Schwinn vs. Specialized

I don't know anything about the Schwinn, but for the money it's pretty damn hard to beat the Hardrock Pro Disk, so I voted for it.

cyclemania said:

Has anyone heard anything bad about the Schwinn Mesa GSD and what do you think is better. The Sschwinn Mesa GSD or the Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc.

My friend has a Hardrock Pro disc and I just have the Hardrock. I rode the Pro, it's the same as my Hardrock, light and durable. So I would say the Hardrock is better.

Ok, I bought an '05 Rockhopper yesterday. Let me just say, that for $499 it's a MUCH better deal than the hardrock pro disk. better equipped, lighter, stronger, much nicer. No disks, but if you really want disks it's already ready for them, should only cost you an extra $125 or $150 to have the dealer put on a set instead of the v-brakes.

oh, and the rockhopper looks cooler IMO

aTmSpectre said:

I don't know anything about the Schwinn, but for the money it's pretty damn hard to beat the Hardrock Pro Disk, so I voted for it.

What he said 😄

I have a schwinn gsd, so far it has been a great bike!

Both are great bikes although I would have to say the SPECIALIZED will be a better build.

specialized, hands down.

schwinn is now owned by pacific, which also owns gt I think... specialized is one of the few larger manufacturers which is still run by it's founder, mike. they still have the passion to make a nice bike - from their hardrock to the sworks line, you really can't go wrong. Specialized is one of the best american bike company's.

(I know mike sold a portion of the company to an outside partner, but all it is doing is allowing them to be more innovative with capital).

Most bike frames are either built in China or Taiwan. Bike companies purchase their frames there and put their particular badge on them. Basically look at any given frame and they pretty much look alike. You pay for the material that the frame is made from and the features you want. I would suggest you go to several brand names and get what you want with the cheapest price you can find. The consumer wins here!🙂

Schwinn = sell out. Gt= sell out. mongoose= sell out.
I wont buy any of their products. It was suposed to be part of the deal that GTs would remain a bike shop-only brand. Saw one on the rack at Sports Authority. I ride an old GT XCR. Love it. Kills me that they sold out.

Go with the Specialized. They have't sold out... yet... and hope they dont.

cyclemania said:

Has anyone heard anything bad about the Schwinn Mesa GSD and what do you think is better. The Sschwinn Mesa GSD or the Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc.

Don't know @ the GSD, but I owned an 02' DSX. A friend owns an older GS, too. Both of em' were killer bikes (I have sinced sold my Schwinn and bought a Jamis frame to build up). I'm not big on the Specialized for a few reasons: 1) they're like bellybuttons, everybody's got one, 2) the components they spec don't make sense at times (great fork, substandard drivetrain, or vice versa) and 3) to me, the Hardrock's geometry is off...

On the other hand, some of the Schwinns come with same problems. The advantage is in the buying power. Sure, Schwinn/Gt/?? got bought by Pacific, but Pacific can buy more stuff than Specialized due to size, therefore they buy cheaper. Not that they always pass it along, but some they do.

Ride both, see which feels the best and spend ya money...

I own a schwinn mesa gsd and that is very breakable unlike the specialized. it comes with a crappy fork and the hardrock is fairly decent. I broke one of the schwinn wheels by standing on it the specialized comes with rhino lites