I bought this bike on a super sale at Performance for about $800 plus about $250 in credit. Sorry LBS, once in a while I cannot pass it up. Yes, the frame, and probably fork and wheels are made in China.

I got the large frame size (a little too large for me) because the geometry is better and wheelbase shorter. The frame is just the same as the lower end world fitness bikes, but it's a good frame despite having the annoying cantilever mounts and structural enhancements that make zero sense on this bike. The huge rear dropouts are a spectacular and desperate act of engineering just to mount the rear disk caliper between the chain and seat stays. This makes mounting a rack easier but it's not absolutely the only way to mount a rack on a rear disk bike. The Trek Portland has a much cleaner execution of the idea. My Fisher mountain bike has the rear caliper tacked on topside almost as an afterthought, and it actually looks better, works fantastically and is rackable with some creative thinking.

The Schwinn World has a nice short wheelbase, shorter than the Portland and probably shorter than the Poprad and redline cross frames. It feels nice and wheelstands are easy and natural. There is also plenty of clearance for big tires like 38mm (1.5") and full fenders. The parts and weight are the main difference between the Schwinn and the Trek. The Trek has been been finely outfitted with a few almost custom and otherwise very high quality parts from Bontrager. I view the Trek with jealousy, though the longevity of the superb, offset rim, lightweight wheels are a questionmark. There are some nice parts on the Schwinn, but some terrible ones, too.

pros: The FSA Omega crankset/BB is a topnotch mountain 175mm triple but perhaps should have been a 170 or 172.5 for road. Great for hillclimbing though, and it's the best crankset I've ever owned. It also uses plain old 110mm 5 bolt rings. The shifters/deraillers work well enough. The ritchy bars and seatpost are nice. Stout, lightweight frame. The brakes, like all disks, break in after about a week and then offer incredible power with almost zero maintenance.


cons: Wheels. The generic "Jalco DRX2000 semi-aero double wall 32H" rims on my bike must be either rejects or some of the worse aluminum rims ever made. I shudder to imagine how warped they would have been UNLACED, right out of the box. The REAR wheel came with dead spokes when new. I true the wheels a little bit almost daily. If I did not they would have soon been slapping against the frame and I am only 150 pounds. Garbage. I should return them, honestly. The spokes are just what you would find on any kids bike and the hubs were MISREPRESENTED by Schwinn as "sealed bearing" disk hubs. They are NOT "sealed bearing" hubs, they are "sealed system" hubs (in other words, a plain, unremarkable, generic disk hub). This is an outright misrepresentation and part of the reason I bought the bike. Someone with some knowledge of bicycle components should explain the difference to Schwinn China (maybe it was just mistranslated from the original Chinese?). The seat was a weird, heavy gel spring contraption. Save some weight by dumping it. The adjustable angle stem is a very stout Ritchey but has to be the world's heaviest threadless stem. Again, dump it to save considerable weight. The KMC Z-9000 chain did not look great to me and I took it right off. I use Ultegra (97?) chains. I like shorty brake levers (they allow your hands inside the bars in traffic so you wouldn't destroy your hands in an accident) but there is no return spring in these tektro levers. The disk calipers do all the return work? Yeah right. But the extra levers could be removed to save more weight. I like the clean cable routing of the bottom pull front derailler, but their is a huge run of cable housing ALL the way from the lever to the rear caliper? Weird. There are actually multiple ZIP TIE mounts on the frame instead of just two cable mounts and a bottom bracket channel. How dumb. The cable mounts are also not split for easy removal. The carbon fork is adequate but not a masterpiece. the way the tubes are ovalized they are very stiff over bumps (too stiff), but flexy side to side which exacerbates problems with the front disk rubbing the pads while hammering out of the saddle (front disks on road bikes must generally be adjusted loose to allow for fork side flex). I recommend keeping the quick release well tightened to reduce side flex. The Bontrager on the Portland is a little better in that regard. Also, like any nice bike it's a theft magnet you cannot leave locked up outside. If you need to commute and lock outside, get a junker.

Conclusion: it's a great ride. Very fast. Brakes are excellent. Dump the chain and steal a disk wheelset off a Trek Portland (or rebuild the originals with decent rims and butted spokes w/aluminum nipples) and you will have a screaming bike that can do anything from commute, to train, tour or cross. Enticing also is that with disks you could actually run 26" or 650c rims, including mixing, just on the front which would dramatically sharpen up the geometry! (the disks are smaller than regular mountain disks though so you can't just mount your MB front wheel). It's a bike to have a lot of fun with and I love it. It's especially great if you like to tinker, but the wheels would be a headache for mechanical novices.