First ride review: Schwinn Sidewinder from Walmart 20.6 mile ride.

keep a log.
come back after 1000 miles
and after yawl take the hubs apart to check bearings and cones.

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 [censored] 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.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

keep a log.
come back after 1000 miles
and after yawl take the hubs apart to check bearings and cones.

::
: 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

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.

:-)

"PSB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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. :-)

PSB said:

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:p

Robert Haston said:

...
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

In article <[email hidden]>, PSB

Quoted message said:

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.

Quoted message said:

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

Gooserider said:

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.

Quoted message said:

Concerning the maintenance requirements of a bicycle, it's a mystery to
me why more cyclists don't take the chore upon themselves.

A. It requires fine motor skills
B. It requires patience
C. It's not fun
D. Actually, it's downright BORING. Boring, boring, boring.
E. It takes up valuable time that could be spent reading posts on Usenet.

I hope this clears up the mystery for you.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Quoted message said:

But the one thing I noticed, people who actually ride department store
bikes on this group have little problems with them.

There are basically three types that ride these bikes:
1. People who buy and never ever ride.
2. People who buy and ride the [censored] out of them commuting.
3. People (teenage boys) who buy and ride the [censored] out of them doing things
the bikes were never intended to do.

We get lots of #3. #2 come in once in a long time. #1 come in to have
their bikes fixed after sitting for a couple of years, usually scoffing at
the cost of repair. And then proceed to never ride them again.

So generally, I'd agree.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Luke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Concerning the maintenance requirements of a bicycle, it's

a mystery to

Quoted message said:

me why more cyclists don't take the chore upon themselves.

Adjusting

Quoted message said:

derailleurs and brakes; chain, chainring and cassette

replacement;

Quoted message said:

trueing wheels; adjusting cones; etc.; these can be

accomplished with a

Quoted message said:

minimal investment in tools and learning. A beauty of the

bicycle is

Quoted message said:

its sympathy to the backyard mechanic.

Time and money are limited resources. Sometimes one resource
is more limited than another.

I don't change the oil in my car any more, either.

PSB said:

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.

$15 for a pair of slicks will take care of that. Your wrists and
shoulders will thank you if you ride very far.

Quoted message said:

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.

Be aware that while the Schwinn's seat tends to have a better clamp
that the ones used on many Roadmasters, these still tend not to grip
well if undertightened. Carry a wrench for the through-bolt on the
clamp for the first few rides, and check the tightness after the first
ride even if it seems OK.

Quoted message said:

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.

My rash prediction: it will do just fine.
--
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quote='PSB'Gooserider said:

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.

ibexbikes.comSeries Corrida.htmlOpen ↗

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.[/QUOTE]
I have owned and run several thousand miles on several huffys and good/bad schwinns. For what they are they are decent. They are still heavy, poorly engineered for anything but low build cost. Oftentimes they are victim of poor asembly from the store, so I used to have a special department-store-bike tune up package. Gimme 20 and an hour and I have it up to its potential. The problem is, that is the most potential it will have. Mongoose and Schwinn at least allow some options(like real deraileur mounts, 1-1/8" head tubes, etc.)

SO far as the fancy bikes residing in the LBS, I believe it is driven by the mindset that makes a person(including myself) buy such higher priced machines. The strive to perfection. I personally have had a shop tweak bikes a total of 3 times for me, since I rather do it and have the tools, but almost all of the larger LBS offer 6 months to a year of free tune up for any reason service. They tell people to bring them back for any questions because they want to preserve the perfection feel.

I will not insult the sub-300 dollar bikes aside to say one analogy.
Equate a Dept store bike to a Hyundai car. No matter how good the warranty claim, it is still a car of the same lesser quality. Some swear by them, but more hate them.
Equate a Bike Shop bike to say a Porche(roadie) or a Hummer(MTB). Do they break? Yes. Do they suffer inadequacies? Yes. As many?
No.

Cyclist14 said:

:-)Cheapo Bikes do not get as hard a use as high end road bikes

Huh?

Quoted message said:

and also for a High-end bike to be lightwieght you must sacrifice some
durability.

Could you explain what durability has to be sacrificed? I guess it
would help to know what you consider a high-end bike and what you
consider lightweight.

Quoted message said:

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.

Rejected tubing? And where did you come up with the $300 amount?

Quoted message said:

Including Huffys:p

Quoted message said:

Cyclist 14

Is 14 your age?

Life is Good!
Jeff

Robert Haston said:

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.

[rest snipped]

Was it just my imagination, or was there a complete lack of actual
"sad story" in that post? A near-rant, yes, but nothing in the way of
current factual narrative.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
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In article <[email hidden]>,

PSB said:

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.

Well, I hope you get loads of enjoyment out of it.
That's the main thing.

cheers, & good rides,
Tom

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

Robert Haston said:

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.

Argh, I want to scream when I see these idiot parents with those stupid
cars.

Yet explaining to a parent why they shouldn't buy that $50 bike at
Target or Wal-Mart bike, and should spend $150 at a bike shop, is
fricking impossible!

And sure as sh-t, since you (or I) are considered the free bike repair
person for an extended family, we'll be called upon to try to get that
$50 Target or Wal-Mart bike on the road.

Now I should state that Costco is selling some decent bikes, not for
$50, but for around $150; the assembly sucks, but the components are
equivalent to the low end $250 bike shop bikes.

PSB said:

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.

And for purposes of comparison, I will note that a whole lot of the
price-leader name-brand lbs bikes today are using precisely the same
level of componentry that is present on the higher-level Mall-Wart
bikes. My daughter's Trek 800 is equipped with kit very little
different from the Mongoose that it's generally locked to...and the
two bikes show no real difference in their performance and durability,
though the seat on the Goose was judged adequate when received as
opposed to the Trek's being found most unworthy. (Of course, seats
are so wildly subjective that this is a silly point to bring up.)
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
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