Schwinn Varsity back from the dead (at Walmart!)

Seamusmcseoin

Hey, you said you think it's the pedals...what about the pedals or what part of the pedals would actually make this happen?

garage sale GT

I bought a Raleigh trail bike in 2001 and it's been clicking ever since, every time the pedals are in a certain spot. The seller went out of business but another LBS said the BB cartridge was probably moving around a bit inside the BB shell, and that it was no big deal. It's a very minor click though.

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e0richt

well, the pedals have bearings in them and if they are not well made/put together you can get a grind/click feeling in them... I actually have a pair of pedals that i bought from a lbs that has that problem. I meant to take them back but never got around to it... I have read that you can repack them I guess but I have never really looked into it...

jptaguilar

tcar

i have had this bike for about 6 months and have about 1,000 miles on it. have ridden in two 50 mile charity runs and have been wanting to upgrade it somewhat with carbon fiber. saw that you did this. can you tell me the sizes, as i am not to fluent in bicycle jargon. have seen the items on ebay, but haven't ordered due to the fact that i am not sure what sizes i need. seat post, fork and stem. thanks

rdr0912

I haven't read all 18 pages of this post, but I have a quick question. I saw an original Varsity at a garage sale yesterday for $60. It looks like it has been sitting in a garage for sometime and hasn't been riden in an even longer time. With a little work, I THINK it might clean up nice. My question is, is $60 a good price for one? They still have the booklet thing that I guess came with it. I was thinking of offering $40? But I wasn't sure...what do you all think?

jptaguilar

The one that I bought was a brand new one at Wal-Mart for $199.00. Not too sure about an older used one.

garage sale GT

If you just want a serviceable bike, you could do a lot better.

I don't know if the bike has collector value but would only pay $60 IF I was interested in collecting them and that's what it went for.

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AAAC

Hi,

Just bought this bike at Walmart.
I heard about it on the thread, and didn't want to judge right away so I decided to stip by the local walmart to take a look at it. The Frame is 7005 Aluminum, just like my bike for the bike shop, it also fit me well. The components for gearing were low end shimano which is still better than no name that most bike shops have. The guy putting them together didn't know jack about bikes. He did tell me that is has been on the rack for over a year because no one wanted to by a bike with funny "French" valves. What he was refering to was the Presta valves. Also the bike was out of wack as far as the chain hitting the derailur. He did not even have a "French" pump so we could see if the tires were ok when inflated. I called over the manager and told him that I liked the bike and it fit well for me but was not sure if the tires were ok and they couldn't test them I also had him hold the bike while I moved the pedals to reveal the noise of the chain. After that I offered him 100 dollars for the bike, because it needed a tuneup and possible tires. He said OK and I left with the bike.
The Schwinn Manual that came with the bike shows you how to tune up and adjust everthing on the bike from fit to mechanics. I adjusted the seat, seatpost, handle bars for fit. Then I adjusted the gearing so the chain would not hit anything, and the gears shifted smoothly. Bottom line I have a great beginner bike that is lighter than mostly all old used bike, shifts perfectly, has shimano gear components, and a 5 year warranty with Pacific Cycle, which I can register online. I am glad I did not listed to posters who did not look at the bike and just condemed it because it was from a box store, I think this is a great value for the money if the frame fits you and you are getting back into biking even at $199.

For $100 I got a
New bike, Just needed adjusting, (the Manual shows you how to do everything)
Shimano (although low end its a known name and available and upgradeable)
A smooth shifting bike (after looking at the manual and tuning this up it changes gears perfectly!)
5 year Warranty on the Frame by a company that is still in business.
7005 Aluminum Frame
Low end but no no name components.

To be its a no brainer for a beginner or beater bike!

e0richt

I would have to disagree here, all bike shops here have name brand components and higher end components than you would get with any walmart or sporting goods type of bike... heck, look at the derailer (sic) and try to even find it on the shimano website. You would probably not be able to find it... I bought a brand new dawes lightning from chicabike on ebay and the derailer was low end but at least listed on its site... very solid bike by the way...


Supposedly, the Denali is supposed to have a warranty as well, but there have been difficulties actually getting replacement parts and such so if you do something where you need a replacement part you are gambling...


up to a certain point, the more money you spend, the better bike you will get, as I stated earlier, I got a better bike off ebay than the denali, I haven't purchased the varsity but others have bought one and put quite a bit of money to make it a really nice bike... however, with that said, for recreational cycling and if you don't mind learning to wrench yourself this could be a serviceable bike...


just to play devils advocate here, I bought a used bike and here is what I got...
for 100$
I got a Trek 1220 with 7 sp sora sti shifters and 3 sp downtube shifter.
I got a frame pump (I tested it and it does work...)
I got a seat bag (with a replacement tube)
I got 2 new tires on the bike (I verified that by visual inspection...)
it was in rideable condition.

I did have to buy a 3 dollar cable (the front cable was broken)
I did replace the stem (It was used by a taller person and had a longer stem reach
than I like but I cannibalized it from another project bike...)
and I put a handlebar bag on the front... (I like to carry two replacement tubes and
I was also able to put an extra water bottle in the bag which was very useful on my 35 mile ride yesterday...)


its a fantastic bike but I also have to say you don't see deals like that all the time. In fact, I find that I have to have something thats rideable now in order to really be objective in finding a great deal for a used bike and the varsity could be that solution...

AAAC

Sorry I meant most department stores have no name brand parts not local bike shops.
I can upgrade to the shimano parts with low end 2200 or tourney parts if needed, but even those parts are on warranty for a year on this bike, the frame is 5 years.

Yeah you could find a good deal here an there, but I read about this bike in the forum, after work went to walmart, put 100 dollars on my credit card, read the manual, adjusted the bike, and went for a ride later in the evening, and the next day went on a longer ride. I mean that is the beauty of the bike being available at a local store that most people have access too. You can get up and riding very quickly and you have some sort of warranty for at least a year on the parts and 5 on the frame.

I think its is a good value for the money and TIME, for a beginner who does not know what to get or look for on ebay and the such.

Frigo's Luggage

Does it come in lime green? It can't be a real varsity unless it comes in lime green.

The Salvation Army store and other thrift stores are where I get my inexpensive bikes. I got a pretty good Panasonic from the '80s for $15. All it neededwas some love and care and new tubes. I suspect the quality was much better than what Walmart is selling for $199.

e0richt

well, its easy to find for the particular bike that I bought... and its a "buy it now" so there is no auction part to it... and there are different versions of the product with variations of components that you could get depending on your budget... the drawback is that you do have to wait about a week for it to be shipped to you and you do have to do some assemble (very easy though...) But I do agree that low end bike can get you out on the road very quickly and I because of the bike that I have, if I were to go to a bike shop for a "nice" bike, I would have a much better idea of what makes a bike comfortable for me...

I think its interesting how people affiliated with bike shops harp on bikes being fitted to you... my experience with the local bike shops that they take a frame that fits your size (and thats easy to figure out) and they they start playing with seat height and stems to fit the bike to you.... well, you can definately save some money by doing that part yourself... and you become a more educated consumer...

I would like to hear how you are doing with the bike because I would be a little wary of this one only because of some of the early posters about the bike... actually tcar's in particular (broken chain, ghost shifting and such) but the more information about the bike the better...

AAAC

No not lime green but I like the simple look of Silver and black because most components are that color. As far as the frame on your Panasonic, that is hard to say, I think the 7005 frame on my bike is more advanced meaning lighter and stiffer, the steal fork helps the ride also. Mine drives and shifts nicely. Just because it was bought at Walmart does not mean the frame is automaticaly bad or worse then a steel frame from the 80's, Steel rusts aluminum does not weather it is bought at Walmart or Ultra Cycle or any place, its also stiffer, and lighter. Don't get me wrong you can get lucky and fine a good used bike at your local thift shop and that is another option. There is no rust on my bike and I have the year warranty on the parts and 5 years on the frame, it didn't need anything execpt some adjusting. I will try and post some pics and videos. I will let you guys know how it goes....

jiminos

an update: with 400 miles on my Varsity (new style not old) absolutely no problems.... 10, 20, 30, mile rides all flawless. having said that...

This being a light weekend for me... i have stripped the bike down to the frame for a good cleaning and preventive maintenance check. for those who want to know... the frame (with only the bottom brackets still in the frame) weighs 4.9 pounds (U.S.) Fully assembled it weighs 26 pounds! (there is some chubby componentry in there, folks!) My goal for this weekend is to get the fully assembled weight down under 20. So, tomorrow... a trip to the LBS to look at forks, crank sets, handlebars, brakes, shifters and wheel sets.... (already changed out the original seat, seatpost and pedals to a Brooks B-17 Champion seat, a Specialized 220x27.2 carbon post and crank brothers Eggbeaters pedals.)

dang! this is fun. i love wrenching. almost as much fun as riding!

be well,

jim