Customer Reviews

Schwinn Prelude Men's Road Bike (700c Wheels)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Schwinn Prelude is a lot of bike for $199. The wheel hubs are aluminum (not stamped steel) so the bearings will stay tight and roll smooth with little or no maintenance. The cranks are aluminum, with replaceable chainrings. The rims are aluminum, in the international standard 700c size (not the old 27" size). The frame is aluminum, just like more expensive road bikes. Aluminum parts are lightweight, do not rust and should provide many years of trouble-free service. Those are all "must have" features. The 14-speed (7 x 2) thumb shifters are simple to operate while keeping your hands on the bars. The Shimano Tourney derailleurs should provide years of trouble-free service.
However, I was disappointed to see that the frame does not have threaded holes (braze-ons) for mounting a cargo rack or fenders. Also, the stock saddle looks a little slim for some riders; but is easily replaced (I recommend a Terry Liberator or Velo Plush). Conclusion: This is a capable road bike, worthy of upgrades. The lack of rack and fender mount points limits its usefulness for commuting (though handlebar bags and seatpost-mounted pannier racks are decent options). I estimate that the Prelude will comfortably fit riders from 5' 10" to about 6' 2" (I only saw one size offered). If you are in that height range, looking for a great deal on an entry-level road bike, give this one a try. By not having the overpriced Shimano STI shifters, you'll save hundreds of dollars, and you'll hardly miss them.

First off I do not give this bike a 5 star rating based on how wonderful it is. You need to spend Several thousand dollars for that bike. This gets a 5 star rating because it is not several thousand dollars yet it is an acceptable entry level road bike.

At just under 28 pounds it is 10 pounds heavier than a $4000 bike. Of course it is only a pound or 2 heavier than a $500 bike. And I argue that anyone riding an entry level bike has that on their own midsection anyway. If you are new to cycling you can get this and ride for a year before investing the big bucks while you decide if you like cycling and what you like and don't like about a bike.

I bought mine directly from Target (on sale!) so I could get an idea of the size rather than buy on line. I noticed another reviewer said a person 5' 10 - 6'2" would be comfortable. I somewhat agree with the top end but I am 5' 7 3/4" and am comfortable on it. The seat post could still be dropped an other inch and a half but I would say that I am about as short as you could be to have the right body to bike geometry. Someone 5'6" could ride it but I would not recommend it. I would say the same for someone 6'2".

I have put 300 HARD miles on it. I bought it to train for my come back into triathlons (My last tri was in '87) but I have wound up using it as my daily driver pulling my 2 daughters in the bike trailer 280 of the 300 miles.

I store it the garage but it has been aloud to get wet frequently on rides. The dérailleurs have begun to rust as a result of wet conditions.

It has only had one problem since I bought it - the crank bearings began to click. This probably is a result of pulling 100 pounds regularly.

These bikes have a LIFETIME warrantee on parts!!! - I called the 800 number in the owners manual. They sent me a new bearing set and I installed them. The down side of this is that if you don't have the tools you are in need of paying upwards to $50 for this repair.

If I continue to ride it next year I would upgrade the apt yet clunky bottom of the line shimano derailleurs. I would probably also get a lighter seat and possibly seat post or pedals.

EDIT:
I have had it a year and 4 months now. I have decided that though it is rideable at 5'8" it is too big for me. I also have become too competitive in triathlons to ride a low end bike. I have upgraded to the Schwinn Prologue (about 4 times as much $$$). The Prelude has given me no mechanical problems after releasing it from trailer pulling duty. It has a little less than 1000 miles on it. I did 2 triathlons on it 13th overall / 190 in my first and 2nd overall / 104 and in the next -both were age group wins. So you do not need a $4000 bike to compete.

EDIT 2: I have had this for 1 year and 11 months. Because I bought the new bike I haven't put a lot more miles on this, but it has continued to do well with no further problems. I also realized the stem has a height adjustment. After moving the handlebars down and moving the seat forward this thing really fits my 5'8" frame well. I put some new tires on it because I was upgrading my other bikes. The 700x23 schwalbe tires are a big improvement. I also replaced the rim strips with cloth because the cheap rubber protectors were shot allowing the rim to puncture the under side of the tubes.

Edit 3: Over 3 years of use and it still holds up well. It has over 1000 miles on it. I have had no further issues. I did replace the handle bar tape with some nice blue cork tape for ten bucks. My 6'5" nephew moved in with us and now uses it more than me.

I have had this bike for a year now, trying to use it on the occasional 10-mile commute. I can say the following things after putting it through at least 500 miles:

sizing - I am 5'10 and it was just fine. The geometry is comfortable, and the ride a little stiff but bearable. It is very fast because it is so light (for this price range), about 24lbs.

brakes - barely adequate, quite spongy. The calipers flex so it is hard to put full force on them. This works fine at low speed, but if you're trying to slow down on a big downhill going 40mph, its going to be a little scary.

drivetrain - rear = good, front = bad. It is impossible to tune the front derailleur so that it doesn't throw the chain and rub like crazy. This is because of 3 reasons: a crappy derailleur, a chainring that isn't quite true, and a loose bottom bracket (pedal bearings). I think the bottom bracket got loose over time, and I don't have the tool to tighten it back up.

wheels/tires - great! They arrived pretty straight, and I trued them just for fun. I have had no problems at all with them.

I must add that even though many components are aluminum, it still has lots of steel parts that will easily rust if left outside, just like any other bike.

Overall, you get what you pay for. This bike has a good frame/fork but pretty low quality components that will wear out in less than 1000 miles. I would only recommend it for occasional recreational use that wouldn't hit that kind of mileage.

Please note that my 5-star rating is based on value.

History: I have been riding a Road Master mountain bike for the past several years just following my children in the neighborhood. I have registered to ride BP MS 150 (from Houston to Austin) in April 2009. I took my bike to training rides and noticed that I was going slower than other riders even though my cadence is same as that of theirs. Further observation revealed that the front gear on my bike was much smaller than the road bikes other people are riding. It was clear that I need a new bike even though the existing bike is still functional.

Research: I spent a lot of time looking for a bike. Local bike shops don't carry any road bikes that cost less than 600 USD. Then I found this bike and ordered it. I didn't want to invest a lot of money on a bike as I plan to reduce my riding frequency and duration after my MS 150 ride. I can alway upgrade (if necessary) if I change my mind and continue to bike long distances.

The bike:
I just want to confirm other reviews that the bike came mostly assembled. Instruction manual is mostly useless. The manual is a generic road bike manual - not Prelude manual. I had trouble assembling the front calipers (brake). I had to remove it afterwards because I figured I should have put white reflector between the calipers and the frame. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to raise the handle bar.

Other reviewer is correct. Their help desk is very quick and responsive. Turns out the handle bar can not be raised.

Bike weighs only 25 lb (my road bike weighs 40 lb). Gears shift fine. Overall the bike is good.

Don't consider this bike if you are shorter than 5' 9".

Pedals are clip and strap type pedals. I am not used to these, so I have replaced them with plain pedals (from the mountain bike) for now.

Spokes are stainless steel and rims are made from alloy metal. Apparently rust-proof.

Problems with the bike (as you can see, they are all minor):
1) There is no room to place the red rear reflector after I assembled the under-the-seat bag. I have fitted the reflector on the rear fork with additional padding.
2) There is absolutely no room on the handle bar for the trip computer. I have currently put it on the handle bar rod; I have to read it sideways!
3) Rear wheel arrived slightly bent. Hopefully I can fix that by adjusting the spokes.
4) I wish the bike came with water bottle cage. Frame has holes and screws for a cage that you can buy.
5) Rear break wire runs along the side of the frame bar. I suspect it causes problems when putting the bike on a carrier.

Overall, I am very pleased with the bike considering the price I paid.

Update 3/3/'09:
I have ridden this bike for more than 110 miles so far. I have replaced the seat (saddle) as the supplied one is hard and doesn't have anatomic recess. I am yet to find any significant problem. Still happy with the product.

Update 4/27/2009:
Over 500 miles on this bike so far. Still in great condition. I have had 3 flats on the rear wheel. Two are inexplicable (2 - 3 millimeter holes on the rim side), and one was due to a thorn. Biggest problem I have observed is that the lowest gear (highest mechanical advantage) is not low enough to climb steep hills. I am talking about hills where people with expensive bikes are also struggling to climb. I just have to get down from the bike and walk up. This bike has only two gears in the front. A 3rd smaller one would have been very helpful.

Update 12/02/2009:
I have begun inflating the tubes to less than the pressure suggested on the tires. Not a single flat in more than 6 months! I am still using the same bike and I am still very happy with it. Also, see the comments section for suggestions related to flats.

Oh, BTW, I have registered to ride BP MS 150 in 2010 and I going to use this bike again :)

Update 04/20/2010:
I have finished the 2010 BP MS 150 bike tour with a 152-mile ride. Not a single problem with the bike. A saw another man with Prelude at the finish line.

Background:

I came from a background of BMX trail-riding in the late 90s when I was a teenager. I sold off the bikes I had at the turn of the millennium and have been bike-less since.

Pre-purchase:

Now that I'm in my 20s, I've recently decided to buy a bike to help maintain a healthy lifestyle, and I did hefty research before purchasing. I originally wanted to spend as little as possible, under $150 for a bicycle. I went to Wal-mart to take a gander at what they offered, and nothing really wow'ed me, so I went on Amazon. I didn't want to fool with Mongoose or any of the generic brand names. I rode Haro in my glory days, but I always wanted a Schwinn. I saw the prices and decided to spend a little more since I'd be using it a lot. It was a toss-up between this one and the Ridge-AL Mountain Bike, which is $35 cheaper than this one. I ordered this bike finally, at a $235 price tag with free Amazon shipping.

Shipment and Setup:

I got this bike in a cool three days, and it came in a big box. The setup was pretty easy. I set it up by myself but it would have been a big help if I had asked for help. One thing to note is that it does have the quick-release front wheel, so I'm telling you now so you don't act like an idiot (like me) sifting through the box for bolts. The front brakes take a little fidgeting to set just right, but the back gearing and brakes are already set up for you. Overall, everything is solid and exactly what you'd expect from Schwinn.

The ride:

This is my first road bike, so I had to adjust alot of things before it became comfortable. I'm about 5'8" and it's okay; I think the ideal height for this bike however is in the 5'10" range. Everything is smooth and shifts smooth,

Cons:

Handlebars - You can't adjust the handlebar height because of the threading system. It's not really a big deal, but if you want it changed you have to take it to a licensed pro, or risk it by doing it yourself.

The seat - The best for last. The seat is like riding on your household iron, metal side up. This thing is so uncomfortable, I can't even ride for extended lengths of time. If you ride in a crowded neighborhood, you'll be thinking to yourself on how to look cool while being really uncomfortable, but most people can see through this technique. This is one thing you absolutely must replace if you purchase the bike (in my opinion).

After being an avid road rider in my school and college years i completely stopped after i got married. As a result and being 34, my belly started to grow and my cholesterol levels started to increase. For this reason and to improve my health, I decided i wanted to re-ignite my cycling habits but didn't want to break the bank for a high performance road bike. This is when i came across this Schwinn Prelude. I remember my father to have one Prelude back in the 80's and it was a top bike back then. At USD$ 219.99 (which is the price the bike was back in august 2009 when i bought it) i decided to go after this bike and i'm glad i did it.

I've been riding this bike during 7 months now and i think that's enough time to make an accurate review of this product. I'm not an everyday rider, i just use this bike on sundays for recreational road rides. Normally between 80-120 Kilometer road rides. To make it more confortable and safe on long rides i made a couple of upgrades to the original bike: Changed the stock pedals with Clipless Shimano Pedals, Changed the stock wheels with a pair of GW racing wheels, changed the stock tires with a a pair of Continental puncture resistance tires, changed the stock chain with a Shimano top end chain, changed the stock saddle with a Anti-prostatic Selle Italia saddle, bought a Cateye wireless computer, installed a flashing red safety light and a small saddle bag.

Of course, all these upgrades ended up costing as much as the bike itself, but they were definitely worth since the bike now is faster, lighter and most importantly... safer on the road. The stock group altough is not top class has performed well during this time. It comes with a Crankset with two sprockets and a 7-speed screwed freewheel. In order to install the new racing wheels, i had to change the freewheel for a 8-speed cassette. I also had to block one of the gears of the new 8-speed cassette in order match the 7-speed shifters on the handlebar. The Promax stock brake systems works perfectly if adjusted properly.

The frame is beautiful, strong and well built in aluminum. The fork is made of steel. The bike is a little bit heavy for a road bike but is light enough to make your ride confortable. I'm 1.77 (5' 8") and the frame fits just fine. I have the seat post adjusted to the middle, so it should fit people shorter and taller than me.

The bike performs well but this is not a racing bike. This is a very confortable and light bike to use to go to college or work or even recreational long weekend rides which is for what i use it. As other reviewer said, You won't win the Tour de France on this bike... but its still fast enough to keep or set the pace on the road with other recreational riders.

The stock wheels look fine but the stock tires look really cheap, and altough i never had a puncture with the stock tires, i felt i had to upgrade them for puncture resistance tires in order to be more confident away from the city.

One think i didnt like is that the shifters are in the center of the handlebar (Thumb shifters). They're not in the brake levers as modern road bike does. If you want to change gears on high speed rides or steep climbs, you will have to move your hands from the normal position to the center of the handlebar in order to shift gears and then move the hands back to the normal position. This can cause to lose a little bit of momentum while riding, but again, this is not a competition bike so you might live with this issue, not to mention, the price of the overall bike would increase too much with this "Ergopower" system.

All in all this is a great bike for the value, it doesn't look cheap at all. I know Schwinn is not the top name that once was, but it is still one of the most recognized bycicle builders in the USA and that makes you confident in the product.

I will try to post some pics later so you can have a better look at it, but i can guarantee you that you will hardly find a better road bike option for this budget from a "Brand" standpoint.

Hope this helps.

I bought this bike for my lady for a 1 year anniversary gift; as an entry level road bike. I'm an avid cyclist/urban commuter, but being that she only rode a MTB at the time, I didn't want to commit to any road specific bike over $500 since she may not like the skinny tires and crouched stance. I stumbled upon the Schwinn Prelude, liked the price, and went for it.

She rode it for about 3 months before we replaced it with a Schwinn Super Sport. The reason for replacing it was because of the geometry and sizing, which would be my only beef with this bike, along with no rack mounts as said before. My lady is about 5'9", but has long'ish arms and legs - and in this case, a properly fitted bike would be the correct way to go as opposed to trying to fit on a "one-size-fits-all". Even after replacing the bars with MTB/hybrid flat bars, it still caused her pain in her neck and wrists.

She's very happy with her current bike and instead of selling this bike, I took it (which fits me just fine) and converted it to a second urban/commuter bike, adding fenders, platform pedals and a singlespeed conversion (there is no conversion kit for the type of freewheel cassette that comes on the bike, so I had to use a little ingenuity to make it work). I kept the flat MTB bars and it works just great for me - in the asphalt jungle, sometimes bunnyhopping a curb is necessary! The freewheel is a nice break from my fixed gear bike that I mostly use.

I would definetely recommend this bike to anyone in the upper 5' to lower 6' height range: the parts are of very good quality and the frame is solid and light. However, I would also advise that any buyer should SIT on the bike and make sure it fits properly. Even after making bar and seat height adjustments, the frame just may not be right for you.

I've put on about 600 hard miles on this bike. I'm also an engineer so hopefully that warrants me some credibility.

Pro's:

Cost - It's cheap and relatively light (aluminum frame, steel fork, aluminum wheels).
Warranty - Schwinn will send you replacement parts free of charge.
Rear Derailleur - Not toooo bad to adjust (IMHO).
Wheel True - They were alright. Minor adjustment made them on the mark.
Comfortable - I'm about 5'9 - 5'10, 150lbs and feel comfortable on it.

Con's:

Overall cheap parts / difficult to maintain

Wheels:

REAR - TIRE and TUBE blown after the first 10 miles. I was going downhill a bit quick, came up a curb a couple inches tall and when i came down, it let lose. The appearance of the rip in the tire/tube did not indicate puncture but more like a catastrophic burst. I replaced the REAR tube with a sunlite thorn resistant tube ($5.00) and a 23mm Continental 700 bontrager ($40) tire and haven't had problems with it yet. I did not replace the rear rim tape.

FRONT - OEM tire blown (popped similar to REAR due to small pothole). The tire was torn similar to the REAR(not just a small puncture). I replaced it with a Michelin Dynamic Wire Bead 23mm tire ( ~$15).

My problems didn't end there. I've gone through 6 tubes (one of which being a sunlight thorn resistant tube). I finally decided to order new rim tape (many complaints exist on the rim tape) and apply it to the front tire. I also filed down small burs on the rim which may have caused the puncture. I think with better rim tape the burs would not have been a issue. About 50+ miles later I think it did the trick. Factor in another $35 for a low end tire and tubes.

FRONT DERAILLEURS

FRONT - IMPOSSIBLE to tune. It's junk. I found a cheap out of box low end shimano for about $20. Out of the box it rubbed on the chain causing a metal on metal rubbing sound / wear. Figure you'll spend about $30 for a new one.

Skipping chain under high torque - Cause still unknown. Suspect chain or chain ring wear. This skipping is forcing me to buy another bike and make this a spare as i use it as my primary form of transportation. I got about 600 miles out of this bike in 3 months with a lot of headache. I purchased a Campagnolo 52T chainring as a replacement ($20).

Customer Service:

I asked to have a detailed specification sheet sent (so i knew various features and dimensions) so i could order upgrade parts however got the response essentially to just "call customer service and get the spec you need". I thought this was somewhat unprofessional as they could have just sent me the same document (or similar) to the CST rep has.

Conclusion:

You'll be adding about $125 in parts if you're serious about riding this bike. If you do buy it, also purchase 2 spools of 10mm Zefal rim tape. Check/sand any fine burs on the tire and replace the tape prior to riding it. I would recommend not trying to mess with the front derailleur unless you really have to. If you're paying a bike shop to do all of this work FORGET IT! Probably double the cost I've incurred due to service time.

For that cost I would recommend trying the lowest end road bike at [...] such as the Windsor Wellington 1.0. If you go with some of their Shimano Tiagra level 500 - 700 bikes as I'm about to, I would highly doubt the same problems will be present. Good luck catching your one in stock though.

Product Links:

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So I got this bike for a birthday present. Shipping was a lot quicker than I thought it was going to be. The bike came 3 days after ordering on the free standard shipping. It came in a huge box, basically the size of me. The bike came partially assembled. The back wheel and back brake were already attached to the bike frame. I had to attach the front wheel, front brake (which was a huge pain), and the gear shifters onto the handle bars. I also elected to put the front and rear reflectors on.

I brought the bike to a bike shop that one of my friends recommended to get a complete tuning before I even tried to ride the bike. When I picked it up they said there were a few of things wrong with it. The front brake was working but was very lose and was sticking. The guy who did the tune up recommended I replace the front brake eventually. He also mentioned something about some of the gears not working properly. But he fixed everything and replaced the front brake cable. The front brake is still a little loose, and I will replace it eventually. While I was at the bike shop I also picked up a water bottle holder which they attached to the frame and a one of the holding pouches which go under the seat.

So I tried out the bike for the first time. All the gears worked properly and smoothly. The strap pedals are a little annoying. You basically have to start peddling with one foot in one of the peddles, and then try and catch your foot in the other one while moving. I may look into replacing the pedals to ones without straps. The front brake was sticking a little bit but it works. Back brake works fine. I was able to get good speed with it. The ride was smooth. After about 30-40 miles on the bike, I got my first flat tire. The back tire went flat from what I'm 99% sure was a puncture flat (basically I hit a bump too hard). This is the most common problem to happen to bike riders so I'm not looking to much into it. I took the bike to another bike shop to get it fixed. It took all of 5 minutes to do, nothing terrible. I am definitely looking into getting some spare tubes and a flat tire kit because this particular one happened at a very inopportune time.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the purchase. For a little over 200 bucks, its definitely a deal. Some of the components are a little shoddy, but you can't expect to get the same quality as a 600-700 dollar bike. My first replacement will probably be the front brake since there is no way to solve the problem of it being slightly loose. I would definitely recommend getting the bike tuned right after you put it together at a bike shop. [...] Do some research, call around to local places to get prices. You could end up saving a lot of money. One of the places I called, which happened to the be the closest to my house, was a 70 dollar full tune up.

UPDATE 6/6/09: Well I have had this bike for about 3 months now. I took this bike on a 42 mile bike tour through the rain and it made it through. Although the brakes started to stick about half way through. The brakes are the biggest problem on this bike and have been a nuisance since I got the bike. My back brake is basically shot. I think it's something with the wiring. I'm gonna havta bring the bike in to a shop yet again to see what the problem is. The brakes are the only thing I can really complain about. Everything else has held up fine.

After a stressful day of going around with an Avid cyclist, trying to find a good road bike to fit my budget, we gave up on going to all the local cycle stores and took our hunt online. We came across this bike and my friend was hesitant with giving it the o.k, however it turned out to be a good call. I'm around 5'10 200 lbs, and the bike fits me great, though as previously stated the handle bars are a bit iffy, but you get used to it pretty quick. After riding about a year I'm now ready to upgrade, but it's definitely a great bike for any starter. I've put at least 500 miles on it and I stress at least, and its held up great.