?? for the fat-tire Schwinn Varsity enthusiasts out there:

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Bicycle808

Bicycle808

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OK, so I just joined the Varsity Team, but the frame's not yet arrived. My plan is to build something somewhat trail worthy out of it; kind of like, how Bicycle808 would have built the Sidewinder, if he'd been developing products for Schwinn in 1982-- and, had a time machine to put some modern/futuristic bits on there.

I've seen some Varsities with balloon tires on 26" wheels, both online and in-person. But, I didn't take careful mental notes. My questions are:
-What's the fattest 26"(559) tire that will fit the rear triangle? I'm using a different fork, so front clearance is not an issue for me.
-If you have a Varsity with fat (over 1.75") 26"s on it, can you post a pic of how much clearance you've got between the chainstays?

As of right now, I don't have any tires for the project. I'm thinking of running 2.1" nevegals, but it might be nice to see what I'm working with beforehand. (No, I'm not patient enough to just wait for the frame to arrive.)

Thanks! :mrgreen:
Rob
 
You would need to measure of coarse but I'd recommend the Kenda smooth tread tires in 2.125, I run them on my diamondback mountain bike at 40PSI and they run smooth as ever and are very reasonably priced. They SHOULD fit between the stays but I'm not 100% sure, I can get a measurement if you like.




 
Cool Idea
Maybe more just for reference, the biggest 26" tires I could get on my triangle frame was 1.75" Michelin Country Rocks
IMG_5172II.jpg

Had plenty of room with my Continental 26"cyclo-cross 1.5" tires on it too
but they weren't smooth and I could get through deeper snow with the wider Country Rocks
21Feb10020II.jpg

Good Luck!
 
It can be done. Markm did this on a few bikes. You may need to find some brakes with extra reach.

100_1434.jpg


100_0897.jpg


100_1485-1.jpg
 
I did some diamond frame Chicago Schwinn's some decades ago, but there were only 2 sizes readily available in 559 at the time.The 1.75s fit no sweat, but the 2.125s usually jammed at the chainstays. On the other hand, it's the perfect place for those pesky S-7 1 3/4 rims people are always ditching. :idea: Never did it on a 27" frame though, there may be more space there.
 
Thanks for the help, everybody.

CMan, MarkM's bikes were part of the inspirational for this project, or at least they've been hugely encouraging. Perhaps I should PM him directly? I think I'll wait to see how this thread goes, before I go the stalker route. FWIW, brake reach doesn't concern me on this one.

MplsCoaster, that's good info... what frame is that red one? Looks cool, but 1.75" won't help me achieve my vision.

Deorman, I've seen some 27" Chi-Town schwinns with 2.125s, but I'm not sure if it's one of those "wheel has to be 1000% true" situations. Due to the 27" wheel frames having longer stays, I think there's more room between the chainstays at the 26" wheel-mark (about a foot up from the axle tends to be the fattest point...). I'd sooner walk than roll s7 wheels. :shock: :lol: I need the plush, reliable, easily-sourced goodness of 559 tires....

OutSkirts, I gotta keep it knobby on this one, although i do roll some kenda k80s and kenda k53s on some other builds. What i really wanna say is, your diamondback is really nice. :mrgreen:

Anyone got a close-up of a varsity/continental/etc between the stays with a fat 26" tire crammed in there?

Some more inspiration:
PICT2038.jpg
 
Bicycle808 said:
OutSkirts, I gotta keep it knobby on this one, although i do roll some kenda k80s and kenda k53s on some other builds. What i really wanna say is, your diamondback is really nice. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Thanks, actually I just traded off the Diamondback with $20 yesterday. It hurt to let it go after rebuilding it from scratch and upgrading almost everything but this new bike will ease the pain nicely. :mrgreen:

If you choose to live life on the knobby side these KHS 26 x 2.0 tires are pretty decent too. :mrgreen:


 
Here's an S-7 wheel with 26 x 1 3/4 v 2 (widest tire for an S-7) on a 71 Varsity. The bendix 2 speed auto worked great.

o06ijd.jpg


a 65 Continental (same frame size as varsity) with 26 x 1.95 tires on standard rims.

2zoah3o.jpg
 
Nice stuff; everybody, please keep the pics coming... Deorman, the detailed between-the-stays pics are a huge help. Even with just the 2.0, it looks kinda tight. I'd already assumed I was gonna need to
run the rear wheel as far back as possible; lucky for me, I have some 2.1" Nevegals on my Kona. Once my frame arrives, I can measure in detail and mock it up with my existing tires. Worst come to worst, Kenda
still makes a 1.95" Nevegal; I can run the skinny in the back and a 2.1 or a 2.35 up front. FWIW, the frame is a 79 Varsity, 20"ST frame for 27" wheels.
 
I had a super-tall Varsity a few years ago. I played around with build ideas and at one point had S-7's on it. They looked tiny on it and I'm sure ballooners would have fit. But like I said, it was a giant one.

I wound up making a fixie, road it once, scared myself to death, and sold it at the next show I went to.
 
Well, my frame came in. There's more than 2" between the stays at the 11-13" mark; I'm thinking 1.95" kenda nevegals or smallblock 8s should clear easily, but the 2.1" might rub/bump a bit if the
wheel ain't true or if the going gets muddy.... I test-fit with some 26x1.75" (559x47mm) that I have knockin' around and there's plenty of room to play with around those....

-Rob
 
Update--- I did a quickie, parts-bin build with my varsity frame, just to see how it went. I ran some 2.125" Kenda k80s, and it definitely fit fine.... not a whole lot to spare, but no rubbing. K80s are about as narrow
as I've ever seen "2.125inch" tires to be, so I'm not so sure how other stuff would fit. Still, it was encouraging to squeeze the rubber in there and successfully go for a ride...
 
maybe make a groove in the chainstays, with a coal chisel, like you see on a lot of bikes, for extra clearance
 

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