Schwinn Swindler Sort of Review

[GaryB1]

I went to Walmart with my son to get him a new mountain bike. While there, this Schwinn sort of followed me home. I bought it mostly because I thought it looked kind of cool. I've ridden only for short distances, maybe a 1/2 mile or so at a time so my review is more about appearance than function. It does ride smooth and does all the things expected of it. Fit and finish is as good as any Walmart bike, however after only about 2 months I have noticed that what chrome it has is showing signs of rusting and the handlebars which are finished in a matte black are rapidly weathering. All this being said, it is a reasonable bike for the $120 I paid.

 

[horsefarmer]

Would you consider the bike worth building up into a custom rat?

 

[GaryB1]

I think so. As a base for a build, I think it would be good. The basic parts are reasonably well done, the frame is pretty heavy and seems well built. The wheels and the springer fork seem decent though the chrome parts of the fork are showing some rust.

 

[MazdaFlyer]

I saw one of these for the first time yesterday. My first thought was build off bike potential. Looks like the designer may be looking in at this web site.

 

[GaryB1]

Also, for better or worse they come with 25.5 inch tires.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Also, for better or worse they come with 25.5 inch tires.

27.5?

Luke.

 

[GaryB1]

Sorry, 27.5. Guess I was tired! Get it? Wocka wocka!

 

[jamesdart]

so if it takes 27.5s, would it take 26"s and BOA-G tires?

 

[LukeTheJoker]

so if it takes 27.5s, would it take 26"s and BOA-G tires?

Probably, no idea how wide a rim you could get away with though, rim width affects Boa-G total width quite significantly...

Luke.

 

[Fv2]

I was wondering about this bike,I try very hard not to shop at wal e world but sometimes you can't help it.
I like the retro styling of this bike,just not sure about wheel size. Where would you get a tire unless you replace wheels.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

27.5 or 650b is becoming more and more common, mostly knobbies at this point but smoother treads will follow...

Luke.

 

[Fv2]

27.5 or 650b is becoming more and more common, mostly knobbies at this point but smoother treads will follow...

Luke.

Good to know

 

[GaryB1]

For what it's worth, the width at the narrowest part of the front fork is 3 inches. The rear is about 3 1/4.

 

[kiddray]

27.5 or 650b is becoming more and more common, mostly knobbies at this point but smoother treads will follow...

Luke.

I got a set of tan walled 27.5s for 30$ on amazon

 

[gowjobs]

Electra has some nice 27.5x 2.5-ish cruiser tires with a ribbed style tread.