# 1952/3 Varsity???



## rhenning (Jan 3, 2013)

I picked the bike in the pictures up yesterday and am not exactly sure of the year.  Unfortunately the Serial number B84826 was used for both 1952 and 1953 Schwinns.  It is on the left rear drop out.  It is an interesting bike as it has a Brampton 3 speed hub and shifter instead of a Sturmey Archer.  It was also put  together like a British bike with the right hand controlling the front brake and the left hand the rear.  I am thinking it might be a 1952 but this is not a model I have played with before.  Anyone that can help would be appreciated.  Roger


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## SirMike1983 (Jan 3, 2013)

Looks like a Schwinn World model to me. Looks to me like a bike from the transition from the earlier New Worlds to the later light weights of the 1950s. It seems to have elements of both.


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## rhenning (Jan 3, 2013)

The only place it says Varsity is on the chain guard and it does say World a bunch of times on the bike.  If you click on the chain guard picture you can easily see the word Varsity on it.  I would agree it was a new name for a World and I have a couple of pre war New Worlds.  Very similar frames but there are differences.  Thanks for the reply.  Roger


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## sailorbenjamin (Jan 3, 2013)

Interesting bike.  Yes, the Varsity name (and Collegate, too, I think) first started showing up on the World frames, I guess it was an option package sort of thing.  
I recently got a 48 New World.  The frame is mostly Electroforged but there are a lot more handbrazed joints than there are on the later ones.  I'd be interested in knowing how many EF joints you have and how many FB joints.  Mine, for instance has a EF bottom bracket and the joint to the seat tube is EF, too but the downtube and chainstays are fillet brazed.  
One of these days I'll do a formal survey.


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## rhenning (Jan 3, 2013)

I am going to try and save as much of the original paint as possible but on cleaning the bike today I already know the chain stays are brazed to the BB as is the kick stand mount.  I will let you know more as I go.  I stripped one of my New Worlds and I believe that was all filet brazed.  I believe that bike was a 1941.  For what its worth that bike had a Superior crank set in it.  Roger


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## sam (Jan 4, 2013)

I've compleatly stripped and sandblasted two early world frames--both had leaded joints.Sometime around 1940 schwinn stopped fillit brazing the world frame.The rear stays at the seat tube were brazed(with brass) but the other joints were leaded to look like FB except for the joints at the BB mostly under the frame--which didn't get the lead treatment--they show to be steel welded(electro or gas?)the weld looks like electro but might have been gas(coat hanger)steel rod.I beleave all the major joints on these frame were steel welded and leaded but I have never had a damaged frame to experiment on to see.


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## Adamtinkerer (Jan 5, 2013)

I was looking at the 52 and 53 brochures at tr findley. Only 53 lists/shows the Varsity model, so I'm thinking it was new that year.


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## rhenning (Jan 5, 2013)

The Varsity was listed on the price sheets in 1952 as model W11S and remember Schwinn brochures are not very good because the art work was done months ahead of time with many models not included.  Often the art work was reused from a different year.  For what its worth the serial number is listed in all the internet serial number lists as being in April 1952 and on appears in only one list as a 1 day build in 1953.   Roger


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## ken55 (Jan 11, 2013)

*"looks close to me"*

i think these bikes are pretty close,i thought maybe someone changed a few things over the years,but i dont think so anymore. mine has the s/a hub.  same paint graphics


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