Schwinn vs Huffy

Learning toward one or the other for buying a new dept store bicycle. I
know what to look for when it comes to assembling them. The bike is
going to be used as a commuter. The Huffy's are about 30 dollars cheaper
and both have Shamino gears. Just curious if I should spend the 30 bucks
more for a Schwinn or not. If you are going to reply that I should buy
from an LBS, save your bandwidth.

So which would you recommend?

PSB wrote:
Learning toward one or the other for buying a new dept store bicycle.
I
know what to look for when it comes to assembling them. The bike is
going to be used as a commuter. The Huffy's are about 30 dollars
cheaper
and both have Shamino gears. Just curious if I should spend the 30
bucks
more for a Schwinn or not. If you are going to reply that I should
buy
from an LBS, save your bandwidth.

So which would you recommend?

Neither. As commuters, they would probably do OK. But they are cheap
junk, and possibly like throwing money away. If you search in this
newsgroup for "Carl Fogel" "Roadmaster" and "Fury", you will find the
saga of a cheap dept. store bike.

You /should/ buy from your LBS. But not a new bike. A used one. A
decent, well-maintained, used bike can cost only a bit more than a new
dept. store bike-shaped toy, and is likely to have better components.
This means that you might get more life out of your used bike than you
would out of a new bike-shaped toy from some *Mart.

Locally, the LBSs have quite a bit of used inventory that they are
willing to make deals on because in our corner of North America, it's
winter, and bikes don't sell well here in the winter.
Good luck.

HAND,

E.P.

I basically agree with this article.

If you want cheap - then buy the cheapest. If you want something suitable
for commuting then start looking at more than the two cheap bicycles you
indicate. When i go to garage and other sales i see so many cheap bikes -
and then when i ask why they did not use the bikes the folks say the bike
did not fit, it did not work properly, it did not...

Cheap bikes might be OK for a spin around the block but that is IT!!

Get a used bike with good components. Who cares if it does not have the
latest in gadgetry?? I bought a 20 year old Peugeot at a garage sale and
with several adjustments to the seat and front bars it will be great for
commuting. It would be better to have fenders on it, but for $20 I guess I
can get fenders and still be farther ahead than buying a new bike similar
to what you are looking at.

Think outside the box and look at a quality used bike that will be much
more suitable for your needs as compared to the 2 new ones you are enamored
with...

wrote:

Neither. As commuters, they would probably do OK. But they are cheap
junk, and possibly like throwing money away. If you search in this
newsgroup for "Carl Fogel" "Roadmaster" and "Fury", you will find the
saga of a cheap dept. store bike.

You /should/ buy from your LBS. But not a new bike. A used one. A
decent, well-maintained, used bike can cost only a bit more than a new
dept. store bike-shaped toy, and is likely to have better components.
This means that you might get more life out of your used bike than you
would out of a new bike-shaped toy from some *Mart.

Locally, the LBSs have quite a bit of used inventory that they are
willing to make deals on because in our corner of North America, it's
winter, and bikes don't sell well here in the winter.
Good luck.

HAND,

E.P.

My Huffy has 6 years = 48k miles of commuting on it. I haven't
tried a Schwinn, either the original brand or the current one.

You can order parts from Huffy for it as well, when they wear out.
Or if enough wear out at once, just buy a whole new Huffy.

I generally get 6 years before that happens, and the current one
looks to be going strong for more years yet.
--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Ron Hardin wrote:
I generally get 6 years before that happens, and the current one
looks to be going strong for more years yet.

I was hoping you would ring in Ron.

The thing about the Huffy I was looking at has knobby tires. The Schwinn
didn't have knobbies.

What do you recommend Ron, knobbies or slicks?

Thanks.

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 19:42:41 -0500, PSB wrote:

Ron Hardin wrote:
I generally get 6 years before that happens, and the current one
looks to be going strong for more years yet.

I was hoping you would ring in Ron.

The thing about the Huffy I was looking at has knobby tires. The Schwinn
didn't have knobbies.

What do you recommend Ron, knobbies or slicks?

For commuting? Slicks! Your wrists, elbows and shoulders will thank
you for the reduced vibration.

Note, however, that a pair of slicks for a 26" bike can be had for
about $15 (maybe less) at Mall-Wart, and they're not hard to install
on whatever you buy. A slick-tired Mt Fury could be concocted for
well under $100, even after sales tax.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

PSB wrote:
Ron Hardin wrote:

I generally get 6 years before that happens, and the current one
looks to be going strong for more years yet.


I was hoping you would ring in Ron.

The thing about the Huffy I was looking at has knobby tires. The Schwinn
didn't have knobbies.

What do you recommend Ron, knobbies or slicks?

Thanks.
Rolling resistance comes from distortion of the tire and the surface. A
steel wheel on a steel rail has the least rolling resistance.

Knobby tires have significantlly greater rolling resistance than a
smooth tire. Likewise high pressure tires have less rolling resistance
than soft tires. The most important thing is to get a bike that fits.
If it has knobby tires, change them to something smoother. I love
Avocet Cross tires 700x35 for general purpose riding and touring. The
inverted tread has low rolling resistance on a smooth surface, and has
some grip on dirt roads and paths. They are a little bit on the
expensive side though. If you are commuting, you do not want knobbies,
unless you are purposely trying to increase your calorie burn.

Oliver

--
Cheers! OliverS
When replying personally, remove "_nospam_"

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of
the human race." HG Wells

In article ,
OliverS writes:

Rolling resistance comes from distortion of the tire and the surface. A
steel wheel on a steel rail has the least rolling resistance.

Knobby tires have significantlly greater rolling resistance than a
smooth tire. Likewise high pressure tires have less rolling resistance
than soft tires. The most important thing is to get a bike that fits.
If it has knobby tires, change them to something smoother. I love
Avocet Cross tires 700x35 for general purpose riding and touring. The
inverted tread has low rolling resistance on a smooth surface, and has
some grip on dirt roads and paths. They are a little bit on the
expensive side though. If you are commuting, you do not want knobbies,
unless you are purposely trying to increase your calorie burn.

Knobbies do make a pleasing 'buzz' on asphalt. Sure, they'll
slow ya down and (heaven forbid) allow other riders to pass ya
sometimes. But if you don't care, it doesn't matter. And there
may be some shortcut scenarios where knobbies come in handy.
Even in urban environs.

One of the worst thing about knobbies is not being able to
run a sidewall generator on them. They can interfere with
fenders, too, on a commuter bike.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

In article ,
(Tom Keats) wrote:

In article ,
OliverS writes:

Rolling resistance comes from distortion of the tire and the surface. A
steel wheel on a steel rail has the least rolling resistance.

Knobby tires have significantlly greater rolling resistance than a
smooth tire. Likewise high pressure tires have less rolling resistance
than soft tires. The most important thing is to get a bike that fits.
If it has knobby tires, change them to something smoother. I love
Avocet Cross tires 700x35 for general purpose riding and touring. The
inverted tread has low rolling resistance on a smooth surface, and has
some grip on dirt roads and paths. They are a little bit on the
expensive side though. If you are commuting, you do not want knobbies,
unless you are purposely trying to increase your calorie burn.

Knobbies do make a pleasing 'buzz' on asphalt. Sure, they'll
slow ya down and (heaven forbid) allow other riders to pass ya
sometimes. But if you don't care, it doesn't matter. And there
may be some shortcut scenarios where knobbies come in handy.
Even in urban environs.

But slicks are soo much nicer to ride on! And better cornering grip. And
better wet-pavement grip. I have a set of Tioga City Slickers, which are
pretty cheap, available at MEC, and they even have gumwalls to satisfy
the purists. The tread is a minimalist road pattern.

Even on packed gravel, I would opt for the slicks over knobbies. About
the only urban surface a knobby can traverse that a slick cannot is a
muddy slope long enough that you can't just power through by
accelerating before you hit the hill. That's a pretty rare thing, even
when making shortcuts.

One of the worst thing about knobbies is not being able to
run a sidewall generator on them. They can interfere with
fenders, too, on a commuter bike.

I love knobbies when I'm playing in the mud. But one of my Boxing Day
finds was a nice rear wheel for $15, which will soon hold the slicks for
my mountain bike, causing quick-change happiness for planned urban
stupidity.

--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

(Tom Keats) wrote:

Knobbies do make a pleasing 'buzz' on asphalt.

"Pleasing"? In the same way that rough pavement can be "pleasing" I
guess...

Sure, they'll
slow ya down and (heaven forbid) allow other riders to pass ya
sometimes. But if you don't care, it doesn't matter. And there
may be some shortcut scenarios where knobbies come in handy.
Even in urban environs.

While knobbies are nice when/if you find yourself navigating a section
of loose dirt/gravel, they're a serious disadvantage everywhere else.
To me the biggest drawback is the sketchy handling that most knobbies
produce in a corner. I've had some knobbies that were "exciting" in
any real paved cornering situation - they'd squirm and slip - not a
lot of fun. Plus, they wear out VERY fast on the road.

There are some "inverted knobby" tires that are reasonable compromises
though - a solid center bead that allows fairly low rolling
resistance, with enough deep grooves and inside-out tread features to
keep you upright in the loose stuff. They're not really the best
choice for on or off-road, but not bad at either.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame