This is a late 70′s early 80′s Scwhinn Varsity frame that I found on craigslist for $40. It’s one of the heaviest frames ever built, but I love the way it looks. I stripped it down, and threw some new paint on it and replaced as many of the components as I could afford. I had to go pretty cheap as it was my first fixie and was just excited to get it on the road without too much research on what the best parts were, etc. Now I can take my time and build the next one real proper like, and throw some real dollars at it. I replaced the stem with an original Schwinn Varsity stem, and chopped an old pair of bars to make the horns. I found a nice Specialized Toupe saddle, a Weinmann Deep V wheelset and some Vitorria all white Zaffiro Pro tires on ebay for real cheap. I had to keep the seat tube as it was really really thin and was impossible to find a replacement for. I bought cheapy bulletproof cranks and got a Sugino Bottom Bracket with an adapter as the hole for the bottom bracket on the frame was huge. It”s got MKS pedals with clips and the gear ratio is a perfect 3.00; (42/14 : 650mm cranks). I used the original front caliper and used an old campy lever I had laying around. I threw on some soyo grips and done. Once I had all the parts, It took me less than a day to paint it, build it and get it on the road. I’ve only ridden it twice on a long ride and it’s quickly becoming my favorite. Thanks for checking it out.
Submitted by Bert Rodriguez









23 Comments Received
August 31st, 2008 @12:42 pm
Hey,
Great job on the conversion!! It looks really awesome! I was wondering how much weight you were able to take off of it when converting it. I just picked up an old varsity off of Craigslist and was thinking about SS or Fixie conversion and was hoping to be able to take off some weight by replacing the wheels and crank. I didnt know what was worth replacing to get the benefit of losing some weight.
December 1st, 2008 @10:57 pm
I picked up a 76 schwin varsity from the dump, and they are heavy. I have a bike shop at my work and the bike was 36 pounds to start. I stripped it down to the bare frame and it is still around 9 pounds. Heavy but free. Where did you get the crank adapter?
December 16th, 2008 @8:01 pm
I just got my hands on an old 70s Schwinn Continental bike, very rusty and in bad shape. I love your bike… and want to run a similar conversion to mine! Thanks for giving me some ideas and showing how it can be done.
Unfortunately those old bikes weigh ~35 pounds, although the outdated chromed steel rims are prime candidates for the recycle bin.
January 5th, 2009 @8:38 pm
really nice job. your frame had the same stickers and logos mine has. mine’s an ’82. i just finished a fixed gear conversion on mine, only i managed to convert my 27″ wheel, and i’m really glad i did! i hate to hear that people wanna throw theirs away, mine are pristine, good luck finding a chrome deep v wheelset!!!
February 16th, 2009 @12:44 am
Sweet bike!
I have a red ’77 Varsity that I’m trying to decide what to do with. So far I’ve converted it to a single-speed, removed the rear brake, re-taped the handlebars, and lubed it.
I really like what you’ve done with yours. I envision something similar for mine. I’m not sure about riding fixie though.
How much did you pay for your rims? Also, you said you bought an adapter for your bottom bracket. Are these hard to find? How do you know what size to get?
Have fun on that thing!
March 25th, 2009 @10:02 pm
I have an old green varsity frame which I have done a conversion on.I have used an older set of Redline BMX cranks with sealed bottom bracket for the crank conversion. These run about 115 to 150 depending on where you get them. It is just a standard US bottom bracket found on BMX and cheaper US bikes. Hope this helps. This bike has been a fun conversion and every9one thinks the cranks look totally sweet! Love your conversion. I have yet to change out from an older set of 27″ rims that I am using right now. Kindof been holding off to see if I could find anyone that has used 700c rims. Nice call.
May 8th, 2009 @7:55 pm
I also have an old Schwinn, a 73 continental that I am leaning towards making a single speed coaster brake bike. For those inquiring about how to convert the crank it is outlined on the sheldon brown site http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/opc.html
The part is sold here http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1335 Don’t hate me but I prefer the before look to the after on the featured bike. The white motif just isn’t doing it for me
July 23rd, 2009 @7:46 am
What you need to do is saw off those braze ons.
August 10th, 2009 @9:33 pm
Are your wheels not machined? I think they look nice but then why the brake?
August 11th, 2009 @5:31 pm
Why saw off the braze ons? Why not have the ability to turn it back into a geared bike??
October 6th, 2009 @8:07 pm
what model is your bottom bracket??? i have the exact same bike and after i put the conversion on it becomes pretty wide.
October 17th, 2009 @2:56 pm
Hey,
I have the same bike, i was wondering whats the best way to remove the kick stand.
November 7th, 2009 @5:16 pm
Very smooth convy. However, the bulletproof crank and origin 8 chainring are as bottom of the barrel as it goes. And running a brake on a non-machined white wheel is gonna give you a nice black shit streak.
December 29th, 2009 @4:29 pm
Remove the kickstand via hack saw…smooth it out with a dremmel…
February 20th, 2010 @8:32 pm
NICE! I love an electro-fordged frame rebuilt. Well done. How much does it weight now?
February 20th, 2010 @10:46 pm
i thought your bars are see through plastic for a short while, from picture 3.
March 19th, 2010 @1:21 pm
Hey i have a question. so i just bought an old varsity as well. but i’m having trouble taking off the crankset. every site i’ve been on only specifies how to take off the new kinds with the crank puller. could you tell me how?
April 22nd, 2010 @5:57 pm
take off the ring, take of the pedal and slide the crank through
April 22nd, 2010 @8:12 pm
You’re joking right toshi? That makes absolutely no sense. Removing the chairing and pedal remove only those, not the crank. There’s a separate bolt for the crank. And within the crank you’ll need a crank puller, usually thread specific or universal. I
use a park universal crank puller. Just check out sheldon brown’s article on it http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/cotterless.html Cheers.
April 23rd, 2010 @12:26 pm
Luftmensh:
You do realize that the Varsity had a One Piece Crank on it right? Henceforth “Remove ring, remove pedal, remove crank. 3 steps for 1 piece removal. Before being sarcastic you should insure you know of what you speak.
July 21st, 2010 @10:17 am
I wasn’t at all sarcastic, and secondly, to ENSURE I know of what I speak (who talks like that?), it’s hard to tell it has a one piece crank considering it’s a non driveside photo and I’ve never owned a Varsity. And you know what? I liked the stock crank better. The new crank arms are too fat on such a slim frame. I would also drop the stem and get a vintage saddle (I liked the stock one better). When you modernize what essentially is a classic cruiser it just looks weird to totally go away from its original style. Personally, considering it’s a Varsity, I would have kept it as a single speed cruiser with original bars and saddle. That’s just me. But clearly you have everything figured out, toshi. Henceforth.
July 21st, 2010 @11:26 am
Photo shows ashtabula (One Piece Crank) . No nut or cotter pin. Ensure or insure both OK in my Websters Dictionary and yes Varsity Schwinn are too heavy to begin with I’m glad someone stole my 76 10 speed. Hard saddle also a real wedge. Nice conversion.
August 6th, 2010 @9:29 am
Nice work! I’m in the process of converting a schwinn varsity as well. I ordered a 700c wheelset just for it. I was wondering if you had any issues fitting the wheel axles into the dropouts. They seem pretty narrow. And did you need spacers for the rear hub?
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