|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
First ride review: Schwinn Sidewinder from Walmart 20.6 mile ride.
Bought this bike from Walmart when I returned the Roadmaster Mountain
Fury. Checked Schwinn Sidewinder out at Walmart before buying. NO problems noted and yes, I checked the pedals this time. Took it home, adjusted the seat, added $9 Schwinn cyclometer from Walmart and my GPS mount for the Garmin Etrex Legend. Pumped tires to 65psi. Bike weighs a ton and is a few pounds heavier than the Roadmaster Mountain Fury. But I did not buy this bike to ride in pelotons, I bought it to commute and for exercise. Did the 20.6 miles today including a several 100 feet climb within a mile and some dirt roads. Bike performed almost perfectly. Gears shifted without any problems, brakes worked outstanding. Bike rode real quiet except for the 26x1.9 tires humming on the road. Bike seemed faster on the dirt roads than the paved roads but probably just my perception. The bike has a front suspension fork but I really don't see the point in it on this bike. Only minor problem was the end of the front derailleur cable stuck out a little bit and kept hitting the pedals making the annoying (click, click, click sound each time the pedal hit). Corrected by taking a taking a trash bag twisty and connecting the cable to the frame. Might have to adjust the seat angle slightly. This bike performed great in my opinion on this first ride. Maybe I got a lemon for the Roadmaster Mt Fury as someone else had good reports on it. I'll report after I reach 100 miles on it. |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
keep a log.
come back after 1000 miles and after yawl take the hubs apart to check bearings and cones. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Once upon a time, Schwinn bikes were incredibly durable and low maintenance.
You couldn't break them. We mountain biked the hilly trails east of Kansas City long before mountain biking was officially invented. My friends Sears or Huffy bikes were always falling apart. But like so many products before, labels that meant quality over many decades can be turned into big profits by slapping them onto junk. The manufacturers of Department store bikes know the average cheap bike is ridden about 75 miles in its lifetime. So if you design a bike that will last 750, you are designing it for 10 times the average lifespan. I've seen this with the bearings, cranks, etc. coming apart for the rare DS bike that sees real use. On the other hand, I've ridden at least 7,500 miles on my latest quality bike. I've replaced one spoke. Speaking of maintenance, people obsess about the few hours a year I spend fixing flats (I used to too, to be honest) but will spend a few hours a month cleaning their cars. Cars get dirty, bikes get flats, it is the way. What saddens me is the masses think spending one or two car payments on a bike is silly, so they buy heavy, poor handling, braking, shifting bikes; which only reinforce the illusion that bikes are crap in general. Saddest yet are these rules are applied in spades to kids bikes, because they spend even less on a bike the kid will outgrow. So kids learn the myth from early childhood. That's why you see parents hauling their little kids in their cars to the park, where they drive around little electric cars. I have often wondered how such people reconcile news about the Tour de France, where cyclists zip all over France in two weeks, but somehow the act like riding your bike 5 miles to work is like crossing the Andes. wrote in message oups.com... keep a log. come back after 1000 miles and after yawl take the hubs apart to check bearings and cones. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
:: : Saddest yet are these rules are applied in spades to kids bikes, because : they spend even less on a bike the kid will outgrow. So kids learn the myth : from early childhood. That's why you see parents hauling their little kids : in their cars to the park, where they drive around little electric cars. Wow! I actually saw this in a local park: the mother was walking slowly behind a 3 year old boy who was driving a battery-powered "jeep" over the grass. He was getting NO exercise at all! Pat in TX |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Ron Hardin has more miles on his Huffys. I also know many roadies who
reguarly spend 100's a year just on maintenance of their $2,000 bikes. In fact, if these expensive bikes were so unbreakable, LBS'es would be out of business by the droves as repairs fuel the LBS, not bike sales. I know the LBS in my area has a week long wait to repair bicycles and nearly all of them are non-department store bikes. Sure seems to be a lot of high ends bikes that need fixing doesn't it? I am so glad you are an exception to the rule about high end bicycles. :-) |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
"PSB" wrote in message .. . Ron Hardin has more miles on his Huffys. I also know many roadies who reguarly spend 100's a year just on maintenance of their $2,000 bikes. In fact, if these expensive bikes were so unbreakable, LBS'es would be out of business by the droves as repairs fuel the LBS, not bike sales. I know the LBS in my area has a week long wait to repair bicycles and nearly all of them are non-department store bikes. Sure seems to be a lot of high ends bikes that need fixing doesn't it? I am so glad you are an exception to the rule about high end bicycles. :-) My $300 Ibex Corrida is about a hundred times more well built and performs better than a $150 Wal - Schwinn. I've seen bikes at my LBS for not much more than at a big box store---I guess people don't research their purchases. :-) |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
PSB Wrote: Ron Hardin has more miles on his Huffys. I also know many roadies who reguarly spend 100's a year just on maintenance of their $2,000 bikes. In fact, if these expensive bikes were so unbreakable, LBS'es would be out of business by the droves as repairs fuel the LBS, not bike sales. I know the LBS in my area has a week long wait to repair bicycles and nearly all of them are non-department store bikes. Sure seems to be a lot of high ends bikes that need fixing doesn't it? I am so glad you are an exception to the rule about high end bicycles. :-)Cheapo Bikes do not get as hard a use as high end road bikes and also for a High-end bike to be lightwieght you must sacrifice some durability. Cheapo bikes also have everything made of steel and rejected tubing and they wiegh a ton and a half. If you want a good , reliable bike don't go below $300.00 anything below that number is junk. Including Huffys -- Cyclist14 |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Robert Haston wrote:
... On the other hand, I've ridden at least 7,500 miles on my latest quality bike. I've replaced one spoke.... Robert, Still riding the M5 Shockproof? -- Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
In article , PSB
wrote: Ron Hardin has more miles on his Huffys. I also know many roadies who reguarly spend 100's a year just on maintenance of their $2,000 bikes. In fact, if these expensive bikes were so unbreakable, LBS'es would be out of business by the droves as repairs fuel the LBS, not bike sales. Concerning the maintenance requirements of a bicycle, it's a mystery to me why more cyclists don't take the chore upon themselves. Adjusting derailleurs and brakes; chain, chainring and cassette replacement; trueing wheels; adjusting cones; etc.; these can be accomplished with a minimal investment in tools and learning. A beauty of the bicycle is its sympathy to the backyard mechanic. I know the LBS in my area has a week long wait to repair bicycles and nearly all of them are non-department store bikes. Sure seems to be a lot of high ends bikes that need fixing doesn't it? Everything breaks, be it worth $20 or $2000. Perhaps, those that invest greater sums in bicycles are more particular about their upkeep: All those expensive two wheelers cluttering up your LBS may reflect the fastidiousness and priorities of their owners rather than the true states of disrepair of their bicycles. luke |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Gooserider wrote:
My $300 Ibex Corrida is about a hundred times more well built and performs better than a $150 Wal - Schwinn. So I assume you have owned a Schwinn from Walmart for quite some time then to make such a statement? I didn't think so. We'll see if my Schwinn holds up to the test of time. Maybe it won't. I'll keep posting reports on the progress just like others have on their store bought bikes. http://www.ibexbikes.com/Stacks/Series_Corrida.html Shows your bike to be a road bike. While you would kick my ass on a paved road, let's take your bike vs my bike on a dirt sandy road here in South Carolina. You won't make it half a mile. See, I bought my bike for the roads I ride on. A road bike don't cut it. But the one thing I noticed, people who actually ride department store bikes on this group have little problems with them. Carl Fogel, Ron Hardin among others. Nor do they spend $100's of dollars each year at the LBS for tune ups, truings, etc. like many of the roadies who ride high priced bikes do. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Longer rides not with husband? | Claire Petersky | General | 20 | July 10th 04 05:48 AM |
Just finished 207 Mile ride (and I need to brag ;-) Long | Neil Cherry | General | 17 | June 17th 04 03:51 AM |
lacking in leg strength and stamina exercises? | Yuri Budilov | General | 18 | March 23rd 04 02:42 PM |
65 mile ride, my problems, etc. [long, you probably don't care, etc] | Rick Onanian | General | 46 | August 21st 03 12:53 PM |
A Sycamore Canyon "Homecoming" ride | Michael Paul | Mountain Biking | 0 | July 21st 03 08:44 PM |