A Great Mid Class Mt. Bike
Written: Jul 12 '06 (Updated Jul 18 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: you get what you pay for
Cons: no disc brake mounts.
The Bottom Line: The frame can take a beating
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| mtwiberg's Full Review: Schwinn Mesa |
I started mountain biking to cross train for track, but soon found that I wanted to bike for more than just cross training. My dad¡¦s early nineties Giant just was not going to do. I wanted to get my own bike. Later that summer I earned enough money to buy my own bike. I went to the bike shop looking for a hard-tail mountain bike that was not very heavy or pricey; the Schwinn Mesa is the bike I found.
Frame
My Schwinn Mesa has a twenty-one inch 7005 aluminum alloy frame. The mesa has an option of many sizes; the bike shop I bought mine from had size options ranging anywhere from sixteen inches to twenty-one inches. Because there is no rear suspension, don not count on using it for an extreme downhill bike. I have used mine for some light downhill, but it can be a rough ride. After I wore out my first set of brake pads, I noticed that the frame had disc-brake mounts.
Shocks
The Manitou STX shocks are far under sufficient for heavy mountain biking. I had been riding for only a year in the mountains of central Utah when I had to replace mine. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with its performance. If you buy this bike and plan on using it for nothing more than riding around the streets it will be great, and the shocks will hold up fantastically for years. The Manitou STX has an adjustable spring in them so the comfort of riding will can very depending on what style of riding your doing.
Components
My Schwinn Mesa has been equipped with Shimano Deore rear and front derailers. Deore is under sufficient for the experts but for a beginner rider. Evan intermediate riders should not have a lot to complain about. The derailers have survived all of my crashes and abuse. They go out of tune about every six months; learn how to tune them yourself or get your bike serviced regularly. The brakes are not much to complain about since they are V-brakes. They are not going to stop as fast as discs will stop. Do not be troubled by this, because if they are squeezed to hard the stop will come faster than expected. The downfall of any brake pad is that when they get wet or muddy they slow the bike down about half as fast as if they were dry. I must mention again that you will not be able to upgrade to discs due to the lack of disc brake mounts.
Weight
I have weighed the bike a few times and every time I do it total weight comes out to be thirty-two pounds.
Other
I do want to mention how much I like the wide cross-country style handle bars. They are plain black and say mesa on them. The curve up so the biker does not have to bend so far down, the further a rider bends his back down the more likely he or she will have a sore back after the ride. The Crank arms that came on the bike were Shimano Deore. After only three and a half months, they came loose. The bike shop could not fix this problem but I blame it on them because they did not try very hard.
I paid 600 dollars for this bike but I know that it was worth every penny.
RECOMMENDATIONS
I would recommend the Schwinn Mesa to anyone that wants to begin mountain biking. This bike is a little much for those that want to ride around town casually. This is not an extreme downhill mountain bike. A few weeks ago, I took it down a jeep trail on the mountain near my house; I cannot begin to tell how many times my front shocks bottomed out. Because I used this bike on an extreme downhill trail, I wrecked twice. I have had countless hours of fun on cross-country trails. The Mesa is defiantly a bike for cross-country riders.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mtwiberg
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Member: Nate
Location: Utah
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I'm a full time college student.
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