montclairbobbyb 

LOVE IT!!! So many Varsities out there... perhaps there's a new life for all the forgotten Schwinns!!! BRAVO!

JehD

This is a seriously sweet bike. Do you have a build thread or more pictures? Love that fork - what kind? same with the seat and bag...Just Amazing.

Vintage Schwinn

My 1971 Five Speed SUBURBAN in 24" frame has a standover height of just over 32 3/4 inches. That is with modern MICHELIN PROTEK 27" (32-630mm) tires which I believe are among the most durable and best multi-purpose tires, however I find that they are a tiny bit taller as installed than many other tires, and this could cause clearance problems with stock fenders, particularly if they (fenders) have any dents, etc. This BROWN '71 SUBURBAN 5 speed that I have that I installed the PROTEK tires is without the stock fenders.
The FIVE SPEED Suburban (1970-1977) is the best, most durable, derailleured CHICAGO Schwinn ever built! (Collegiate 5 speed of 1970 -1977 is equally GREAT too but the pre 1970 Collegiate is not!)
The Varsities and Continentals, and 10speed Suburban are OKAY but they have the terribly inferior Huret Allvit schwinn approved rear derailleur!!
Kmart bikes, dept store bikes of 1972-1977 came standard with Shimano Eagle or Shimano Skylark rear derailleurs. The Allvit is a piece of trash by comparison.
There is a reason that most everybody went Japanese by 1978 and the Europeans were wiped out, as far as rear derailleur useage!
There is nothing from Huret, Simplex, or Campagnolo that is even close to being as good as SHIMANO or Maeda SUNTOUR at any price point.
Three times the cost still equals junk no matter how neato the script detail on the unit.
Change the rear derailleur on old Varsity/Continentals and pre late seventies Raleighs and others that came with Huret Allvit as standard equipment and it improves the bicycle significantly.

1971 SUBURBAN https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...0/1971_15.html

1972 SUBURBAN https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...0/1972_12.html

You will notice that YOU HAVE 22" and 24" FRAME SIZES as well as 20" and smaller frames.
You may also NOTICE THAT THERE was a 3 speed version of the SUBURBAN that was offered in the years 1970 and 1971 but only in those years until revived around 1979/1980. So in 1970 and 1971, you have the SUBURBAN offered as 3 speed, 5 speed and 10 speed
1972 thru 1977 the SUBURBAN is offered in 5 speed and 10 speed

I mentioned the 1970 - 1977 COLLEGIATE 5 speed as a GREAT bike = to the best Schwinn/most durable offered like the 5 speed SUBURBAN of 1970 - 1977.
Well the 1972 COLLEGIATE 5 speed WAS OFFERED in 24" FRAME SIZE.
I may be mistaken but 22" may have been the largest FRAME offered in 1970 and 1971 for the COLLEGIATE.
The COLLEGIATE has the SCHWINN ONLY (37 - 597) 26" TIRE that ONLY KENDA makes today (okay it is a tire size that also was on a few very ancient English bikes with the EA-1 rim size, so it isn't only a SCHWINN TIRE but millions of SCHWINNS and not so many other ancient antique English bikes!)

The 1974 SUBURBAN 5 speed has a thumb shifter and it isn't as good as the Schwinn STIK in my opinion. 1975 they returned to the Schwinn STIK.

THE 1971 Schwinn RACER and THE 1972 SPEEDSTER are both available in 24" FRAME SIZE.
They are the same bicycles with only different names.
Earlier RACERS and other name variants may have had PAINTED FENDERS instead of the Chrome Fenders of 1971.
This is the SAME diamond shape ( ElectroForged......think Varsity etc as the others...) BUT IN A SINGLE SPEED CONFIGURATION

1971 RACER https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...0/1971_17.html

1972 SPEEDSTER https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...0/1972_15.html


1972 COLLEGIATE https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...0/1972_14.html


The 1970 -1977 COLLEGIATE 5 speed and the 1970 - 1977 SUBURBAN 5 speed are the BEST Electroforged CHICAGO Schwinns!
Model J freewheel made by Shimano with 32, 26, 21, 17, 14 and Shimano built schwinn approved GT-100 rear derailleur (1970 thru 1973) and GT-120 (1974-1977)
You have a better freewheel with the Model J than the Model F (french made) unit on the Varsity/Continental and 1964-1969 Collegiate, and 10sp Suburban that has 28, 24, 20, 16, 14


All of the 5 speed COLLEGIATES and 5 SPEED SUBURBANS, and the RACER/SPEEDSTER and other variants have a 46 TEETH PEDAL CRANK.


Captain Kangaroo sang the praises of Schwinn because they were built better. Yes, that meant more durable and possibly heavier than the others in the industry but if you have no need to compete in a Triathlon or serious road race, you will do fine with an old Schwinn model mentioned above!
As for the SUBURBAN 5 speeds and COLLEGIATES, the GT-120 rear derailleur of 1974 -1977 is perhaps better in that it has the High limit and Low limit screws in the most typical Shimano location. The GT-100 is extremely durable. The GT-120 is extremely durable too.

You probably will not find a better cruiser bicycle than the few Schwinn models mentioned above!
You have quite a few choices in FRAME SIZES during the 1970 - 1977 era among those models.
There are also Large Women's FRAME Sizes (step-through) in 21" if you want them.
Bottom line is that you can see by browsing the old SCHWINN catalogs and the Schwinn Lightweight DATA BOOK too and you'll certainly find some very pleasant color choices and a large variety of FRAME sizes that will certainly allow most anyone from the smallest, most petite woman to someone that is as tall as an NBA player. THE GREAT THING IS THERE WERE MILLIONS OF THESE SCHWINNS MADE AND A GREAT MANY STILL SURVIVE! You can certainly find a very nice looking one in the size and color that you would like if you are patient and willing to search. The great thing is that it will be extremely inexpensive because millions were made and there is no collector nutty-ness with these bikes. People who seek them, ride them because of their durability and their lack of attractiveness to thieves.

tallbikeman

I agree with your assessments of the Schwinn line. I never could buy a Collegiate or Suburban, and I wanted the fenders because I rode year round come rain and snow. I was just too tall. But the Varsity and Continental came in 26" frame size. I started buying 26" Varsity's in the late 1970's for mountain bike racing. I converted the bikes to one speed coaster brake with 26"x1.75" wheels and tires. Yes the cranks, with 180mm BMX one piece chrome moly cranks, were closer to the ground but I never had trouble with rock and debris strikes all the years I raced this bicycle. Varsity's are the gem of the Varsity/Continental series because the forged fork is superior to the fork supplied with the Continental. I raced Varsity frame fork combinations in early Northern California MTB/Klunker races and never had any problem with the frame or fork. Off road racing is very rugged and I saw a lot of broken bicycles but the Varsity's could do it and come back for more. My racing bike with full water bottles weighed 31lbs ready to roll. I got the last two Varsity's given to me because the wheel hubs were worn out and they were 26" frames which has a somewhat limited market. The old French Huret derailleurs were junk. My today Varsity's use Shimano Shadow tech rear derailleurs and they are wonderful. I ride my Varsity's because of their fine engineered ride and build and I do worry about them getting stolen. It helps that they are so cheap in the aftermarket and I believe one can find a Varsity with very low miles, no paint dings, just some new tires/tubes, chain lube and off you go. So many boomers, and I'm one, owned these bicycles. The comment about tire clearance is a valid concern. The Varsity front fork has a huge amount of room. I run 700c x 40mm tires on my Varsity and the front fork has 1/2" or more of clearance all around that tire. The rear fork has only 1/8" tp 3/16" clearance. Tubular front forks typically have less clearance. Good luck

tallbikeman

Your Custom Electra is very cool. I love the Monarch fork and the paint. The special wheels and all the touches you did make this a great looking bicycle. Good work.

Kent T

If Campagnolo is Record, Super Record, or Nuovo Record, and it's shifting racing type gear clusters, it's top of the heap (Shimano Dura-Ace is the Japanese answer to Campy for Racing applications). Campagnolo Gran Sport or Valentino I agree with you on. I prefer SunTour VGT or VxGT for most of us, over Shimano Crane (still a superb touring derailleur) and find 600 just fine. I call Huret the shifts when it wants to derailleur, especially the Allvit. Yes, Shimano Lark and Eagle still are better derailleurs than a Huret Allvit.

Vintage Schwinn

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Schwinn-Var...a:g:mrQAAOSwSR

That is a 26 INCH VARSITY FRAME LIME GREEN WITH THE HEADBADGE, KICKSTAND, FRONT FORK--1977 era DECALS,
(does Not include: stem, seat post, brake calipers, ashtabula 1-piece crank...) #333362118954 on the bay

Yes, you can argue that at $16 and another $36 to ship it that it is OVERPRICED and thats certainly TRUE but heck its so cheap at under sixty bucks total if you've got to have a giant size frame for a project. Full Disclosure: I DO NOT KNOW THE SELLER. I AM NOT THE SELLER. I WILL NOT BE BIDDING.
I simply am pointing out that someone, somewhere in Kentucky on the bay has this 26 inch green VARSITY frame with ZERO bids.
Sure, you can find complete Varsities all day long locally in your town for between FREE and $45, but as you know the largest ones are often either very scarce if you're seeking one or the only ones available when you're petite/small and seeking something small. I'm just saying the SUNK COST of overpaying might be Okay if the size is what you want and you think it looks nice enough (color and paint/decal condition etc).
What I would do if it were me building a cruiser USING a very Large 26inch Varsity FRAME would be to AFTER acquiring a 26inch FRAME, I would look around locally to find and purchase a used Kent ROADTECH 700C ugly Green/Black 22inch frame 31 pound friction-Stem shifting roadbike that WALMART currently sells NEW for $128. ***THE ONLY REASON TO ACQUIRE A USED Kent Roadtech IS FOR THE WHEELS as I BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE DECENT!! Heck, I'd then likely go with a single Schwinn 46 Teeth (clover or mag-style, or the repro sweetheart..) or anything else BUT I WOULD STAY WITH THE schwinn Ashtabula 1-piece forged steel crank and one front crank SO NO FRONT DERAILLEUR. If you wish to climb hills better, then go for a 44 teeth front crank (aftermkt new) or something with 42 or 40 also new from the aftmkt as they are inexpensive and decent. You certainly can use any USED front crank wheel from anything that fits the ASHTABULA one piece crank. You'd have the Rear wheel and the freewheel of the late model Roadtech.
Derailleur at the rear could be whatever you like, recommend SHIMANO or SUNTOUR from the old days....you don't give a rats about weight there, just reliability and durabilty. I would use the Weinmann Schwinn 2.4 side pulls as that Varsity would have had, or their Dia-compe clones. I think you'll find that they work fine on the excellent 700 C wheels of that Kent ROADTECH $128 bike. You can probably find a used ROADTECH for about $50 or so in excellent condition. The ROADTECH isn't a terrible bike. It is an old style steel-frame bike that weighs 31.4 pounds and it comes in one size only (22 inch frame size). The Roadtech is UGLY in color offering, as it only comes in a horrible looking GREEN/BLACK but the Wheels are its BEST FEATURE, and considering it is $128 NEW, it is not terrible.........you have friction stem shifters and side pull brakes on that ROADTECH that stop it very decently and it rides okay.............so if you could ride something with a 22 inch frame and you needed something cheap that would not be a target for thieves......it wouldn't be a bad place to start...........the front fork on the Roadtech isn't bad, the brakes are decent, I dislike the handlebars and the stem but they are functional and safe enough!
I am simply saying that this perhaps is one way to approach such a project. This is not the only way. You have plenty of possibilities.
If you wish to build more of a road bike than a cruiser, using the VERY LARGE 26 inch VARSITY FRAME, you might wish to go to the most modern 3 piece crank, and eliminate the great schwinn kickstand, and go with an alloy stem seen on the CONTINENTAL/SUPER SPORT models of the seventies as that would keep the weight somewhat under two tons. As you all know Schwinn's electroforged frames have that 13/16" diameter seat post with the tiny 5/8 top part for seat mount.
You Don't Need or Want The Original 13/16 diameter Schwinn seatpost with the 5/8" top part. THIS IS BECAUSE YOU'LL BE EASIER MOUNTING A MODERN SEAT IF YOU INSTEAD PURCHASE ONE OF WALD's 13/16 diameter seat posts that have a 7/8" top part where the seat mounts. WALD has at least three different models in this size and the only difference is the LENGTH OF THE SEATPOST.......so three sizes if you need a long seatpost....they make that too. Cost is super-inexpensive at between $8 shipped free and $16 shipped free (from major online Bikesellers.etc Amazon-Ebay...) for brand new aftermkt WALD seatpost models in the 13/16 diameter with 7/8 top part in three different lengths.
Hey, these are just suggestions for possibly approaching such a project. It makes no sense to drive to garage sales or 45 miles across town to meet some meth cooker who has some old bikes and parts for sale, if it is going to cost you more than just getting the parts at your doorstep via ups or postal service for $60 or less.
Anyway, good luck with the TALL Cruiser project.
The electro-forged Schwinn frames are much better than they folks think as most point to the 3 ton weight but not everyone is trying to build a bicycle that can compete with the fast Tour de Frazz ride that your local bike shop has every Wednesday evening.

tallbikeman

Vintage Schwinn you are right about the taller size Schwinn Varsity becoming more scarce. I see them on Craigslist with some amazing price tags lately. You are so right about the build quality of the Schwinn Varsity. From the stamping process to form the pieces that were welded into the headtube assembly and bottom bracket to the factory made 1010 steel tube set these bicycles were designed to be very durable long lived bicycles. They are not true lightweights but their durability is amazing. The forged forks on the Varsity are much better that the tubular forks on the Continental and Super Sport for durability. The price of these bicycles allows more money to be spent on upgrade parts and I can attest that with good components these are wonderful bicycles with superb durability. Schwinn set the standards in America for a very long time and this was done through patiently upgrading their designs until they were pretty bulletproof. Even though the Varsity was a low end bicycle there was a lot of thoughtful engineering in its durable design and this is evident by how many are still being ridden. There are several near mint Varsity's being ridden regularly in my neighborhood, besides my rebuilds. My two Varsity's were given to me by the owners so the price was right. Both were badly worn out. All bearings were toast, wheels unusable, ect. I had to replace just about everything. This price for a worn out bicycle is not that uncommon. I've uploaded a very recent picture of my 26" size Schwinn Varsity with a 10 speed rear cassette, Shimano Deore MTB derailleur, VO hub, Profile 180mm cranks, Tektro 559 brakes, S&M cruiser handlebars with requisite BMX stem. 40mm Schwalbe Marathon tires make this a wonderful bike to ride on dirt roads. That seat is a Hobson noseless saddle. If you get one be patient with the setup. It takes a while to get used to them. They are very comfortable and don't hurt you. Porkchop BMX sells a very nice aluminum 13/16" post that expands to 7/8" for the clamp for very little money. Picture was taken on the south levee at the Port of Sacramento, CA.

Vintage Schwinn

Tallman, that is one impressive bicycle!
I could imagine that you could design your own headbadge, or perhaps just a cool seat tube decal with your logo "TALLman Bikes - Sacramento, Calif. - USA".

It isn't too crazy of an idea. They wouldn't be gigantic electroforged Varsities any more! They would be custom designed & assembled Tallmans of Sacremento..... Perhaps if you know a NFL player or an NBA player, current or retired, that you could build one for and then give it to them to ride and show off your superb Tallman design that remakes-repurposes the old gigantic Varsity frame..... Make certain to engrave each one with your Tallman signature, and a production number.........001 for number one...... 033 for number thirty-three ........something like that.----------------perhaps custom paint colors, or powdercoat options. Tallman Cycles of America...............TALLman Bikes.................... TALLman Cycles.................Sacramento, Calif USA............................Any of those names has a good ring to it and it hits the nail on the head as "the world leader in Bicycle production for tall riders!"
It isn't too crazy. In the nineties Nissan commissioned a California firm to acquire first generation 240Z cars, and to fully rebuild and restore them, which Nissan offered for sale to the public with a warranty. There was a waiting list, as there was more demand than cars that could be found and fully rebuilt and restored. Nissan did this when they was a period when they wanted to keep interest in Z for the then latest Z at the time which was expected to be released about two years from the time they offered the "old re-done 1st gen 240Z cars". Obviously Nissan did that because this was a period when the Z production had stopped, awaiting the latest generation two years ahead of that time. Another not too crazy sort of example are the many KIT-CAR firms that made complete PORSCHE SPEEDSTER Replicas from Beetles with the floorplan shortened about 11 inches or so, and with hotrodded twin-carburetted Dual Port, Dual relief ('71 and later 1600 dual port Engines as the basis of the build) ......The '71 and later VW 1600cc engine is far superior in durability and power output potential than the Porsche 1600cc engine which was seen in the 356 and the sixties era 912. For folks that don't know, the old 1600cc upright flat four Porsche engine looks a lot like a Beetle engine, but its overall quality is about equal to that of a 1962 Beetle engine. Case design, better materials and engine cooling, and the dog-house oil cooler location seen on the '71 VW Beetle is a huge improvement over the very decent old Porsche 356/912 1600cc flat four. The aftermarket SPEEDSTERS are in many instances when built to the highest construction standards, much more durable and even better handling than the real item. Most folks opt to place the real repro badges on their kit-car Replicas. It allowed many who were priced out of the market for the real thing to afford something that in many ways drove and looked like the item that only Hollywood stars and Rock stars, and Highly Paid Professional Athletes can currently afford.....................Ditto for the Shelby Cobra, that Carrol Shelby built originally off of the AC ACE......................for a time, about the turn of the century, there were thousands of kit-car replicas and kit-car firms that were doing the massively popular Cobra replicas. Many folks built them in their garages. A great many of them were built with 5.0 EFI Mustang high output engines and 5 speed transmissions from 1990 - 1993 Mustangs. I know several that had such Cobra replicars with Airconditioning and the fuel injected (EFI) 5.0 Ford and T-5 five speed. This was much more civilized and refined than the 4 speed Shelby cobra was.
All of this is probably foolish nonsense but it isn't that crazy and far-fetched.
There are plenty of the unsuccessful Shark Tank show "contestants" that have ideas that are probably far worse. There might be one or two sucessful Shark Tank "contestants" that made the deal with ideas that were even more wacky than that.
I wouldn't recommend that you quit your day job and invest capital in plant and equipment for TALLman Cycles USA, but if you get clients that perhaps want you to build them a TALLman from a gigantic electroforged Schwinn, I'm certain that the client would be really happy with your great "build skills" assuming that as Bob Barker once said, .....if the price is right!

Squidpuppet and Tallman show what folks can do with some creativity and have fun doing it, while building something custom and great.
If you have fun building it and it rides nice, it likely will turn heads and you'll get to tell everyone who asks the question: where did you get that great bike?-------You get to smile and tell them with a big smile that you built it, and it just does not get any cooler than that! You can't buy 'COOL' like that!!! Thats just Too Cool !!

P.S. Good to know about the lightweight aluminum seat posts from PorkChop!

tallbikeman

Vintage Schwinn thanks for the comments and your idea about Tallman Bicycles. Somehow I missed your reply at the time you wrote this. Right now I'm changing the brake levers to short pull levers. The levers I put on the bike were originally for Sturmey Archer Drum brakes which I believe is why they were long pull. The Tektro 559's need a short pull lever. I've had this Varsity since sometime in the 90's and have ridden a lot of miles on it. I'm also going to change out the Hobson noseless saddle for a Spiderflex noseless saddle. I have two Spiderflix saddles on other bikes and they are superior to all the saddles on upright bikes that I've had over my lifetime. This bike is a smooth riding easy handling reliable bicycle. It has much less road vibration than my chrome moly bikes. It gets used a lot on dirt roads and trails. I'm glad I turned you on to Porkchop. They have headsets that fit Varsity's and alloy seatposts that are 13/16" with a 7/8" upper part for the seat post clamp. In the early 1980's one could buy an alloy seatpost in 13/16" with a built in seat clamp on top. Wish I could find one of those. I keep a spare 26"Varsity frame and fork on hand in case of failure or theft, which I might build out one day. If I do I will get some Tallman Cycles decals for it.