Gold Plated Varsity
11-19-11, 04:51 PM
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Gold Plated Varsity
Sorry for the redirect, but the story is here:
https://www.schwinnbikeforum.com/index.php?topic=11818.0
Bob
https://www.schwinnbikeforum.com/index.php?topic=11818.0
Bob
11-19-11, 06:10 PM
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Hate to say it, as much as I love a good Varsity city rider, but *shrug*? I couldn't load the story, but even if it is truly gold plated (looks like paint to my feeble, insober eyes), meh, who cares? Any plater can do it in silver, gold, plat, etc. It's neat, I guess? But it's still a Varsity. It still weighs 40 lbs. It's still a low end bike that was some lipstick on its fat pork lips.
Of course, none of this is your fault. <3. Share all the stories you like!
Of course, none of this is your fault. <3. Share all the stories you like!
11-19-11, 06:22 PM
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"After he won the bike, Carl from Alger Schwinn offered to trade him a new Paramount for it. When he told us that, he just kind of grinned."
Gold-plated Varsities belong on display in a bike shop. Nice to look at, but there's no point in riding one in a stock configuration; gold plated or not.
-Kurt
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Last edited by cudak888; 11-21-11 at 12:07 PM.
11-19-11, 06:32 PM
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The bike was given away at the 1973 Schwinn Dealer Convention to whoever could guess the number of parts used to build it.
Bob
11-19-11, 07:58 PM
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" ... After he won the bike, Carl from Alger Schwinn offered to trade him a new Paramount for it. When he told us that, he just king of grinned. ..."
The story was plausible up until this point.
When I was seventeen or so I took lessons from an ancient sculptor in Munich. On the subject of lost wax casting, and the merits of having a patina applied to the freshly cast sculpture, or to go for gold plating, he mentioned that "a gold piece" was enough gold to plate a life-sized equestrian statue. That is, the horse, and its rider, covered with gold. "A gold piece" was a standard size; an English Sovereign, $5 US, 20 Swiss Francs, and so on. About the size of a nickel.
So the amount of gold it would take to plate a Varsity would be pretty minuscule. It would add little to its weight, and as for its value... well, it's a Varsity.
The story was plausible up until this point.
When I was seventeen or so I took lessons from an ancient sculptor in Munich. On the subject of lost wax casting, and the merits of having a patina applied to the freshly cast sculpture, or to go for gold plating, he mentioned that "a gold piece" was enough gold to plate a life-sized equestrian statue. That is, the horse, and its rider, covered with gold. "A gold piece" was a standard size; an English Sovereign, $5 US, 20 Swiss Francs, and so on. About the size of a nickel.
So the amount of gold it would take to plate a Varsity would be pretty minuscule. It would add little to its weight, and as for its value... well, it's a Varsity.
11-19-11, 08:02 PM
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11-19-11, 08:23 PM
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Gold-plated Varsities .......- there is no point in riding one.
-Kurt
-Kurt
11-19-11, 08:25 PM
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11-19-11, 08:30 PM
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An old sailor once told me "you can't polish a turd, but you can dip it in chocolate".
11-19-11, 09:04 PM
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Who cares about the bike what happend to the girls.
11-19-11, 09:19 PM
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
11-19-11, 09:31 PM
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On the contrary, I've ridden three, plus a Continental of which I put far too much effort in, and for the time that I owned it, put great care and love into it:
I may not be the foremost expert on EF frames, but I do know a thing or two - from experience - about their stock ride quality.
-Kurt
I may not be the foremost expert on EF frames, but I do know a thing or two - from experience - about their stock ride quality.
-Kurt
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Last edited by cudak888; 11-21-11 at 12:07 PM.
11-19-11, 09:47 PM
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11-19-11, 09:54 PM
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^ Hate to say it, but I think the answer to what happened to the girl in the yellow shirt is actually spelled out in the photo above 
DD
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11-19-11, 09:56 PM
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Dumb question.. wouldn't gold plating unless it was so thin it'd be a cosmetic nightmare add significant weight to the already gas pipe bike?
11-19-11, 09:58 PM
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^ See post #5 - all will be revealed...
DD
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11-19-11, 09:59 PM
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11-19-11, 10:12 PM
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The closest I will ever get is my Pre-War Schwinn New World, fillet brazed, cottered crank freewheeled single speed. with chrome moly tubing. Probably very similar geometry save a lower bottom bracket.
11-19-11, 10:22 PM
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If the number of scratched Italian limited edition "Oro" frames I've seen is any indication, gold plating doesn't seem anywhere near as tough as chrome plating. Stands to reason, though: gold is relatively soft as metals go.
DD
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11-19-11, 10:24 PM
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Wall art then.. ehh I wouldn't buy it but if someone gave it to me I might hang it up and not ebay it.
11-20-11, 04:17 AM
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I will never own one, and fortunately bypassed the Varsity or Contineltal rungs up the adult bicycle ladder, but there is an appeal visually of these electroforged Schwinn's. They look okay in the geometry department.
The closest I will ever get is my Pre-War Schwinn New World, fillet brazed, cottered crank freewheeled single speed. with chrome moly tubing. Probably very similar geometry save a lower bottom bracket.
The closest I will ever get is my Pre-War Schwinn New World, fillet brazed, cottered crank freewheeled single speed. with chrome moly tubing. Probably very similar geometry save a lower bottom bracket.
One of the differences in geometry between the New World and the Varsity/Collegiate/Continental is the longer top tube (relative to the seattube), and thus the longer wheel base.
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Enjoying the GA coast all year long!
Thanks for visiting my website: www.freewheelspa.com