HandsomeRyan

I have a friend looking for a bike to ride on the local MUP's. I found a Schwinn Criss-Cross (not sure of the exact year yet) on Craigslist for $50. From what little info I could gather about it, this bike is a middle-of-the-road hybrid/fitness bike. I did read rumors of some type of weird wheel sizing that would make tires harder to find for it? I emailed the seller to get some pictures and better description of the bike but can any of you bike experts tell me anything about this model of bike? Also, assuming the bike is in good shape, can anyone offer a reference point on what a bike like this should be selling for? $50 seems to be on the high side for a bike that was less than $450 brand new.

https://knoxville.craigslist.org/bik/539259053.html

Thanks,
Ryan

Stacey

I can't speak directly on the Criss-Cross, my Schwinn hybrid is the Sierra 700 GS. Nothing special or out of the ordinary about the tires. I believe they are 700-35c, should ought to be available at any bikeshop.

I did find this on the bike: https://www.airfreetires.com/Specs/St...&brand=Schwinn

Looks like a steel framed bike, with decent (functional) components. Fiddy bux wouldn't be a steal, but you wouldn't be hosed... depending on the condition.

As I mantra on my forage excursions... Two, four, six, eight, Let's all negotiate.

Good luck on the deal, pictures if you get it. 'K?

ebr898

I fixed one up once to flip. It was a short frame about 15 in. It had 26 x 1.25 on it. I put a 26 x 1.5 on it. A wider tire would not have fit. The one I had came with a butterfly bar. It also had a really unique rear der. The shifting system was accu shift with twist grip style shifters the rear deraillure mounted ahead of the axle on a braze on hanger off the chain stay.
I converted mine to a Shimmano system because of a worn out freewheel. It took a litte fabrication to make a cable stop for the standard rear der.

Scooper

1990 Crisscross

1991 Crisscross

1992 Crisscross

1993 Crisscross

1994 Crisscross

HandsomeRyan

Thanks for all the great info. I'm still waiting to hear back from the seller to get details about the bike. If it is in good shape and my friend doesn't want it I may see if I can haggle a bit on the price and pick it up as a spare bike in case a bikeless friend wants to go riding.

Stacey

No need to make excuses... You can never have too many bikes.

TBART

I have a 1990 Criss Cross & have had no problems at all with it. It use's 700c so have never had a problem getting any tire I wanted to put on it.

I think their a great bike that will do just about anything you want for every day riding. If the one you are going to look at is in good cond. I don't think $50 is to bad a price.

intheshop

I have bought two of these, one for my father-in-law and one for a friend. No problems fixing them up. They are well made bikes with 700c wheels that make good commuters or fitness bikes. They can handle fenders and/or racks. Both the bikes I got had nice lugged frames. The component set was an early Suntour index set that was a bit finicky, but it works. $50.00 is a good price if it is in decent condition.

sykerocker 

If you never owned a hybrid, you may find them a very pleasant surprise. Low end roadbike responsiveness with an comfortable upright riding style and the willingness of a WalMArt mountain bike to do slight off road. I've been ovjoyed enough with my GT that the Raleigh Sports I've got at work has been gathering dust (the differences in age of technology are night and day).

I've got a coworker on the sales floor who's a die-hard runner and wants to take up cycling this spring, so I'm looking for a hybrid to build for her as her first bike. If she takes to it, then we look for something with drop bars.

Stacey

I've done some fairly rough single track with my Sierra as well as an impromptu swamp ford ~40' across and my down foot got wet with each crank rotation. I was pleasantly surprised at how well behaved it was, tho' I don't think I want to face a more challenging terrain with it.

Hocam

A criss cross was my first bike in Philly, seemed to work well enough although I didn't know much about bikes at the time. I do recall replacing the shifters with friction thumb shifters though.

HandsomeRyan

My primary bike is an 08 Raleigh Detour Deluxe. It is truely the cadilac of hybrids. I ordered it sight-unseen in June of last year after finding it on Raleigh's website. I had wanted to build an 'ultimate greenway bike' for a while, but when I saw the package Raleigh had put together I knew that was the bike for me. As I recently posted in a thread about "What would your dream bike be if money was no object?" I already own mine. Best. Bike. Ever. I am looking forward to adding another pony to the stable though, I got a couple pictures of the bike and it looks like it is in cherry condition! I'm going to check it out on Saturday and I'll almost certainly buy it because it looks like even if it doesn't fit me and none of my friends wants to ride it I could resell it on ebay at a proffit.

I'll post some pictures if/when I buy it. Thanks again for all the info/advice everyone!

skyrider

I own a 91 exactly like scoopers picture. Its an awesome bike, the tires are700c but take a 32 0r 35 width. You cant go wrong for 50 bucks. Its an awesome commuter do anything bike, or second bike, go for it.

Lucas C

I just bought two, one for me and my dad, today. It was raining so we couldn't get to ride them but i didnt know it used 700c tires. That is helpful because i'm picking up fenders tomorrow and didn't know what size to get.

jgedwa

Huh? You mean the ones with the sticker that says not to take them off road?

jim

jtgotsjets

kindKind of an old post, but does anyone know if the rims on these are steel or aluminum? I havE a lead on a $25 criss cross, but I only want it for parts- need the brakes and if the rims are good, it'd make it an especially sweet deal.

old and new

Sure IS an old one ! Wakened from the dead. DEFINATELY ALuminum wheels .... a Chrmly. frame. I know that bike.

Scooper

If you look at the catalog specs in post #4 in this thread, you'll see that the 1990-1994 Crisscross models all had aluminum alloy rims.

jtgotsjets

Oh damn, missed that somehow. Thanks though-- gonna pick this bike up tmrw.

mkeller234

Yes, it's cro moly. I picked one up recently and think it's really nice. 25.00 is a really nice deal if it's in decent shape. The only weird part is the suntour accushift equipment, which seems to work just fine.

Here is mine the day I picked it up:

wrk101

+1 Decent to better than decent rigid frame hybrid. I had two of them, they both moved on to another home. I liked the way they rode. Another one of those nice under-appreciated bikes out there.

bikecrate

Wow that takes me back. I had the exact same bike. I bought it new when I got back into cycling again. I put on a ton of trouble free miles. When I upgraded I sold it for $25 to a coworker.

BeeYoung

Bought one of these several years ago at a thrift shop for $69, the frame is outstanding.

I changed all the components out to other stuff I had lying around and made a great little
rain bike/commuter out of it. Even did some fast group rides on it, the frame is very comfortable
but also fairly stiff. Double eyelets in the back if you want fenders and a rack, single in the front for
fenders. Mine is a little small but with the high rise stem I'm using the bike fits me well.

Grand Bois

I have to admit that I really enjoy riding my sister's Crosspoint.

https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...rosspoint.html

Staldinej

I was in the process of trying to find out a little more about my frame, consequently exhuming this thread from the dead, again.

My Criss Cross has been built up into a commuter/light touring bike, and I love it. I'm currently in the process of repainting it a metallic British racing green with a celery green panel for 'Schwinn' decals I had made and silver lug-lining.

I built it with 40mm wide tires, a silver 44cm ergo drop bar, chrome quill stem, brown Velo-Orange model 5 saddle (just like a Brooks Flyer, but all chrome rails), brown synthetic cork bar tape, suntour barcons, a NOS fluted sakae seatpost, chrome binder bolt, 52t-42t Suntour Cyclone crankset, shimano sealed bb, suntour f. Derailleur, Sora (run in friction with old school barcons) R. Derailleur, Velo Orange stainless steel fenders, and the original 7 speed wheelset for now.

This is a great frameset because it is so versatile. No, it's not road bike responsive in terms of steering, but that long wheelbase makes for a very comfy ride. The fork has a really heavy taper and a smooth radius that really lets it work beautifully. I have mounts for racks & fenders, and canti brakes. The angles really work well for me, the bike is reasonably lightweight, and it will be gorgeous when I'm done with it... I was looking at the Masi Speciale Randonneur, but really I've made everything I want with the bike for much less money; less money is a good thing as I'm nearing a decade of college.

I bought the project bike for $25 in a state of ugly functionality. I have about $200 in it, and will probably have about $450 when I'm done. To finish the project I'd like to pick up a Campy NR front derailleur (I have a rear), build a wheelset around the Campy NR 36h hubs I already have and Sun CR18 polished rims, and I'll probably go with a wide range 6 speed or 7 speed freewheel. The final touches will be a Jim Blackburn silver vintage rack (or F&R set!) and a Campagnolo crankset, probably NR.

The point being, these are amazing frames available at next to nothing prices. You could have the rear end respaced for 9 or 10 speed clusters if you wanted a modern drivetrain since they're steel. You could set it up as a lugged steel cyclocross bike, with some lowrider bosses brazed into the fork, you could run it as a full tour bike. This frame pretty easily fits my 40mm (36mm actual) tires and 45mm VO fenders- no problem, meaning you can actually fit some fatties for tires. Since they're double butted tubesets, these frames actually don't weigh a ton, and the stock wheelset isn't terrible (but certainly not campy smoooooooooooth either). The Accushift components are actually fine, just kinda ugly and not compatible with other systems. There is a nice Tange headset stock, but the stock bottom bracket is garbage. Oh, and the seat and seatpost are a weird non-standard system also. A 26.6 seatpost fits and you can have your choice of sadde.

This is a great start to a multitude of projects. I would definitely put the money into my project if I had it to do over again, my only complaint about the frame is I wish it had semi-horizontal dropouts so I could run a clean singlespeed if I wanted to do so.