Customer Reviews

Schwinn Tornado Men's Cruiser Bike

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

 

 

I grew up with a single speed bicycle and later purchased a 10 speed when they were all the craze and hated it. It was so very uncomfortable, nothing worked well, and all those gears and levers made me nuts. That put the end of my recreational bicycle riding until now.

I like this bicycle. This is my first bicycle in 20 years so I am amazed at the light weight of this machine. The electric blue paint is briliant and exciting, and two of my adult neighbors have commented that they really like the style. I do too!

I am 5'8", 175 lbs and have found this bicycle to be a comfortable size for me. The riding position is upright and comfortable, just like it was when I was a kid. No stooping over into a racing position for me! The 7 gears work easily and smoothly with an easy rotating motion on the right hand grip. No more goofy levers for me! The hand brakes work well and are quiet. No more squealing brakes for me! The seat is comfortable for a 2 hour ride along Chicago's Lake Michigan bicycle path. No more skinny and painful seats for me! The tires are fat and ride smooth like they were when I was a kid. No more skinny and rough riding tires for me! I find this bicycle to be an overall pleasureable riding experience.

Before you get me wrong, I am not against speciality bicycles or technology in any way. I'm just not a "technology victim". I just want technology to work for me, and I don't want to pay for "capability" that I will never use. I want a comfortable ride that can keep up with most of the pack, and this bicycle meets those requirements for me.

The bicycle arrived in good condition and was secured in the shipping box very professionally. It took me a while to assemble the machine (foot pedals, handle bar assembly, seat assembly, front wheel, inflate tires) and adjust the seat and handle bar height. The bicycle comes with an owners manual with an overwhelming amount of assembly information that is mostly useless. Most of it pertains to other models and assembly that has already been done at the factory. If you have a few good tools, take your time, don't get overwhelmed by the printed material, and have a little mechanical ability you will get the assembly done in a few hours. My tips: Make sure that the front fork is facing in the correct direction! I put it together backwards which made the front tire hit my foot every time I turned the handlebars. Don't inflate the front tire until AFTER you install it on the frame. The inflated tire will never clear the brake pads. Inflate the tires fully before you check to see if the brakes need adjusting. The wheel rims will shift slightly when the tires are inflated changing the alignment with the brake pads, and I did need to do some adjusting of the front brakes. The front wheel has some wobble to it but nothing serious. If you don't have any mechanical ability and some basic tools I would not recommend trying to assemble this bicycle. You won't find this bicycle in a Schwinn store, and the closest Schwinn model that they have will cost you almost double.

Four stars.

Firstly, unless you have some experience with bicycle assembly or repairs (or are naturally handy), this is a bit of a gamble. The booklet claims that the bike is fully assembled at the factory and then partially disassembled for shipping. The implication is that you need only put on the wheel, seat and handlebars and you are set. Perhaps I was unlucky and got the bike assembled by a careless or less competent factory worker, or perhaps they have a different definition of assembly. But I also had to redo the brakes, chain, and derailleur. If you have not done that, assembly and adjustment of derailleurs is one of the trickier parts of bicycle assembly. The cable needed to be significantly tightened, proving it was not properly assembled and then only disassembled for shipping purposes. So, what I anticipated to be about 40 minutes of assembly based on other bikes I purchased for my kids, turned into about 4 hours. Your mileage (and factory assembler) may vary. :-) Bicycle shops and local stores assemble the bike for you, so you may wish to balance convenience vs. value.

That being said, the bike works fairly well and is what the description states. You'd probably pay 50-100 more at a bicycle shop for a similar bike. A couple of other things to consider: Although this is a 26 in bike with a full size frame, there is something about its design that might make it feel a little small for a tall person. I am only slightly above average in height and it's just barely right for me with the seat and handlebars raised nearly as much as they should safely go. Also the tires are not "hybrid" tires used by some cruisers and comfort bikes (permitting some minor crossover biking like dirt roads or grassy fields). These are strictly pavement tires. Happy trails. :-)

I found the assembly for this bike to be very easy. You'll need a ratchet, 2 sockets. an open end wrench, 2 hex wrenches, and about 40 minutes. Handlebars, Seat, Front Tire, & Pedals. Air in the tires. Then final adjustments to the seat & handlebars. That's it. My brakes & gears needed no adjustments.

The reviewer who had trouble must have truely gotten the oddball item. My guess is that his cycle was a returned item that was re-shipped with the parts thrown haphazardly back in the box.

After 35 years of riding racers the upright riding position will take some getting used to for me. Still I found the bike's ride smooth & comfortable. with my Amazon gold box discount & the free Super Saver shipping this was a great bike at a great price.

I printed the picture of the bike and assembled it in about 1 hour. Most of the time I had to search for tools. I took it for a ride and the bike was terrific. I priced similar bikes at bike shops on Cape Cod and they were asking more $$$ for beat up
rental used junk. Buy this bike; you cannot find a better deal!

The frame seems to be the only thing of any quality on this bike. I have owned this for three months so far and have had to replace the shifter, derailer, brakes and other small items. This bike is NOT Schwinn's usual quality. Very disapointing

If you buy this bike, make sure you have metric hex wrenches and metric 14mm and 15mm wrenches. Don't bother reading the fold out manual. Read the Schwinn booklet from page 22 to 54. The front brake will need adjusting. The best way to adjust the brakes is to remove one of the shims from the front brake shoe and then use a screwdriver to adjust the tension on the black screw sticking out near the brake shoes. You will also need to adjust the shimano gears so the bike will go through all the gears. If you don't adjust the gears, you will hear alot of clanging when you pedal your bike. The bike will not go to 1st gear so you have to adjust the lower gear screw by putting the bike in 1st gear and then adjusting the guide until it is parallel with the largest sprocket. Plan on spending a couple of hours on this procedure if you are not proficient in putting together a bicycle. I called a local bike shop to see what it would cost to fix the gearing and the brakes and they wanted anywhere from $45.00 to $65.00. So buy at your own risk.

Very nice bike. My wife and I each got one for afternoon rides. Easy on the old bones! Great price and free shipping.

I've owned this bike for a year now, and it's been great. You get enough bike for the price. the ultra low gear is great for steep hills, and the rest of the gears are good for the road. I use mine to pull a trailer with both of my children in it and it works great.
I have had problems with the derailer switching a gear on it's own, sometimes adjustments are needed between summer and winter (dis-similar metals?)
If i had the money I would go to a bike store, but if you are like me and don't have tons of money, get this bike and cruise in comfort and style.

If you just like the cruiser look and will use the bike only occasionally for very short rides (less than 10 miles) then this is probably not a bad bike. BUT, if you want a much more comfortable and efficient bike, and one that will fit your body properly, go to your local bike shop and ask to see their "hybrid" bikes. This type of bike gets its name from being a cross between a "road bike" and a "mountain bike" or "all terrain" bike. They are available in several frame sizes, so you're not stuck with "one-size-fits-all", which is NOT good if you are shorter than about 5'7 or taller than about 5'10. Hybrids are available in a wide range of prices and equipment selections. The price will range from just over $200 to as high as you want to go (over $1500 anyway). As the price goes up, the weight generally goes down and the quality of the frame and all components goes way up. But even at the low end of the scale, a hybrid will be a much more efficient bike to ride (more miles covered per energy expended) and it will be more comfortable on longer rides (over 10 miles). If you are truly interested in covering some longer distances (up to maybe 30-40 miles) focus on the models that feature 700C wheels as opposed to 26-inch--your bike shop person can explain--and keep the tire width down to 35mm or under (28mm is a good size for most people if they ride only on pavement). The narrower tires offer less "rolling resistance" making the bike easier to pedal and the larger wheel sizes improves efficiency a little also.

Happy peddaling,
A VERY experienced cyclist

Surprised Hubby for his Birthday and he was amazed that very little assembly time was needed. He enjoys pedaling around the neighborhood, acting like the little boy I know exists inside him!