Schwinn vs Huffy

[RonSonic]

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 13:45:12 -0800, LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> Learning toward one or the other for buying a new dept store bicycle.
>
>Buy a much better used bike for the same amount of money, out of the
>local newpaper ads.

A couple months ago I bought a Haro MTB for $30 at a flea market. Rusted but
hardly riden. Some clean up and lubrication and it runs great. You won't beat
that deal at a department store.

Ron

 

[Mark Hickey]

[email protected] (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

 

[R15757]

Tom Keats wrote in part:

>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.

They're great in the snow, too.

R

 

[Bill Baka]

R15757 wrote:
> Tom Keats wrote in part:
>
>
>>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.
>
>
> They're great in the snow, too.
>
> R

For my Huffy I just put on 26" x 1.75" semi slick road tires and go.
My Mongoose has the full sized knobbies, 26 x 2.25 and I can't tell
that much of a difference, unless I get to some bad potholed pavement,
or a dirt short cut. Even then there is not much difference. Try that
on my Schwinn with the 700s and it would be a sure pinch flat or some
very delicate riding, which is not my style. I hate having the tires
tell me that I can't take a slightly rough shortcut. And I am with
you on the buzz the knobbies give at about 15-25 MPH (tailwind). Just
don't do any sharp turns or you will find out the shortcomings of
knobbies. The knobs kind of buckle under cornering stress and lose
traction, where the semi slick 1.75" don't. I haven't gotten that
radical with the 700s yet but I suspect they would rather go straight.

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
RonSonic <[email protected]> writes:
> On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 13:45:12 -0800, LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>> Learning toward one or the other for buying a new dept store bicycle.
>>
>>Buy a much better used bike for the same amount of money, out of the
>>local newpaper ads.
>
> A couple months ago I bought a Haro MTB for $30 at a flea market. Rusted but
> hardly riden. Some clean up and lubrication and it runs great.

Good score.

> You won't beat
> that deal at a department store.

I've noticed most $100-$200 department store bikes
have hi-tens steel frames. Ugh. What's worse is
the poor-grade steel componentry (usually painted
black,) where alu-alloy would be, on a 'good' bike.
Like handlebars & stems welded together into one
piece. And in the course of my scavenger hunts,
I've noticed more than a few discards where the
welded joins had dramatically failed. Department
store bikes get thrown away a lot.


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

 

[RonSonic]

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 16:55:11 -0800, [email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> RonSonic <[email protected]> writes:
>> On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 13:45:12 -0800, LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>> Learning toward one or the other for buying a new dept store bicycle.
>>>
>>>Buy a much better used bike for the same amount of money, out of the
>>>local newpaper ads.
>>
>> A couple months ago I bought a Haro MTB for $30 at a flea market. Rusted but
>> hardly riden. Some clean up and lubrication and it runs great.
>
>Good score.
>
>> You won't beat
>> that deal at a department store.
>
>I've noticed most $100-$200 department store bikes
>have hi-tens steel frames. Ugh. What's worse is
>the poor-grade steel componentry (usually painted
>black,) where alu-alloy would be, on a 'good' bike.
>Like handlebars & stems welded together into one
>piece. And in the course of my scavenger hunts,
>I've noticed more than a few discards where the
>welded joins had dramatically failed. Department
>store bikes get thrown away a lot.

They've gotten better, or at least the screws don't strip as bad as they used
to. Still I considered the time scouting pawn shops and flea markets to avoid
buying a department store bike worthwhile. If I hadn't landed that, I would've
gone back to the Trek that one pawn shop had at $125.

Ron

 

[Zoot Katz]

Wed, 29 Dec 2004 22:21:44 -0600,
<1104469329.d6779435e1f34b7cbf420aaa488b9023@teranews>,
"Mike Kruger" <[email protected]> wrote:

>A Muzi left his web site link, and I wandered over to his
>photo of the day.
>http://www.yellowjersey.org/daily.html
>
>It's quite the winter cycling photo!
>
>(because this may not be the picture at some later point, I
>will describe it: an upside-down iron is substituted for the
>saddle. The iron is connected to an auto battery, which is
>where the rack trunk would be on my bike.)
>
I trust it still has a "wool" setting for the retrogroovies.
--
zk

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
Mark Hickey <[email protected]> writes:
> [email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote:
>
>>Knobbies do make a pleasing 'buzz' on asphalt.
>
> "Pleasing"? In the same way that rough pavement can be "pleasing" I
> guess...

Well, it's really not the same at all. It's a steady, smooth
biofeedback thing. You're cruisin' along and you hear that
steady, uninterrupted buzz going, and you just know you've got
your mojo working.

>> 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.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not advocating consistently using
knobbies on paved streets & roads. I much prefer slicks
for my kind of riding, myself. But many if not most of the
bikes I see around town are stock, right-off-the-display-floor
MTB sales units, with the same placeholder tires, pedals and
saddles they were displayed with. And their riders seem to get
by okay with them, even though they are mostly disadvantageous.

I guess a lot of folks just want a ready-to-ride bike,
without having to phutz around with a bunch of stuff.
I get the impression the OP might be of that mindset.
But he can read this whole discussion and make of it
what he will.


cheers, & Happy New Year,
Tom

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

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> writes:

> > But slicks are soo much nicer to ride on! And better cornering grip. And
> > better wet-pavement grip.
>
> I agree so much, I opt for slicks, myself. All I'm saying is
> knobbies aren't totally unusable on pavement.

Yes, but I think that, as you would agree, that a great number of urban
cyclists rolling around on knobby tires would be best served by swapping
them for slicks.

> > 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.
>
> I finally parted ways with my Cheng Shins, after 8-10K kilometers.
> I went looking for a new pair of the same, but ended up instead
> with IRC Metros, from The Bike Doctor. $11.69 each. They at least
> look similar to the Cheng Shins.

Mm. Good tire recommendation.

> > 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.
>
> IME knobbies traverse wet, grassy fields better than slicks,
> which can go kind of sidewindery. But there might be the
> matter of divots.

Better, but by no means impossible. I have a funny story about this: I
have 700C-23mm tires on my commuter, and the first and last part of my
commute is across my lawn. The homeward leg ends with me riding up a 2'
high steep grass slope from the sidewalk to the lawn. This section
requires some discretion, as a careless attempt to ride up it at a
less-than-square angle and with power to the pedals saw the bike slide
out from under me. On the upside, when it's wet enough for that to be an
issue, the ground is also soft enough to do this without harm to cyclist
or mount.

Not that I'm recommending this,
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

 

[Pat]

:
: They've gotten better, or at least the screws don't strip as bad as they
used
: to. Still I considered the time scouting pawn shops and flea markets to
avoid
: buying a department store bike worthwhile. If I hadn't landed that, I
would've
: gone back to the Trek that one pawn shop had at $125.
:
: Ron

A friend who used to work at a pawn shop told me they put things up for sale
at 4 times what they have in it. Your bike for $125 was really a $31 bike.
You could have bargained down for it quite a bit in all likelihood. Even if
you offered $62 that would give them a 100% profit!

Pat in TX
:

 

[Pat]

: >
: > In which case, I'd recommend the knobbies. Big, fat,
: plushie,
: > aggressively-treaded ones.

: Steel rims are a must. Much stronger and so shiny

Yeah, and all that exercise you can get from rubbing them with steel wool
weekly.

Pat in TX
:
:

 

[RonSonic]

On Sat, 1 Jan 2005 09:42:13 -0600, "Pat" <[email protected]> wrote:

>: >
>: > In which case, I'd recommend the knobbies. Big, fat,
>: plushie,
>: > aggressively-treaded ones.
>
>: Steel rims are a must. Much stronger and so shiny
>
>Yeah, and all that exercise you can get from rubbing them with steel wool
>weekly.

Great facial toning exercise. Nothing tightens up your face like that
oh-mi-god-i-am-going-to-die expression that goes with wet steel rims.

Ron

 

[maxo]

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 16:47:35 -0500, PSB wrote:

> So which would you recommend?

Neither.

If you can't either search the classifieds for a decent affordable used
ride, or pony up a measly amount of cash for an entry level bike at your
LBS, then find another sport.


BTW, my everyday rider cost about fifty bucks at a 2nd hand store--worth a
lot more now, but you get the idea.

From what I've seen of those dept store bikes--sure they have cheap
shimano hanging on them, but all the ball bearings are ****. Having a bike
shop replace the bottom bracket on a huffy after a year is going to cost
more than the bike.

Quality bikes are the cheapest they've ever been, take advantage of that.

 

[Tom Sherman]

A Muzi wrote:

> Tom Sherman wrote:
>
>> When I was 13, my bicycle was a Peugeot P-8 purchased new from Andrew
>> Muzi/Yellow Jersey that cost ~$260 (IIRC). This was a small fortune
>> (for me), and you can be assured I took care of it.
>>
>> When I outgrew it in my late teens, I passed it on to a relative who
>> commuted on it for 10+ years, until it was destroyed by a pick-up
>> truck driver running a stop sign. Otherwise, I expect it would still
>> be in use 2+ decades later.
>>
>> This was the low-end of the Peugeot range, but the ride, handling,
>> weight, braking and shifting performance made it much more enjoyable
>> to ride than the ~$80 hardware store "10-speed" it replaced.
>
>
> That series was robotically fillet brazed and successfully sold in good
> volume at $199 to $259 - a price where European lugged frames were
> prohibitively expensive at the time. (Production later moved to ProCycle
> Canada)
>
> These are sought out by the thrift store cognoscenti. Their unfiled
> joints don't look all that sharp but since Peugeot used a heavier down
> tube and a much lighter top tube , combined with a classic geometry,
> the handling and 'road feel' are exceptional. A 'category killer' new at
> $259 and once again among the '$20 used ten speeds'.

I do recall the P-8 as the one bicycle I felt confident riding hands
off. I also rode it extensively in the snow, on gravel [1], and
moderate off-road conditions with no problems.

What road bicycles available today provide similar handling and
practicality? By practicality, I would include the ability to mount
tires of at least 32-mm in width AND fenders. And are any near the
inflation adjusted price of the P-8 ($450-500)?

[1] On club rides from a few year back, it was a common occurrence for
someone on a road bike with skinny tires (<25-mm) to flat any time we
traversed a section of gravel road.

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

 

[Chris Zacho The Wheelman]

Aren't they the same animal these days? I thought Pacific owned both
Schwinn and Huffy?

- -

"May you have the wind at your back.
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

 

[Mike Kruger]

"Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:rcousine-
>
> 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.
>
Well, there's snow. Not virgin snow that you can slice
right through, but somewhat chewed up snow.