# 1973 Varsity Sunset Orange with fenders



## Bicyclelegends (Feb 10, 2020)

Just wanted to share.
Bought this 1973 Varsity Sunset Orange have not come across one in this color and with with fenders, anyone else? Guess it fenders were added by dealer and there are thousands of Varsitys made in the 70s, just kind of unusual to me. I'll clean it up and ride it, cant wait.


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## GTs58 (Feb 10, 2020)

Looks like a real clean original. Fenders were almost always a factory option on the Varsity Sports.


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## kostnerave (Feb 10, 2020)

That will clean up beautifully. The optional fenders and rack really add class!


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## 1motime (Feb 10, 2020)

Nice survivor!


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## Arnold Ziffel (Feb 11, 2020)

Beautiful bicycle!
Sometimes those chrome Schwinn fenders just make certain bikes look even better.
The seventies era five speed Collegiates and five speed Suburbans have a much better rear derailleur than that Schwinn approved Huret Allvit that is seen on your 1973 Varsity,  and other Varsities and Continentals and 10 speed Suburbans and 1964-1969 Collegiates.
GT-100 (shimano built for Schwinn ,  found on 1970 to early 1974 five speed Suburban and 1970 to early 1974 Collegiate)
GT-120 (shimano built for Schwinn,   found on 1974,  1975, 1976, 1977....   five speed Suburbans and Collegiates)
Those  GT-100    and  GT-120     Shimano built rear derailleurs are much more durable , dependable, and reliable than the Huret Allvit.
The Suburban five speed and the 1970  -  1977  Collegiate five speed have a much better Model J  freewheel  than the Model F that was on the Varsity and Continental and 1964-1969 Collegiates.      You also have a lower first gear 32 teeth versus 28 on the Model F.   This gives much better hill climbing ability  and  with the very heavy "lightweight" Schwinns  that is definitely an asset.
For practical purposes, those ancient Varsities and Continentals are best perhaps suited for use today as upright tourist bicycles.  Simply remove the drop "racing" bars and install the 7881 Schwinn bar /Weinmann brake levers  from any seventies  Suburban/Speedster/Breeze, Collegiate or sixties era Collegiate, Varsity-tourist....etc.
 Install  the  T-85  Messinger  Schwinn Approved black spring saddle that seemed to be standard equipment on all 1972 -1978 Collegiates  and you'll have probably the most comfortable and durable Schwinn seat for upright riding.  In my opinion these seats are more comfortable than the fancier mattress (black) saddle that was standard equipment on Suburbans in the seventies.    The pretty, two tone  S    saddle  seats  as  seen on a great many sixties era Varsity tourists and others of that era  are not nearly as comfortable as either the Suburban's black mattress saddle or that T-85 rubberized black  saddle on the seventies era Collegiates.
 The bow style pedals  that the seventies era Suburbans  have  are my favorites,   although I do very much like the rat traps that are seen on seventies era Varsities and  both styles of pedals that were fitted to Collegiates between 1972 and 1978.    I  did own a blue  early 1968 Collegiate some 52 years ago which had cheap Schwinn pedals with no reflectors.   Those were awful compared to the pedals that Schwinn was using on the 1972 Collegiate.      There is not much that you can ever point to on old Schwinn bikes that can be categorized as awful  but those earlier  Collegiate pedals were when compared to the 1972 pedal or the bow version of the Suburbans,  or the late style Collegiate pedal that was seen from about late 1973 onward.
I think these old electroforged  heavy  "lightweight" Schwinns are some of the finest riding,  most durable and simple to owner service bicycles ever made.       You wouldn't want to  ride  one  in a triathlon  if  you want to be most competitive  but  for  simple, general purpose  slow (under 16 mph) riding and cruising,   they are just great.        There is no reason  to  really  keep the racing saddle and drop bars  because  heck  if  you're gonna ride in  the  drops  like the  spandex crowd,   there are  thousands of better bicycles for that purpose.   The Panasonic, Japanese built imported Schwinns of the seventies are so much better  for  doing  that.   So if you're intent is to ride an ancient Schwinn like your on the tour...  well then the low line Le Tour and other models imported from Japan in the seventies will be  far better for that purpose.
The heavy "lightweight" electroforged Schwinn bicycles from Chicago, USA  are better than most people realize,  but due to their extreme weight handicap versus  other makes of the seventies   you cannot expect to  realistically compete or keep pace with other lightweights of that era.
The old electroforged Schwinns make great campus bikes.     They are super inexpensive.    A twelve year old can service the bottom bracket with a flathead screwdriver  and  a large crescent wrench and a 15mm wrench to remove the left pedal.
They are fantastic bicycles if  bicycle weight isn't  something  that concerns you.
It is always nice to see a  Varsity,   Continental,  Suburban,   or  a  Collegiate   being  ridden.
Orange is just such a great color.      Chicago's finest had some great colors and Orange was one of their  best.
You just need one of those  bicycle license plates  depicting the license plate design of your state that is sold in Wal-mart's  sporting goods/bicycle dept today.   The bicycle license plates are made by brothersmanufacturing   and  are sold for about $1.85  in Wal-mart.   
You should potentially select  the  one  that  says:   2  COOL 4 U
They have a bunch of them in common  boys and girls names.
You can get brothersmanufacturing to custom make  a custom saying but for that you have to contact brothers directly and the cost is three times the cost of the available plate selections at wal-mart.  
I  have the  2  COOL 4 U    on  my Kool Lemon Schwinn.      I  have   2  FAST 4 U   on   my  triathlon  competition  bike.     I  have other  license plates on other bicycles in my collection,  not necessarilly these but various vintage ones and such.   
Get out and ride.
Make the time  and  get out in the sunshine  when weather and time permits and ride even if it is only for 35 minutes around your subdivision, or local park.
Have fun!


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## rollfaster (Feb 11, 2020)

I love it, great local find!! @Eric Amlie @HARPO @juvela


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## rollfaster (Feb 11, 2020)

I know someone who can clean that up...


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## rollfaster (Feb 11, 2020)

sunset orange varsity | All Things Schwinn
					

Good Day Fellow Enthusiasts,  can anybody tell me what years Schwinn produced the varsity in sunset orange?




					thecabe.com


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## Sven (Feb 11, 2020)

Very nice, very nice. Chrome 27 inch Schwinn fenders are "gold", they are hard to find.  Anyway great find. Thanks for sharing.


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## Tim s (Feb 11, 2020)

Very nice, post some pics when you are done detailing it. Tim


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## Bicyclelegends (Feb 11, 2020)

Arnold Ziffel said:


> Beautiful bicycle!
> Sometimes those chrome Schwinn fenders just make certain bikes look even better.
> The seventies era five speed Collegiates and five speed Suburbans have a much better rear derailleur than that Schwinn approved Huret Allvit that is seen on your 1973 Varsity,  and other Varsities and Continentals and 10 speed Suburbans and 1964-1969 Collegiates.
> GT-100 (shimano built for Schwinn ,  found on 1970 to early 1974 five speed Suburban and 1970 to early 1974 Collegiate)
> ...



Thanks for all that info. Its not a rare find I just have not come across that color, you know you see the green , yellow and brown but not orange. I'll clean it up and get it road worthy and enjoy it.
Happy Trails.
Mark


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## Bicyclelegends (Feb 11, 2020)

1motime said:


> Nice survivor!



Thanks, haven't cleaned it yet, I'll get some new tires on her and the correct reflectors and ride it on one of our rides.
Happy Trails.
Mark


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## Arnold Ziffel (Feb 13, 2020)

Zefal  makes  the pulse Universal Mount Bottle Cage with Velcro Strap  (UPC code 7 68661 55039 4 )  which works great on these old Schwinns.
The important thing to getting these bottle cages to work great is  to  use  SuperWeatherStrip Adhesive   (it comes in a small tube)  on  the rubber portion which  hugs the frame and then is snugged tight with the velcro straps.   Failure to use SuperWeatherStrip Adhesive will have the Bottle Cage moving around and sliding around and down as you ride with the water bottle.        I  did use 3M brand  SuperWeatherStrip Adhesive  but Permetex and maybe others make it also.   It is found in Auto Parts stores.    It is  makes for an extremely strong bond that will not move .       This is preferrable in my opinion to  drilling holes to mount a water bottle cage,   and it works better than the really old clamp on metal water bottle cages.   
Best of all  you can find this ZEFAL  universal water bottle cage   inside both Wal-Mart and Target stores.      I have these mounted on eight different vintage Schwinns,  mostly Collegiates and Suburbans from the early seventies.       Both Walmart and Target have these  in  my  city  in the  $7 to $8 price range.        The bottle cage color is black   but  you can unscrew this supplied black cage  and  substitute  another  cage of your own in whatever color that you like.    Many places on the web  and local bike stores might have cages in colors that satisfy you,  but  why pay that much  when there are literally dozens  of  China based sellers of new bike parts and accessories on ebay which have  both  plastic,   anodized aluminum,  steel,  and carbon fiber  cages in various colors and styles  for  between  $1.25  including shipping  and $5 including shipping,   which  would allow someone to color coordinate their bottle cage color.    For example   you might find   an  orange   cage   or   whatever color you like.
This is just a suggestion.      I think if you do decide that you ever wish to remove this type of ZEFAL cage mount,  you can  rip it off,  like removing or ripping away the door seal weatherstripping on a car (it won't be easy to yank off...)  but it will eventually pull away if you keep trying to  yank it off.
You'll then need some solvent like lighter fluid or something like that to clean away the remnants of the adhesive left on the bicycle frame,  but after a good bit of work,  you should be able to get it clean again if you decide to remove this ZEFAL mount.    You'll only have to clean up the remaining adhesive residue,   you won't have any holes in the frame .
If you are interested at all in having a SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER,   I recommend  the WIRELESS   Inbike IC 321  Computer.    It is fantastic.
These sell for between  $9  including shipping  and  $13  including shipping depending on which China based or USA based ebay seller.
I have installed more than twenty five of these on vintage bicycles,  including on over a dozen  Schwinn Collegiates/Varsities/Suburbans/Continentals.      Because of the  Ashtabula blade fork style(varsity-collegiate) and Tubular style thin fork(Suburban-Continental),  one must FABRICATE a mount for the sensor  because in my opinion,  the sensor  does not mount adequately on these narrow forks as this product is aimed at the round fat broomstick forks on modern bikes/mountain bikes.     It is designed to mount with supplied supersticky mounting tape and two zip ties,  however these old style front forks are too narrow to provide a secure enough mount in my opinion.   I  recommend macgyvering a mount in which the sensor hangs from just beneath the left front axle nut.    An easy way to accomplish this is to use  a   BINDER CLIP which is just the size of the sensor housing.         JB WELD the Binder Clip to the sensor such that it does clamp on to it (apply JB Weld before affixing the clamp)  but make certain that you don't cover or impede the battery compartment because you'll want to be able to continue to unscrew and open the battery compartment when it is time to replace the cr2032  battery.      Okay  then  you use one of the chromed wire handle ears of the BINDER CLIP to mount/hang from the front axle.    You remove the other chrome wire handle of the Binder Clip.     In order to make the chrome wire handle of the BINDER CLIP work as a rigid mount,  you'll need to use EPOXY and black sewing thread wrapped around the chromed wire handle and the black clip portion so that the chrome wire handle cannot move from that position.   The way that you accomplish this is that you saturate the sewing thread with EPOXY and  having sufficient wrapping of thread before saturating with EPOXY will essentially make this chrome wire handle a solid permanent extension arm of the speedometer sensor which has this BINDER CLIP thing.      USE the chrome wire handle end,  as that fits perfectly on the front axle underneath the axle nut,  just like a fender brace would.      You may need to bend the chrome wire handle slightly to position it better in relation to the magnet position on the spoke(DO THIS ONLY AFTER THE EXPOXY-JB WELD HAS FULLY SET AND CURED).   Once you see it in relation to the wheel and spokes,  you'll easily see what I am talking about.    Depending on the magnet,  you might have to slightly file or modify the plastic mount for the magnet such that it faces straight out...........this depends.............you can buy a different style $1 universal speedo magnet on ebay.....................there are three different styles,  they all are essentially the same except the way that they look,  some are easier to attach to certain spokes without modification.      Some you simply have to file the plastic such that faces the direction and then you might need to dab a small bit of five minute epoxy to secure the magnet in its proper orientation on the spoke.
I know this sounds complicated but it is not.
These $9 to $13  Inbike wireless speedometers are fantastic.     The batteries last a very long time and are easily replaced.  You have one CR2032 battery in the speedo display-head unit   and  you have one CR2032 battery in the sensor housing.      You  enter the mm value for measured rotation of your properly inflated front wheel.         The Speedo display is large   and  you have ODOMETER at top right  and you have CLOCK(time of day) at Top LEFT.      You have choice of MILES PER HOUR  and  MILES,    or   KILOMETERS PER HOUR and Kilometers.
It is very easy to set up.
If you need to start over and re-enter,  the easiest way to begin again is to simply remove the BUTTON BATTERY(cr2032) from the Speedo head unit   and  then re-insert this Battery,   as this  blanks it to start over again.     You can enter whatever ODOMETER reading that you wish , such that if you ever have to change battery ,  and your odometer was up to say 1246 miles,   you can then re-enter 1246 as the ODOMETER reading if you wish.    You would need to re-enter the tire circumference in millimeters and time of day AM or PM if you have to change the battery,  so you may wish to write down and record your wheel measurement so you remember it,  unless you wish to re-measure or re-caculate it.    You might want to possibly re-calculate such measurement if you were to change brands of tires as some are slightly taller,  for example the Michelin Protek 630mm x 32mm  (27 x  1   1/4)  tire is significantly taller than most such that it will slightly measure larger in mm than most 27" tires that you might have on such a Schwinn.    Just a note,  those Michelin Protek tires will generally provide less clearance for fenders  based on my experience  and for that reason I run them without fenders on a 1971 Suburban that originally had fenders before I bought the Michelins in 2018.

Even though the OLD  Schwinn speedos  have a neat look to them,  like all ancient mechanical speedos,  they are not very accurate,  and are no longer practical  as there are much better modern alternatives.     I  removed all the classic Schwinn (Huret) speedos and sold them all.   They don't make sense on a bicycle that will be ridden a lot of miles.      In my opinion,  the old aftermkt chrome headlights powered by C cells or D cells are still useable if one buys a led replacement bulb,   and  the  bottle generator set-up  that works off the tire sidewall can sometimes be useful as you don't engage it with the tire during normal daylight conditions.     There are better modern rechargeable battery lights available but the old lights are still good and useable.  This is not the case with the ancient style speedometers.  They look neat but it is useless junk attached to the wheel and that old  speedo cable  that isn't needed today,  because the accuracy is not good,   considering today's $5 alternatives.    Sure, you could install any $5 wired digital display speedo but what is the point when for only about $3 more you can be wireless and not have the unsightly wire.
There are other GPS computer speedos that  are not so low tech as these approx $10 to $12  wireless speedos that rely on a magnet and sensor.  You can buy such a  high tech GPS computer-speedometer for less than  the cost of a re-built but still highly inaccurate Schwinn(huret) Approved mechanical Speedometer from the seventies.     They look cool  but  they aren't really worth the bother unless all you care about is the look of the vintage speedo.

As I previously mentioned,   the FIVE speed Collegiates of the 1970's and the Five speed Suburbans of the 1970's have Shimano built rear derailleurs which are superior to the rear derailleurs on the Varsity/Continental/10speed Suburban/1969 and earlier Collegiates.
These  1970's Collegiates and Five Speed Suburbans also have a better freewheel with a lower first gear (32 teeth versus 28 teeth on Varsity etc)
Knowing this can allow one to perhaps build a better Varsity if one happens to find a parts bike of seventies era Collegiate or five speed Suburban from the seventies,  before they had the FFS(forward freewheel system) that arrived in 1977/1978.
For example:
Varsity/Continental/suburban 10 speed   had    14,  16,  20,  24,  28      on the rear wheel
the  1970 - 1977  COLLEGIATE and 5 speed Suburban    had   14,   17,   21,   26,   32    on  the rear wheel.
You can use this information to your advantage if for example you think you need the additional HILL CLIMBING power that a 32 teeth first gear sprocket would give you.     
The Japanese built a decent reliable rear derailleur that could reliably shift a 32 tooth gear,   something that the others had been unable to reliably shift anything larger than a 28 tooth gear    in   that era.
Don't overlook the old Suburbans.
Yes,  the Suburbans mostly came in drab colors and some years the decals and graphics were so dull that they seem to fade or blend into the frame such that you don't see them,   and  the Suburbans had fenders that were painted the same color as the frames,  and the color choices were limited and sort of dull and conservative  compared to the color choices available on the Varsity and Collegiates,  but they are also very good bikes.
There are possibilities.
One can for example take an old Suburban and  repaint the frame  in  something that comes close to some of the best Schwinn colors that the Suburban wasn't offered in.         My opinion is the absolute best Suburban color was the 1972 GREEN.       Otherwise the Suburban was the dull ugly duckling to the Varsity and Collegiate's nice colors.    The Suburban was technically a better bicycle than the VARSITY as it had the tubular fork of the Continental.    Other than that the Suburban 10 speed for 1970 was just an upgraded 1969 Varsity tourist,  the upgrade being the fork from the Continental  but  the uglier color choices and  less exciting painted fenders  lessened the visual appeal.     Truthfully I don't think the heavier forged steel Ashtabula blade fork of the Varsity/Collegiate  is  a downgrade  from  the tubular fork of the Suburban/Continental.
They both ride very very nice.    Varsities are great old bikes and the Huret rear derailleurs if they are working okay are acceptable, so don't worry too much as these old bikes are really durable.  It is just good to know there are parts that you can get and swap from other Schwinn models.
The Varsity and Collegiate  have better colors  than the Suburbans and  chrome fenders and nicer graphics and decals  too.
Don't overlook the Suburbans though,   don't let any of them end up at the dump if they are still clean and relatively rust free.
Use your knowledge to mix and match parts to make your Suburban/Varsity/Continental, etc or Collegiate  the way you'd like it.
I  have a 1971 BROWN SUBURBAN 5 Speed  which   I  placed  a  reproduction white decal for late version block letters of SPEEDSTER on to the chainguard.   I  did it just for the heck of it,    I gave it an upgrade you might say,   I like it like that and that is all that matters anyway,  and that is if it makes you happy and you like it..................have fun with it......................ride them often.........   have fun because that is what it is all about!
There is nothing worse than some kiljoy that stops you somewhere when you're riding  and  starts  to  go nuts explaining that it is just horrible that your bicycle isn't factory correct like it should be.   We have all run in to those folks at least once or twice and most of those people seem like they have never had fun.


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## MarkKBike (Feb 20, 2020)

That looks nearly identicle to my first 10 speed my father purchased for me, Mine was a later date, but yours brings back some memories as it looks vey similar.

I beat that bike up pretty bad, and then stored it in my fathers barn for over 20 years.

Many years later I was helping my parents clean out the barn, and dragged the old bike home. The refurbish of the Vasity is what ultimately attracted me to this website.

My varsity was too far gone to restore, so I took on a refurbish route. I now have many pics of it posted here, as it has become a commom ride for me. Durring my first refurbish It went from the orriginal red and age acquired rust, to black and has now become one of my favorite rider's.






This photo was taken years ago, but with carefull handling it still looks the same today. Varsitys were built to last.


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