newbiebiker000

Hi. This is newbie s hubby : newbie convert
My wife joined this forum yesterday and spent all day researching here. By evening she had sat me down and shown me one of the threads where you guys were working on getting your wives to ride. Impressed and motivated. Thank you guys you are doing some great work.
But well, here is the thing for me : we are new to US and have almost no knowledge of the brands here. Plus I am new to my workplace and really need time to put my head in. I wish I could dedicate my time in researching and finding good bikes. But i am unable to take too much time out.
So for now I am planning on taking a short and cheap route to getting our family in saddle - I am planning on getting mid price range Schwinn bikes for all three of us (sacrilege ?). Yesterday we went to a local target and checked out some bikes. Seemed okay. I just dont want to spend too much time looking and losing the rest of the summer.
That said, I am still forking more than a grand for the three bikes and I want to know if I am making the right decision. Both of us liked schwinn bike path series, my son liked their aerospace.
Thanks for your suggestions. Looking forward to hearing from you guys.

10 Wheels

Welcome to Bike Forums.

Here is 30 reviews,
https://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-700c-M...ews/B000KZ1G7Q

qcpmsame 

Hi, glad you joined in too, welcome to BF. If you've purchased bikes, get them properly fitted for all of you, preferably at a Local Bike Shop (LBS), as well as letting them go over the bikes for the correct assembly (safety issues.) Best of luck on the family cycling, until the kids grew up and left we did this, it is time well spent.

Bill

MRT2

Welcome to bike forums. You won't find much love for department store bikes here. While Schwinn used to have a good reputation, their department store bikes aren't great.

But, like most of the folks here, I am a bike enthusiast. My recommendation is to find a good local bike shop and work with them. You will spend a bit more up front, but you will get better bikes, and hopefully, better service.

Also not sure Target is the cheapest or most convenient way to go. You probably will need follow up service on any new bike, especially department store bikes. And you won't get it at Target or Wal Mart, which means you will either have to take the time to fix and/or reassemble the bike yourself, or pay a mechanic at a bike shop to do it. And, you will still have a cheap, department store bike.

Don't get me wrong. Big box stores are great places to get underwear, socks, or jeans. But, IMO, not bikes.

MRT2

If OP should take the department store bikes to a bike shop, why not just go to the LBS to begin with?

qcpmsame 

Read replies carefully please.

Bill

newbiebiker000

Guys thanks v much. How is Nishiki ? I am looking at their Tamarack Comfort for wife.

RaleighSport

Okay I'll be the one to say it... try looking at Bikes Direct, you can get non BSO bikes at about BSO prices, minor assembly required but if you're going to follow the advice already given about taking a BSO bike to the LBS to have it safety checked anyways, you may as well just do it with a BD bike.

Oh yeah, welcome aboard and wonderful for you and your family for deciding to get on two wheels each!

newbiebiker000

Thanks !! I like it

Fastfingaz

I don't know of you remember back in the DAY as they say! when you were a kid and you got a 18 inch bike then as you grew you got a 20 or a 24 inch and then you got bigger you graduated to the 26 inch bike and you rode that till you got tired of it or you got a car!!! I think that we're puting too much science into buying a bike these days,,,,sounds to me that guy just wants to take his family to the park and ride around , just saying,,,,, don't complicate your life,,,,,now when you start doing triatholons or duatholons then you start paying more attention to you equipment and quality,,,,,,,my oppinion

MRT2

House brand for Dick's Sporting Goods. Another department store bike. Unless, you are talking about a vintage Nishiki from the 80s, but that was a different company.

MRT2

Except that, in my case at least, the bike I got when I was 5 was for up and down the block. The bike I got when I was 8 was for a radius of a half mile or so, and the bike I bought when I was 14 was for riding around town, or to school, occasionally, or to the mall and home, or around 6 miles. Anything over 10 was practically a grand tour for me. I remember once when I was about 16, my friend and I took a ride to the next town over and we felt like big bike tourists.

My first bike as an adult, a late 90s Bianchi, was a revelation. 10 miles was a warm up, 25, an average weekend ride, and 40 miles wasn't out of the question. Comfort, fit, and quality makes a big difference, IMO.

BTW, Bikes Direct isn't a bad idea if money is tight, though I think newbies are still better off getting their first bikes from a local bike shop.