Schwinn Sidewinder at Walmart

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

Quoted message said:

Walmart has a Schwinn Sidewinder for $139.72. It's Chinese made and looks
pretty well made.
Does anyone have an opinion one way or the other about this bicycle? Any
other bike in this price range that would be considered a better deal for
an adult rider?
Also, this bike has front shock absorbers on the fork. Are these subject
to wearing out? Can they be left alone even if they wear out? Do they
cost much to replace? How are they maintained?
Personally, I would prefer no shock absorbers, but it looks like almost
all the bikes at Walmart have them.
--- Joe

Well Walmart has this amazing $50 bike
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2073252&cat=5304&type=5&dept=4171&path=0%3A4171%3A133073%3A61904%3A5304 .
But maybe it isn't in all the stores though. I bought one to use as a
beater bike. Doesn't have a lot of gears, but usually you don't need more
than 7 or 8 anyway.
It so far seems pretty solid. I figure if it falls apart and or pisses me
off I'll just abandon it on the side of the road and hitch hike home. Plus
if someone steals it, it won't be a big disaster. Without shocks and a fancy
fork, the theives probably aren't all that interested in it though. I could
probably abandon it on the side of the road, hitch hike home. get my truck
and go back to pick it up and it would still be there on the side of the
road.🙂 The cops would find it and maybe trace it back to me and contact me
to find out what happened and if I am Ok or not. 🙂
I actually had considered using a Shimano Nexus 7-8 speed hub and building
up a custom beater commuting urban bike, that I could leave at work, and use
at lunchtime or as emergencies if my regular commuting bike breaks down and
I limp on into work. But that custom bike would cost upwards of $500 or more
just to build one up new. One of these days if I find a good lightweight
frame really cheap, I might go ahead and build it up. Heck I might do it to
this thing if the shifters go bad.
The store personnel more than likely did little to absolutely nothing in
assembling any of these bikes, so you need to carefully go over the entire
machine to ensure things are OK and put air in the tires too. I can't say
how long it'll last, but if the gear change mechanisin goes out on me I can
put in a Nexus hub anyway. As for forks and such wearing out, yes they do
after a while, but new performance forks from your LBS usually cost over
$200 anyway. I don't know how much they would want for the parts from the
company that makes the bikes though. I never called them yet. The owner's
manual does go into how to adjust the derailuers, so that isn't too bad. I
usually ride on the roads, so I am contemplating chaing out the tires as
they aren't too good on the road in turns. But honestly I can't complain
about getting a $50 bike brand new, what is there to say. WalMart has a
pretty good return policy so if you have a problem right away you can take
it back too.
I bought a $150 bike about 8 years ago from Walmart for my son, he rides it
off and on. That bike still works and shifts OK, even if some of the nuts
and bolts are a little rusty.

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Walmart has a Schwinn Sidewinder for $139.72. It's Chinese made and
looks
pretty well made.
Does anyone have an opinion one way or the other about this bicycle? Any
other bike in this price range that would be considered a better deal for
an adult rider?
Also, this bike has front shock absorbers on the fork. Are these subject
to wearing out? Can they be left alone even if they wear out? Do they
cost much to replace? How are they maintained?
Personally, I would prefer no shock absorbers, but it looks like almost
all the bikes at Walmart have them.
--- Joe

Well Walmart has this amazing $50 bike
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2073252&cat=5304&type=5&dept=4171&path=0%3A4171%3A133073%3A61904%3A5304 .
But maybe it isn't in all the stores though. I bought one to use as a
beater bike. Doesn't have a lot of gears, but usually you don't need more
than 7 or 8 anyway.
It so far seems pretty solid. I figure if it falls apart and or pisses me
off I'll just abandon it on the side of the road and hitch hike home.
Plus if someone steals it, it won't be a big disaster. Without shocks and
a fancy fork, the theives probably aren't all that interested in it
though. I could probably abandon it on the side of the road, hitch hike
home. get my truck and go back to pick it up and it would still be there
on the side of the road.🙂 The cops would find it and maybe trace it back
to me and contact me to find out what happened and if I am Ok or not. 🙂
I actually had considered using a Shimano Nexus 7-8 speed hub and building
up a custom beater commuting urban bike, that I could leave at work, and
use at lunchtime or as emergencies if my regular commuting bike breaks
down and I limp on into work. But that custom bike would cost upwards of
$500 or more just to build one up new. One of these days if I find a good
lightweight frame really cheap, I might go ahead and build it up. Heck I
might do it to this thing if the shifters go bad.
The store personnel more than likely did little to absolutely nothing in
assembling any of these bikes, so you need to carefully go over the entire
machine to ensure things are OK and put air in the tires too. I can't say
how long it'll last, but if the gear change mechanisin goes out on me I
can put in a Nexus hub anyway. As for forks and such wearing out, yes they
do after a while, but new performance forks from your LBS usually cost
over $200 anyway. I don't know how much they would want for the parts from
the company that makes the bikes though. I never called them yet. The
owner's manual does go into how to adjust the derailuers, so that isn't
too bad. I usually ride on the roads, so I am contemplating chaing out
the tires as they aren't too good on the road in turns. But honestly I
can't complain about getting a $50 bike brand new, what is there to say.
WalMart has a pretty good return policy so if you have a problem right
away you can take it back too.
I bought a $150 bike about 8 years ago from Walmart for my son, he rides
it off and on. That bike still works and shifts OK, even if some of the
nuts and bolts are a little rusty.

Oh yeah there is this fancy one for $63 bucks
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=882808&cat=5304&type=5&dept=4171&path=0%3A4171%3A133073%3A61904%3A5304,
it only has 18 speeds, but what the heck.
It has no rear shock as far as I can tell.

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

Quoted message said:

Walmart has a Schwinn Sidewinder for $139.72. It's Chinese made and looks
pretty well made.

I like Walmart for toilet paper. It's pretty well made, though I don't know
where it comes from. I would buy a bike from a bike shop. I would buy my
toilet paper from my bike shop too, but unfortunately, they don't carry the
brand I like.

Cheto

Roadmaster

See quote below from previous post. I bought a similar model of
Roadmaster a year ago for most of the same reasons. Mine has stiff
front shocks and cost $60. I use it as my "bus bike". I take it when I
carry a backpack and ride the city bus. I load it on the front racks of
a bus and then use it to pedal to a destination beyond where the bus
goes. Some of our bus routes go as far as 60 miles into the mountains,
for no extra charge beyond $1.20 for a day-pass. It is indeed amazing
for its solid features and quality for the price. It rides nicely and
is fairly fast on pavement. I haven't had to do a thing to it, except
give it a good wheel truing and other such adjustments when it was new.
I wouldn't want to leave one of my more expensive bikes locked up at a
remote trailhead and this one wouldn't put much of a dent in my wallet
if it was stolen. $ for $, it's the best buy I've ever made on a new
bike.

Steve McDonald
Eugene, Oregon

------------------------------------------------

Earl Bollinger wrote:

Well Walmart has this amazing $50 bike
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2073252&cat=5304&type=5&dept=4171&path=0%3A4171%3A133073%3A61904%3A5304
But maybe it isn't in all the stores though. I bought one to use as a
beater bike. Doesn't have a lot of gears, but usually you don't need
more than 7 or 8 anyway.
It so far seems pretty solid. I figure if it falls apart and or pisses
me off I'll just abandon it on the side of the road and hitch hike home.
Plus if someone steals it, it won't be a big disaster. Without shocks
and a fancy fork, the theives probably aren't all that interested in it
though. I could probably abandon it on the side of the road, hitch hike
home. get my truck and go back to pick it up and it would still be there
on the side of the road.🙂 The cops would find it and maybe trace it
back to me and contact me to find out what happened and if I am Ok or
not. 🙂

Hi Joe. It would probably be an OK bike if you are a casual rider. The
suspension forks would probably hold up OK for casual riding like side
streets and bike paths. They do wear out fairly quickly though and
cannot be rebuilt. This may cause handleling problems in a few years
down the road. There is not anything that can be done to maintain them.
I have a Schwinn Cruiser Deluxe with the 7 speed internal hub. I ride
it alot,up to 40 mile rides. It is very comfortable and reliable. I
think it is also made in China. As far as quality and price go the
Schwinn Sidewinder is as good as anything else. Maybe better. If you
can find a bike without the suspension components I would go that
route.
littledog

Joe said:

Walmart has a Schwinn Sidewinder for $139.72. It's Chinese made and looks
pretty well made.

Does anyone have an opinion one way or the other about this bicycle? Any
other bike in this price range that would be considered a better deal for
an adult rider?

Also, this bike has front shock absorbers on the fork. Are these subject
to wearing out? Can they be left alone even if they wear out? Do they
cost much to replace? How are they maintained?

Personally, I would prefer no shock absorbers, but it looks like almost
all the bikes at Walmart have them.

The key is really the weight of the frame, and the interchangability of
components. Sure a folk can wear out or break, many cheaper forks are
simply springs, mind you it may be possible to replace a cheap fork with
a better one when it breaks (although it might costs as much as the bike
did), if one of the springs breaks, simply use the handymans secret
weapon, duct tape :-)> lots of duct-tape to keep it from collapsing.
Properly, you could probably find someone with a welder, and weld the
thing in place as well. If your new to cycling, starting with a 45lb
gas-pipe bike, may not be doing yourself any favours.

Now another option, and a better one, IMHO, call your local bike shops,
and see if any have a nice used bike in your price range. This gives
you an ability to build a relationship with the folks that can help you
if you have problems later on. Your also likely to get a lighter bike
with better components.....

W

Joe,

You're going to hear this a lot, because this group is pretty well
versed in bikes. We prefer a good used bike to a substandard new one in
this price range.

Here's why: the Schwinn Sidewinder is a very heavy bike. The components
are subpar and some may be nonserviceable. It will ride fine for 50-100
miles but go south after that. Things will creak and shudder. The
brakes will need maintenance soon. Those front shocks are likely poorly
designed in relation to a professional-level shock. And the shocks are
more likely to bring you more problems than you're ready to accept (I
agree, going without shocks is a better option at the price). Finally,
there's a possibility the bike was poorly assembled.

So my personal opnion (and that of many others here, no doubt) is to
find a local bike shop if one exists in your area. Call 'em up and talk
to the friendly folks there. Specifically, ask about locating a used,
tuned-up bike with features you're looking for (flat bars, rack, etc).

Chances are there the shop knows of a used Specialized or Trek or Fuji
no-suspension mountain bike that cost $500 or more just a couple of
years ago. The shop will likely have replaced the brake pads, tuned up
all the cables, adjusted the shifters and bascially reconditioned the
bike. The other day I saw three such rides outside Varsity Bikes in
Minneapolis for $150 or under. I'd consider all of them a dependable
value. That's your best best for the money.

It won't be flashy like the Schwinn, but then again that Schwinn won't
be flashy for long. I'd say the Schwinn will last two seasons (600
miles?) before you're looking at some new parts. Unless you like a
noisy creaky bike.

A reconditioned Specialized Rockhopper or Trek 800, on the other hand,
will only need minor maintenance 600 miles from now. The shifters &
brakes on a cyclist-quality bike are meant to be adjusted and
re-calibrated over several years of service life, so a used good bike
will last longer than a new "less than great" bike. Further, the
reconditioned bike's parts are highly interchangeable. In a couple
years, you can change the bike around to fit your changing needs.

The only downside is color - bike fashions change, and some 90's bikes
have school bus yellow paint jobs with David-Lee-Roth-pink decals.

But in almost any case, that's your best bet. Where do you live?

Joe,

The Schwinn Sidewinder is not an advisable purchase. I'll back this
up, don't worry. I think it's an opinion shared by a majority of
folks here. Take any advice with a grain of salt, but remember the
experience pool of this group.

The Schwinn Sidewinder is not offered on the Schwinn website. They are
a decent brand at their higher end, no complaints about their road
bikes. But they still license a number of department store bikes, and
the Sidewinder is one of them.

It is a heavy bike with subpar components that are prone to quick wear.
The front shocks are heavy and add complexity. Further, front shocks at
a $135 price point are probably not going to last. I agree with you -
this is not a price range to expect good suspension. Go with a "hard
frame". This Schwinn will be creaking and loosening after two
season's riding (600 miles?).

My best advice (and I'm betting the advice of this group) is to phone
your local bike shop. Ask the friendly folks there if they have any
used tuned-up bikes available in your price range. Tell them the
features you want, and how you're intending to ride it.

Many of the more interesting shops will have a few mountain bikes that
cost $500 or more a couple of years ago. The shops replace the brakes,
tighten the shift system and spokes, and generally recondition the
bike. For $150, you might find a great Specialized or Trek mountain
bike that is way beyond the Schwinn in terms of reliability and value.

Why buy a used bike with a few scratches that's been ridden hard?

Bike-shop ("cyclist quality"😉 bikes like the Trek and Specialized
mtn bikes have components like shifters and brakes that were designed
to be reconditioned several times over a service life of many years.
Good old bikes never die. They fade slowly for fifteen years until
they're retro, and a new generation snaps 'em up and rides 'em
hard again. Quality bikes are easily upgradeable and highly swappable,
so if you want to change your bike into a smooth road roller or
rack-laden funmobile, you have a stronger and more versatile platform.

The Schwinn's components may be cheap substitutes like vinyl collars
instead of sealed bearing units. Or they may be Chinese knockoffs of
more precision units. The mounting points may not resist rust. You may
not find fender or rack mounts, anyway.

The new Sidewinder won't stay shiny for long. Few ridden bikes do.
Okay, so bike fashion has changed, and a fly yellow 1998 Specialized
Rockhopper with pink decals will look pretty dated. But if you can find
a tuned-up used bike (that looks good) from a major high-quality
manufacturer, you're way ahead of the Schwinn for $150.

Finally, nobody at Wal-Mart will ever be able to help you fix a bike.
The local guys are more than happy to dole out hours of advice, some of
it even useful.

Here's a great article on buying a used bike:

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/commute/commbike.htm

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

Quoted message said:

Walmart has a Schwinn Sidewinder for $139.72. It's Chinese made and looks
pretty well made.

Does anyone have an opinion one way or the other about this bicycle? Any
other bike in this price range that would be considered a better deal for
an adult rider?

Also, this bike has front shock absorbers on the fork. Are these subject
to wearing out? Can they be left alone even if they wear out? Do they
cost much to replace? How are they maintained?

Personally, I would prefer no shock absorbers, but it looks like almost
all the bikes at Walmart have them.

--- Joe

It's not a Schwinn

Joe said:

Walmart has a Schwinn Sidewinder for $139.72. It's Chinese made and looks
pretty well made.

The characteristics of the bike aside, are you comfortable patronizing
a business owned by five of the ten richest people on earth, who
nevertheless pay 90% of their employees minimum wage with no benefits?
Are you okay with buying from a company that destroys three good jobs for
every two lousy ones it creates? Can you live with knowing you supported
a company that has much of its merchandise made in the worst of China's
sweatshops?

Bill

-------------------------------------------------
| All wealth is power, so power must infallibly |
| draw wealth to it by some means or another. |
| --Edmund Burke, 1780 |
-------------------------------------------------

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 21:49:23 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Joe said:

Walmart has a Schwinn Sidewinder for $139.72. It's Chinese made and looks
pretty well made.

The characteristics of the bike aside, are you comfortable patronizing
a business owned by five of the ten richest people on earth, who
nevertheless pay 90% of their employees minimum wage with no benefits?
Are you okay with buying from a company that destroys three good jobs for
every two lousy ones it creates? Can you live with knowing you supported
a company that has much of its merchandise made in the worst of China's
sweatshops?

Bill

You try to make it all sound as if these are bad things.

Ted

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

Quoted message said:

I like Walmart for toilet paper. It's pretty well made,

though I don't know

Quoted message said:

where it comes from. I would buy a bike from a bike shop.

I would buy my

Quoted message said:

toilet paper from my bike shop too, but unfortunately, they

don't carry the

Quoted message said:

brand I like.

No paper, maybe, but there's the Park Tool model TP-2
dispenser:
<http://www.awcycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b54s124p1201&tb
v=PARK_TOOL_Toilet_Roll_Holder_TP-2_ACCESSORIES_Miscellaneous_
Items>

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

Quoted message said:

Roadmaster

See quote below from previous post. I bought a similar model of
Roadmaster a year ago for most of the same reasons. Mine has stiff
front shocks and cost $60. I use it as my "bus bike". I take it when I
carry a backpack and ride the city bus. I load it on the front racks of
a bus and then use it to pedal to a destination beyond where the bus
goes. Some of our bus routes go as far as 60 miles into the mountains,
for no extra charge beyond $1.20 for a day-pass. It is indeed amazing
for its solid features and quality for the price. It rides nicely and
is fairly fast on pavement. I haven't had to do a thing to it, except
give it a good wheel truing and other such adjustments when it was new.
I wouldn't want to leave one of my more expensive bikes locked up at a
remote trailhead and this one wouldn't put much of a dent in my wallet
if it was stolen. $ for $, it's the best buy I've ever made on a new
bike.

Steve McDonald
Eugene, Oregon

------------------------------------------------

Earl Bollinger wrote:

Well Walmart has this amazing $50 bike
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2073252&cat=5304&type=5&dept=4171&path=0%3A4171%3A133073%3A61904%3A5304
But maybe it isn't in all the stores though. I bought one to use as a
beater bike. Doesn't have a lot of gears, but usually you don't need
more than 7 or 8 anyway.
It so far seems pretty solid. I figure if it falls apart and or pisses
me off I'll just abandon it on the side of the road and hitch hike home.
Plus if someone steals it, it won't be a big disaster. Without shocks
and a fancy fork, the theives probably aren't all that interested in it
though. I could probably abandon it on the side of the road, hitch hike
home. get my truck and go back to pick it up and it would still be there
on the side of the road.🙂 The cops would find it and maybe trace it
back to me and contact me to find out what happened and if I am Ok or
not. 🙂

I bought my son a fancier $160 MTB at Walmart about 4-5 years ago. Except
for the typical rusty nuts and bolts from being left in the rain, the bike
only needed things like oiling the chain and putting air in the tires. It
still works fine, he went off with some of his friend's MTBing on a trail in
Grapevine TX over at the lake and the bike still works OK afterwards. Of
course he had a few "rub" and "scrape" marks though.

Earl Bollinger said:

Well Walmart has this amazing $50 bike

"Wal-Mart", "amazing" and "bike" shouldn't be used in the same
sentence.

Nor should "jabario" and "brilliant" or insightful, but thats another
story.

Earl Bollinger said:

I bought my son a fancier $160 MTB at Walmart about 4-5 years ago. Except
for the typical rusty nuts and bolts from being left in the rain, the bike
only needed things like oiling the chain and putting air in the tires. It
still works fine, he went off with some of his friend's MTBing on a trail in
Grapevine TX over at the lake and the bike still works OK afterwards. Of
course he had a few "rub" and "scrape" marks though.

I have seen a few "fancy" dept store mountain bikes literally fall apart
on the trail. Aside from that, they are usually only incredibly heavy
and poor functioning (suspension, braking, shifting). In contrast, I
have bought solid, "minimal" mountain bikes for $250 or so from LBS,
which provided years of good service in pretty demanding terrain. Both
types of bike are Chinese-made, but the LBS bikes tend to be better
spec'd and better assembled. That you remark that the bike still worked
after a single off-road trip kind of indicates your expectations. I
realize I'm treading on sensitive ground here, but as a parent, I worry
that too much cost cutting *might* have safety implications, especially
when a MTB is actually used off-road.

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

Quoted message said:

Earl Bollinger said:

I bought my son a fancier $160 MTB at Walmart about 4-5 years ago. Except
for the typical rusty nuts and bolts from being left in the rain, the
bike only needed things like oiling the chain and putting air in the
tires. It still works fine, he went off with some of his friend's MTBing
on a trail in Grapevine TX over at the lake and the bike still works OK
afterwards. Of course he had a few "rub" and "scrape" marks though.

I have seen a few "fancy" dept store mountain bikes literally fall apart
on the trail. Aside from that, they are usually only incredibly heavy and
poor functioning (suspension, braking, shifting). In contrast, I have
bought solid, "minimal" mountain bikes for $250 or so from LBS, which
provided years of good service in pretty demanding terrain. Both types of
bike are Chinese-made, but the LBS bikes tend to be better spec'd and
better assembled. That you remark that the bike still worked after a
single off-road trip kind of indicates your expectations. I realize I'm
treading on sensitive ground here, but as a parent, I worry that too much
cost cutting *might* have safety implications, especially when a MTB is
actually used off-road.

Well he has had it for several years, and beat the [censored] out of it, and it
still works.
I have never had to adjust the derailuers in all that time.
A coupleof his friends giot brand name $600 bikes from the LBS, guess which
bikes got stolen?
Those same two friends now have Walmart specials too.
I won't say if anyone else will have that luck or not with bikes. I don't
know.

Quoted message said:

Joe said:

Walmart has a Schwinn Sidewinder for $139.72. It's Chinese made and looks
pretty well made.

The characteristics of the bike aside, are you comfortable patronizing
a business owned by five of the ten richest people on earth, who
nevertheless pay 90% of their employees minimum wage with no benefits?

OTOH, we are already subsidizing Wal-Mart with our tax money, so perhaps
we should take advantage of it.

"http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/08/02_walmart.shtml"