Submitted by
suburban eXtreme
a Weekend Warrior
from California Date Reviewed: July 22, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Suburban Riding / Schools
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Price Paid:
$490.00
Purchased At:
Performance Bicycle
Strengths:
Frame, Ride, Drivetrain, Rims, Tires, Seat
Weaknesses:
Brakes, Derailleurs
Similar Products Used:
Schwinn Frontier hardtail
Bike Setup:
Stock
Bottom Line:
Reviews for this bike seem to be scarce, so I thought I'd contribute my thoughts from a recent test ride.
The aluminum frame allows this bike to actually be lighter than my steel hardtail. It's still no lightweight though. The drivetrain is pretty fantastic. The lower gears allow you to just tap the pedals and the bike wants to go. Spin the cranks backwards and they keep on a spinning. I rode over parking blocks with relative ease. It rides like a hardtail on flat surfaces (no sag whatsoever). Eats the bumps right up. The rims are solid and seem to take anything in stride. The tires are from Kenda and look the part. The seat is great and appears to be lined with gel; had a really nice quality feel to it.
First thing I didn't like was the disc-brakes. I'm new to them, so it could be just my lack of experience. I could hear them spinning/sliding along as I coasted. Really annoying. Maybe they were out of alignment. When the brakes are applied, you slowly sliiiide to a stop. You just don't get the nice rubbery grippy confident stop-on-a-dime feeling that v-brakes give you. I would feel a bit unconfident with the provided disc-brakes. I also did not like the derailleurs. They were clanky and loud. You could feel the chain jutting about. I was not expecting that from a bike of this price.
Overall the cons kinda weighed heavily against any redeeming features of the bike. Luckily Schwinn also makes Comp and Elite versions of this bike with higher quality components, so those bikes may fix any of the problems I experienced. But they cost quite a bit more. Wait for a good sale.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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