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

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.

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. 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. 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.

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 crap 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.



wrote in message
oups.com...
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" wrote in message
.. .
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 Wrote:
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


--
Cyclist14

Robert Haston wrote:

...
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 , PSB
wrote:

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.

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 wrote:


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.