# Lightening up a walmart bike!



## taikuodo (Aug 7, 2006)

I have Schwinn Varsity that you find at walmart for $200. I picked it up brand new for $20 off of craigslist.

It weighs in at about 26 pounds, not shabby for walmart.

I am doing some calculations:

Conversion to single speed:
Take off rear derailler : 350g
Take off front derailler : 250g
Take off shifters: 250g
Take off extra chain ring: ???????
Take off extra cassette cogs : ??????
Take off some links off the chain: ????
Take off the cables and housing: ??????
Add cable tensioner, cog. - mabye 200g?

All in all, im thinking i can bring this down to 24 pounds with a $25 investment.

Whats the next cheapest thing i can upgrade?

I'm trying to make this a sub $100-$200 weekend fun bike.
I know on mountain bikes tubes and tires hold a lot of the weight.
Perhaps the stem and handlebars could save a bunch of weight as well? Mabye a cheap CF fork?


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## ROGER79 (Dec 29, 2005)

*Sounds like...........*

All you're doin' is "Polishing a TURD".
Get out and ride!!!


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## sevencycle (Apr 23, 2006)

ROGER79 said:


> All you're doin' is "Polishing a TURD".
> Get out and ride!!!


Could be he is just taking the corn out


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## omniviper (Sep 18, 2004)

how much does the frame weigh? just cuirous


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## Mdeth1313 (Nov 1, 2001)

yeah, there's nothing like a high tensile steel fork (or frame for that matter). one hop on/off a curb and things start to break!


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## Kickit (Aug 9, 2006)

*Lipstick on a pig.*

The tires and tube would probably be the cheapest. I wouldn't put much if anything into it though. Just ride the deal until it breaks then throw it away.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

Brand new for $20? Somebody stole that thing, not that I care about theft from walmart very much.


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## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

I love bikes, and this includes department store finds at the second hand store. It's just not smart to try to upgrade anything on one. I saw a road bike at target, and the brakes looked so weak...I knew that they would break off within a week. Derailler was plastic, so were the shifters..just crap. The rims had chrome electro plating to hide the cheap metal that was used.
The hardest sell with a new bicycle rider is to convice them that they must spend at least six hundred dollars for a descent frame with at very least some tiagra components. 
I read a quote the other day that estimated the department store bike life span at 75 miles total mileage from store to landfill. 
It's cool that you found a bike for 20 bucks, but just leave it like it is. Something that you can ride to the park and back. The fact that it weighs sub 30 pounds is nice. In this case, performance will not have anything to do with weight on a sub standard bike that may not have good frame geometry.


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## taikuodo (Aug 7, 2006)

Figured as much, I swapped the handlebars and stuff I had with spare parts.









Dropped the front derailler and big ring, rear brakes.

Its a 1 x 7 front brake only commuter.

So far about 100 miles on it, it weighs in at 23.5 pounds.
lol
custom paint decals and stickers


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## Sims (Mar 5, 2007)

love those stickers, especially the in-and-out one. :thumbsup: 

btw: i've seen that bike at walmart before. they have the funniest ones there, like a GMC Delani that even came with sora shifters


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## Lawrencer2003 (Nov 26, 2006)

Actually I hear Scwinn is building bikes for Walmart so they are still s...t but better s...t than they used to be.


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## Cocolo (Nov 7, 2005)

Well, if it is a commuter bike, I would just ride it like it is. That way you don't have to worry about where you park it, if is raining, if it scratches, etc. Don't spend money on it except when you need tube, tires, chain, etc. and even then I would buy the cheapest stuff I could get.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

You need some of the carbonello stickers litespeed put in velonews a couple months back. It was a joke at carbon frames. They called it the instant anonymity kit. They had a downtube sticker and two seatstay stickers that looked like fake carbon with the name carbonello spelled out in cannondale lettering with the cervelo accent over the "e" and the double "ll" like pinarello uses. Would be a nice final touch to the bike. PM me your address if you want the seatstay stickers I still have.


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