Schwinn Prelude

kahres05 said:

From what I can tell the Schwinn Prelude is the same bike as the Schwinn Varsity. The Schwinn Prelude can be found at Target. To start off I've been road biking some local racing and Mtb for nearly 20 years and a had a fair amount of expensive bikes including a $900 bianchi with Schimano Ultegra 600 1989 model, a $700 Trek MTB, a $400 dollar Giant MTB and a brand new Cannondale F5 $550. I'm true when it comes down to buying at your local LBS but in this case the two schwinn's here are an amazing deal. I no longer have the bianchi, traded it for a MTB, but what I can tell you is these cheap generic components that are found on the schwinns perform just as well. Visually the only thing I dont care for about the bike is the ugly cheap SIS rear derailer...but it works...and works well. The crank and brakes looks and feels just like my ultegra 600 components...hard to believe...but true. The frame feels sturdy and the welds look very solid. The paddle shifters are cheap but very functional...I'm happy they are where they are...it's comfortable and convienent; I really dont want to be in a racing position to shift all the time....been there done that. The bike weighs 23 pounds...that's pretty good. I only found one problem with the bike...and this is why when buying from a department store there is a certain amount of risk. I noticed a rear wheel wobble especially over 20mph...I took the rear wheel off and took the hub assembly apart and found 2 ball bearings missing....from some of the posts, there people having rear wheel issues. Well here is definitly a lack a QC in the bike making process. This is the only defect I found with the bike...taking the bike back would just be stupid. I'm going to the LBS to get 2 ball bearings for about 25 cents and fix the bike. If someone blind folded me and if I could actually ride without seeing...I wouldent be able to tell this cheap Schwinn from a bike that coast 3 times it's price. Granted this is only true if you take the time and tune the bike. When it comes to dollar's and cents...this one is a winner at 200 bucks....sorry LBS.

I have another lower end bike that also has a freewheel, I was told that I could get a replacement wheel with a freehub for less than 100.00... does that seem reasonable?

e0richt said:

I have another lower end bike that also has a freewheel, I was told that I could get a replacement wheel with a freehub for less than 100.00... does that seem reasonable?

That is clearly not a very good deal...you can get a shimano replacement freewheel and hub for under 40 bucks....if you are talking about getting a whole wheel...with everything..I've seen deals for around the same price.

kahres05 said:

That is clearly not a very good deal...you can get a shimano replacement freewheel and hub for under 40 bucks....if you are talking about getting a whole wheel...with everything..I've seen deals for around the same price.

good to know... thanks!

I made and upgrade to the SIS derailleur on the Prelude. I went out and bought a Shimano Sora...$27 bucks, very cheap but leaps in quality compared to the one that came on the bike. I bought the short cage and works perfectly didnt need to shorten the chain; seems to be a lot less flex in over all shifting. Not only that, the bike looks like I spent 2 1/2 times the original price for it.

I would get a new rear wheel if I could. The hub, cones and especially the axle may have sustained damage from riding around with two bearing balls missing. Pull the cones off and roll the axle across a glass surface to see if it wobbles.

garage sale GT said:

I would get a new rear wheel if I could. The hub, cones and especially the axle may have sustained damage from riding around with two bearing balls missing. Pull the cones off and roll the axle across a glass surface to see if it wobbles.

Yeah, I installed the bearings and the wobble is clearly better but not perfect...I bearly notice it at. The only time it feels present is when I'm going down hill fast with my butt planted on the seat. If it gets worse, I might have a LBS either fix the wheel or just replace it.

kahres05 said:

Yeah, I installed the bearings and the wobble is clearly better but not perfect...I bearly notice it at. The only time it feels present is when I'm going down hill fast with my butt planted on the seat. If it gets worse, I might have a LBS either fix the wheel or just replace it.

I don't get it. Why not just let Target replace your wheel for free?

If the axle's bent, your cones and bearing balls won't last long.

I wish it was that easy...most likely, Target would want me just to return the bike and trade it for another; don't you think? The bike is completely tweeked the way I want it...the reflectors hit the trash, the rear derailleur is changed. I highly doubt Target will contact Schwinn or Pacific cycle to have the rear wheel replaced...they will probably just give me a hard time that I hit a pot hole or something.

I got a front wheel for my cruiser from Meijer/Huffy pretty easily just because the cones on the old one were too tight and pitted up in 50 miles. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Thanks for the tip....Your right, it can't hurt to ask...