Schwinn Varsity back from the dead (at Walmart!)

e0richt

that sounds like a sweet ride... (why can't I find deals like that? whine whine...)
darn! (green with envy.... )

garage sale GT

So how are you guys doing with your Varsitys and Denalis? I am sure the singlespeed conversions are holding up fine but what about the others? How's the rear wheel? Wobbling yet?

Rocket_Man

Yeah...I'm a happy camper!!! Though, I did have to wait for about a year for a deal to come along...it wasn't the easiest to do, well, then again...I didn't have the money anyway, so I guess it wasn't that bad of a wait. ANYWAY...I hope that all made sense!!! Just in the right place at the right time, though, almost passed it up.

e0richt

actually, I haven't put much mileage on lately because of the weather. I have been using an indoor trainer during the week and have used the bike on the
weekends when it have been fairly nice... I haven't hand any problems with the bike and if the rear wheel gets a bit wobbly, I can true it...

by the way, hows that cadillac holding up for you?

garage sale GT

Cadillac's fine, hub's smooth, been putting mileage on other bikes so it only has a few hundred. The shifting needs adjustment, though.

When I say the rear wheel will start to wobble on a freewheel bike, though, I don't mean the rim.

The axle will bend and will thus open up the hub bearing clearances. The bearings will then wear out quickly, making it ten times worse.

In other words, the wheel will become loose on its axle.

This almost always happened on the old freewheel style bikes for me. I like old 10-speeds but bought a freehub-style rear wheel for the one I have left.

Most department store derailleur-equipped bikes still have the old freewheel design, except that they have 7 speeds and are even more bending-prone because the overhung part of the axle is longer in order to clear the wider rear cluster.

e0richt

how do I know if I have a freewheel as opposed to a freehub?
and I guess that would mean that the taiwan version of the Dawes bike must have a freehub by virtue of the fact that I have over 500 miles on it and I weigh in excess of 300...

garage sale GT

Look in the right side of the rear hub. If the lockring holding the sprockets on rotates with the wheel, it's a freewheel. If it rotates with the sprockets, it's a freehub.


I know though that the GMC's and the New Varsity have a freewheel.

You can go longer than 500 but if you inspect the bike you will find the axle is bent and the wheel may be a little loose with respect to the frame. It won't break outright for some time.

e0richt

I will verify the denali again tonight but I remember kind of doing that and based on your description, it has a freehub not a free wheel... I will again verify it tonight and let you know...

garage sale GT

Maybe it's the Yukon.

The lockring is in there about a half inch deep, inside the outermost sprocket.

e0richt

ok, so I went to look at it and compared it to my trek 7100 and my Dawes...

well, on the trek, the outermost sprocket seems to "enclose" the axle compared to the denali and my dawes... so I am guessing that you are probably right about them being freewheels instead of the freehubs...

ok, so now Im worried about wobble on my Dawes because of the mileage I have put on the bike... so I try getting the wheel to wobble but it seems ok so... I guess Im not sure what to do about it at this point.

I had an old motobecane that I had a bike shop refurbish for me where I had to purchase a new wheel because the other one was so old that they couldn't do anything with it... I wonder if that has a freehub. That wheel was only about 40 bucks... assuming that I needed another wheel for the Dawes or the Denali, that isnt too high an investment for a bike so I don't really feel ripped off by buying these bikes at this point...

there was a thread on bikeforums where a guy put on over 2000 miles on the denali without a breakdown but he also looks to be much lighter than I am...
guess I'll just have to keep an eye on it... would there be other clues for when the freewheel gets to end of lifetime? like squeeking or rubbing sounds?

garage sale GT

Sometimes you will be able to move the wheel from side to side, as in closer to one chainstay then closer to the other, but only a small amount. I've had ball bearings get so bad they broke in half and all I felt was a bit more drag. Then you check tire pressure and realize you can move the top of the rim 1/4" right or left.

More commonly, you repack the hub and find the cones badly pitted, metal debris in the grease, and then find the axle can't roll freely across a flat surface because it's bent.

If you're really worried, take the wheel off, hold the wheel horizontal like a pizza with the sprockets pointing upward, and twirl the axle between your fingers where it comes out of the bottom of the hub. Instead of just spinning, the top of the axle may draw a little circle in the air.

Sheldon Brown's site had a link to an article by Jobst Brandt on freehubs vs. freewheels and their relative strengths and weaknesses.

Freewheels themselves are quite durable. What wears out are the wheel bearings because the axle bends and misaligns the cones. There's a lot of space for the axle to cover between the hub and frame, whereas on a freehub, the right hand bearing cup is actually located inside the ratcheting mechanism which holds the sprockets.

garage sale GT

I think you should just ride it until it breaks unless you take really long trips. Your lower end axles won't break outright like the better freewheel axles used to, they'll just bend.

It's not a big emergency. I used to love fixing up an old steel "bike boom" bike with the chrome parts and the skinny frame tubing. They never left me stranded. I could probably keep doing so but just hate the thought of riding around on a bent axle with pitted cones.

e0richt

ok, thanks for the info...

garage sale GT

So has anyone had a problem? I wouldn't mind picking up a cheaper (new) bike like the Varsity, in case the axles don't exhibit the problem any more.

Why should new bikes be any different, with the same axle design? Well, if the frame is much stiffer and the dropouts can't twist, then that would serve to reinforce the axle from bending. The cone, spacer, and locknut abuts the dropout and must twist said dropout in order to bend, at least with a bolt-on. So maybe new, stiffer frames make the design tenable.

P.S. the 'lac is now $229 on amazon.