Consumers Guide to $100 - $150 Bikes

Old 09-30-19, 02:39 PM
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Road Test/Bike Review (1978) Consumers Guide to $100 - $150 Bikes

I wasn't sure this 12-page article on $100 - $150 bikes (circa 1978) was worth the effort to post, but I decided provide a brief description first so you know its potential value to you and is searchable on the make/model information.
Essentially, the general characteristics of bikes in this price range are described in detail, then specifications and comments are presented for each of the models listed below. A pdf of the article is attached.

AMF Pursuit
ATALA Corsa
AZUKI Century
CENTURION Sport
COLUMBIA Gold Crest
COLUMBIA Lexington
GITANE Gypsy Sport
KOBE Kona
NISHIKI Rally
RAMPAR R-2
ROSS Eurosport
SAINT TROPEZ
SCHWINN Varsity
UNIVEGA Super 10
VENTURA Malibu
VISCOUNT V-1500
WINDSOR International
ZEBRAKENKO Thunder
Attached Files
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Old 10-01-19, 12:19 AM
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Ty for the article. I love the ads. Reminds me of being 22 with a wife and kid and no chance at buying a decent bike.
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Old 10-01-19, 04:17 AM
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Not surprisingly, the AMF (parent company of Harley Davidson at the time) was accused of having "sluggish performance". Some things never change
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Old 10-01-19, 04:21 AM
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I just passed on a $5 Schwinn Varsity last Saturday...it was really rough and a small frame.
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Old 10-01-19, 07:43 AM
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There were a number of interesting items in this article for me. One was the internal routing of cables on the two Columbia bikes without "aero" being mentioned once, and that the site of the frame tube holes for routing was where frames "customarily buckle". Also, both Columbia bikes were skewered in the Comments section. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that at least one head rolled at Columbia because of this article.
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Old 10-01-19, 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Stormsedge
I just passed on a $5 Schwinn Varsity last Saturday...it was really rough and a small frame.
A friend of mind had me ride his varsity the other day. Wow.... i remember wanting one. So glad i never got one.
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Old 10-01-19, 12:10 PM
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For many people the Varsity is a nostalgia bike, freedom, first 10 speed, youth, etc. My oldest brother had a green one in the early 70s. One of my first rebuilds was a varsity, simple to work on, bullet proof and a TANK cured me of wanting to work on another Schwinn "light weight" from the 70s but the lady who bought could not have had a bigger smile after test riding it. Give me an 80s LeTour or higher any day. YMMV

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Old 10-01-19, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by ryansu
For many people the Varsity is a nostalgia bike, freedom, first 10 speed, youth, etc. Mu oldest brother had a green one in the early 70s. One of my first rebuilds was a varsity, simple to work on, bullet proof and a TANK cured me of wanting to work on another Schwinn "light weight" from the 70s but the lady who bought could not have had a bigger smile after test riding it. Give me an 80s LeTour or higher any day. YMMV
When i was a kid, the rich kids up the street had scwinns, it was the 60s and they were the bomb. I had hand me downs my dad and grandfather fixed. In reality the ones we rode were probably better. I do know i ride used bikes i have repaired and repurposed almost certainly because my father i inadvertently taught me to. Bianchi, schwinn, Raleigh or whatever is my option these days because the old man was a pretty smart guy.
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Old 10-01-19, 03:11 PM
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I like the ads for tents, touring bags, long underwear. Besides cycling, "Bicycling" magazine promoted outdoor adventure, touring, active lifestyle. Maybe I live too "urban" now, but that laid back, flannel shirt vibe is missing from society in my perspective.

I can remember the Campfitters store in my hometown...in the 70's. The whole hiking, biking thing was big. Ripstop nylon, goosedown, hiking boots, Swiss Army knives, weed. Fun times.
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Old 10-01-19, 05:16 PM
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That is pretty fun. A price level where even hi tensile steel is a luxury... This was the level bike that most people realistically had, at least as a kid.

I like the ads too. I had almost forgotten when North Face stuff was made in Berkeley by hippies... (or was it in Joserville?)
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Old 10-01-19, 05:28 PM
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This road test was solid journalism imo. Unlike so many other (and a bit more recent) such tests, they actually credited the EF Schwinn for it's quality and rugged construction and it's good design.
@ryansu, by chance did the Varsity you rode have a good saddle and bar tape on it? It's little details like that which can have a disproportionate influence on riding impressions!

I've ridden the big Varsity on sporting club rides over 50+ miles, and while a bit heavy, the Varsity was a great-riding bike that also entertained everyone with it's heft and it's solid kickstand.
Of course I gave the old bike the benefit of a 6s Uniglide freewheel and better saddle (like a 60's model would have come with), and fitted it out with a 2cm-longer stem and some clipless 1/2" pedals to make it worthy of contemporary standards, but it's pretty much a stocker right down to the original wheelset and steel handlebar.

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Old 10-01-19, 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by dddd
This road test was solid journalism imo. Unlike so many other (and a bit more recent) such tests, they actually credited the EF Schwinn for it's quality and rugged construction and it's good design.
@ryansu, by chance did the Varsity you rode have a good saddle and bar tape on it? It's little details like that which can have a disproportionate influence on riding impressions!

I've ridden the big Varsity on sporting club rides over 50+ miles, and while a bit heavy, the Varsity was a great-riding bike that also entertained everyone with it's heft and it's solid kickstand.
Of course I gave the old bike the benefit of a 6s Uniglide freewheel and better saddle (like a 60's model would have come with), and fitted it out with a 2cm-longer stem and some clipless 1/2" pedals to make it worthy of contemporary standards, but it's pretty much a stocker right down to the original wheelset and steel handlebar.

The one I rebuilt had some issues, it needed a rear brake, the RD was kaput and the saddle clamp was shot, I did replace the bar tape although I have seen other examples that still had original tape in surprisingly good condition and the saddle was a nothing to write home about plastic and vinyl model of the middle 70s. Also the decals were so shot I scrapped them off, this was one of my first rebuilds so I didn't give it the respect it may have deserved but the lady who bought was sure in love with it as it was just like one she'd had as a teen.



Mid 70s Varsity
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Old 10-02-19, 07:46 PM
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https://www.depop.com/products/vinta...oad-bike-soma/

A Soma Generation, much like what was tested in the article... I'm having a tough time finding anything out on the interwebs on any of these models.
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Old 10-02-19, 08:11 PM
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The comparisons were fun to read. 'the testers preferred stem mounted shifters over the down tube version'. ahahahahaha I agree... the adverts were a 'flashback'. I really wanted a speedometer so bad but never could afford such a luxury. I had these visions of 30 and 40 mph on my 50 lb (just joking but that sucker was heavy even without papers) hand me down paper boy bike. That reminds me... my brother saved his nickels and bought an Iverson 10 speed which for us was way super cool! I have never seen an Iverson since after it got stolen off the front porch. lol
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Old 10-02-19, 09:32 PM
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My first 10 speed was a Nishiki, probably that Rally model or something close to it. I used it to ride to high school and thought it was the bomb.

I picked up a 70s Sekine SHS 271 which I love to ride in part because it reminds me of that Nishiki (down to the "rat trap" pedals and turkey levers) but, thankfully, no stem shifters.

I learned how to wrench on that Nishiki. I bought a bike book (Richard's bike book), a set of tools (I still use those tools), and tore the bike apart. It took me a day to tear it apart. It took me around a week to figure out how to put it back together again,
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Old 10-03-19, 06:05 AM
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https://ectypebikes.wordpress.com/20...nder-10-speed/

A nicely rehabbed Zebrakenko Thunder.... never have I ran across a Zebrakenko. With a name like that, I think I would have remembered.
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Old 10-03-19, 06:12 AM
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Originally Posted by 52telecaster
When i was a kid, the rich kids up the street had scwinns, it was the 60s and they were the bomb.
In my experience, that was true in the 60s but by the early 70s we wanted imported ten speeds. We knew very little about anything (I thought my Raleigh Record was a pretty fine racing bike), but we had it in our heads that the Schwinns were no longer something to be desired.
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Old 10-03-19, 09:06 AM
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The links won't open on my phone. I'll try later on the computer. I had a Rampar in those days. The first one got stolen and the second came with a bent frame, so I could never ride it no hands. I did ride my first TOSRV on it though, in 1981. I rode my second TOSRV in 2001 on a '96 aluminum Schwinn. 2021 is right around the corner, for the trifecta.
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Old 10-03-19, 09:35 AM
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Originally Posted by uncle uncle
https://ectypebikes.wordpress.com/20...nder-10-speed/

A nicely rehabbed Zebrakenko Thunder.... never have I ran across a Zebrakenko. With a name like that, I think I would have remembered.
Thanks for providing that link. I wasn't aware of it though it also looks like they have stopped posting.
Zebrakenko was a new one for me too before I came across it in an earlier issue.
The "Zebra" part of it made me expect a wild paint job, like a Zunow. Or Zubaz pants!
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Old 10-03-19, 03:28 PM
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I wonder whether the 1978 Motobecane Nomade was priced in that range. I bought one lightly used around 1980 for something like $75. The hi-ten steel frame and most components were fine, but the Huret RD could be balky.
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Old 10-03-19, 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by 52telecaster
When i was a kid, the rich kids up the street had scwinns, it was the 60s and they were the bomb. I had hand me downs my dad and grandfather fixed. In reality the ones we rode were probably better. I do know i ride used bikes i have repaired and repurposed almost certainly because my father i inadvertently taught me to. Bianchi, schwinn, Raleigh or whatever is my option these days because the old man was a pretty smart guy.
Pretty much like it was for me....more so because you had to drive to another town to even buy a schwinn. my first bike was 24 inch girsl bike my dad pulled out of a irrigation ditch and fixed. I then got a 26' schwinn clone from coast to coast..... my Dad showed me how to grease the wheel bearings, etc and then it was up to me

The list was fun because my first 10 speed was a 1972 azuki.....it seemed a little higher specced that these in that it had alloy rims.....$140....or all the money I made hoeing sugarbeets IIRC
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Old 10-03-19, 08:04 PM
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https://picclick.com/Windsor-Interna...l#&gid=1&pid=1

If I got to pick one, I would probably have to go with the insider crowd and their pick... the Windsor International. I've never road a Windsor, and have always wondered what a bicycle built in Mexico, back in the golden age of 10 speeds, would be like. I have friends from Mexico, and it would be a hoot to talk about my vintage Mexico-made steed. Really, when I got into bicycling during college, half a decade or so later than this article, these bicycles were pretty much what my crowd was riding. Hi-Ten frame, Suntour drivetrain, Araya/Sunshine alloy wheels, Dia-compe centerpulls, no name/off name everything else. We bought rear racks, toe clips, water bottle cages, and set out on the roads around the college, where a mile or so meant open highway. And they were pretty fun bicycles, and good memories.
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Old 10-04-19, 04:17 PM
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Well-written article. The author was some guy named Gary Fisher.
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