Customer Reviews

Schwinn Men's Prelude Bicycle (BBWhite)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First of all I consider myself a serious commuter rider. I ride 3000 miles a year, have for two years, on and off for 35 years. I've had Schwinns, Gitanes, and Motobecanes. I hit a pothole, ended up in the hospital and destroyed my 35 year old Motobecane a few weeks ago. My bike is my only means of transportation, so replacing it was a must. I'm not a weekend racer or casual rider. I'm 6'6", 240 pounds, and an engineer. I need my bike tough, fast, and with a really high high gear. I'm not interested in some overpriced bike to impress my weekend bike warrior friends. I don't run around in spandex. I've now had it a year and still stand by this review.
What I like: The balance is good, light as a feather, the padded tape handle bars are wonderful, the gearing is great, the shifters that actually go right to the desired gears are heavenly, the brake calipers do a great job of centering on the tires. I like the quick release front hub with self centering fork depressions. Quick release seat height is a plus. The paint looks durable. The handles hold a end of bar mirror nicely. The bike rides great and I rapidly got used to it's balance.
Before I mention the negatives, I am pleased with the bike, it's a pleasure to ride and would definitely buy it again. I got it for $249 at a big box sporting goods store. What I don't like: I would love to be able to raise the handlebar stem a few inches, and have the frame larger for my size. I immediately replaced the skinny fits in your crack seat, with a wide memory foam one from Bell for my ample rear. I took off the peddle baskets, hate them things, which lost me two peddle reflectors. They have wrapped the brake lines under the handlebar tape and taped almost to the stem making it really tough to cludge solutions to mount the lights, reflectors, and speed computer. I made putty epoxy forms to get the computer to fit the handlebar center shaft. My Motobecane had brake handles that went both down the front and in toward the stem of the handlebars so you could brake in both hand positions. You have to be in the lower position to brake on the Prelude, loosing precious milliseconds in an emergency. I am at the upper limit of the seat post to fit me. The 700c 23mm 'tires' are weak for going across rough terrain, I go over 34 railroad tracks on the way to work. Blew both tires first week going too fast. The rear wheel is a pain to remove and especially to reinstall. The rims are really solid, but they are that hollow extruded aluminum design. They put a chinsy rubber strip over the spoke holes and the tire pressure (100 PSI min) caused it to burst puncturing two inner tubes within a two weeks (while it sat in the Sun). I filled the depressions with hard high temperature red silicone rubber and taped over them with 3/4" fiberglass electrical tape. It seems to be holding well now. Schwinn should have done that in design. They are sending me a bike computer as an apology for my troubles, hey they listen, got to credit them for that.
By the way Schwinn's 700c 25-32mm self sealing inner tubes are too long to fit in the tire, and fold up inside on inflation. The self sealing stuff doesn't work at this pressure, just makes a mess. Schrader valve, narrow 700c inner tubes are really hard to find, get a stock early, I found thorn proof inner tubes online. The cheap thin tubes are supposed to flex better and make you ride faster. My bike weights 26# I weigh 240#, excuse me, all you need to do is get some muscle kid and it won't slow you down. After all the tire flexes in and out, pushes in hard pushes out hard, so it's negligible unless your a racer.
Bottom line it does what I need for a reasonable price. All of the problems have been simple fixes. Most of you are not my size and won't put the bike through what I do. I love the thing, plus it looks hot. I spend $300/year on bike repairs, I was spending $450/month to keep a car on the road. My cholesterol dived, my BP is great, and my sleep apnea is in remission since riding daily.

More in depth specs. Seat post 55cm, top post 56cm, rear cassette 7-speed 14-28t LOOK UP SUGGESTED BIKE SIZE FOR RIDERS.

How is this bike similar to a $700 bike:
Modern components easily upgradeable, serviceable, and standard. The bike stem brakes cassettes, everything except the handle bars that are smaller than 28mm( I think) which means no clip on aero bars. Light weight well constructed frame and wheels. Wheels have no seam like other cheap bikes. It has a seat that is very usable. Smooth reliable shifts. Components ( brake shifters etc.) are very workable. Cage pedals are great!

How is in unlike a $700 road bike.
Shifter separate from brakes. 7 speed instead of 8 speed rear cassette. I could only get the derailleur to work on the lowest six gears. Never really needed the high 28t anyways. The chain rubbed the frame on 14t when i first got it. I just put a washer between the cassette and the frame.( adjustment of the axle might have fixed it). Wheel tape needs to be replaced like others have stated ( it took mine a year to fail). It does not have quick release for back axle. I taped a wrench on the inside of the back frame with electricians tape.(ghetto but hardly noticeable). This bike may take some brain power to assemble and adjust. local bike will do it if you are not a patient person.

If your cannot afford a $600-700 road bike buy this!!! If you cannot afford this bike(I understand how bike stores think $700 is no big deal) then DO NOT buy a road bike. The GMC or victory versions of road bikes are not worth the anger and frustration.

I wish they had more sizes available or a woman's version.

Got this bike about a month ago after deciding to change from a hybrid to a road bike. This bike is priced right, is light & fast, has a nice paint job , straight & true wheels and a fairly comfy seat. I've put about 1500 miles on it and SO FAR I've had to adjust the rear derailleur, adjust the steering stem bolt DAILY and adjust the cranks DAILY (what a Pain and they both still creak!). I'm about 6' & 180 and the bike seems to fit me nicely. The brakes could have been positioned on the handlebars differently because you lose precious fractions of seconds trying to find and grab them in an emergency when you're not in the Race position on the drop down bars. Assembly instructions were terse and hard to understand and seemed to be written by an engineer on 6 beers. If you have a limited budget and you want an entry level road bike that you have to tinker with maybe this is your bike.

I purchased this bike online several weeks ago. It arrived very well-packaged and in good condition. Assembly took about 45 minutes with basic tools. Assembly instructions in the owners manual and on the Schwinn website were fairly simple to follow. I am very pleased with the speed and handling of this bike. I upgraded the pedals to Shimano SPD clipless pedals. I also upgraded the tires and the rim tape (it goes between the tube and the spokes). The rim tape that came with the bike was made from rather cheap rubber and ruptured, so the rear tire tube came into contact with the spoke and gave me a flat after riding only 42 miles. Otherwise, the quality of the bike is pretty good.

Pros:
-Low cost.
-Very light, fast, entry-level aluminum road bike. Can definitely keep up with road bikes costing $800-$2,000 or more on this bike.
-Fairly comfortable ride for a road bike with skinny tires.

Cons:
-Prone to flats-rim tape needs to be upgraded with better-quality tape from LBS to correct this problem.
-Not a high-end, "bling" bike (but very attractive and overall well-made).

Overall, would definitely recommend this bike for an entry-level rider.

I only want to make two points:

1. The brake handgrips are very uncomfortable to me. There must be a better way to position these things (or at least allow for some type of adjustment).
2. I had the same problem as others with inner tubes being shredded almost instantly by the rim. I can't speak for others but the holes drilled for access to the spokes on my rims were very poorly done and almost every hole had a sharp edge. To correct this I removed the rubber band and filed down each hole with a round file. It doesn't take but 15 minutes or so to do this on each wheel. I then reinstalled the rubber liner and then added a fiberglass liner (purchased at the local bike shop) on the rim. I am now certain there will be no punctures from the rim side of the tube.

Hello everyone!

I had two problems: 1. I was gradually falling into the depths of "no longer in shape" and 2. I hate paying for the gas in the 4 miles it takes me to drive to work. Money is tight these days and if I can save a bit more by driving less I'm all for it.

I figured buying a cost effective road bike could solve both of my problems and I hope that it does!

So, I did a few hours of research online and found this bike to have the most healthy ratings and it seemed to be the best bang for the buck. I wanted to spend less initially, but from what I've researched it is nearly impossible to get a road bike that's not just a single speed for less than $230.

Using the free trial of Amazon Prime I had the bike delivered in one days time. The packing the bike came in seems less than stellar, and the box did indeed have a hole in it, but nonetheless the bike was delivered in excellent shape.The bike comes mostly assembled. The pedals, front tire, front brake and Shimano shifters were not assembled yet everything else was on the bike. As other reviewers have stated, the directions leave MUCH to be desired. Only common sense and Youtube tutorials will help you properly assemble the bike. The bike took me roughly 4 hours to assemble. I used to be a contractor and have built impressive gaming computers in my time so I feel that I am decently experienced with minor mechanical assembly. If you are not, I highly recommend taking the bike to your LBS and have them do it. I must admit that a large part of my time assembling the bike was due to my OCD nature in setting things up properly. I managed to get the brakes at a near perfect tightness, lubed all chains/cables and tweaked the handlebar/shifters. Please read other reviews to find out that some work needs to be done to the rims before you inflate and ride upon the tires. Instead of spending money on rim tape I simply used duct tape to go over the existing rim tape and thus insure the tube won't come into contact with the spoke holes. Search the internet and you will find that many people suggest duct tape as a quick and cheap alternative to rim tape. Also, I made sure that the hole the nipple pokes through was free of any sharp edges/burrs. This is EXTREMELY important as my rims were a bit sharp around the nipple hole.

I may not have much experience with road bikes but after assembling the Prelude I must say she is a gorgeous bike. My coworkers (even those who own $600+ road bikes) gave me generous comments on the bike's appearance. If appearance does in fact matter to you than this bike is indeed nice to look upon. I've ridden the bike to work and back two times now (~16 miles) and I am very pleased with it thus far. The brakes leave a bit to be desired even when they've been tweaked to as tight as they can be before rubbing on the rims. However, after going down some steep hills they do the job well enough, you just need to brake a bit earlier than you might need to with more expensive brakes. Speaking of brakes, I did notice that because the brakes are only on the vertical part of the handlebars you need to be careful of riding around blind corners, steep hills, etc. This is because in the time it might take to go from the horizontal part of the handlebars to the vertical part in order to access the brake levers, you might already be in a sticky situation. This is by no means a turn off, but instead a word of caution.

I hope to remember to update my review as my experience with the Prelude increases, but if I do not I do believe this was a great purchase for myself and would be one for you too.

Note: After doing some research online it is advised to pump the tires to 115 or 120 psi. After I made my increase in air pressure I did notice a more efficient ride.

I bought an earlier version of this, a blue and silver model, at Target 3 or 4 years ago, and have been riding it since. I am looking for a new, higher quality bike. I feel like it is a bit pricier than it should be (was 199.99 in stores), and if they haven't upgraded any of the parts since they started selling this white and red one, then I find it strange that it costs even more. Even after tuning up the rear derailleur, it is oftentimes unresponsive and it takes a couple shifts to get it into the gear you want. The front derailleur oftentimes overshoots the highest gear, and you must act quickly so the chain doesn't spin completely off the crank. The rim tape needs to be replaced--the rubber garbage they put in there is awful. I've put around 500 miles into the tires the bike came with. They are holding up alright, but I lost many tubes because of the rim tape problem--seriously, get it replaced immediately. Also, the tubes it comes with are schrader valves instead of presta valves. The schrader tubes oftentimes burst where the valve meets the tube because of the higher pressure (100 psi) combined with wear and tear from the plastic inside the valve. After finally wising up and switching to presta, my tubes finally last longer than a few trips.

Essentially what you'll be purchasing here is a beginner's road bike. It is solid and has some nice features, but if you want a high quality bike, I would try looking elsewhere. The frame is nice, however, and may be a keeper for some upgrades further down the line.

Pros:
Rock solid aluminum frame
Nice light design (even the deep dish wheels seem relatively light)
Toe clips are nice
An overall good beginner's bike or project bike

Cons:
Seems pricey for what you get
Stock rim tape is awful, and you will get regular flats until you fix it
Parts are so-so, particularly the low-end Shimano derailleur system
The seat was uncomfortable, at least for me

I am a recreational cyclist, mainly around the city trips. First off, it's a really heavy bike, but what more could you ask for in a fairly inexpensive sub $300 road bike. The frame is aluminum and the fork is made of steel. The fork weights a ton. Okay, maybe not a ton, but more like 3-5 pounds. I eventually swapped out the fork with a carbon fork I had laying around. What a difference. You get shimano bar shifters. Secondly, The bar shifters are attached to the straight bar area and takes up a lot of space. Also, you are required to push up or down to shift. Although this system works I find it archaic and I would totally recommend that these be replaced, but your mileage may vary. I ended up replacing these shifters with used Sora shifter/brake levers. Now, the Schwinn Prelude is starting to feel more like a $500 and up LBS (Local Bicycle Store) bike. The brakes are adequate, pretty good stopping power for a guy who weights 240lbs. The saddle needs to be replaced. I rode it for a couple of trips and it is totally uncomfortable. I cannot comment on the stock pedals that came with the bicycle, but it seems decent with cage and straps. I just threw it aside and bought clip in pedals and shoes. I would recommend "clipless" pedals for a more enjoyable riding experience.

Many other reviewers stated that the tubes blew out, but so far I haven't had any flats. I wanted to check the what kind of materials were used to protect the tubes and found out that there were plastic rim strips that protected the tubes from the wheel. I guess that is okay. You may want to replace these with rim tape or better, according to the other reviewers. Out of the box, the derailliers did not need to be adjusted for me, shifting worked. Just put on the front brake and wheel, install pedals, add air to your tires and set the handlebars and you are ready to ride. Just make sure everything is tightened to spec before riding.

Overall, would I recommend it? Yes, definately if you are a beginner or novice with spare parts laying around. For a beginner it's a fun first road bike! For a novice, you'll want to upgrade and replace parts. So its up to you. For a novice, do you want to customize your bike or should you just go to a LBS and buy a bike that has better components. Thanks for reading! Hope this helps.

First of all i wanna start with the price range.For this price range the bike is very very like right around 24lbs. The bike has really good speed even in low gears 3-4-5. I would like to say that overall i have read many reviews of busted inner tubes because of the cheap rim tape i have only put about 250 miles on it but i want to play it safe so i bought some Kore Bicycle Chastity Belt Rim Strips, 700c x 13mm, high pressure rim tape guys trust me i did some research and 13mm will work perfect on it. I bought this to be on the safe side BTW KORE is a really good brand so i went with it.The weight is good like i mentioned before u cant ask for something lighter than this for this price range. The tires are nice it comes with the 700c x 25c witch ride nice.

Pros
* Bike feels really light under you.
* 700c x 25c Tires ride nice and smooth
* Shifter has been good so far.
* Comes with the feet straps
* Price is unbeatable
*Very light, fast, entry-level aluminum road bike. Can definitely keep up with road bikes costing twice as much.

Cons
* Better rim tape could have been used.
* Brakes need to be adjusted for better stopping but they work just fine
* MMMM i would say the handle bar tape is mmm what-ever

Bought this bike for my son who had the same experience as other reviewers: he inflated the tires but before he could even get on the bike, a tire blew. So, even though the price seems right, keep in mind that you will probably be buying new tubes and tires right away. What is up with that? After buying new tubes and tires, he says the bike rides and performs ok. I also paid for overnight shipping, but did not receive it for three days.