Customer Reviews

Schwinn Protocol 1.0 Men's Dual-Suspension Mountain Bike (26-Inch Wheels)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this bike because it has great qualities for cheap. I knew that for the price that there had to be some things wrong with it, but I wanted the important features to be good. This is a very sturdy bike and I have had a great time riding it. For the cost, there is no bike better. I paid 278 on amazon with free shipping and everything. The bike is very easy to put together. I do suggest you get it tuned by a professional, however, because it took me a long time to tinker with the settings to make it run smoothly. I am very happy with everything about this bike, but there are a few things that may go undescribed.

1-The wheels are of very poor quality. The rubber seems really fake and if you are on concrete they skid out easily and leave a lot of rubber behind.

2-There is no place to put a water bottle holder or a hand pump. The rear suspension connects to the bottom bar of the frame and just under the top bar are the cables so there is no place to store a bottle or pump.

3-The front fork and suspension are difficult to adjust. (I havent been able to adjust the suspension yet)

4-Tuning involved: front and rear derailleurs, brakes, straightening the disc break, wheel adjustment.

I am giving the negatives because they are not described by anyone else and they are important to know, but I cant describe how happy I am with the bike. I am 6'0" and it fits me very well. The parts are very durable and when you get everything tuned up nicely, the bike runs just fine!

I HIGHLY suggest this bike to anyone who is looking for a deal on a mountain bike.

The bike arrived in perfect condition, in a big box with all parts assembled except for the front wheel, pedals, handlebar and seat. Assembly was very quick and it took me less than 20 minutes to assemble the whole bike. The only tools that I needed was a ratchet handle with hex bits, one philips screwdriver, and an air pump to fill air in those tires - Nothing else. I had to tweak the rear breaks by a bit, and also had to adjust the spacing between the two disk pads on the front brakes. Oh yeah, the handle bar stem which was turned inside to make it fit in the box had to be turned to point outside.

The bike overall feels sturdy and smooth while riding. Also the paint and decals look great!

The front gear shifting works like a charm - without any issues. I did notice that the rear gears do not move that smooth from high to low, and sometimes it requires a double shift on the trigger to change gears. Im not sure if I need to tweak the settings to make it run perfect.

As of now, I am pretty pleased with the purchase!!! Only time will tell if it would live up to the Schwinn reputation!

This is a sweat bike. My only complaint is the pedals are too close to the ground. Riding on trails they hit the ground when crossing a slope. Other than that its built very well.

I bought the bike at the beginning of June 2011. These are my thoughts and may help you.

Short and simple.. an alright big box bike(idealy for someone 160#s or less), and at least it's not a bicycle shape'd object. Schwinn is owned by a company known as Pacific cycle company, made in China. With that out of the way... It's better than a 'mart bike.

1.) The shifters are decent, shimano entry level quality.

2.) A few things that everyone askes, what is the weight? The box it ships in weighs more than the bike, the bike IIRC weighed about 32-36#s.

3.) Front and Rear Derailluers are pretty good. Take the bike to a LBS(Local Bike Shop) for adjustments if you feel that adjusting it is over-welming. I adjusted mine, set the H/L limits shifters worked perfectly. Although I understand that adjustments are not easy for everyone, so if it seems too much LBS's will help you get it on the road/trail.

4.) I found it to be a common review problem that the front rotor disc was warped. I own a Park Tool Rotor Truing Fork - DT-2C , that you'll need anyways (5-10bucks) pick up one from a LBS or Amazon for a little more, to true the warped rotor. This tool will save you money instead of having to buy a new rotor.

5.) The coilover (rear shock) on mine had a blown dampener, shockeye lenght is 6.5 inches BTW. I bought a aftermarket coilover for it, no more boing-gy. SR Suntour front fork is entry level and was frustrating on a uphill climb (NO Lockout) and rode pleasently otherwise, not just for looks.

6.) 26" wheels are light, and the spokes needed major tightening. Shr valves. F/R has V-brake surfaces machined on them and can be "handed-down" to your kids 26er' if they don't have disc brakes. Tires have a waxy coating to keep mud from sticking, that wears off the nubies as you ride. The tires are fairly aggressive too.

7.) The cassette (Rear sprocket) seems stout. I'm 240#s pulling an extra 70#s no catastrophic failure as some mentioned but YMMV.

8.) Rear swingarm has a mount for disc brake. I used the front caliper mounting bracket to mount a caliper on the the rear. You will need another rear wheel that is compatible with disc brakes.

9.) The seatpost is alloy, and 27.2mm not 25.4mm as Schwinn states. This seatpost uses a hex-key to adjust angle.

10.) 1 1/8" threadless stearer tube with typical big-box-bike headset. Lightweight stem and handlebar aswell.

11.) Seat is like a rock, but who sits on a MTB seat?

If you are not too critical on the bike, this is a great bike for a growing kid or someone looking for a entry level full suspension bike. I am happy with it, and would give 4.5 stars to this bike.

Ordered the Schwinn Protocol 1.0 through Amazon 26May11 and it arrived 1Jun11. If it weren't for the Memorial Day weekend, it probably would have arrived earlier, nevertheless it made it on the arrival approximate date given. No damage on the bike whatsoever, everything was included, no missing parts. I was quite surprised it came with reflectors even though the picture did not feature them. Reflectors would be quite cheesy for some hardcore mountain bikers but I mainly use my old bike and this bike for my commute to work, and I get off at 2 in the morning and travel about one hour to home and for the most part on a dark highway road. I have not given it a thorough workout yet (only a once-over around the block). Based on that stroll, I would say the 1.0 is awesome and compared to my other bike, this one is like a Cadillac on two wheels! Shifts like a charm, wheels are straight on (don't see a single wobble). Of course it is not perfect and needs a little bit of tweaking. Like I said, this bike would be mainly used to commute to work and my "day-off treks" though trails in the Nevada desert. I don't intend on doing extreme things on this bike, strap on a parachute and jump off a plane with it or climb Mount Everest with it. Overall, the bike looks good, rides good on initial test and I will do another review after a couple weeks of riding it.

July 26, 2011: addendum review to the one above.....been using the 1.0 constantly since I got it in June 1, 2011; commute to work five days a week and logging in about 13 miles a day. On my off days I go to the nearby desert areas looking for off-road trails and following it wherever it may take me and my biking buddy. I live in Las Vegas, NV by the way and on the southwest side of town where there are lots of bike and off road trails to follow. No problems with the 1.0 whatsoever besides the weekly gear/brakes etc. adjustments. The off road trails are quite rough and the Protocol goes through it with ease. I weigh only 145 pounds by the way so that should help a bit....before I took up bike riding again, I was 150 to 160 and because of the constant use of the bike I went down to 145 which is really great!!! I am 48 years old and I never felt greater in my life than now because of the riding. And with the help of the Protocol 1.0 it's pretty awesome I should say and I'm very happy with this purchase.

First off, I'd like to say that I never write reviews, yet I order from Amazon Prime constantly! I had to take the time to review this bike though. I was skeptical ordering a bicycle from the internet (like you might be too) but with an Amazon Prime membership, overnight shipping was $3.99, I had to jump on it. The bike arrived in perfect condition, packaged extremely well and 90% assembled! It takes more time to unpack it then get it up and running and I know nothing about bicycles other than how to ride.

What you must assemble:
- Screw the Pedals on (make sure you do L on left and R on right) - this was really, really easy.

- Screw the handlebars on (shifters are already on it) (easy)

- Put a little locking pole through the front tire (keep pushing if it's a little tough) and place the tire on the frame.

That's about it! It's really easy. I recommend taking it to a bike shop for a tune-up to make sure everything is tight and the gears shift good and brakes are aligned (cost me $50).

Pro riders will criticize this as a "department store" bike but trust me, if you are a casual rider that wants to ride on the streets and some light off-road, this bike is great. The quality is great, it's comfortable, the brakes are amazing and to top it off, it looks AWESOME!

I am a 28 year old, 200lbs, 5' 10" male and I'm comfortable on it (though I had to order a new seat Velo Bio:Logic Bicycle Saddle the one that comes on it is a bit hard but that's just my opinion).

Looks like the price has gone up a bit since some of the other reviewers have bought it (maybe due to demand) but it's worth the $300 for sure. Very fun, great quality, nice looking bike. I recommend buying from Amazon, I had it the next day by noon and in 100% perfect condition!

As you can already see, I will give this bike a 3 and one half to 4 star rating. I love the dual suspension, and the front disk brake is great for super fast stops & riding down hills. I got the bike for $286 total- a price you can't beat for a bike this good. I took it off my jump and landed softly after being about 4 1/2 feet high because of the great suspension. So far, this has been my best bike (although I've only had three other bikes). It has also done great on drop offs. The pedals have metal spikes, which keep your feet from sliding off, but if your feet slide off and the spikes dig into your ankles, its not laughing buisness! The tires give great traction on dirt trails, and I particularly noticed that while riding up a 20% + grade. Also, the instructions make it hard to put it together wrong. And yes, I would recomend this bike to others.

I love this bike. It is perfect for getting around town or taking it off road. The bike was easy to put together, but you must take it to your local bike shop for a tuning. This bike looks great, feels solid and switches gears fast. However, this bike is not made for some extreme mountain biking. The negatives is the front disk brake slightly rubs against the front tire, the pedals were not in the box when delivered and the bike is slightly heavy.
Very highly recommended!!!!

Only had the bike for a couple of weeks but pretty happy so far. Very easy to put together, and I have friend who tunes bikes so he was able to give it a quick tune-up (highly recommended otherwise you'll have squeaky brakes and dodgy gear changes). The bike rides great, very smooth, and I think for the price it can't be beat. I did take off all the reflectors (they look goofy) and the kick stand (useless weight), and I plan to get a more comfortable saddle - my butt was sore after only an 8 mile ride.

Pretty standard bike for $300..I was able to get mine from csnstores with a coupon for $190..No complaints...Put it together with a set of allen wrenches...Needed pro help to ture the wheels and set the gears..downside...cant hook up a child seat and no space for hooking up a holder for a lock or a bottle cage...but at the price it was a steal...