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65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good bike for the price, with quality in the right places, May 3, 2007
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.
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50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
schwinn prelude: decent bike - stellar price, May 21, 2008
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.
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good bike for the money, not for heavy use, May 10, 2008
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.
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