# 1960 Schwinn Varsity 8spd



## Gavin

I bought this bike about 10 years ago from the original owner. He got it for Xmas when he was 8 years old. Crazy young to get such a bike but i guess his parents were forward thinking and didn't want to have to buy him another bike ever again lol. It had a huret derailleur on it and incorrect brakes but he managed to find the correct ones later and gave them to me. As for the simplex derailleur i had to source that on my own and grabbed this one off ebay and had it shipped from France. It's not in great shape but that's why i was able to afford it. I picked up a simplex rebuild kit for it but haven't gotten around to doing anything with it. I love this bike. It's such a juxtaposition of high end competition French racing parts and good old schwinn heavy duty engineering.


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## Gavin

A few more close ups.


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## GTs58

Kool!
Those sure don't get pulled out of barns very often! Looks like it still has the original saddle too. I dig these early Schwinn lightweights and have quite a few, but not a 60 model.


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## Gavin

GTs58 said:


> Kool!
> Those sure don't get pulled out of barns very often! Looks like it still has the original saddle too. I dig these early Schwinn lightweights and have quite a few, but not a 60 model.



Yeah I dig em too! This is about as new as i would go for a lightweight. The 60 is just so special. After these it was just not as good looking. The built in chain gaurds on the later varsitys are ugly imo.


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## GTs58

Here's a copy of my childhood 1964 Varsity that I built up. I rode that bike like I stole it, and then  restored it and rode into the ground a second time. It was well used up by the time I bought my first car a couple months before I turned 15.


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## Gavin

GTs58 said:


> Here's a copy of my childhood 1964 Varsity that I built up. I rode that bike like I stole it, and then  restored it and rode into the ground a second time. It was well used up by the time I bought my first car a couple months before I turned 15.
> 
> View attachment 1210474
> 
> View attachment 1210475
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> View attachment 1210476



Wow! That thing is super clean! Very nice bike man.


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## Eric Amlie

You sure don't see them very often.
I have a blue one that I bought years ago, but still haven't fixed up to a rideable condition. I need to get to that.
Looks like your rear derailleur is set up incorrectly.


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## juvela

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thanks for posting!

what make is the gear block, Atom, Cyclo?

hope you are able to locate parts required for front mech


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## metoo

That's a neat Varsity!


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## Gavin

juvela said:


> -----
> 
> thanks for posting!
> 
> what make is the gear block, Atom, Cyclo?
> 
> hope you are able to locate parts required for front mech
> 
> 
> -----



I've got the shifter arm for it but its missing the spacer and hardware at the bottom. Also would like to find a shifter knob. 
The gear block is an Atom.


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## Gavin

metoo said:


> That's a neat Varsity!



Thanks man!


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## juvela

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thank you very much for the response

for a 1960 date the shift knob should be the ivory coloured plastic

it had just changed from the knurled metal acorn shape

this front mech is termed by Juy the Competition, offered both in braze-on and clamp-on editions

mfr catalogue page of 1960 -






here is a parts drawing for the mech from the manufacturer's catalogue of 1953 -






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## Gavin

juvela said:


> -----
> 
> thank you very much for the response
> 
> for a 1960 date the shift knob should be the ivory coloured plastic
> 
> it had just changed from the knurled metal acorn shape
> 
> this front mech is termed by Juy the Competition, offered both in braze-on and clamp-on editions
> 
> mfr catalogue page of 1960 -
> 
> View attachment 1210773
> 
> here is a parts drawing for the mech from the manufacturer's catalogue of 1953 -
> 
> View attachment 1210776
> 
> 
> -----



Thanks so much for posting those images. It's much appreciated.


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## juvela

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in thinking of the 4V block am wondering if cogs and drive chain for 1/8" or for 3/32"...

they actually made 5V blocks for 1/8" chain (!)

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## Gavin

juvela said:


> -----
> 
> in thinking of the 4V block am wondering if cogs and drive chain for 1/8" or for 3/32"...
> 
> they actually made 5V blocks for 1/8" chain (!)
> 
> -----




I cant recall the size of the chain. I needed to replace it when i got the bike and it was very difficult to find the right one. I ended up finding a guy on a forum that sold me a nos one.


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## juvela

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in your closeup images of the block the cogs appear a bit thickish which is why i was wondering - you could always lay a 3/32" chain onto the the teeth to see if it will seat...

IIRC there is also a marking regarding the teeth on the faceplate of the block's body


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## Gavin

juvela said:


> -----
> 
> in your closeup images of the block the cogs appear a bit thickish which is why i was wondering - you could always lay a 3/32" chain onto the the teeth to see if it will seat...
> 
> IIRC there is also a marking regarding the teeth on the faceplate of the block's body
> 
> 
> -----



I'll take a look at that later when i get a chance.


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## metoo

Was Schwinn the first bicycle company in America to make derailleur bikes for the masses?


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## HARPO

Love the "Suicide" derailleur on it. Where was Ralph Nader when this was installed, lol...


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## Oilit

metoo said:


> Was Schwinn the first bicycle company in America to make derailleur bikes for the masses?



I've wondered about this as well. Derailleurs had been around since the '30's, but they were pretty limited and not easy to use. The Continental and Varsity were probably the first to offer them at a price that had broader appeal, and by the second year they switched to the new Huret Allvit, which was evidently an important advance. There's a book on derailleurs called "The Dancing Chain", and I guess I'm going to have to break down and get a copy. There's also a website called Disraeli Gears, which has some good information.





						Disraeli Gears - a derailleur collection
					

“You know how the title came about - Disraeli Gears - yeah? We had this Austin Westminster, and Mick Turner was one of the roadies who’d been with me a long time, and he was driving along and Eric (Clapton) was talking about getting a racing bicycle. Mick, driving, went ‘Oh yeah - Disraeli...




					www.disraeligears.co.uk


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## rennfaron

Oilit said:


> I've wondered about this as well. Derailleurs had been around since the '30's, but they were pretty limited and not easy to use. The Continental and Varsity were probably the first to offer them at a price that had broader appeal, and by the second year they switched to the new Huret Allvit, which was evidently an important advance. There's a book on derailleurs called "The Dancing Chain", and I guess I'm going to have to break down and get a copy. There's also a website called Disraeli Gears, which has some good information.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Disraeli Gears - a derailleur collection
> 
> 
> “You know how the title came about - Disraeli Gears - yeah? We had this Austin Westminster, and Mick Turner was one of the roadies who’d been with me a long time, and he was driving along and Eric (Clapton) was talking about getting a racing bicycle. Mick, driving, went ‘Oh yeah - Disraeli...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.disraeligears.co.uk



Everyone has an opinion but I saw this article a while back naming the varsity one of the 25 most influential bikes of all time (varsity is about half way down - no idea why it says "retired in 1960" - they got that date wrong). https://www.bicycling.com/news/a20006634/25-of-the-most-influential-bicycles-of-all-time/

Also an interesting read on derailleurs - http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/Schwinn_derailleurs.html
@Oilit - looks like one of the pages on the site you linked.


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## Goldenrod

Oilit you must buy that book even if you have to sell your wife's makeup.  Find a quiet place that you chose before the theft and enjoy.  It will be worth it.


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## Goldenrod

Gavin said:


> A few more close ups.
> 
> View attachment 1210436
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> View attachment 1210437
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> View attachment 1210438
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> View attachment 1210439
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> View attachment 1210440
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> View attachment 1210441
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> View attachment 1210442





Please Google this great old story by a man who was the first online bike historian during his last days with us before his death.  He made his own tandems.  I may have one.

*The Schwinn Varsity (1960-1986) - Sheldon Brown*


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## Gavin

Goldenrod said:


> Please Google this great old story by a man who was the first online bike historian during his last days with us before his death.  He made his own tandems.  I may have one.
> 
> *The Schwinn Varsity (1960-1986) - Sheldon Brown*



Wow, that was a good read.


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## Gavin

I came across this as well..


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## juvela

Goldenrod said:


> Oilit you must buy that book even if you have to sell your wife's makeup.  Find a quiet place that you chose before the theft and enjoy.  It will be worth it.




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OMG!    :eek: 

you are really going out on a limb here.

have you _seen _Oilit's wife without makeup?!?!


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## metoo

Thanx for the info guys!


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## Gavin

Picked these up about 8 years ago. Got the ad first and then had to have the comic!


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## Oilit

Gavin said:


> I came across this as well..
> 
> View attachment 1212153



I saw this when I followed the link that @rennfaron posted, what struck me is the reference to a 1955 Continental with derailleurs. Pridmore and Hurd's book also mentions this model, but I've never seen one, or even a picture. Has anybody got a picture of one of these? Pridmore and Hurd said that most of them sat in a warehouse and were eventually rebuilt and sold, and @MarkKBike had a Traveler with a serial number from 1955 but painted in the 1957 style, which makes me wonder, but that's the closest I've come.


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## bikerbluz

I have both a 60 and 61 Conti with the suicide derailleur, with the 61 being the more rare of the two, I assume. Would love to have one of the 8 speed Varsitys.


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## rennfaron

bikerbluz said:


> I have both a 60 and 61 Conti with the suicide derailleur, with the 61 being the more rare of the two, I assume. Would love to have one of the 8 speed Varsitys.



There was a pretty good 10 speed on ebay that sold recently - http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=353101055475

And before that another 10 speed - http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=324083259346

Also saw a couple 8 speeds on ebay at end of last year.


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## bikerbluz

Thanks Rennfaron for the info. Both of those examples that sold were nice bikes. I have always enjoyed the earlier road bikes. Looking thru my J C Higgins stuff I came across an ad from 1961 that had one of their early lightweights with a suicide derailleur. I have, I believe, a 1962 example of the Higgins bike. Those bikes I think were built by Puch. Very cool lightweights, also, in my humble opinion.


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## Oilit

bikerbluz said:


> Thanks Rennfaron for the info. Both of those examples that sold were nice bikes. I have always enjoyed the earlier road bikes. Looking thru my J C Higgins stuff I came across an ad from 1961 that had one of their early lightweights with a suicide derailleur. I have, I believe, a 1962 example of the Higgins bike. Those bikes I think were built by Puch. Very cool lightweights, also, in my humble opinion.



I've seen plenty of the three speeds, but the derailleur bikes have always been the later Sears version. Post up some pictures when you can, if you don't mind.


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## bikerbluz

Will do Oilit. I have two of the Higgins bikes, both with down tube shifters. The gold one is the more deluxe version and the red the lower end model. I believe theses were made out of 531 Reynolds tubing. Also have one of the Sears models. I will try to dig them out ASAP and get some pics posted.


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## rennfaron

Not a great example...but here is one








						1960 Schwinn Varsity - bicycles - by owner - bike sale
					

1st year Varsity 8-speed with suicide shift, original rat trap pedals. Rides and shifts great....



					boulder.craigslist.org


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## metoo

Does anybody know what make and model of tire that was originally installed on the 
'60 Continentals? I saw, in the '62 Schwinn parts catalog , mention of Wolber and Continental tires, but I wonder if these were used on the "60.


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## Roger Henning

MetooI think those tires were for Paramonts with sew up rims and tires.  Roger


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## metoo

Oh ok Roger. Thank you.


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