Recreational & Family - maximum weight for new hybrid bike

I would like to upgrade from a department store comfort bike (38 lbs.) Does anyone have an opinion on what the maximum weight on a good hybrid should be? Would it be ok to bring a scale into the store to weigh different bikes, as the salesmen either don't know , or won't give the weights? I have seen a schwinn gs any opinions on that bike, or your favorite hybrids would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Find a better salesman... and a better store.

Who's selling the Schwinn? In general I'd steer clear of Schwinn.

I'd recommend going to a dedicated bike store, and checking out the bikes there. If you're concerned about weight, they will happily throw the bikes on a scale if they don't already know the weights. You might pay a bit more for the bike, but you'll have a much higher quality piece of equipment that most importantly has been properly assembled by trained bike mechanics.

Look for bikes by Trek, Specialized, Giant, Gary Fisher to name a few. I've owned a Giant Farrago for about 5 years now - use it daily for commuting (25 miles round trip) and have found it very comfortable and reliable.

Take them for a test ride.

Buy the one that's most comfortable and fits you best!

You can find Schwinn at Wal Mart. 'booyah' is giving good advice.

Ditto to 'booyah,' and a triple ditto to finding a store who can properly fit you to the bike.

All that remains of the once redoubtable American bicycle manufacturer Schwinn is the name - the company went bankrupt in the early nineties. In its decline it outsourced actual manufacturing to Taiwan. Nowadays Schwinn is part of the Pacific Cycle portfolio. They are a principal provender of mass market, lower quality bicycles supplying Walmart, Target, Toys-r-Us and similar outlets asian manufactured products such as Murray, Roadmaster, Mongoose, as well as Schwinn.

Schwinn simply cannot be recommended as the other posters on this thread concur; a proper bicycle from a reputable shop, correctly fitted, that you are not just satisfied with, but enthusiastic about is optimal. You can easily find specifications and comparisons of virtually any bike on the internet. Shop around, there are many excellent brands, and almost as important is to find a competent, committed bike shop that is genuinely responsive and supportive, not only helpful while making the sale, but to be relied on down the road.