Schwinn Varsity Single Speed Conversion

Hello internets.  It has been a minute since I posted on the old blog.  Seems like the ease and quickness of Instagram has become the tool I use for quick pics of skiing, surfing and nature.  That said, I think the blog is still a great way to share more in depth stories of adventure and fun.  Like this one:

For the past year I've been riding my bike to work.  It's a short little ride of only a few miles.  It takes me about 10-15 minutes to cover the distance.  I've been doing it on a proper road bike, with clipless pedals and a pretty aggressive seating position.  The thing is, lots of day I just don't feel like changing shoes and getting super aerodynamic for a quick ride to work.  So my hunt started for a townie bike.  I wanted something upright, simple and cheap so I can lock it up and not worry.

After searching craigslist for a few weeks I decided I was going to build my own.  I decided to find a Schwinn Varsity and do a backyard single speed conversion.  The more I read about the Varsity the more I loved it.  It's a funny bike because bike snobs like to complain about how heavy it is, including someone on this message board telling the dude his bike will make a great boat anchor.  Haters gonna hate.  In my eyes, these rigs are a piece of American bicycle history and I want in.

Finally I found this diamond in the rough and went to work.

First I pulled all the derailleurs, gears and shift levers off.  I converted the rear wheel into a single speed with a freewheel so I could coast.  The old school dropouts are perfect for single speeds and fix gear conversions.

Next, I ditched the drop bars and brake levers.  I put on some steel bars and brake levers from an old Schwinn cruiser someone was throwing away.  I did keep the rad 70's reflector from the Varsity though.

Although I really prefer how this bike looks without racks, I wanted to actually use this for work, the grocery store, etc.  I did some research and learned that those old school 'rat trap' racks are made in Switzerland and still very cheap.  So went for the Pletscher rack.  It has turned out to be great for holding important stuff like U-locks and 6-packs.

I resisted the final add on because I wanted to keep the ride cheap.  But I had to do it, I bought a Brooks Saddle.  The Brooks cost more than everything else on the bike combined, boosting the value from $100 to $200! But it's rad and comfortable, so I take the extra time to run a cable through it when I lock the bike.  It's worth it.

 One of the very cool things on these old Chicago Schwinns is you can find the serial number and lookup when yours was built down to the day!  This little guy was made in December of 1976.  Maybe someone got it for Christmas.

 In the end, I love this little ride.  So I failed at making something that I wouldn't care about if it got stolen but the rest has been an overwhelming success.  If you are considering building something like this, don't hesitate.