Submitted by
DMVtrailbiker
a Weekend Warrior
from Washington DC
Date Reviewed: June 16, 2010
Strengths: Nice singletrack handling. parts are not top of the line but are quality name brands.
Weaknesses: FD wont shift to high gear...but who uses high gear on off-roads anyways :P i adjusted rear shocks to max height to limit "bouncing" which also gave me a higher travel height.
also, slow Disc brake stopping.
Bottom Line:
i have yet to take it out for more trail rides to really feel it but right bow, the bike is great.
Strengths: Bars. really comfortable and easy to control the bike
Weaknesses: where to begin? gears messed up and does not shift well, even when tuned up. front fork bent easily, breaks take awhile to kick in, back half of the frame comes loose, the crank arm stripped out, had to be replaced, twice.
Bottom Line:
this bike is lousy, if you are a serious about biking anymore than to the store to get some groceries I do not recommend this bike. this bike does not drop well, shift well, or really do anything well. I destroyed this bike trail riding hard and have had to get parts that broke RIDING and not crashing numerous times, I have spent more on repairs than I did on the orginal bike.
Bike Setup: mazorcchi bomber 170mm front fork with free wheel, new crank arm on the right side, had to be replaced twice
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Eric Wyzycki
a Cross Country Rider
from Griswold,CT. USA
Date Reviewed: January 18, 2007
Strengths: Frame, fork,
Weaknesses: headset bearings
Bottom Line:
Good bike for the money. Mine's been taking a beating fror 3 years now with minimum break downs. Of course it's not designed to take 5 foot drops, just simple trails and not so crazy downhills. Mine's been hanging with the multi thousand dollar marins and ellsworths. It's a bit on the heavy side but I've already dropped some wight off by changing some components. Not worht dumping too much $ into it but some component swaps (specially if you have some around) are worht it.
Similar Products Used: marin alpine, iron horse sinister
Bike Setup: Marzocchi MZ comp fork, fox vanilla shock, changed the shimano deore to Shimano XTR rear derailleur, race face bash guard repleaced the big front sprocket, sette flat handle bar, shorter stem, lizard skins grips, panaracer fire xp tires, 8" front rotor. Avid brake levers (broke the stock one during a crash)Wellgo clipless pedals. Jagwire cables. Will be repleacing the fork,head bearings and brakes soon. Maybe even the shifter if I find a good one for cheap that's 8 speed.
good but breaks fast like most shwinns, would recomend a better bike for freeriding really heavy and it breaks easily and its just bad other than the fork wich isnt great but its the best feature on it. back shock sucks and the breaks are mechanical!pfff. good for just riding but rather get like a trek jack or a bittter along those lines.
Submitted by
nick
a Weekend Warrior
from amherst,ny,usa
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2006
Strengths: none
Weaknesses: the brakes suck,so does the derailer.the frame is heavy and white is digusting for a bike. the rims are cheap and the back shock rides like crap after taking of a few 6 foot jumps so i got a trek bruiser and that holds up. WHAT MORE DO YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW???
Bottom Line:
Its not a great bike unless you just ride it. Its worth the money because its cheap but it will break if used daily.and the color is bad!! i got it for a present and i would have never bought it other wise.
BOTTOM LINE!! BOTTOM LINE... IT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Strengths: realy good xc bike as its good for trails and also because of the frameshape great for smaller drops. obviously nothing to large as it only has 3.5 inch of travel, but it does feel realy solid on landing the drops, even when coming back from the pub drunk jumping off walls!!
Weaknesses: abit rattly the older it gets, travel not as plush as would have been new. a little bit heavy, so uphill is a slight pain
Bottom Line:
its my first mtb and i bought it when it was fairly damaged, it was realy cheap to get fixed, including buying a whle new bolt set. now i realy want to get into DH because of it, so glad i didnt by a large xc hardtail! love messing about on it round the town, on steps and stuff, just as much as i do in the forrest, just love having fun on it!!! i realy want to upgrade the forks to something like 130mm travel to see what that would be like, but i just love it!
if you can find one for cheap get 1 you wont be disapointed!
value [second hand] 5 overall 5 - because of the fun ride and cheap maintainance
Similar Products Used: similar bikes from: gt, mongoose, giant
Bike Setup: DMR marzocchi hayes shimano fox sunnrims continental
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ben Emery
a Cross Country Rider
from Akron, Ohio, USA
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2006
Strengths: Fork, Frame, Brakes, Shock....climbs great for such a heavy bike. Seems to be nimble and rocks on rough trails.
Weaknesses: Wieght....very heavy
Bottom Line:
Great bike for the money I spent. I also get them to trow in a 3 year "tire-to-tire" warrenty. Speced pretty good as well. Will keep the bike for a long while and upgrades parts as they break.
Similar Products Used: Kona Kikapu , Cannondale Super V
Bike Setup: Stock...will be upgrade F&R Derailers and possibally shock.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
rj tomasetti
a Weekend Warrior
from rochester
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2006
Strengths: the rear shock is deffinately worth it. it helped out on the trails. the gears are strong and the front fork is very good the brakes are awsome and have had no problems yetttt
Submitted by
Jesse
a Cross Country Rider
from Apple Valley, CA
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2005
Strengths: Great bike for beginers, the standard components are great
Weaknesses: Weight, rear fox vanilla lanches you out of your seat
Bottom Line:
I'm fairly new to mtb and purchased this bike to enter the world of full suspension and have not been disapointed. It offers a solid, comfortable ride and tackles the toughest of terrain. It has powered through deep sandy washes, crept its way up steep rocky slopes, and can descend with the best of them. Its a good value and I would recomend this bike to anyone thinking about buying a good solid entry level bike. I'm looking forward to putting it through the paces for quite awhile longer before I move on to a different bike.
Submitted by
Chad
a Cross Country Rider
from Winnipeg, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2005
Strengths: It seemed allright, at first!
Weaknesses: Rims were out of round, discs were warped and noisy, rear derailler gave up rather prematurely, and the rear shock wore out real fast! Oh yeah, it wouldn't climb and its sheer girth would poop me out real quickly.
Bottom Line:
This thing falls apart real fast when put to the test. If you want a comfortable ride and you're not particularly abusive, then it'll probably last a long time with exception to the rear shock that by the end of the first few months will be cranked to the edge of stiffness. I only weigh 165 lbs. so in all reality I think that the rear shock should've lasted a little longer than 6 months. However, I put almost 1800 miles on the bike in that time period and was not kind to it in any way. The bottom line is that if you're gonna ride lots, and be real cruel to a bicycle you'll have to spend more. I ended up lodging many complaints with Schwinn, and in the end they gave me a full refund which was real nice of them. In the end I purchased a Giant Trance at 3 times the price of the Schwinn but who knows, maybe I'll kill that one too. I gave this thing a low rating because for me, it just wasn't worth the aggrivation it presented. The product was sub-par.
Strengths: Everything about the bike seemed to be very well thought out and planned. Its very strong with all the top named components(Marzocchi, Hayes, Shimano Deore, Fox).
Weaknesses: A little front heavy and brakes take a while to break in.
Bottom Line:
This bike is great and because its a 2004 model i got it for an unbeatable price considring all the components. Very strong, great value, and just great overall bike!
Submitted by
Will
a Cross Country Rider
from Bakersfield
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2005
Strengths: Shifters, wheel sets, frame design
Weaknesses: The headset looks rugged but on disassembly, it's only appearance. Only two small ball bearing rings provide all the support. Maybe just me yet my pedals catch roots and dig into the dirt while riding singletrack.
Bottom Line:
Great value but future of the Schwinn name very uncertain. This bike has several top quality components. Both front and back shifting is just a snick with no thinking necessary. The WTB dual rims/wheelsets have proven reliable requiring minimal maintenance. The Marzoochi fork worked well enough yet with the disk brake adapter mount it came in right on 5 lbs. As I ride long but not fast, the Marzoochi was replaced with the lite Manitou Elite saving almost 2 lbs. The fox vanilla shock had a bit of ejection seat tendacy so it was replaced with a cloud nine. Combined with Schwinn's version of GT ISO drive, there isn't any noticeable bob or chain stretch. The frame fits and the top bar is low enough for easy dismounts. Comfty seat, great feeling grips, smooth strong Hayes disc brakes, WTB slightly tacky knobbies; this bike pedals oh so quiet with a solid feel. Seems I'll ride the Schwinn long enough to get my money's worth.
Similar Products Used: just older bikes from the 80's and a Trek hybrid
Bike Setup: Shwinn Rocket2 w/ manitou elite forks, cloud nine rear shock, & Shimano pedals
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Monticello
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2004
Strengths: Nice looking bike.
Weaknesses: Front derailer, drivetrain. With less than 300 miles on the bike it's been back to the dealer for 3 repairs. The derailler shifts poorly. Drivetrain makes a lot of noise when pedaled hard in any gear. Disk brakes stop well but makes a lot of noise.
Bottom Line:
I spent more road miles returning it to dealer for repairs than riding it. Have an appt. at bike shop to upgrade front derailier and try to find source of drivetrain noise.
Weaknesses: Weight!!, Seat, pedals. stem and handlebar position/ height depending on rider..
Bottom Line:
Searched Endlessly or a Bike, for The Best Full Suspension Bike for Less Than a $1000 Bucks and Ebay gave me a deal on This Schwinn for $520!!!!!!. People may think Schwinn is nothing but this bike is what's left of their old quality. I really tought about it as there were no reviews. So here's a REAL one. Smoooth ride, drivetrain is great, deore and deore lx, disc brakes are great but are nowhere near as smooth as hydraulic. Tires are Holding well in muddy trails. Marzochi fork is great, soft enough for my weight and save forthe seat which is a pain, it has a great ride better than specialized's I've ridden..vanilla rear shock does it's job hasn't really been tested. BOTTOM LINE..if you can find one buy it because this bike has quality all over it.. components are great and Just what you need unless you're a racer, only problem is it's heavyyy but what do you expect less than a $1000 and not heavy?>
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