great mountain bike frame
Written: Jan 26 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheap, strong frame, non-2.6FS (more dark grey) looks cool, easy to maintain/upgrade parts.
Cons: heavy frame (stock 42 lbs), most components plastic, cheap parts, replace most parts
The Bottom Line: If you are riding this bike as a communter, A .
If you want to ride on trails, D .
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| da_sauce's Full Review: Schwinn Sidewinder 2.6 FS 26-Inch Mens' All-Terrai... |
This review is written from the perspective of an avid off-road cyclist. I have the non-2.6FS version but there was no page for it, plus the pic on this page is the pic of my bike which is not the 2.6FS. This bike is an ok bike. It's not great and it's not completely 100% horrible. Like the title indicates the frame of the bike is a great frame. strong material, well built and balanced, a little heavy but still good. The primary and secondary components, not so much. Grips are short, the rubber on the tires is not thick enough to resist even small punctures, the grip on the tires is lackluster at best. The front suspension only has maybe 2.5 - 3 inches of travel... but what do you expect for $150? the crankset is made of more plastic than metal and is pitiful... expect to replace within a few months of use. The pedals plain STINK, cheapo plastic with NO GRIP. The chain that comes on the bike is cheap and links become stiff quickly even with proper lubrication. The front derailleur is cheap and when I got my bike was not even adjusted properly. The rear derailleur is SRAM ESP 4.0 which is older (but still great) technology. The seat post is sturdy but the saddle that comes with the bike is cheap and not a very well shaped or padded saddle for a mens bike. The rims are... ok at best... they are made of single wall aluminum (high-quality is double wall steel/aluminum). The braking surfaces on the rims are very good however along with the brakes which are pretty standard in performance and materials. The hubs are sub par. Front hub is protected by the suspension but the rear hub is bolt on and it will suffer bending if ridden by a full weight adult on an off-road trail environment. This in turn destroys the freewheel (rear gears). The freewheel itself is old technology. Only 7 speeds and it is twist on to the hub and is made of cheap material prone to tooth breakage. New model freewheels are stronger and employ a freehub with splines to secure the freewheel to the hub. In the end the bike costs $150 and to upgrade all the parts I felt necessary to make this bike worthy of riding trails with 5 foot sheer drops and 24 foot inclines at a 20 degree grade... you spend about $300 on parts for a total cost of around $450.
A nice starter bike made for extreme off-road conditions costs about $450 - 500 at a Local Bike Shop.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
da_sauce
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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