The Schwinn website and FAQ only have information about and can only provide service for bikes purchased through independent bike shops. The website is only set up to advertise bike shop models, which is why you may not be seeing the bike you’re looking for here.

For any questions regarding models sold through any other retailer, please contact the Schwinn service team at 1-800-626-2811 prompt 1. This includes questions about warranty, service, information, or comparison of models. You will need to have your model number and date code (found on a small sticker near the bottom bracket) for them to be able to process your order.

Please note that if you e-mail us about a parts, warranty, or information issue about a department store model, we will not be able to help and can only refer you to the toll-free number above.

All Schwinn bikes are designed with high quality and user satisfaction in mind. Bikes sold at independent bike dealers are often intended for different riders than those sold at department stores. Bike shop models are intended for a wide range of riders - from those that use them for general recreation to those that are ready to pin on a race number and compete. Because it's likely that they will see more use and be ridden harder, frames and components on bike shop models are designed with this rider in mind, and are assembled and set up by shop mechanics. In addition to helping you make an informed purchase, a bike shop can offer service after the sale as well. Additionally, bike shop models are typically available in a range of frame sizes to accommodate a much wider variety of riders.

OT, it's implied, implicit vs. explicit. They are upfront about stating they will not provide any support for their BB lines, they also allude to the fact that the quality tolerances and durability of the BB lines, as well as initial setup, are less than those of their LBS lines. That said, my dedicated commuter is a 2000 hardtail Mongoose S-20, hardly the paragon of cycling conspicuous consumption.

... soooo ... it's OK if I buy a Schwinn from a real bike shop?

I ride a Supercycle SC1800 from Canadian Tire, a $100 18 speed MTB. It needed adjustments after I brought it home, but I have been riding my 3 mile round trip commute with it for six weeks, and use it for grocery getting. It gets ridden on rough pavement and a short, rocky stretch on the way home. I'm hoping that if nothing has fallen off in this shakedown, it might hold together till next year. The plan is to use my GT as a commuter if I still have it, and buy a new single speed for pleasure riding.

Sure, all Real™ Cyclists buy their bikes in a Real bike shop. It is a prerequisite for membership in the Real™ Cyclists Club.

You read what you wanted to see, there is nothing implied or implicit in the cited Schwinn statement remotely related to your translation/IOW comment about the purpose of those bikes, and your "in other words" is nothing but a shout out of your own opinion.

re: "Sure, all Real™ Cyclists buy their bikes in a Real bike shop. It is a prerequisite for membership in the Real™ Cyclists Club."

Oh good, cuz I wouldn't want to be a poser

I think at least some of it probably is snobbery. I agree: the way people turn their noses up at these, as they say, "bike-shaped objects" can be a little annoying. If a person just needs something to ride around for a couple of miles, once a month or so, spending several hundred dollars on a "brand" bike (which is assembled in Taiwan, anyway) might not be necessary.

I must say, it's extremely unwise (in my opinion) of Schwinn to try to be in both the "serious" and "big-box" genres of bicycle manufacturing. It's not that they're being "greedy"; it's that people go for brands, usually, in the hope of getting a certain quality. One "knows" what a Huffy in and one "knows" what a Bianchi is; with Schwinn, a person has no idea what the brand stands for. I remember hearing good things about them, for instance, and walking in to a Toys "R" us to see that — while the Trek I liked couldn't be had for less than $500 — I could own a Schwinn ("Yay!") for around one Franklin. When I got home to log on to Schwinn's Web site to research the model, and couldn't find it, I started digging, and learned, the bike I had seen had indeed been a "'Schwinn'" and not a "Schwinn."

But, would he have been properly ("adequately") trained for the job of assembling bikes? I think there's a common idea out there that "that kid at Wal-Mart with a wrench is going to mess up putting your bike together," but I wonder how much veracity this concern has. Of course, an experience mechanic at a bike shop will (should) know "more" than a person at a big-box store, but, the question is, will the latter have adequate knowledge to assemble a bicycle properly? If not, there's a problem; if so, there isn't one.

If the saddle bothers you, have you considered replacing it with one that is more comfortable?

I read somewhere either here on the bikeforums or elsewhere on the net that Raleigh U.S.A. in the 80"s was really owned by Huffy. If this is true then I guess my new to me 25ish year old bike is actually a Huffy. :-)
https://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.p...postcount=4963

That's an interesting idea - pack a decent saddle with me on my trips. I'll think about it.

Paul

*shrug* So what do you see, since you seem to be an expert on subtext?

The bike manufacturer makes bikes of different quality/component combinations at different price levels for different markets and wholesale/retail customers.

Just like numerous other manufacturers. To use an auto manufacurer as an example - Toyota makes the Camry and Lexus with different component levels than it does for the Yaris and Corolla. It doesn't mean that IOW the Corollas and Yaris are "POS designed for the huddled ignorant masses" who drive their car any differently than the high priced models.

I rode one (MTB) at lunch down to the powerlines where I found a Mongoose. I'll visit that bike again later with my car I think.

i just finished killing off my huffy tempas 18 spd mountain bike. it was a fun bike, great ride too. alas, it would of cost more to fix than to buy my new bike.

word to the wise: brands mean nothing. they all do the same thing. the only difference is prefference, parts, quality and price.

I rode a friend's "Huffy-type" (it was a Magna) bike a couple of blocks, to-day. It felt fine. Of course, one might say, "Anything should feel 'fine' for a couple of blocks," but, nonetheless — the thing certainly didn't fall apart — .

my beater/fixed gear/polo bike is built up from a huffy frame. heavy as ****, but it gets the job done and it's bulletproof.

it's also steel, and the more i ride, the more I like steel. at least for my non straight-road bikes.

Riding anything is better than not riding anything. I think anyway.

There was a guy a year or two back who bought a Walmart Denali and rode it till it died. The thread went on forever and was both incredibly entertaining and informative. Worth a read if you really want to learn what big box bikes can/can't do. Poster's name was CigTech.

However, the Denali is still much higher quality than Magna/Huffy or equivalent. There really are serious issues with build quality that can have catastrophic results. Things like brakes malfunctioning or derailers going into spokes. Decidedly un-fun. Also, because some of them use non-standard parts, repairing them can be difficult (if it made financial sense anyway).

The general consensus is that it's fool's economy to get one of those bikes. You'd want to have a mechanic inspect it if you were going to do much riding on it, which would eat up your cost savings. At any price point, there are safer, better bikes available used than in big box stores.

Some trolls will try to make snarky comments about bike snobs and whatnot looking down at cheaper bikes. That is *not* the issue here. The issues are durability, safety, and value, and those hold true at any price point from $20 to $2000.

Life's too short to ride junk. You deserve better than that. As far as keeping it maintained, a master mechanic would have trouble keeping a Huffy in adjustment.

About 10 years ago, I bought a Huffy Savannah Cruise from the Sports Authority. As the name implies, it was a "cruiser" type bike with a 6 speed drivetrain, fenders, and a nice chainguard. It didn't hurt the fact that it was an attractive looking bike

The Savannah Cruise rode like a dream and was very comfortable. I rode it for a full year before selling it with no issues what so ever. I think it helped that the assemblers at the Sports Authority are real bike mechanics, and I took advantage of a free bike tune up offer that's good after the first 30 days of ownership just like most bike shops do.

So it's hard to judge sometimes how good these bikes can or can't be because in this case, the retailer's standard of product assembly and after sale service is certainly well above that of the typical big box stores.

Now since the topic of Huffys was brough up, I find myself "eyeing" this bike, thinking that I would like another bike for errand running, and such, and going hummmm.

https://www.amazon.com/Men%2527s-Huff...3739317&sr=8-1

Cheers

My second bike wasn't a Huffym but it did come from Target. Had I known about it beforehand, I'd have bought it instead of the first bike from the bike store.

you're a jackass if you think retail bikes are pure crap for everything.

i dont think people are going to wal mart, saying "oh gee, today i get one of 'em like armstrong's!"

people dont go to kia dealerships and expect bugatti quality.

if you're doing a 10 mile commute, then a 100 buck bike is fine.