I bet a lot of Barn Finds readers have owned a Schwinn Varsity, or knew a relative, friend, or neighbor who had one. I still have my Opaque Blue Varsity from 1974 that I got new. It was a lot of money for our family, especially when my brother also got one at the same time. At $115.95, including the $7 optional chrome fenders, that’s the equivalent of $786.57 today! This vintage Schwinn Varsity 10-Speed in brown, commonly referred to as “Root Beer Brown,” can be found listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Menasha, Wisconsin, and the seller is asking $80. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
I knew the Varsity, as rugged a bike as there is, has been around a long time, but I never knew it came out in the early 1950s. That’s a long time ago. It was originally a 3-speed with upright handlebars, but it was a Varsity nonetheless. It was perfect for students to get around on a college campus, much better with those handlebars than the downturned ram’s horns handlebars known as drop bars. The W-11S was the first Varsity model in the early 1950s. Some sources say 1951 was the first year, others say 1953 was the first year, and still others say 1960 was the first year. The official Schwinn website just lists the 1950s as when the Varsity was introduced. The rear luggage carrier on this example is a no-brainer for a college student; that’s a nice accessory.
The 1960 Varsity added drop bars, and they stayed on with this iconic model until the end of the run in 1986, although some models could still be had with the upright handlebars. Maybe that’s why some sources list 1960 as the first year for the Varsity? The 1960 Varsity not only saw new handlebars, but it went from a 3-speed to an 8-speed. 1962, which I consider the best year in world history (cough) (the year I was born), was when the Varsity went to a 10-speed derailleur system. That’s probably what most of us remember the Varsity being, a 10-speed.
We don’t know the year of this Varsity without seeing any numbers or other info, but 1969 was the first year that Sierra Brown was offered. There was also a Chestnut brown color beginning in the 1975 model year, so that’s a possibility here, too. I’m assuming this is more of a mid-70s bike than a late-60s bike. We also don’t know the frame size, but the weight ranged between 38 and 41 pounds or so. They aren’t light bikes. Mine weighs around 141 pounds, from what I remember, or it seems like it does. Speaking of that, here’s some meatball on my 1974 Opaque Blue Schwinn Varsity, back in 1997. It’s still hanging in the garage, ready to go. Have any of you owned a Schwinn Varsity? If so, what year and what color was it?
Didn’t have a Varsity, but I have a bright red Collegiate in the garage, waiting for yet another restoration! Great bikes.
Scotty!!! Once again you picked something near and dear to me!!! This is a photo of my ’84 Varsity in what Schwinn called Sky Blue. It was the first brand new non-hand-me down bike I got in my life. It cost $181.83 I don’t know WHY I remember that. My Older brother also had a Sky Blue Varsity. His was a ’78. Lots of great miles and memories for sure. There were a ton of Schwinn Varsity 10 speeds around when I was a kid. You mentioned the year of this one. I was going to guess early 70’s to mid 70’s. I remember those decals. And I remember one of the kids that was older on my street who was my older brothers age, and he had HIS older brothers Varsity in brown with the decals that looked like this one. I wish I had fenders on mine, heck when I got older I had hoped to find an older model with the upright handle bars, lets face it, my body’s built for comfort….. Not speed anymore….. I also had the “Schwinn Approved ” speedometer on mine, and my older brother had the odometer that mounted on the front wheel. These were not light bikes as Scotty pointed out. But they are very strong. As a sad side note. We downsized a few years back and had absolutely no place to keep it. I didn’t just want to give it to anyone. I had a very good friend I gave it to. With the stipulation that if he ever wanted to get rid of it I had first dibs. The photo you see is from him after he cleaned it up and put new gumwall tires on it. Very sadly he passed away from a very hard battle with Cancer. We’re still in touch with his wife, but have not mentioned the bike. I know its there in his shed. He had fun riding it after he fixed it up, and I’m very glad that he did. He had worked on it and was riding it before he was diagnosed. Scotty. Thank you so much again for writing this up and the great memories. And Lothar, thank you for finding this old gem of a bike.
-Dave
Nice story.
Great stories when the bicycles show up. Lothar with an affordable find 🚲👍
I bought a Continental new Chrome Forks!).It was a really
nice looking bike,but I didn’t realize just how heavy it was until
I bought a new Gitane,& then a Gitane Tour de France.