# Schwinn Varsity



## zappa2000 (Aug 6, 2020)

Hi, I've seen this Schwinn Varsity bike at a yard sale in town. I have no idea what these are worth. They are asking $50. Does that sound reasonable?


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## Dave Stromberger (Aug 6, 2020)

That's an earlier Varsity, with the small (and hard to find) rear spoke protector. Also the front sprockets have no guard, and the shifters are on the down-tube.  Even though it's not in the best of shape, I'd say it's worth the $50 easily.  It might even clean up pretty well!  If nothing else, you'll have at least $50 worth of fun messing with it, right?


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## Tuna (Aug 6, 2020)

I don't think I have seen that seat tube decal before.  Is that a Schwinn decal or was that put on by a previous owner or bike shop?  With Covid, bikes have gone up considerably, so $50 might not be too bad.   The condition is going to require some work so that is a negotiating point. On the other hand, it is dusty, but the chrome looks good.


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## John G04 (Aug 6, 2020)

I’d buy for $50. Needs a soap and water, and some steel wool on the chrome. Some new tires and handlebar tape and it’d be worth $150 as a rider


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## GTs58 (Aug 6, 2020)

That's a Flamboyant Red 1963 Varsity sporting a 1964-66 Sprint ring set. I'd do 50 bucks and not think twice hoping the rear drive train parts are all original.


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## zappa2000 (Aug 6, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> That's a Flamboyant Red 1963 Varsity sporting a 1964-66 Sprint ring set. I'd do 50 bucks and not think twice hoping the rear drive train parts are all original.



I doubt this was ever tempered with. Very likely a one owner bike. Hope it's still there tomorrow.


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## Arnold Ziffel (Aug 7, 2020)

Those dual brake levers that allowed ordinary folks to begin to ride 10 speeds  were not introduced until about 1969,  so those are not original to that early sixties Varsity.      Everyone over 60 years of age today remembers that innovation alone allowed normal people to choose bicycles with racing handlebars,   but   ride while grasping the top and braking with the second "safety lever" which didn't provide as good of a braking response so I have no idea where the name "safety lever" fits in  as  perhaps "quasi-suicide lever" was already trademarked, registered and patented.   Before this, riding a ten speed  was not cool.   Millions of folks bought ten speeds after this because you had the very sporty and sleek  racing look  but  now you had an acceptable way for ordinary people to ride them.    Almost every ten speed model from every manufacturer during the nineteen-seventies bike boom came  with the  dual brake safety levers that allowed ordinary people to grip the top part of the handlebars on such bikes with racing-style handlebars.

The derailleurs that are original to your early sixties Varsity are not as good  and not nearly as durable as those of the late sixties or early seventies and beyond.     It simply reflects that no matter the make or prestige model,   the  derailleurs  of  the early sixties were crude and awful in comparison to later years.     They were acceptable at that time as there was nothing decent until the Japanese made huge refinements in rear derailleur technology,  first with the Shimano Lark in about 1967-1968 and also SUNTOUR's copying the best Simplex design of the early sixties with subtle improvements in design and with better quality and long lasting materials and with improved manufacturing quality control and tolerances.
Though all the European rear derailleurs were horrible compared to what the Japanese were offering by 1970,  the front derailleurs of from both Europe and Japan were good designs that worked very well by  say 1968 or 1969.     The European front derailleurs of the early and mid sixties are crude and poor in comparison.       It was just a time when great improvements changed things significantly as far as  derailleur shifting.     The early stuff is sought after for folks who are doing time capsule restorations,  because once decent technology came about,  people swapped out the earlier junk which did not work so well,  as people then were focused on riding their bikes and improved operation and reliabilty was always desired.  Nobody was thinking that  57 years later,  that the bike might have more value with the now impossible to find original derailleurs, etc.
They are impossible to find because they were junk compared to what was available by 1969 or 1970,  and  such improved replacement parts were relatively inexpensive  and  transformed the early ten speeds from inferior early-mid sixties junk to the improved reliability of something available around 1969-1970  which was massively better than anything available in 1963 or 1964.

Metacortex is probably the world's best expert on Schwinn ten speeds of the sixties and seventies.      I  do know that although so called serious road bike enthusiasts  today,  do hate these  40 pound  gas-pipe  Varsity-Continentals - common Chicago produced ten speed of the sixties and seventies,   but  weirdly  they  love  anything  that has downtube shifters and also does not have "safety" second brake levers.      The age of those pre-1967 Schwinns before the stem located Schwinn Twin Stik shifter  is now  54+ years old,  and  pre-dates the massive bike boom when everyone bought a ten-speed.        For this reason alone,   these make  a  cool  addition to  the bike collection of the serious roadie enthusiast who otherwise detests overweight Schwinns.      This may make such an old but beat up Varsity such as yours more desirable and maybe significantly more valuable than the typical $50 to $75  for a good condition Varsity from say 1967 to 1980.     I haven't a clue if you could get  $125 for such a weatherbeaten, beat up Varsity such as yours,  because so many folks that get them like yours with ugly faded paint, but otherwise likely functional,  tend  to  part out the bike on ebay,  as the sum of the saleable parts will exceed $90 if the original derailleur components are still attached.          

A  Varsity such as yours will still be an easy to service,  durable bicycle if you upgrade the original derailleurs  if  you have any operational issues at this time with them.     Save the old inferior unit as like I said,  they may become more valuable for restorations etc.   You never know.     If your intent is to ride and enjoy the bicycle,   you do not want to rely on the low quality derailleurs that were what was available in 1963.     Anything from a later Schwinn or any Kmart special of the seventies is five times better.      Still,  if the original equipment shifts and functions,  you can get by with that until it requires re-adjusting, etc.   Don't expect it to  reliably shift as well as something from 1970.             It is still a very simple good bicycle that is easy to service and a joy to ride, assuming you have it equipped with decent derailleur(s)  or  at least get it to shift reliably enough to enjoy it.        Yes,  a late sixties Varsity is a significantly better bicycle  than a 1963 model because of refinements and improvements,  but  the 1963 model will ride nice and the only major deficiency is the derailleur technology of the early sixties.

You don't see many early Varsities today.    There were other huge improvements on later Varsities that the public loved such as the 52/39 cranks with integral chrome chainguard and the  Twin Stik on the stem  and then the "safety levers" innovation.   Schwinn even improved the durability and quality of the stock racing saddle on later Varsities too.    The early Varsity is not bad.   It is simply just where things were in the early sixties and Schwinn did improve it significantly such that by 1967-1969,  the Varsity of the late sixties was much better than in 1963, 1964, or 1965.
They all ride nice,  and have nice manners and decent brakes when it isn't raining or extremely wet.
The chrome wheels on your Schwinn will clean up perfectly.
You might try an  Automotive  "RUBBING COMPOUND"   if  such a product is still sold in auto parts stores.   With factory paint on nearly all cars and trucks made in the past 35 to 40 years being base and clearcoat,  I  don't know what might be available for RUBBING COMPOUND which was once routinely used to remove the "dead" faded  on  the ancient  factory enamel paint jobs that cars from WWII  to maybe  as late as 1985  originally came with.    You apply it like you'd apply car wax,  but  it essentially was a "cutting" compound that very lightly sanded-polished-buffed the outer dead faded paint.      It takes a bit of 'elbow grease' that will make your arm and hand/wrist probably sore from doing the Mr. Miagi  wax on wax off thing,  but  it  may  just  bring some color back  but  be warned that you don't do the rubbing compound over any of the decals.    If that fails,  your options are to retain the junkyard vintage faded patina that some cabers seem to love,   or  you can repaint and re-decal the Varsity.   
Repainting and re-decal  is the only way to get it to look perfect   as  the chrome on your wheels and bars will clean up to look perfect but the paint appears too scarred up and scratched and weatherbeaten/faded to likely return to a nice appearance.
Before you proceed down that path,  research and decide if such an old Varsity will have better/worse value if a nice repaint and re-decal is done.
My guess is that Varsity is still so low in value today,  that repainting it will make it more valuable today in 2020 or in 2021 to 2023 but who knows the ancient Varsity could gain traction with collectors since that was before they sold in huge numbers.    I doubt it will ever achieve a value beyond  about $300  but I don't know.       I'd  try to compound it since your VARSITY decal is complete and nice,  but if that didn't improve the appearance,  I  myself  would  repaint and re-decal it.     That is just the way I would proceed,  because I enjoy projects like completely stripping and repainting and re-decalling  but that is just this one person's opinion.   According to my wife,  I'm right no more than 22% of the time and usually only about 15% of  the time.    There is no right or wrong way to proceed, as long as you do what you like.    I really wouldn't worry so much about value or potential future value at this point. You'll do better with ExxonMobil, Apple, Merck, Johnson&Johnson, or Proctor & Gamble over time than you will do droping the same money  for any Varsity or probably any Schwinn.    Have fun  and make it a nice looking rider and enjoy riding it.


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## zappa2000 (Aug 7, 2020)

Arnold Ziffel said:


> Those dual brake levers that allowed ordinary folks to begin to ride 10 speeds  were not introduced until about 1969,  so those are not original to that early sixties Varsity.      Everyone over 60 years of age today remembers that innovation alone allowed normal people to choose bicycles with racing handlebars,   but   ride while grasping the top and braking with the second "safety lever" which didn't provide as good of a braking response so I have no idea where the name "safety lever" fits in  as  perhaps "quasi-suicide lever" was already trademarked, registered and patented.   Before this, riding a ten speed  was not cool.   Millions of folks bought ten speeds after this because you had the very sporty and sleek  racing look  but  now you had an acceptable way for ordinary people to ride them.    Almost every ten speed model from every manufacturer during the nineteen-seventies bike boom came  with the  dual brake safety levers that allowed ordinary people to grip the top part of the handlebars on such bikes with racing-style handlebars.
> 
> The derailleurs that are original to your early sixties Varsity are not as good  and not nearly as durable as those of the late sixties or early seventies and beyond.     It simply reflects that no matter the make or prestige model,   the  derailleurs  of  the early sixties were crude and awful in comparison to later years.     They were acceptable at that time as there was nothing decent until the Japanese made huge refinements in rear derailleur technology,  first with the Shimano Lark in about 1967-1968 and also SUNTOUR's copying the best Simplex design of the early sixties with subtle improvements in design and with better quality and long lasting materials and with improved manufacturing quality control and tolerances.
> Though all the European rear derailleurs were horrible compared to what the Japanese were offering by 1970,  the front derailleurs of from both Europe and Japan were good designs that worked very well by  say 1968 or 1969.     The European front derailleurs of the early and mid sixties are crude and poor in comparison.       It was just a time when great improvements changed things significantly as far as  derailleur shifting.     The early stuff is sought after for folks who are doing time capsule restorations,  because once decent technology came about,  people swapped out the earlier junk which did not work so well,  as people then were focused on riding their bikes and improved operation and reliabilty was always desired.  Nobody was thinking that  57 years later,  that the bike might have more value with the now impossible to find original derailleurs, etc.
> ...



Wow! Thanks for all the background and advice!! Highly appreciated!


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## zappa2000 (Aug 7, 2020)

Thanks for the feedback everybody!
I went back there and managed to get it for $30. I'll post some picks once it is cleaned up. They have three more Schwinns. I'll check for your advice in a separate post.


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## ADKBIKES (Aug 16, 2020)

nice score on an early varsity


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## GTs58 (Aug 16, 2020)

zappa2000 said:


> Thanks for the feedback everybody!
> I went back there and managed to get it for $30. I'll post some picks once it is cleaned up. They have three more Schwinns. I'll check for your advice in a separate post.




I have two 1963 Varsitys in Flamboyant Lime and have refurbished one of them. Finding the correct saddle in usable condition is near impossible so I picked up a slightly used B17 Brooks to complete the bike. These had a one year only Atom 14-28 freewheel and the larger 4-3/4" solid aluminum spoke protector and it looks like yours are still intact. You got a deal on the purchase price and $30 might buy just one of those shifter lever assemblies.


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