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Schwinn
Project Underground
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Submitted by
Brendan Dee
a Cross Country Rider
from Providence, RI
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Big River, TOT, Arcadia, Foxboro | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay and MTBR (first one) | | Strengths: | The ride, enough said. | | Weaknesses: | None, other than the paint/decals. | | Similar Products Used: | Homegrowns, S Works, Jamis Komodo, etc.. | | Bottom Line: | This is just for those of you looking for some more info on these frames. I've owned two and just retired my first one. I recently traded the second one I owned to Jeff Archer at First Flight Bikes in NC. He has a bike museum/collection full of really cool vintage bikes and MTBs. He did some digging and came up with some good info on the frame. Check out the link here: http://www.firstflightbikes.com/1997_Schwinn_PU.htm
If you've got one, enjoy it. They are awesome bikes with a great ride quality. If you don't have one and want one just don't pay too much for it. People have been trying to get way too much for them here and on Ebay. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bike Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Denver, CO USA
Date Reviewed: October 7, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Green Mountain, | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | from Dexter T as he'd built it | | Strengths: | Most responsive, sheer joy for an old man | | Weaknesses: | Lateral sway in rear is a bit scary at times, I also weigh 190. Thanks for the paint touch-up tips. Keep it away from metal. Also, I've heard that in a catastrophic failure, should the frame material ever puncture your body, go get an operation to remove the toxic threads or they'll stop your heart. | | Similar Products Used: | Stump, Comp. | | Bike Setup: | Rock Shox, Bontrager Crowbar, Kore Elite, Race Face Forged, Mavic X517s with XTR hubs, Continental Double Fighters, Thomson post, Velo seat, full XTR. Flat pedals. | | Bottom Line: | I don't race or get out of the city much, but this is still the best daily transport I've ever used. Unstoppable in all weather. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brendan Dee
a Cross Country Rider
from Providence, RI
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Foxboro | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | MTBR | | Strengths: | This is an update. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Schwinn aluminum Project Underground | | Bike Setup: | Single Speed with a Surly fork, Hellbent bar, Bonti stem, Stinger saddle and old White Industry cranks, 959 pedals, XT 217 rear wheel, Crossland front, Avid levers and Deore brakes and an old XTR derailluer as a tensioner. | | Bottom Line: | This thing is still kicking ass in it's latest incarnation. I'm running a 32X18 and love it. The ride quality is still amazing. I'm kind of surprised it hasn't cracked yet(disclosure - I'm 6'0 and around 155 (170 or so with gear) I don't drop it or anything but the trails in this neck of the woods are very technical and rocky, so even XC riding takes it's toll over time. I've owned it for just over 3 years, raced it a handful of times and currently ride it at least once a week. Surprisingly I could not manage to sell it last year - I was asking $300 for the frame. I can honestly say I'm glad it didn't sell. I've seen some ridiculous asking prices here and on Ebay. If you can find one at a reasonable price pick it up, you won't be dissapointed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Graham Curkendall
a Weekend Warrior
from Bothell, WA
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Devils Gultch | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | mtbr classifieds | | Strengths: | Great ride, frame looks cool, sweet paint job. | | Weaknesses: | I only have one of them. | | Similar Products Used: | Ti, Steel, Aluminum, Metal Matrix frames | | Bike Setup: | Spinergy Spox, Look Fournales fork, Easton CT2 post, Klein Carbon bar. Avid mag brakes, and XTR and Kooka drivetrain and controls. | | Bottom Line: | The Schwinn Project Underground is far and away the best frame, suspended or rigid, that I have ever ridden. I sold my Litespeed and S-Works hardtails because they were so poor in comparison. It soaks up vibration, yet it is extremely quick. It's fairly light weight, but it takes plenty of abuse. Best of all, it is made of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic and titanium so it will never fatigue, wear out, or corrode.
Regarding the paint issue:
The paint does chip sometimes, but I was told about and have tried a touch-up paint that matches the bass boat blue perfectly. #074 "Blue Glitter" nail enamel made by Sinful Colors (owned by Mirage Cosmetics) is a perfect match. It is quite durable and seems to adhere to the frame as well as or better than the original paint. It does take a little practice to get enough glitter on the brush though, so I'd suggest practicing on something else before you touch up the frame. It is available online at sinfulcolors.com, but the minimum order is 4 bottles. If anyone is interested, I have two extra bottles I can sell; just send me an email. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chris Barber
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Fruita chutes | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | st george attic | | Strengths: | The best bike i will ever own | | Weaknesses: | none | | Bike Setup: | Just bought a superlight santa,,,completerace face chris king duke race etc etc etc only the best | | Bottom Line: | I broke the frame,,,,dropouts where the titanium meets the carbon......the sadest day of my biking career. I had a race the next day and had to buy the next BEST, a superlight but no where near the PU. A VERY SAD DAY. NOw as far as Schwinn goes.......1. Run it like a business 2. Bankruptcy happens when you apeal to low end users (no Profit) 3. GT screwed you. 4. Pacific well good luck. 5. BUILD ANOTHER PU AND I WILL BUY 5. iF YOU HAVE ONE KEEP IT IF YOU WANT TO SELL IT NAME THE PRICE IF YOU BREAK IT THEN I WILL HAVE A MEMORIAL EVERY YEAR TIME TO BE ANNOUNCED. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Charles Talbot
a Weekend Warrior
from Lexington
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Lightweight, strong. | | Weaknesses: | Unkown | | Similar Products Used: | I own a 1996 HomeGrown USA. Sweet bike, light and fast. Frame was one of the first made by Yeti for Schwinn. | | Bike Setup: | I still have the brandnew framset sitting in my garage, never built yet. | | Bottom Line: | The Project Underground was a frameset made specifically for bikeshop employees. The paint is know to chip but a good clearcoat will fix any potiential chip issues | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BRENDAN DEE
a Cross Country Rider
from PROVIDENCE RI
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | ARCADIA, FOXBORO, VIETNAM, BIG RIVER | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | MTBR | | Strengths: | WEIGHT, GEOMETRY, PAINT JOB, AND THE RIDE. | | Weaknesses: | NONE REALLY EXCEPT THE RARITY AND I HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT A WARRANTY ON ONE OF THESE. | | Similar Products Used: | I OWN AND RIDE 98 HOMEGROWN (ORANGE), REDLINE CROSS BIKE, AND AN OLD GRATEFUL DEAD EDITION HOOKOOEEKOO. I USED TO RIDE AN M2 SWORKS UNTIL IT DIED. | | Bike Setup: | MARS C FORK, WHITE INDUSTRY FORGED CRANKS, ESP NINE SPEED DRIVETRAIN, HELLBENT LOW RISE, RINGLE ZOOKA STEM, XTR BRAKES AND LEVERS AND AN OLD CROSSLAND FRONT WHEEL AND XTR/BONTRAGER REAR. TITECT POST AND OLD SWORKS SEAT. | | Bottom Line: | THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS BIKE IS THE HEAT. IT HAS MORE THAN MADE UP FOR MY LACK OF TRAINING TO HELP ME NAB MY FIRST TOP TEN SPORT SPOT OF THE YEAR AND I HAVEN'T RACED IN A YEAR. I ALSO DON'T RIDE ANYWHERE NEAR AS MUCH AS I USED TO (LIKE 8 HOURS A WEEK MAYBE IF I'M LUCKY). WHEN I LINED UP FOR THE FIRST OF WHAT WILL BE MANY RACES I THOUGHT I WOULD GET WORKED, BUT THIS BIKE SERIOUSLY HELPED OUT. I MOSTLY RIDE MY ALUMINUM HTAIL AND THE PU IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT RIDE. IT REALLY SOAKS UP SMALL HITS AND CLIMBS LIKE A DREAM. I HAVEN'T NOTICED ANY REAL FLEX BUT I'M PRETTY LIGHT AT 150LBS. BASICALLY I LOVE THIS BIKE, AND BECAUSE I CAN RIDE THE AL HOMEGROWN TO TRAIN AND THEN RACE THIS BIKE IT IS GREAT. THE PU HAS ALL THE HANDLING TRAITS OF THE HOMEGROWN WITH SOME SERIOUS ADVANTAGES. IF YOU CAN FIND ONE BUY IT, I WAS EXTREMELY LUCKY TO GET MINE THE WHOLE BIKE(BUILT DIFFERENTLY) WAS ONLY $600 AND IN GREAT SHAPE. ANYWAY OBVIOUSLY I LIKE THE BIKE ALOT THX FOR READING THIS BYE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fred Derf
a Weekend Warrior
from Boulder , CO
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Roly Poly, | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Strengths: | Cool paint job, intigrated bottle opener, | | Weaknesses: | Cool paint job, intigrated bottle opener, | | Bike Setup: | All XTR, cross max wheels, Mars Z1Xfly | | Bottom Line: | I ride this bike hard and I fall a lot! But thats because I'm not very good, this bike is! I've bent, broken, or dented 4 frames, this bike hardly has a scratch. People tell me all the time that I should be riding a huffy or something. I'll just keep on riding this and falling... a lot. And you should too! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Barber
a Racer
from Denver,Co.
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Chutes and ladders Fruita | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Found in an attic in St george | | Strengths: | light,great geometry, climbs like a chairlift,just rocks. BASS BOAT BLUE, The PU delivers! Whats up Schwinn? keep it commin | | Weaknesses: | RARE, .....MY PAINT CHIPPED? Stick to the road, you'll be OK, how can you downgrade a ride due to the fact the paint chips? | | Bike Setup: | XTR,MARZ | | Bottom Line: | This is the bike, find one pick it up if you have the cash, this bike flows, it decends like a madman and climbs effortlessly, The PU has style and talent. 200 made so look hard its worth the wait and the $.PS You can send this bike back to schwinn to get repainted if you have to. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Schwinn140
a Cross Country Rider
from Doylestown, Pa, USA
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Sweet light frame with a killer paint job to boot. One ride on this thing will forever keep you in the Schwinn mindset. Hats off to Ignaz! | | Weaknesses: | Costly and super tough to find. If you luck out to find one of these....grab it. You won't be let down. | | Similar Products Used: | Trek 9.9...Schwinn is must nicer of a hard. | | Bike Setup: | Manitou-XTR-White Industries-Spinergy-Club Roost-Fizik | | Bottom Line: | Simply the nicest bike around and can't beat the frame quality ride or paint job.
Viva la Schwinn! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Greg Powers
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, Colorado
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | A bad day on the trail is still better than a good day at work | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Smooth smooth ride on rough trails. Climbs like a mountain goat even for us slow guys. Only 200 made | | Weaknesses: | Paint falls off with big rock hits. One size only 19in c-t, only 200 made. | | Similar Products Used: | Tried the Trek 9.9Pro at Interbike. They ride almost exactly the same. | | Bike Setup: | XTR, SID | | Bottom Line: | If you have the chance to purchase one of these bikes (the carbon model) make sure it fits you, then buy it. I will never sell mine since it is so rare, 30 years from now, Schwinn collectors will look at you funny when you say you have a Carbon Fiber/Fiberglass/Titanium/Aluminum MTB built in 1997. Then they will want to buy it.
I actually decend faster on this hardtail than on my full suspension. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Frank
a Cross Country Rider
from Az
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | South mtn | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | light,infinite life span,nice geom. | | Weaknesses: | paint chips bike frame has huge chunk taken out | | Similar Products Used: | moab,rock hopper, | | Bike Setup: | mantou ti,xtr/xt,race face | | Bottom Line: | Bike performed well but if you plan on ridding tough rocky trails. (my frame chunked big time)if you can get one and are planning on racing go ahead | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Iain Cameron
a Racer
from Little Rock, AR
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | camp robinson | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | PQINT JOB, WEIGHT, GEE-WHIZ FACTOR. | | Weaknesses: | A little mushy in the bottome bracket for the fat ones among us. | | Similar Products Used: | cannondale, litespeed, specialized. | | Bike Setup: | judy, xtr | | Bottom Line: | a very nice frame, but a little mushy under extreme conditions - i find a lot of lateral flexion around the headtube with hard descends - the bike seems to "bow", ditto for the bottom bracket. a brake booster on the rear stiffened the frame a little. i also weigh 200lb, which doesn't help! i keep expecting this frame to crack - i've put it through seven kinds of hell over the past few years, but it's really hung together pretty well, paint chips aside.buy it if you're skinny, and like to ride something unusual. i bought mine used - the deal was awesome!
all in all, a very cool ride - 5 bags of shiznit for ya. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Fremont ,CA
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Toads,Tahoe | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Light, stiff, and strong. Killer bass boat blue paint. | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Santa Cruz superlight,FSR,M2,& GT Zascar. | | Bike Setup: | Sid short travel ,XTR,517 rims,and lots of TI parts. 21 pounds. | | Bottom Line: | This has to be the nicest hardtail around. It does not beat the hell out of you like an M2 does and it climbs just as good. I have raced mine for 2 years and have thousands of miles on it and it is still going strong. Rides smooth - almost like a good steel bike but not flexy under power. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross-Country Rider
from Oregon
Date Reviewed: December 19, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Black Mountain Trail @ Pisgah NC | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Great riding frame, the bike accelerates as good as the stiffest aluminum frame, yet doesn't beat you up near as much. Weight is good at 3.5 pounds, not super but respectable. Super cool looking frame, the joints just flow together. No fat toothpaste welds here. Sharp looking paint job. | | Weaknesses: |
The paint doesn't stay on the frame very well, if you fit something fairly hard the paint chips off leaving a large shinny black spot. This doesn't hurt the frame at all, but doesn't look great. Top tube could be longer. | | Similar Products Used: |
Bianchi Perigrine, Schwinn S-20, Trek 8500. | | Bike Setup: |
Manitou SX, with LX / XT mix. | | Bottom Line: | I dig this bike, and would buy it again. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
charlie
a Cross-Country Rider
from kinnelon, new jersey
Date Reviewed: July 7, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
dearly departed watchung | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
top tube mounted cable routing, schwinn's seatstays provide great braking power, well constructed, wonderful geometry, light yet strong, the coolest paint job, and hey, it's thermoplastic!! also, an eastcoast perk, this will never rust. | | Weaknesses: |
might not be such a good ride on the west coast(because of the geometry), costly and hard to get. also, it only came in one size that i know of(about 18/19 inches) | | Similar Products Used: |
trek 9900, schwinn moab, gt avalanche | | Bike Setup: |
project frame, noleen smart shock fork, varied drive train | | Bottom Line: | i think this is the greatest frame ever. i can ride for hours without ever feeling uncomfortable(well, not any uncomfort that would be the frames fault anyway). it handles nimbly, but not twitchy. it just makes you want to ride. also, with its paint job, no more hiding your stead in the corner, you will want to display it. i couldnt recommend another bike over this for east coast riding(or west coast, if you do more technical riding than the average california joe). five stars in every catagory! if you get the chance, pick one up, you wont regret it. | | Overall Rating: |
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