Trying to lighten a Varsity.

Hey guys.

I rebuilt a Schwinn Varsity (steel frame) and it didn't come out as light as I was hoping. Even in single gear, my friends hybrid is lighter. One idea I had was to port out the frame (shave some metal off the inside of the frame). Has anyone heard of this working? Any suggestions other than spending a fortune on carbon fiber?


Here are some pics of the process:

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Permalink Reply by Homebuilt on September 2, 2009 at 8:50am
Big jump from Varsity to CF.

Generally the tubes are designed with the thickness they need to be for the steel type and tube size. i would not mess w/the tubes unless you want it to fail so that you can build another bike.
You probably should have started w/another frame if you wanted light: a higher end 80's steel or something.
Permalink Reply by JRod on September 2, 2009 at 8:56am
That's true. I would not want it to fail.

I didn't mean buying a CF bike...just accessories, like a CF fork.

Homebuilt said:
Big jump from Varsity to CF.

Generally the tubes are designed with the thickness they need to be for the steel type and tube size. i would not mess w/the tubes unless you want it to fail so that you can build another bike.
You probably should have started w/another frame if you wanted light: a higher end 80's steel or something.
Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on September 2, 2009 at 8:59am
That Varsity is never going to be a featherweight. It looks like you bought a new wheelset, that was probably the best way to save weight for the money. Upgrading the rest of the bike will be pretty costly. you could buy a new seatpost, stem, bars, crank and pedals and save 2 pounds. But why?
Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on September 2, 2009 at 8:59am
There are about a dozen other things your could do to lighten it up other than fucking with your frame: new wheels, fork, pedals, etc. But then again, coverting old schwinns is not a game to be played by weight weenies.
Permalink Reply by JRod on September 2, 2009 at 9:11am
Yeah...if it's never going to be feather weight, like Kelvin said, then there's really no point in trying to lighten any further. Hopefully I'll just find a lighter frame for my next build.

envane x said:
There are about a dozen other things your could do to lighten it up other than fucking with your frame: new wheels, fork, pedals, etc. But then again, coverting old schwinns is not a game to be played by weight weenies.
Permalink Reply by Homebuilt on September 2, 2009 at 9:11am
That's true, just work at replacing anything that's chrome w/aluminum. I wouldn't go out an buy a bunch of new parts, but just check parts bins and the like and replace them as you find them. I knocked about 2# off my wife's bike w/a new seat post, stem and handlebars.
Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on September 2, 2009 at 9:16am
and then when you have all that old aluminum on it, hit it all with some simichrome and a old tee shirt and it'll look sooo pretty!

Homebuilt said:
That's true, just work at replacing anything that's chrome w/aluminum. I wouldn't go out an buy a bunch of new parts, but just check parts bins and the like and replace them as you find them. I knocked about 2# off my wife's bike w/a new seat post, stem and handlebars.
Permalink Reply by JRod on September 2, 2009 at 9:29am
Damn those frames are pretty! Thanks for the tip!

I bought the Varsity from a guy on Craigslist for $50.

ERCHLVRSN said:
If you intend to make a fixed gear bike you can find a brand new frame for about $150 from EighthInch http://www.eighthinch.com/scrambler_frame.html they have whole bikes starting at $599 there is a lot of stuff out there much lighter and cheaper in the long run than taking an old steel bike and turning it into something it isn’t.
Permalink Reply by Dr. Doom on September 2, 2009 at 9:52am
If you need a light bike a Varsity isn't going to do it, and if you're just getting around town a Varsity is about as good as most steel production frames that would cost 5x-10x as much, so it's probably not worth any hassle. Any weight you shave off is going to add up to about as much as a full water bottle anyway.
Permalink Reply by Chucko on September 2, 2009 at 9:58am
As long as you're starting with a Varsity frame, you're not going to get it as light as an aluminum frame hybrid. You want an old road frame made from something like Reynolds tubing if you want a light old steel frame. Shaving anything on the frame is a bad idea.
Permalink Reply by o0_dan_0o on September 2, 2009 at 11:02am
im sure you could probably drill oh say 50 or so 3/8" holes in that gas pipe frame and not really have much to worry about. you might have to think very hard about where you put those holes and even after that youd have problems with corrosion related failure. but it will be lighter.

i say do it and film every moment you spend on it.
Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on September 2, 2009 at 11:03am
I wonder if the kickstand housing is a stressed member of the frame? You might be able to cut that off.

The greenest [bike] is one that already exists. Don't let your peers pressure you into wasting money on an effete new frame.

I lost some front end weight on mine (a Continental, but also a heavy Schwinn) by replacing the stock handlebars with some lighter drop bars which I hacked into cow-horns.

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