schwinn varsity 700c

[zaadee]

So what do you guys think about the 700c schwinn varsity?
believe it or not, walmart sells them and they are pretty good looking. i recently bought it as a commuter, but now i wouldnt mind riding it everyday... im not a die hard cycler, (actually an ex-bmxer) but im new to the road bike scene and im going to give it a shot... its around 35lbs id say, and it handles pretty well... so far the only thing i don't like about it is the derailure... any ideas with what i can replace this with w/o spending a whole lot? any other suggestions that would make the bike better with out burning a hole in my pocket??

thanks!!

 

[garage sale GT]

The new Varsity has been well covered elsewhere on this forum.

Thank you for the link to your store.

 

[zaadee]

The new Varsity has been well covered elsewhere on this forum.

Thank you for the link to your store.

Thank you !

 

[sgtpepper64]

At a Wal*Mart near me, there was a bike with Shimano Tourney STI shifters. I don't remember which one it was, but I was kicking myself after I got the Schwinn 700c Prelude from Target which has no STI. Now I'm looking at the Sora double 7sp STI upgrade for the future. Found the set online for $99.

Someone on BF suggested I ask Sheldon who recently passed away. I never got to it and I'm kicking myself again.

The Prelude and the Varsity are essentially the same bike - it's good to get around on.

Happy cycling!

 

[dgregory57]

Now I'm looking at the Sora double 7sp STI upgrade for the future. Found the set online for $99.

Where did you find the Sora for $99? I almost bought the Wally World bike with Sora for $150 just to get the shifters.

 

[dgregory57]

So what do you guys think about the 700c schwinn varsity?
believe it or not, walmart sells them and they are pretty good looking. i recently bought it as a commuter, but now i wouldnt mind riding it everyday... im not a die hard cycler, (actually an ex-bmxer) but im new to the road bike scene and im going to give it a shot... its around 35lbs id say, and it handles pretty well... so far the only thing i don't like about it is the derailure... any ideas with what i can replace this with w/o spending a whole lot? any other suggestions that would make the bike better with out burning a hole in my pocket??

thanks!!

That bike has the paddle like shifters right near the stem right? How do you like them?

As far as the derailleur, what is it you don't like? If the bike has Shimano, which I think it does, then you can replace with any Shimano road derailleur... A Sora derailleur can be had pretty cheap... Tiagra for a little more. Derailleurs for less than 9 speeds are pretty cheap as the upgrade bug has the 10 speeds in the forefront.

However, poor adjustment, bad cables or poor shifter quality can also be the culprit of many problems that are attributed to the derailleur.

 

[sgtpepper64]

I think it was Jenson something. Don't buy them all out on me - I need to save up to get them if I want to upgrade.

The Wal-Mart bike (I think it was one of the GMC ones), had Shimano Tourney, not Sora.

The "Wally World" and the Target Schwinns both have the paddle piece-of-craps.
I hate them with a passion. Not enough clearance to shift AND have a computer, which I'm somehow managing. D'oh!

A coupole illustrations:
Whole Bike:

Cockpit (or lack of):