Hey all I am new to this forum so I figured I would tackle two things at once and introduce myself, as well as tell you an ALMOST fluke. So my name is Jay, originally from Maine but now in Wyoming by way of Colorado. I have been biking my whole life, since I was three years old. When I was younger I broke many bones dirt jumping and downhilling. Recently I have decided I have too many screws in my body for DH (although I still ride my KHS Descent FXT every day lol) and have decided to take the plunge into road biking.
I spent a term as an aircraft mechanic in the USAF, three years machining in the aerospace industry, and have my AA degree in welding/metallurgy, so am familiar with mechanics and metals and whatnot.
So now for the ALMOST fluke. I had myself believing that the methods of frame production these days are probably better and cheaper than they used to be due to the 'trickle-down' effect, and that, if carefully studied, i might find a decent bike to start on on a dept. store website. I will be honest, I wanted to see if i could better the folks that knock on these bikes without ever having ridden them, and I was hoping to find a diamond in the rough. SO, what I came across was the Schwinn Varsity 1500. Looked like a decent base frame to start from, although it was impossible to find out whether or not the frame was butted anywhere, which was unnerving to say the least. I swallowed my pride, having never even entertained the idea of a big box bike in my entire life, and bought it.
I WILL TELL YOU... this was stupid. A few hours after I got home i had deduced several things; the 'carbon' on this bike is actually carbon-wrapped aluminum (i knew this was the case w earlier models, but Schwinn reassured me over the phone that it was full carbon...however that's not what the radiograph test at work showed), the 56cm frame was just too raked for my height (admittedly my fault), the microshifters-although they didn't have the annoying thumb shifter like other 2300 series- the front d shifter had 3 gear setting, but was running a compact crank, which made me aware of the slapdash piecing together of this bike.
Now, I know Schwinn is no longer what it used to be, but as i said i was looking for a 'hopeful'. Take other people's advice and skip these **** bikes. I had been sweating dropping another few hundo on a Trek 1.1, but I have a 12 year old Trek that is made of **** hi-ten steel, and I've put it through the paces. Its still solid as hell.
Went to my LBS, dropped the 800ish on the new 2014 1.1, and to my surprise, i now feel WORLDS better. This bike doesn't come with a warranty, it comes with a lifetime GUARANTEE. Also the relief of having the backing of the LBS for adjustments and whatnot is priceless.
I know its been said a million times, but I've checked it myself, and MAN.... is the extra quality, support, and good feeling worth the extra dough!!
I spent a term as an aircraft mechanic in the USAF, three years machining in the aerospace industry, and have my AA degree in welding/metallurgy, so am familiar with mechanics and metals and whatnot.
So now for the ALMOST fluke. I had myself believing that the methods of frame production these days are probably better and cheaper than they used to be due to the 'trickle-down' effect, and that, if carefully studied, i might find a decent bike to start on on a dept. store website. I will be honest, I wanted to see if i could better the folks that knock on these bikes without ever having ridden them, and I was hoping to find a diamond in the rough. SO, what I came across was the Schwinn Varsity 1500. Looked like a decent base frame to start from, although it was impossible to find out whether or not the frame was butted anywhere, which was unnerving to say the least. I swallowed my pride, having never even entertained the idea of a big box bike in my entire life, and bought it.
I WILL TELL YOU... this was stupid. A few hours after I got home i had deduced several things; the 'carbon' on this bike is actually carbon-wrapped aluminum (i knew this was the case w earlier models, but Schwinn reassured me over the phone that it was full carbon...however that's not what the radiograph test at work showed), the 56cm frame was just too raked for my height (admittedly my fault), the microshifters-although they didn't have the annoying thumb shifter like other 2300 series- the front d shifter had 3 gear setting, but was running a compact crank, which made me aware of the slapdash piecing together of this bike.
Now, I know Schwinn is no longer what it used to be, but as i said i was looking for a 'hopeful'. Take other people's advice and skip these **** bikes. I had been sweating dropping another few hundo on a Trek 1.1, but I have a 12 year old Trek that is made of **** hi-ten steel, and I've put it through the paces. Its still solid as hell.
Went to my LBS, dropped the 800ish on the new 2014 1.1, and to my surprise, i now feel WORLDS better. This bike doesn't come with a warranty, it comes with a lifetime GUARANTEE. Also the relief of having the backing of the LBS for adjustments and whatnot is priceless.
I know its been said a million times, but I've checked it myself, and MAN.... is the extra quality, support, and good feeling worth the extra dough!!