My '77 Schwinn Le Tour II and my '07 Le Tour GS:

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The old Schwinn makes a great commuter but it is heavy. The new one cost 1/3 less than any other comparably equipped road bike I could find. It is fairly light and, although I've only put 1,100 miles on it so far, the Sora/Tiagra equipment works reliably and the wheels have held up well under my Clyde weight. The new one will become my commuter whenever I decide it is time to move to a mid-level road bike but, for now, it is proving to be a nice ride.

I'm generally not a big fan of the Chicago Schwinns, except for this one:
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...3&d=1189608970
One of the nicer bikes I've ever ridden, and it is hard to seperate the Schwinn name from it in my head.

I own a dept store Schwinn MTB and a LBS Schwinn World DBX road bike. The road bike is purely kick @ss. I get a lot of compliments/comments about it. Being a mail order bike, I really went over it looking for flaws in case I needed to return it. No flaws at all to the naked eye. None so far on my commute which has parts that are pretty abusive. I couldn't be happier especially with the close out price.

The MTB on the other hand isn't a LBS bike by any means. However, it's paid for itself about 10 times over in gas savings over the last 2 years. I've only had one issue with it and that's when one of the bottom bracket bearing rings got unraveled a bit. $2 part, .10 in grease and good as new. I have not babied that bike by any means and it's still going strong. Had I been more knowledgable, I probably would have passed on it and gone the LBS or used route, but again... what I paid has been paid back multiple times. It's been through mountains, commuting, and even a little tour without a single major hickup other than 1 flat tire and that bearing issue. Comparably, I've had 2 other Wally world bikes in the past that were pure sh*t that I'm surprised lasted the summer.

Look at my avatar. That was a Schwinn purchased in 1981. My roommate at the time thought I was nuts for spending $400 on a bike. That was a Chicago Schwinn... the sort of bike frame that lasted 26 years before I decided to finally go all out and get a real commuter. (I donated the bike in good working condition to Goodwill.) Yes, I looked at a Schwinn model similar to the Specialized I ended up getting. It's just that I remember Chicago Schwinn and perhaps I couldn't go there... I'm sure the new Schwinns (bike shop models) are good bikes. Just not unique. Most likely a good bike for the money. Just please, please.... if you are looking to purchase a Schwinn, go to a real bike shop.

-3bikes..... Specialized FSR Mountain bike, Specialized City 6 Commuter, Felt F-55 Road Bike.

I had a Fastback elite for a little while. It wasn't all that bad. Good enrty level bike. Decent for t he price.

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/8490/dscn2748tw4.jpg

That's a nice bike. My next trip to the LBS this week for tires for my daughters World Tourist, I think I'm gonna look at their Schwinn MTB's or maybe a nice comfy road bike a little closer. I've been tossing the ideal around for something like her Tourist for a while now. But the state park by us just put in a new MTB trail in and the High Plains doesn't really have the right tires or suspension on it for any rough terrain. It's mainly my road and light trail bike. I have rods in my back so a little shock asbsortion really helps. So the MTB will probably be the final decision. I really want to see this trail. It is nothing to write home about but probably will be the limit on off roading that I can ride for a trail.