Here is the really crazy thing. I have ended up with a cheap supermarket bike. I didn't really want one. I already have a reasonable bike. I was planning on buying a Giant or maybe a decent large wheel folding Dahon but not a K Mart bike.
I could afford one of these bikes. Already had budgeted for it. So why am I now the owner of a Schwinn Prelude. A gift. To cut a long story short, my mum bought it for me. At 45 years old and semi-retired it feels strange to have gifts like this. However, she is a very generous person and I had been running her around and doing a few things and she wanted to show her gratitude.
So what is it like? The one in the store was set up quite well. I fiddled with the seat post and thought this size is okay for me. It felt lighter than my Giant Upland ( with rear carrier).
Once home I unpacked the beast. Having just returned from an overseas trip with my bike it was not too daunting to assemble. Remove a few plastic protective items, slot in the seat, handlebars, front wheel. Tighten a few things up and all set. I checked the gears and whilst not silky smooth was set up correctly. The brakes were already in position. I noticed some buyers in the USA had to attach the front brakes themselves.
My house is at the end of a quiet street. After riding around in circles for a while went for a gentle ride around. Here the problems begin.
The pedal contacted the stand on each revolution. Makes it easy to count cadence but no other advantage I can think of. I dealt with this by minutely adjusting the position of the stand by kicking it with my foot. Fixed.
Handlebars needed an extra tighten. Fixed.
When applying the front brake very firmly it went loose. Re-adjust the brake, tighten the nut that holds the wire at the brake end. Fixed. Checked the back which was fine.
As I slowly increased speed I practised changing gears. The system is set up on the flat part of the handlebars. Thumbs and fore-fingers are used. One time I changed from smallest front to large front and the chain came off. Since then I am a little careful with changes and has not re-occurred.
On viewing the manual ( after setting it up and test riding of course, ahem) I noted the tabs were in the wrong position. Quite straight forward to slide around. I can now see the numbers and changing is easier.
The bike is 700c. It has car type valves which is unusual. Replacement inner tubes are rare. The guy at the local bike shop showed me how to use a french type inner tube with a special nut screwed on to the valve stem. I also bought a big pump to get the big pressures used on these skinny wheels. I went to 80 somethings and thought that will do for now.
Once all tidied up a little chain lube and some grease to some areas and off for a short spin. A very gentle and slow 2 km. With these cheap bikes you can rely on nothing. The components are the cheapest possible. A cheap chain will wear and stretch quicker than a better quality ( and usually more expensive ) one. That is fine except I do not want my new chain to snap. Hence the doucement, doucement approach.
As experience builds I can begin to use the equipment a little more firmly once I know what it is capable of.
So far, early days but not as bad as I was expecting.
Running log approx 2km. Some adjusting but no breakage.
Yama
I could afford one of these bikes. Already had budgeted for it. So why am I now the owner of a Schwinn Prelude. A gift. To cut a long story short, my mum bought it for me. At 45 years old and semi-retired it feels strange to have gifts like this. However, she is a very generous person and I had been running her around and doing a few things and she wanted to show her gratitude.
So what is it like? The one in the store was set up quite well. I fiddled with the seat post and thought this size is okay for me. It felt lighter than my Giant Upland ( with rear carrier).
Once home I unpacked the beast. Having just returned from an overseas trip with my bike it was not too daunting to assemble. Remove a few plastic protective items, slot in the seat, handlebars, front wheel. Tighten a few things up and all set. I checked the gears and whilst not silky smooth was set up correctly. The brakes were already in position. I noticed some buyers in the USA had to attach the front brakes themselves.
My house is at the end of a quiet street. After riding around in circles for a while went for a gentle ride around. Here the problems begin.
The pedal contacted the stand on each revolution. Makes it easy to count cadence but no other advantage I can think of. I dealt with this by minutely adjusting the position of the stand by kicking it with my foot. Fixed.
Handlebars needed an extra tighten. Fixed.
When applying the front brake very firmly it went loose. Re-adjust the brake, tighten the nut that holds the wire at the brake end. Fixed. Checked the back which was fine.
As I slowly increased speed I practised changing gears. The system is set up on the flat part of the handlebars. Thumbs and fore-fingers are used. One time I changed from smallest front to large front and the chain came off. Since then I am a little careful with changes and has not re-occurred.
On viewing the manual ( after setting it up and test riding of course, ahem) I noted the tabs were in the wrong position. Quite straight forward to slide around. I can now see the numbers and changing is easier.
The bike is 700c. It has car type valves which is unusual. Replacement inner tubes are rare. The guy at the local bike shop showed me how to use a french type inner tube with a special nut screwed on to the valve stem. I also bought a big pump to get the big pressures used on these skinny wheels. I went to 80 somethings and thought that will do for now.
Once all tidied up a little chain lube and some grease to some areas and off for a short spin. A very gentle and slow 2 km. With these cheap bikes you can rely on nothing. The components are the cheapest possible. A cheap chain will wear and stretch quicker than a better quality ( and usually more expensive ) one. That is fine except I do not want my new chain to snap. Hence the doucement, doucement approach.
As experience builds I can begin to use the equipment a little more firmly once I know what it is capable of.
So far, early days but not as bad as I was expecting.
Running log approx 2km. Some adjusting but no breakage.
Yama
