Posts Tagged ‘schwinn’
Red Large Bee Taillight Lights measure about 1 3/4″ high and 1 1/2″ long. Light includes wires, but no battery or generator. This listing is for the red lense, check out other listings for other colors. Red lense Large …
“Hey, nice bike!”. I bought this bike for my lady for a 1 year anniversary gift; as an entry level road bike. I’m an avid cyclist/urban commuter, but being that she only rode a MTB at the time, I didn’t want to commit to any road specific bike over $500 since she may not like the skinny tires and crouched stance. I stumbled upon the Schwinn Prelude, liked the price, and went for it.
She rode Schwinn Prelude Mens Road Bike for about 3 months before we replaced it with a Schwinn Super Sport. The reason for replacing it was because of the geometry and sizing, which would be my only beef with this bike, along with no rack mounts as said before. My lady is about 5′9″, but has long’ish arms and legs – and in this case, a properly fitted bike would be the correct way to go as opposed to trying to fit on a “one-size-fits-all”. Even after replacing the bars with MTB/hybrid flat bars, it still caused her pain in her neck and wrists.
She’s very happy with her current bike and instead of selling this bike, I took it (which fits me just fine) and converted it to a second urban/commuter bike, adding fenders, platform pedals and a singlespeed conversion (there is no conversion kit for the type of freewheel cassette that comes on the bike, so I had to use a little ingenuity to make it work). I kept the flat MTB bars and it works just great for me – in the asphalt jungle, sometimes bunnyhopping a curb is necessary! The freewheel is a nice break from my fixed gear bike that I mostly use.
I would definetely recommend this bike to anyone in the upper 5′ to lower 6′ height range: the parts are of very good quality and the frame is solid and light. However, I would also advise that any buyer should SIT on the bike and make sure it fits properly. Even after making bar and seat height adjustments, the frame just may not be right for you.
Nice frame, but beware of some cheap components. Beautiful bike, has all the right features for a city commuter bike.
The bad:
The free wheel (or AKA “cassette”) arrived defective. This is the part that your chain wraps around and has several gears (7 in this case), next to the rear wheel. Some of the gears on the free wheel were bent, cause the gear to slip. Very cheap made in China crap. The good news is that for $20 a bike shop can replace Schwinn Midmoor Mens Hybrid Bike for a nice Shimano free wheel. Then 1 pedal bent within 30 days (it looks like metal but interior has plastic).
The good:
Had the pedal and free wheel not being so crappy, I give this bike a sure 4 stars after a little money pured in for a free wheel and a pedal. Frame feels very solid and strong, yet lightweight aluminum. After a professional tune-up (and the 2 components above replaced), the bike is handling great.
The shifter is a good Shimano shifter (but not their best of course, this is a $240 bike). The gear changer is a basic Shimano touring, but still a Shimano.
Very easy to assemble. It is mostly assembled. This is the first bike I ever assembled right out of the box. It took me less than 2 hours, going very carefully. As long as you have a basic set of allen key, 1 regular adjustable wrench (for the pedals), and ONLY IF replacing the seat, a ratcheting wrench will be very helpful.
You WILL NEED to have the brakes and gears adjusted, and the wheel trued. If you can’t do it, it is worth spending the $50 for a professional shop to do it. The difference afterwards is like night and day.
Conclusion:
This bike should be advertised as great bike that needs some additional parts purchased (to replace the 2 cheap components that will break easily)!
I added a nice comfortable seat, rear and front lights, splash guards (I know they aren’t pretty, but necessary on a commuter bike, and actually looked pretty good with it). I might even add a rear rack, since this is now my official commuter bike. Once I poured some money in on repair mentioned above, accessories and a tune-up, I love this bike.