Submitted by
jeffrey
a Cross Country Rider
from e'town ky usa
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2002
Strengths: Good looks,great fork, cool color, mavic rims are bomb proof rides smooth, xt everyhting, xtr rear derailer
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
the bike is cool. Lot of people like to knock schwinn because of the out of business. Great bike for the trails,real strong. A little on the pricey side but you get what you pay for. Beginner riders should not buy it.
Bike Setup: mavic 222 rims,xt everything except rear derailer,rock shox sid xc,titec hell bent bar,titec stem and seatpost, fizik seat
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Submitted by
Garcia MiGuEl
a Cross Country Rider
from Michigan USA
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2001
Strengths: Paint is a work of art, bass boat blue. Very lightweight, 19" with King headset installed weights 3.4 lbs. Epicenter seatstays. Paint. Very responsive.
Weaknesses: Other than company owners, none.
Bottom Line:
I bought this frame through mailorder and built it from ground up. It handles superbly through the tight singletrack and great on the open trail. The epicenter seatstays keep the brakes from flexing the tubes yet it is more forgiving than other aluminum bikes I've ridden. The bass boat blue paint job is a work of art and very unique. I weighted the frame after the headset was installed and it still weighted in at 3.4 lbs for a 19" frame. I have been very pleased with the frame thus far but company support and stability is an issue. I'd give it a perfect 5 flamin peppers but the company's instability keep the score from being perfect.
Similar Products Used: Cannondale, Mongoose (pre retail days), Jamis
Bike Setup: Z.2Xfly, Truvativ Stylo, XTR hubs/Bonty rims, King headset, Attack shifters, Plasma r. der., Avid Arch50 brakes, SRAM levers, etc.....
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Submitted by
Dan Howes
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Cruz
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2001
Strengths: Wonderful lightweight hardtail. The bike has a smooth ride but is stable under load. The geometry is roomy in the cockpit and corners like a dream. The bike weighs 23.5 pounds out of the box-super deal for the money.
Weaknesses: This bike was spec'd a bit funny for 1800. Deore brakes and hubs? After upgrading these parts and swapping some others this bike doesn't leave much to be desired.
Bottom Line:
This bike rocks. If your looking for a lightweight xc bike look no further. This is a solid all around performer that is a pure joy to ride. If you can still find one of these, buy it, you won't regret it.
Bike Setup: Swapped the stem, Bars, Seat, and Brakes to easton EA70, and Monkey lite. Selle Max trans am. Avid sd7 brakes
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Submitted by
Matthew McCarthy
a Cross Country Rider
from WYOMING
Date Reviewed: July 18, 2001
Strengths: Great solid feeling frame at 2.9lbs!!! Feels like you are on a steel bike. Pretty good componet group-includes xtr rear derailure - although that is at the price of a Deore brake and rim package that sucks! This is my favorite ride that i have ever owned. Too bad Schwinn sold out to Gart Sports! Oh yeah and the ORANGE paint is awesome and durable (not blue as the above reader metioned that is on the 2000 model and it has a crappy manitou fork)
Weaknesses: The only failure that I experienced is that the seat clamp somehow became fatiged and split (possibly one area that they should have added some meat) pretty minor stuff if you see what im getting at - oh and the decals suck -- they were rubbed off within the first two weeks!(but the paint rocks)
Bottom Line:
Great bike in fact the best that i have ever owned. The frame is solid and probally the best foundation for the money! I am one of those riders that started on a hardtail and then rode many fs bikes before finally realizing that unless you ride the lift lines or have back problems there is no use for a full suspension bike~ and have since returned to HT's and can only remember this bike as my favorite. So if you are into hardtails and know what you want this is your bike. However if a fs is on your mind you should go buy one and learn for your self.
Bike Setup: Stock except for the wheels (rep. crossmax) and the seat clamp haha!
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Submitted by
hao chung ho
a Cross Country Rider
from Taiwan, ROC
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2001
Strengths: Fast, nimble, light(relative) & stiff
Weaknesses: the homegrown tomato mark looked wired on bass boat blue frame.
Bottom Line:
A smooth looking bike(not a badass), it's rare for a MTB, However, the red tomato looks funny on the bass boat blue frame, all and all, a sleek & smooth looking bike. when compared to Scott, it's faster & stiffer on the climb, but not as stable going down. it's much prettier than GT(my own opinion); however, if's interesting to compare this bike to MCM; i have to take it back home & compare them together, because they share almost the same score with totally different character. conclusion, it's a racer , not an easy rider.
Similar Products Used: Scott endorphine, giant MCM, GT Zaskar
Bike Setup: Factory spec, XT allover, except Rear dera.
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Submitted by
Andreas
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ, 85701
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2001
Strengths: Awesome frame, 2.9lbs! Monster climber, agile, fast, speedy. Turns on a dime, keeps going even when the rider can't!
Weaknesses: ABSOLUTELY NONE!
Bottom Line:
This bike is awesome! I bought one of the best bikes on the planet for the same money that would buy me a FS K-mart special... Anyone who can get a great deal on this homegrown tomato, don't even blink! BUY IT! SCHWINN ROCKS!
Bike Setup: XTR everything, chronos cranks, titec hellbent, Judy XC, vittoria XC tires
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Submitted by
Barry S
a Cross Country Rider
from Farnborough, Hants, UK
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2001
Strengths: Killer looks, smiles per mile. Rewarding bike when you push it to your limits. Climbs so so well and encourages you to push to limit on descents.
Weaknesses: Looks too good to tackle extreme singletrack for first month or so.
Bottom Line:
This bike still impresses me 6 months after I purchased it. I am racing it for the first time next month after sidelining the Scott and can't wait. The quicker you go, the better it feels, especially through tight fast singletrack. Very rewarding when you get it right.
Similar Products Used: Scott Endorphin, feels slow in comparison.
Bike Setup: Bontrager Race-Lites, Chris King hubs, Easton Carbon bars with magnesium stem. XTR pedals.
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Submitted by
jeremiah
a Cross Country Rider
from cleveland
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2000
Strengths: the frame material, shimano's components are flawless and hayes performance.
Weaknesses: can u tell me what the word weakness is again?
Bottom Line:
this is a follow up to my review over 2 yrs ago. the bike is GREAT and all my props go to Schwinn, Shimano, Rock Shox, and Hayes. ive ridden hard on this bike and the only thing ive done(which is a sin)is chiped the paint. D**n this bike is the best investment and the hayes upgrade was the second best investment. Agian SCHWINN IS THE BEST AND ANYONE WHO THINKS OTHER WISE IS A JACKA*S!!!!! people used to laugh at schwinn whos laughing now. haaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!! i would give this thing like a thousand chilis but theres only 5.
Strengths: Good geometry for racing. Nice, stiff bike. I like the bassboat blue (almost meaningless but I like it)
Weaknesses: Can't think of any. It's a HT. It does what one should.
Bottom Line:
The bike is a good race bike. It is good for all else as well as long as you like the ride of an Al HT. Put a Moxey suspension post on it and you've got yourself one hell of a bike. It is superlative in so many ways it is difficult to write a review other than stating "It's really good!"
Who should buy: XC racers should like Schwinn, The geometry is "just right".
Who should not buy: People who really hate the ride of aluminum.
I bought the frame only from Supergo so value is a 5.
Overall, I feel comfortable with a 5. I've been pleased with it every time I take it out. I'm glad I bought it.
Strengths: Best bike for the money, great climber and handler. Great bike if you like that stiff fast ride
Weaknesses: A little afraid to scratch the paint the first couple of rides
Bottom Line:
All the parts work well for me, the sid is good, rims arn't the lightest, and the tires wore out fast on me. All in all the frame is sweet. For the money you can't beat it.
Bike Setup: Pretty much all stock stuff, I'll probably change a few things later on, but out of the box it's great
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Submitted by
Jumpdaddy
a Downhiller
from San Diego, CA
Date Reviewed: February 14, 2000
Strengths: Superior frame design and craftmanship. Stable in the air. Destruction riding aproved.
Weaknesses: Not a god damned thing.
Bottom Line:
Best Handling bike I've ever owned. I had a Moab before, and it was similar, but I wanted something smaller than a 19", A friend in my shop sold me his barely used metallic orange 17" frame. I'm 6'3" and a 17" doesn't even come close to fitting me, but handling is the name of the game. Instant superior handling over any other bike. Schwinn found the magic elixir of a hardtail. I ride street on it, urdan assault trials type riding, and I'm actaully taking the homegrown to my next downhill race instead of my FSR. If you require perfection in your bicycle you need to find yourself one of these.
I have extremely pleased with the performance of the Homegrown Pro. It really does love to climb and is great in the tight singletrack. Only changes from stock I have done are to shorten the bars, change tires and plan on upgrading to Crossmax wheels this year. GREAT Product!
Strengths: Frame geometry, beautiful paint, duperb handling, great climber too!
Weaknesses: Too nice to beat on!!
Bottom Line:
Can't say enough good things, I built the bike from a frameset, all custom. I love the high speed stabiltiy, it climbs like an F16! It is light and very fun to tear around in.... I am in love!
Similar Products Used: Specialized, Trek, Cannondale
Bike Setup: Maitou SX forks, XT group throughout, Raceface sySTEM, TruVativ team cranks, Shimano 232 pedals, Specialized racing saddle and Team Master Tires,
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Submitted by
Darren
a Cross-Country Rider
from Edmonton Alberta
Date Reviewed: December 25, 1999
Strengths: handles amazing,climbs likeyour on an escalator (almost no effort).one of the best looking bikes anywhere!
Weaknesses: it looks so killer you almost are afraid you'll scratch it.
Bottom Line:
this bike has made me faster and helped me to develop the skills needed to get a whole lot better. AMAZING!!!!!!
Similar Products Used: my old paramount PDG30 and tested aslew of bikes before purchasing but nothing quite compared to the homegrown.
Bike Setup: switched cranks to raceface turbines in team white, as well as the stem also team white because it looks to good. also raceface BB,easton CT2 flatbar,michelin compS tires(which ROCK).schwinn saddle to match the paint job.SID fork is very sturdy, i'm 210 and love nasty technical and had no problems
