powerband

I already posted some pictures of the Madison in the picture thread, but when I was researching the bike I couldn't any pictures other than the few that are buried deep in the thousands of pages of the picture thread in the sticky. I know I sure would have appreciated finding pictures from owners of the Madison when I was researching the Schwinn, so I figured I'd post some in its own thread. I'll add some brief comments.

Going into the the purchase of the Madison, I knew several traits about the bike I did not like. The stock handle bar was big and clumsy, the stem long and cheap, and the entire rig heavy (about 23.3 pounds with both brakes, full reflectors and stock pedals). The stock drop bar and stock stem were immediately changed with chopped bullhorns and a no-name 80mm stem I had laying around. This change saved well over 1 1/2 pound. Believe me, when I say that the stock bar and stem weighed a lot, I mean A LOT -- and I suspect this is one of the few areas that Schwinn cut cost, in order to allow the retail price to drop down to well below $400.



Because I don't trust the build process by many gorilla mechanics at most bike shops, I uninstalled most components to re-grease them and to torque them back together appropriately. When I pulled the seat post off, it was like a bad comedy in which the post kept coming out (like a dozen clowns climbing out of a Mini Cooper). This thing was so long it must have reached all the way down to the first brazed-on bolt belonging to the water-bottle cage holder. The seat post is made of cheap metal that was dense and heavy, like a lead pipe you'd use to knock out a gorilla. I pulled a no-name seat post from one of my other bikes and weighed the two, and it must have been a difference of nearly a pound! It was hilarious, like a surgeon showing up to brain surgery with an axe. Holy *****. I will definitely switch this post out. (And, by the way, most of the components DID NOT have any grease on them: The fork steer tube, the seat post, the pedal threads, the cog and lock ring, and the many bolts. Not surprising.)



This ain't no Schwinn, and I knew that going in. But I'm OK with this, because it is a sweet steel frame on which to build a daily ride. The bottom bracket is REALLY high, and I feel like I'm sitting on a fence while riding. All the usual bumps on the road are absorbed very well, like passing muffled thumps, rather than sharp clanks. It turns nicely, not sharp like a carbon or aluminum bike, but not numb like a heavy steel bike with relaxed geometry. It's responsive on commutes to work, training rides and fast jaunts to the book store or coffee house, and it doesn't surprise you with sudden twitches if you try to dodge that pothole at the last second.

Nothing rattles, nothing clanks, and the drive train is smooth with barely any chain noise, even while commuting in the early hours of morning silence. It is pleasing to hear the subtle thumps underneath as you hit imperfections in the road.

The light blue color is eye-catching, and especially complimented by the chrome on the fork, seat stays and chain stays. When I carried it into work, I half-expected colleagues to poke fun at the baby-blue color, but I wasn't surprised when everyone gathered to ogle and compliment its look. The color is concurrently gentle and bold. I thought that you either hate it or love it. So far everyone who has seen it doesn't appear to hate it, that is if you consider drooling non-offensive.



Once again, this ain't no original Schwinn, but for the price, you can call it whatever you want. Once the seat post is switched out for a decent one with the correct length and lighter weight, the bike, with its pleasing appearance, is a great value.

If you can find it for around $400 or less, it's a great option to several available fixed or single-speed bikes available in the same price range.

Cheers.

Adam777

I asked this in your other thread, but figured I'd ask again here. Where did you get the bike for that price? I really want one of these, but really don't NEED it. At that price, however, I would buy one for sure.

Matt T

nice write up. great looking bike!

Mr23779

powerband,

I recently ran across another thread here which talked about the Schwinn Madison. Being VERY new to singlespeeds and what's out there...I had to do a Google search. Ran across the 2007 white version of the Madison and fell in love with it. Gorgeous! I'm still not sure about the blue, but people have said it looks WAY better in person than it does on the Schwinn website or in pictures.

Do you find that to be true?

Heck, for $400...I'd snatch that bike up in a hurry!

powerband

Performance Bicycle store near me had a huge sale over this past weekend. I went in to buy a chain, then saw the bike that I've been researching, and came home with it. The funny thing was I forgot to buy the chain for which I originally came into the store.

powerband

It does look much better in person than any of the pictures that I've seen on the internet. I also saw a white in person and it looks good, too.

Mr23779

I was in a Performance Bike shop this past weekend looking for something and asked the guys in the bike shop there if they happened to have a Madison in stock. They laughed at me and told me that Schwinn was back-logged for more than 6 months on orders for the bike. Yikes!

powerband

Wow. The shop from which I bought mine had a size small and a large. Being the negotiating freak, I tried to get them to drop another 5% off the already-low sale price, on the account that the large doesn't fit me and the small barely fits me (even though an adjustment in the stem length easily would nake it a perfect fit). Their response: Both would sell by the end of the day, and if not then they would sell by Monday, or Tuesday at latest, at their regular price.

I'm not saying that these are fantastic bikes (as was obvious in my original post above), but for some reason these seem to be selling well, at least at the shop I got mine at.

The gearing is 48 X 18, which is slightly smaller than my track set-up. It was a fantastic ride into work this morning. I smoked a co-worker on his geared bike... but I can't say that this was a reflection of the bike as much as its motor.

cc700

i walked into my performance bike and saw one of these for sale for 400.

i walked out with (the parts to build) this:
https://velospace.org/node/11121

with the frameset and wheel and ss kit i bought, i could have bought the madison. but i didn't and i'm glad, because my bike isn't a schwinn either.
my bike is 18 pounds. yes, i had the brakes and cranks and bars and stem and front wheel lying around my parts bin, but still... the madison is great but 400 for it is not the best deal of the century. it's heavy! stem and bars or not, it's heavy!

sosso

Really nice write up!

jimisnowhere

Could we get a post upgrade weight?

cc700

he said it saved over 1.5 lbs so i'd assume it's closer to 1.5 than 2, and at 23.3 lbs pre upgrades let's say that puts it at 21.5 minimum.

21.5 minimum ain't bad, but my kilo tt on heavy dp18s weighs about that.

powerband

In addition to changing the stock drop bar and stem, I changed the stock pedals with their toe-cages to the much lighter Crankbrother's Candy clipless pedals, and I just installed a new, shorter and much lighter seat post (I was happy to donate the stock lead pipe to the local neighborhood thugs). Then, since I don't ride freewheel, I took off the freewheel cog (a heavy little bugger!). Front and back reflectors and their brackets were also removed, as well as reflectors on the wheels.

Then I swung the bike over my shoulder and stepped onto a medical scale (bike subtract bodyweight). Post-upgrade weight of the Schwinn Madison: a hair over 20 pounds.

Really, the upgrade costed me only a new no-name-brand seat post that was only 250mm, instead of the stock utility pole Schwinn called a seat post. This was a $25 upgrade. The rest of the upgrade parts I had laying around the garage.

I'm no weight weenie, but in the future, when the stock wheels become worn and tired, I plan on upgrading to nicer wheels, and that might bring the bike to below 20 pounds -- somewhere around 19 pounds or so. Not bad for a steel commuter.

legstwelve

I went to buy one of these in Melbourne but they are sold out everywhere, even though I am yet to see one on the streets. I was able to test ride a large (I would fit better on a medium) and it was great. As mentioned previously the 48x18 gearing is quite good, although I'd probably prefer 48x17 as it's a little bit too high when riding down a slight incline but this is easy to change out. The TruVativ cranks it comes with are actually pretty good but the pedals are junk. It is a pretty nimble bike and I had no problem with handling/pedal strike going around tight corners or accelerating.

The frame itself is really beautiful, the baby blue matched with chrome looks infinitely better in person that it does in the pictures, It has no brazed-on guides for the back break cable and uses a cable tie to hold it to the frame. Surprisingly it doesn't look terrible and is good if you're going to ride fixed and remove the rear brake. The frame is like a hybrid of a road/track bike, high bottom bracket but a slightly less aggressive geometry and you can have a water bottle cage. Basically perfect for commuting.

I guess the major downside is that the pedals, seatpost, stem and handlebars really are junk, which I guess you have to expect at that pricepoint. The seatpost is comedically long, the pedals don't feel solid at all and the stem/handlebars are really badly machined. I don't know much about the wheels but they seemed OK.

If you purchase the frame separately I would be on this in a heartbeat, but unfortunately you can't. In Australia it is $800 (ridiculous considering the almost 1:1 exchange rate now) and unless you just happen to have a cache of spare bike parts your looking at spending at least $200 on upgrading the components, that is if you are like me and accustomed to riding with nice components.

So I'd definitely consider the Madison when picking up an entry level fixed bike, and unlike the IRO/Kilo you can actually purchase it in a shop

skinnyland

Anybody else think their sizing system is a little funny?

lisitsa

Where did you look in Melbourne. I got mine a few months ago at BikePro. They seemed not in huge demand at that time, but I know now Bikepro has discounted them to 630 dollars so check it out now. I called them a few days ago and they seemed to have a few left. The sizing that was written on my bike was XL -- Suitable for 188 to 198 cm. I'm 195 so it sounded good for me. On the other hand if you give me 58 or 60cm I still don't really know what size corresponds with what height.

daybreak

i love the madison. I test rode one at performance bike and would have pulled the trigger if they had my size (test rode a medium and i'm right in between an xs-s). The salesman tried to steer me towards the SE Lager and told me to stay away from the madison, but out of the two bikes the Madison felt better. It is a beautiful bike.

cc700

the salesperson is just trying to get the lager off the floor. those bikes are terrible.

powerband

Yes, Schwinn's sizing system (on the Madison) tickles my bone a little. So if you're considering one, make sure you look up and are familiar with their geometry for the XS, S, M and L. I usually ride a medium, but having looked at their geometry, the small was perfect for me.

This bike has so far been a very worthy commuter. Very comfortable and absorbs road bumps like a champ and without feeling disconnected to the road.

lalasf

their sizing system is ridiculous. the XS is supposedly for people between 5' and 5'4". i'm 5'2" and had to stand on my toes to clear the top tube.

legstwelve

I went to a store in the city called iRide and rang around a few shops as well as also checking out Brunswick cycles. I left my number with a few stores so they could let me know when they get more in stock but never heard back from any so just assumed no new shipments have arrived.

I've since bought a Bianchi Pista frameset and am building that up now, I was only going to get the Madison for the frame and cranks so it shouldn't cost me too much more money.

How are you finding the Madison after a few months of use, have you changed the handlebars or made any other changes?

powerband

Someone had requested (through PM) a few up-close pictures of the bar, stem and brake. I thought I'd post them here to share with some of you. They are no-name parts.

The bullhorns are chopped-and-flopped aluminum drop bars I had laying around.




The stem is a no-name, stiff but very light aluminum piece that, again, I had laying around.




The front brake calipers are a Tektro that came stock on the bike. (The brake lever is a no-name BMX-style brake lever, the second piece in a set of two that I purchased to have one for my other fixed bike, which is primarily a track set-up, save the few times that I train on it on public roads -- thus a front brake. You'll also notice that the lever on the Madison is supposed to be for the right side, but I installed it backward because I prefer braking with my left hand.)




They serve their purpose.



Cheers.

sosso

Thanks for the pictures! Looks very similar to my setup. I chopped some drop bars which I picked up for free from a bike co-op, used a Giant stem which I was given by a guy at my LBS when I bought some bar tape and used the original front brake caliper and a Tektro lever. Excuse my shoddy bar tape job.. it was my first ever attempt!

cc700

the black really matches the tires and contrasts with the chrome... nice. it took me ten or so wraps to do it halfway decent, yours doesn't look so bad at all.

sfcrossrider

The blue looks great. For the money I don't see how you could beat it.