# Schwinn Continental 1971 sale value



## schwingg (Apr 19, 2020)

Id like to sell this but want to make sure I am asking enough.


----------



## Freqman1 (Apr 19, 2020)

Do a search on Ebay for ended auctions on one of these and see what the comps are. V/r Shawn


----------



## GTs58 (Apr 19, 2020)

It's painted in the best color for that year so that's a big plus.


----------



## Goldenrod (Apr 19, 2020)

I have one but it was given to me.


----------



## schwingg (Apr 19, 2020)

any values?


----------



## John G04 (Apr 19, 2020)

$50-100 on craigslist


----------



## Arnold Ziffel (Apr 19, 2020)

There is not much market value for the very heavy  electroforged Schwinn ten speeds ( Varsity or Continental or the 10 speed Suburban).
They are extremely durable bicycles and are easy to repair and maintain  if  you  replace the junky Huret Allvit rear derailleur with something like the Shimano built GT-100 ( original equipment on the 1970 through very early 1974   Five Speed SUBURBAN and COLLEGIATE)  or the Shimano built GT-120 (original equipment on March 1974 through 1977 and possibly later into '78.......etc    on Five Speed SUBURBAN and COLLEGIATE).
Occasionally if the Chicago production line supply for the Varsity/Conti was out of the Huret Allvit,  a few were built at times with either the GT-100 or GT-120 from the five speed SUB and COLLEGIATE  depending on the year-era.      Schwinn dealers often installed the GT-100 or GT-120 when repairing bikes for customers because they were at least twice as good as the Allvit.       Many people in that era also replaced the Allvit with SUNTOUR rear derailleurs or Shimano rear derailleurs like the Skylark and Eagle.     
The Allvit was a fixture on many bikes including Raleighs and others from Europe,  and it wasn't  awful  but compared to the Japanese ( Shimano and Suntour) rear derailleurs from the very late sixties and later  it  was.      The Japanese rear derailleurs were far better than anything from anywhere else in the world,  no matter the cost of the derailleur.      
The world took notice  and  by the late seventies  most any rear derailleur  from Huret, Simplex, and Campagnolo was considered garbage in comparison to any Shimano or Suntour rear derailleur of the very late sixties and early seventies or beyond.   

Though the electroforged Schwinn 10 speeds sold in huge numbers back in the day during the bike boom (1971- 1974),  by 1973 there had become a shift for 10 speed cyclists  to follow the trend set forth by the enthusiasts which  wanted LIGHTER and LIGHTER bikes  such that folks were changing things to save weight.......     It wasn't possible to get the 38 to 40 pound electroforged Chicago Schwinn lightened enough to be even close to the weight of other 10 speeds in the Schwinn's price range or less.        In about 1973 Schwinn who were producing and selling all the bicycles that their Chicago factory could produce,  began importing Japanese made (Bridgestone / PANASONIC) bikes that were made in accordance to what Schwinn requested  so they would have more products to sell since everything was sold out as it was built.
The Japanese bikes were better and much more competitive  than the Chicago electroforged overweights.   The World Voyageur,  later named Voyageur  was the best bike Schwinn offered,  except the Paramount and it probably was as good or better and a better value.   The 1974 LeTour was a far better bicycle than the Continental or Varsity  and it weighed about 7 pounds less  and  it cost about the same or slightly less than the Varsity.    The cycling world  had become by 1973-1974  much like it is today where it was very hip and cool to dig only the righteous lightest bikes in their class range with the best and latest Suntour or Shimano rear deraillers and freewheels,  shifters, etc.      It was totally uncool to have anything that weighed more than 32 pounds,  even  for the least expensive,  basic 10 speed.
Though there is certainly nothing wrong with 40 pound electroforged Schwinns,   because they are durable bikes that ride nicely and are easy to service.       The  so called serious cyclist began to attach a stigma  to be seen riding such a Schwinn.    This persists to this day.
They are excellent bikes.    Lots of folks bought and rode them everywhere.    
I'm  a veteran triathlete.    I would never even think of using  any Chicago Schwinn for racing   but  they are excellent bicycles for low speed cruising around and riding anywhere you'd like to as long as you're not in a hurry.
You will need slightly thick skin if you ride an electroforged Schwinn among  your serious cycling  buddies   as  unless they are an old baby boomer like me,  they just don't get why anyone would want one.     I love them.     Specifically the five speed Collegiates of the 1970's and the five speed Suburbans  in tourist configuration with the 7881 handlebars and the Schwinn approved black Messinger spring saddle of the early-mid seventies Collegiate.    The black mattress spring saddle with the visible rivets that was original equipment on the seventies era Suburbans is nice and comfortable too   but   I do prefer the seventies era Black Messinger Schwinn Approved spring saddle from the Collegiate.
I have a small collection of 1970 - 1977  five speed Suburbans and Collegiates  in  all of the cool colors  that  I ride often.
The first 10 speed that I ever bought was a new Varsity  about exactly fifty years ago.
It might not have been Far Out  but  it  was HEAVY !!!     I had a lot of fun riding that bicycle.   I'd  tie my Mayfair portable 8 track Stereo to the rear Pletscher rack  listening to  White Album,  Abbey Road, Cosmos Factory, Green River, Get Yer Ya-Yas Out, Tapestry, Every Picture Tells A Story, Sticky Fingers, Who's Next, Tommy, and Allman Brothers at Fillmore East  while riding.    It was fun when a group of us were riding to the park or just across campus as we had good tunes blaring always!  Most of us were riding Schwinns  as what did we know......we were the generation lost in space!    We had lots of fun on those Schwinns.      It is a pity that many folks don't realize that those old Schwinn electroforged forty pounders still make great upright cruisers.    Just ditch the drop bars for  some  tourist style 7881 bars from a  circa 1967 to 1977 Schwinn and the Weinmann levers and handlebar grips  and  get the tourist spring saddle.    It looks like your Continental has the  spring saddle from a Suburban on it.

As others have mentioned,    $75  is likely the maximum you're likely to ever get with the worn out tires and brake pads.    New tires and tubes would be a sunk cost as  it might only bring the maximum to $95 or $100  but it would be easier to sell than for $75 as she sits.   You'd likely be able to sell it within three weeks for $45 to $50 .     Some colors other than RED,  ORANGE,  CAMPUS GREEN, YELLOW, and maybe ROYAL BLUE will only sell  at  the $30 to $35  price range within three weeks.         There just isn't much demand for these bikes from the general public today.
Now if you lived in a major college campus town and it was the start of the fall school year and it had new tires, tubes, brake pads and greased caged number 64 bottom bracket bearings,   you might get $125 to $130  as  students don't wish to bring their valuable bikes to use on campus due to the frequency of theft.        As you can see,  these bicycles are not candidates for flippers because unless you're resourceful and lucky,  you simply cannot avoid spending more than the bicycle's market value to make it streetworthy.     This matters very little to some folks who intend to ride them and really use them  but from a flipper perspective you likely won't find it easy to break even,  even if you acquire the bicycle for free.
Somebody that has a Collegiate, Suburban, Speedster or Breeze  might find that they can part out and sell the tourist handlebars and brake levers and handlebar grips  but absolutely nobody is seeking the drop bars and turkey lever brake levers from any Schwinn.   Thus, there is no part it out potential at this point in time at April 2020.


----------



## Sven (Apr 20, 2020)

Arnold Ziffel said:


> There is not much market value for the very heavy  electroforged Schwinn ten speeds ( Varsity or Continental or the 10 speed Suburban).
> They are extremely durable bicycles and are easy to repair and maintain  if  you  replace the junky Huret Allvit rear derailleur with something like the Shimano built GT-100 ( original equipment on the 1970 through very early 1974   Five Speed SUBURBAN and COLLEGIATE)  or the Shimano built GT-120 (original equipment on March 1974 through 1977 and possibly later into '78.......etc    on Five Speed SUBURBAN and COLLEGIATE).
> Occasionally if the Chicago production line supply for the Varsity/Conti was out of the Huret Allvit,  a few were built at times with either the GT-100 or GT-120 from the five speed SUB and COLLEGIATE  depending on the year-era.      Schwinn dealers often installed the GT-100 or GT-120 when repairing bikes for customers because they were at least twice as good as the Allvit.       Many people in that era also replaced the Allvit with SUNTOUR rear derailleurs or Shimano rear derailleurs like the Skylark and Eagle.
> The Allvit was a fixture on many bikes including Raleighs and others from Europe,  and it wasn't  awful  but compared to the Japanese ( Shimano and Suntour) rear derailleurs from the very late sixties and later  it  was.      The Japanese rear derailleurs were far better than anything from anywhere else in the world,  no matter the cost of the derailleur.
> ...



"Schwinn overweights"


----------



## Freqman1 (Apr 20, 2020)

schwingg said:


> any values?



Did you search Ebay?


----------



## Roger Henning (Apr 20, 2020)

If I had it and got $50 up for it I would be happy but would not pay that much.  Roger


----------



## schwingg (Apr 21, 2020)

Freqman1 said:


> Did you search Ebay?



yes, They are going for more than $50 plus shipping , more like $100 -$300 even just for local pick up. I guess it would have to be just someone  wanting the bike they had back in the day.


----------



## schwingg (Apr 21, 2020)

Sven said:


> "Schwinn overweights"



Thanks Arnold that was really informative!  Say Hi to Fred and Doris for me.


----------



## schwingg (Apr 21, 2020)

Arnold Ziffel said:


> There is not much market value for the very heavy  electroforged Schwinn ten speeds ( Varsity or Continental or the 10 speed Suburban).
> They are extremely durable bicycles and are easy to repair and maintain  if  you  replace the junky Huret Allvit rear derailleur with something like the Shimano built GT-100 ( original equipment on the 1970 through very early 1974   Five Speed SUBURBAN and COLLEGIATE)  or the Shimano built GT-120 (original equipment on March 1974 through 1977 and possibly later into '78.......etc    on Five Speed SUBURBAN and COLLEGIATE).
> Occasionally if the Chicago production line supply for the Varsity/Conti was out of the Huret Allvit,  a few were built at times with either the GT-100 or GT-120 from the five speed SUB and COLLEGIATE  depending on the year-era.      Schwinn dealers often installed the GT-100 or GT-120 when repairing bikes for customers because they were at least twice as good as the Allvit.       Many people in that era also replaced the Allvit with SUNTOUR rear derailleurs or Shimano rear derailleurs like the Skylark and Eagle.
> The Allvit was a fixture on many bikes including Raleighs and others from Europe,  and it wasn't  awful  but compared to the Japanese ( Shimano and Suntour) rear derailleurs from the very late sixties and later  it  was.      The Japanese rear derailleurs were far better than anything from anywhere else in the world,  no matter the cost of the derailleur.
> ...



Thanks Arnold that was really informative! Say Hi to Fred and Doris for me.


----------



## GTs58 (Apr 21, 2020)

schwingg said:


> yes, They are going for more than $50 plus shipping , more like $100 -$300 even just for local pick up. I guess it would have to be just someone  wanting the bike they had back in the day.




Exactly! It's a nice Conti so hopefully you will find someone that *wants* it.


----------



## Arnold Ziffel (Apr 22, 2020)

shadow27   99.8% of Fond du Lac  Wisconsin  is something of a reputable Mr. Haney type pedalling these and other bicycling and automotive junk.

Mr. Haney himself would have a very difficult time selling any 10 speed electroforged Chicago Schwinn with steel wheels and drop-bars for more than $99  even  if was in jenn-you-wine  perfect condition with new tires and tubes.
The demand isn't there at the tripple digit price range because it is perceived as an "undesireable schwinn" by those who seek vintage drop bar road bikes.       The latest economic depression set forth because of the Covid-19 pandemic and related shutdowns, furloughs, and layoffs has further impacted the already non-existant demand for such Schwinn 10 speeds that are priced above $75.
Sure, you have folks left and right,  getting old bicycles out of their sheds, basements, and garages,  and  either taking them to their local bike shop to install new tubes and grease,   or  buying the tubes, tires, brake pads and cables from Walmart or some large bike parts web seller, and doing it themselves.     Those that are not taking this route are simply purchasing new inexpensive,  assembled ready to ride bicycle(s) from Walmart or Target.     People have found a new love for getting out on a bicycle when there is not much of anything else that an individual or a family can do during this 6ft social distancing-stay at home time.    Exercise is essential.   Some folks are getting the message that unfortunately this coronavirus can have very servere consequences on the overweight and obese and anyone else with pre-existing health issues.    Bicycle riding is something that the entire family can do together  and the mostly empty streets due to most folks staying home  has made it easier to do.
Local bike shops are selling a large number of new bikes in my city and they are working full blast to repair and service the bikes that folks are bringing in for new tubes, tires, brakes, and lube.        As you can probably see that there probably is  70% or more that are going the low cost-economy route of buying NEW bikes from Walmart or getting minimal cost repairs to make their existing bicycles roadworthy.   The 25% to 30% that are affluent and haven't been severely economically impacted yet are purchasing New bicycles from the local bike shops.
The weather has been great here for the last two months.      It might be  totally different in your location  but  that is they way it is here.  New bicycles have been selling like crazy.   Used bikes are selling if priced right to move and are desirable and are ready to ride.    The  important factor is  "Priced Right"  and  that is certainly something that could vary based on location and make/model of bicycle.


----------

