blackbird123

Hello everyone, new here so take it easy please

I have decided to buy myself a new bike. The last bike I had was a hand-me-down and definitely had a number of issues I've been putting up with. It was a 1970 something Schwinn Super LeTour for those interested. So today I stopped by the local Specialized dealer and found the Specialized Sirrus line. I really liked the Specialized Sirrus Sport. (I cant post links because I'm new) The carbon fork seemed to make a big difference during the test ride. Overall, the bike feels pretty much perfect.

However, over the weekend I also stopped by the local Dicks, and found the Schwinn Signature Men's Super Sport Hybrid bike. (Again, sorry I can't post a direct link for everyone).

Now these two look pretty much identical to me. Does anyone have any experience with the Schwinn? Its $400 cheaper, but the only difference I can see with my amateur eyes is the cable pulled disk brakes.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

124Spider

One man's opinion (but at least I admit it!):

Specialized is a fine brand; I had a Sirrus for years, and it was an excellent bike.

Schwinn is not a quality brand (any longer; now a completely different company than when your bike was made). I wouldn't buy one.

There are lots of other good brands you might look at, also, like Trek. Generally, stores that carry Specialized bikes don't carry many (or any) other brands, so look in another good bike shop (or, e.g., and REI) for other bikes priced similar to the Specialized you like.

Avoid buying from a department store, unless you're happy getting a relatively poor-quality bike (but also paying less, so it might be something to consider, as long as you keep in mind that department stores rarely carry quality bikes).

Ride the bikes for a bit, and make sure you'll be getting support for a year or so.

TiHabanero

First, you need to compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges. The bikes are not in the same price category, which affects the quality of the components that comes on it. In this case, the Schwinn is a good bike for a newbie that is not sure what kind of riding he plans on doing or how much he will enjoy riding if there is even time for it. A good place to start and upgrade into a more expensive bike in a year or two.

The two bikes should not be compared to each other as one is twice the price of the other. 900 bucks vs. 475 (msrp pricing both bikes).

delbiker1 

There is a reason the Schwinn is $400 cheaper, it is crap. The Specialized is made with decent components and, if taken care of, will last a long time. Buying the much better bike will save time and money, short and long term.

livedarklions

I think where you'd notice a big difference between the two bikes right away is in the shifting. The Spesh is going to be much smoother and faster than the Schwinn, and with much better range of gears. The derailleurs on the spesh are just much better.

You won't be able to appreciate the difference before you buy because Dick's "linoleum test ride" policy doesn't really let you get a feel for the bike.

Also, if you can, check out the Trek FX line bikes. Very similar style. I put about 4500 miles on my FX3 last year, and it's a blast.
​​​​

Kedosto

fietsbob

Bulletin: Many Importer Brands go to a handful of Large OEM manufacturers that supply them with quality, cheaply and efficiently

and ship them across the oceans for much less than they can do domestically

fitted with components from a company just down the road, also saving Money..

differences mostly in contract details ... parts picks are the job of a product manager...

Maelochs

I can't post links because I am new ... even if I try workarounds like "ttps://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/1169624-help-me-compare-bike-brands.html----Add the 'H'" or something.

The links rule is to keep advertisers form singing up and flooding the pages with ads .... if you actually post links to the bikes you are considering, i don't imagine anyone would complain ... and if you abused the privilege, i can guarantee you people would get you shut down tout de suite.

Your choices, your options .....

Maelochs

Most people here would suggest that you spend as much as possible to get as much hardware up front as possible ... either you will get a better return when you sell it, barely used, three years from now, or you will get a decade or more of joyful use out of it.

Your best bet, if you have very limited experience,is to learn the terms and labels. Every parts manufacturer has a quality/price hierarchy, and once you recognize the names, you will have a good idea of what you are getting. The best way to do this is to go to local bikes hops and look and take notes, then go home and hit google. Some shops will have knowledgeable salespeople who can really fill you in, and some salespeople will just try to fool you ... but you know that. Take notes, check it out.

Once you know what the names of the components indicate, you can decide what your budget is and look for bikes in that quality range---and you can find deals, but you will always have to compromise in different places on different bikes. However ... so long as you stay with reputable manufacturers and above a minimum level of quality, you are pretty much guaranteed to get a bike which will last for a long time and provide joy throughout that time.

A bike like that Schwinn Looks like a decent bike, but the manufacturers cut enough quality corners (to get the price down that far, to reach the desired customer base. People who don't really want to cycle, but just want bicycles, would likely be wells served by that Schwinn. Bikes to hang off the back of the RV to ride around the campground, or bikes to take out to the local paved bike path one weekend a month for a leisurely ride ... awesome.

People who are going to ride a few times a week and actually do some distance will appreciate the better performance and reliability of the better bikes ... or maybe not, because you won't end up walking home several mioles (or calling an uber) as you might with one of the cheaper offerings. You will never know you dodged a bullet (or, less dramatically, a breakdown.)

u235

A bike is a sum of the components, a small part is the company sticker on the frame. I suggest buy low and adjust and replace as required if and when your needs change. The total difference in drive train between the two bikes posted is about $20. Acera/Atlus on Specialized vs Tourney on the Schwinn. A simple swap to a Deore 591/592 derailleur when either of those rear derailleurs gets wonky is cheap and a great upgrade.

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/schwinn-signature-mens-super-sport-hybrid-bike-18hjlm700msprsprtdsba

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/sirrus-sport/p/106264

jon c. 

Across major brands, there's not much difference in quality. Buy what feels best to you. Box store brands are the exception and are of lower quality. If a friend were asking me, I'd suggest buying a used bike of better quality before opting for a Schwinn or other box store brand.

subgrade

Seeing as the OP mentioned carbon fork on the Sirrus, I believe this is the one he's talking about (the price fits too).
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/me...=225852-154511

In that case the difference is quite considerable.

Garfield Cat

Buy a bike that seems right and then a year later after 1,500 miles or so, dump it for another bike. Repeat several times. Give the previous bike to a local cooperative that serves the community.

What happens? You learn the hard way, like everyone else. Why read everyone else's thoughts? So you may learn the easier way, sometimes.

Bonzo Banana

I base my bike choice on component quality mainly. Brand is less important nowadays when most are pretty much importers most of the time. Such brands regularly change factories to get the cheapest price so they can beat their competitors and improve their margin. We don't know what factory they are currently using but we can see component quality and the specification of the bike should give further details. Bikes are tested and certified to be safe. You have to look at the components fitted. I wouldn't buy a mountain bike with a freewheel and even so called decent brands offer that on their entry level models. If I had $400 to spend I might find better choices at dicks sporting goods than a local independent bike shop. Sometimes a top of the range model from a low end brand is better than a low end model from a top brand that sells for the same money. I've gone into local bike shops and seen entry level models that were horrifically poor value but were clearly there so the bike shop had an affordable model to sell. It makes sense to use your common sense, do some research on what is the best compromise between price and component quality for you. Set yourself a realistic specification for your budget and work to get the very best deal that matches or exceeds that specification.

Jim from Boston

Help me to compare bike brands

Just this morning I posted to another, similar thread:I mention my other bikes to show I'm accustomed to quality, in endorsing the Giant Escape.

fietsbob

Pick the Dealer you like best first,, the bike shop.. then get a bike there.. in person,
do test rides, compare service after the sale ..

all that stuff is a lot of the difference when manufacturing consolidation limits the actual differences

All things being equal, They will be ...




..

Maelochs

@fietsbob always posts that, and I always disagree ... if the bike shop is worth visiting, it will repair your bike no matter where you bought it ... and most shops make money on accessories and repairs, not ont he bike sale itslef.

Find the right bike. You will be stuck with the frame at least for a goods long time, unless you really do use the "Buy ti, hate it, replace it" method to burn through your bank account.

As a rule, manufacturers don't hang good components on crappy frames ... but if you have specific questions, people online who own the bike can give you all kinds of unreliable answers.

best bet is to save more money .... the extra few hundred is a third of a penny a day ten years down the road, and if you buy wisely you ill still be enjoying your bike a decade from now.

Litespud

People who know bikes don't buy their bikes from the likes of Dicks Sports or any other big box store. This means that the big boxes can sell crap to people, and they do, because their clientele generally knows no better. Schwinn is now just a name bought to lend legitimacy to an otherwise anonymous (likely Chinese) maker of crap bargain-basement bikes. Don't waste your money if you're any way interested in cycling in the long term.

Jim from Boston

Indeed I added a similar @fietsbob quote to my recent post on this thread. And I frequently post:

u235

Shimano EF 7 speed shifters, a Shimano Tourney or Acera rear mech, and random square taper cranks are the same exact experience if they are on a Giant, Specialized, or a Schwinn. Do not get mesmerized and think a Tourney on a Specialized bought at an LBS is somehow just better. To make a blanket statement that Dicks or Schwinn is junk and almost the same level of components on a Specialized bought from an LBS isn't the same is terribly misleading.

There are good reasons to buy a low cost lower spec bike, specially when you are starting out and it is a hybrid. In 6 months you are either not riding it much, it is time to move up to something else, or with some basic wrenching skills you are happy with it. No one is ever going full down hill, doing a pace line and time trials, or typically touring on a stock hybrid. No amount of money spent on a hybrid transforms it to something it is not and does not change its primary usage and purpose which is a comfortable general purpose all-rounder. If you find you want to do specific things at higher levels and the hybrid is not cutting it, you get something for that purpose. I am not knocking hybrids, I put 3000 miles on one in 18 months with a lead filled front shock and all. It was great until it wasn't. I'd still be happily riding it if my goals and rides didn't change. I'm glad I did not pay more than a few hundred for it because I would have eventually come to the same decision.

mstateglfr 

I get that you work part time in a shop, so maybe that's where this is coming from, but at best its dated advice and at worst is just plain wrong. Probably somewhere between those things, I guess.

Why on earth would you pick a shop then buy whatever they happen to carry? That limits a consumer to 15% of the products, if that.

My wife's road bike came from a shop I don't like and haven't been back to since the bike was bought 4 years ago. She got thst bike because it fit the best, she liked the look the most, and the price worked.
had she gone to the shop she likes the most, that bike wouldnt have been available because of dealer rules. Actually, she did go to the shop she likes. Actually 2 shops she likes. The comparable bikes at those shops werent what she wanted and liked.

when it comes to bike sales, find the bike you like regardless of shop. When it comes to soft goods, find the products you like regardless of shop. When it comes to service, find the service you like regardless of shop.

Why go to a car dealer then find a car that works for you when there are dozens of other dealers selling a ton of different style cars in the category you like?
it would be dumb to buy a car because you like the dealer when you actually like a few other cars more that are from other dealers.

mstateglfr 

f you also mentioned sometjing like what fietsbob mentioned...

- your view is also outdated.
- nobody realized you had posted a similar comment because it's seemingly impossible to track whats happening in your posts.

fietsbob

taiwan makes good bikes for the consumers to buy at apparently reasonable costs.. so its hard to find a bike
without a made in taiwan sticker on it..

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by fietsbob

Pick the Dealer you like best first,, the bike shop.. then get a bike there.. in person,
do test rides, compare service after the sale ..

all that stuff is a lot of the difference when manufacturing consolidation limits the actual differences

All things being equal, They will be ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

I get that you work part time in a shop, so maybe that's where this is coming from, but at best its dated advice and at worst is just plain wrong. Probably somewhere between those things, I guess.

Why on earth would you pick a shop then buy whatever they happen to carry? That limits a consumer to 15% of the products, if that….when it comes to bike sales, find the bike you like regardless of shop. When it comes to soft goods, find the products you like regardless of shop. When it comes to service, find the service you like regardless of shop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

Indeed I added a similar @fietsbob quote to my recent post on this thread. And I frequently post:…

Quote:

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

f you also mentioned something like what fietsbob mentioned...

- your view is also outdated.
- nobody realized you had posted a similar comment because it's seemingly impossible to track whats happening in your posts.

Well, for the last 20+ years of my cycling lifestyle here in Boston, including buying four bikes, the @fietsbob approach has worked well for me, and I’ve not felt limited.

Indeed, Boston has many well-stocked, quality bike shops in a relatively small area, including Sheldon Brown's home shop.If anybody is interested, see post #15 (link) above. FWIW I have posted:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

I describe my riding experience as a cycling lifestyle (of 40 years). I once listed as my credentials: a carbon fiber bike, year-round cycle-commuting, a cross-country tour, and a serious car-bike accident

Maelochs

I have to back @mstateglfr here.

IF the shop you like sells the bike you want at a price you like ... well,you are lucky. But what if it doesn't?

If the guy down the street sells a bike which fits me, has the build kit I want, and is at the right price, while my "favorite" shop doesn't have all that, why would I buy a bike which cost too much, didn't fit, and didn't have the parts I wanted?

By and large bikes at equal price points are going to be of equal quality---but it is the little things. I know Giant with its Defy and later Contend line, had a bargain frame for the first couple models and a Much better frame for everything else. So for me, (because I was looking for an Al endurance bike) that made a difference---I could get a Giant with lower-end parts and upgrade later, because the frame supported the investment. Some of th competing bikes

In the end i found a Fuji at performance with 105 at a huge discount. I don't care if the guy at Performance was a neo-nazi who kidnapped kids ... i saved three hundred dollars and got the bike I wanted. (and of course, Performance since died and has been inexpertly resurrected.) The only local shop (no need to worry about variety when there is only one shop in town) has trustworthy staff and will gladly work on Any bike. But i didn't want to pay their prices or buy their products. No stress.

As I said above, the shop isn't making money on the bike, it makes money on the accessories and repairs.

Also, Jim from the Home of the Revolution, you have a two-decade relationship with the shop. Not at all the same if I walk into a shop. Idon;'t get to sit around swapping stories with the owner ... I meet whichever salesman is on duty. he doesn't know me, he isn't looking to steer me to any deals for me ... maybe for him. The owner isn't going to come out and say, "I have an awesome bike at half price that would be perfect for you," the way that shop owner did for you.

I could say, "Buy bikes at the same store for 20 years, so you can get a good bike," but that would be silly.

And in fact ... didn't you and your wife already own bikes when you first went to that store? After your honeymoon bike tour? So no matter how awesome your 20-year relationship with this guy has been, at some point you had to buy bikes, not pick a store .... and probably rode your bike to his store.

Shoot .... When I moved south, there weren't many shops in town and only one had been there 20 years (and I am sure still is.) Most of the shops there now have opened since then ,,, and a lot have opened and closed. So a guy compromises on the bike he really wants in order to give his business to a certain shop ... and five years later the shop goes out of business.

it ain't the old days---we are just relics of those days.

As mstateglfr points out, if you want a Corvette, getting a Mustang isn't going to cut it. Buy the bike you want, and then find the shop which treats you best and get all your parts and service there.