This.
For the money, if you’re going to be putting any real miles or time on a bike, a used bike would be a much better deal. A nice SRAM Rival or Shimano 105 setup should be doable used at this price.
I would ultimately have to agree with this as well, the sizes may be up, but you’ve got to feel the brand. I prefer Specialized or Santa Cruz, because they’re made locally (to me), and I try to be loyal to Fox, because they’re also local. I used to adore Schwinn, and I still have a few of their old schools, but I remembered something about them being bought by KMart or Walmart a while back. Shimano also used to be sold by KMart, but they still have a good quality line.
I haven’t tried the new Schwinn, so I can’t say anything about the quality, but it is always good to have a bike built by a professional, or by yourself if you are technically savvy. I would never trust a bike built by some random person at a toy store/big box store making minimum wage to build something that I will be careening down hills on at fast speeds, or that my child may be.
I’m confused, the ‘Large’ 19" frame should be 48cm, but elsewhere I saw the medium was 56cm. 56cm is a perfect fit for me…
Edit: And a comment on Amazon says the Large is 58cm=22.8".
http://www.vminnovations.com/Product_13940/Schwinn-RS-5-0-700c-Drop-Bar-Carbon-Road-Bike.html
Same price with free shipping.
I third the sentiment of getting to a bike shop! They often have used bikes there as well which might be more more affordable and in different brands than the shop offers new.
I’m speaking from experience here as I had a bike bought new from the internet which should have been the correct size, but I found out there is much more to a bike than one number! Things like the distance from the seat tube to the handlebars and even the width of the handlebars can make all the difference in your comfort. If you want to ride more than a tiny distance at a time you’ll need a bike that fits well! I regret buying my old bike online and not going to a shop to get properly fitted because it cost me more money in the end (since I had to buy 2 bikes instead of just one good one)!
You’ll use a bike which fits you properly much more than a bike which causes pain or soreness to use!
AND since shops often have used bikes too, you might be able to buy a better bike than your price range would ordinarily allow. To quote someone else, “the best $300 bike is last year’s $700 bike”.
Good Bike for beginner, but probably will want to upgrade in about a year if you serious about road biking. I recommend getting something like the 105 shifter parts now so don’t have to waste money upgrading to a different bike.
If you buy bike online you will need knowledge on how to put it together.
Getting fitted at local bike store is good idea from injuries.
I agree with trusting “Specialized,” that’s what cops on bikes use in Los Angeles, CA.
I had bad experiences with “Santa Cruz” bikes. The frame has broken on two counts.
Schwinn used to be good, but they outsourced all their materials… There are better bikes out there.
If you’re going to spend $500 on a road bike, you’d be MUCH better off buying something off craigslist in that range. You’ll get a much nicer bike that was more than likely put together by a bike mechanic, and has been riden and cared for by a person who knows a thing or two about bikes.
Schwinn is about as high quality as mongoose or next or any of the other bikes you see being sold in walmarts/kmarts/dicks. Don’t waste your money on their gimmicks (rear triangle in carbon?) and get a decent beginner bike with a moderately good groupset. Sora is the bottom of the barrel and will give you more grief than joy.
Find a used bike with 105 components and enjoy a solid bike that will last you for years with proper maintenance.
No offense to woot, but you guys really shouldn’t be selling these junk bikes, or the ones you were trying to sell before.
TL:DR Schwinn isn’t what it used to be, spend your hard earned money on something better, go to your local bike shop, shop craigslist.
Wow, you are amazing! It’s so funny that Mongoose is “bad” and Schwinn is “good” for you, since both of them are made by Pacific Cycle anyway and sold at Walmart/Kmart stores. No difference in price OR quality, just slightly different stickers… Does the Schwinn sticker make it better?
Just got the bike… really, really disappointed that the frame is not aluminum as described… borders on false advertisement… aluminum components? yes… aluminum frame? NO!!
Long-time happy wooter until now.
Just got the Schwinn Jasmine for my daughter’s birthday and attempted to assemble it on the eve of her birthday only to discover this bike is defective. after reseaching this issue it’s a known problem and Schwinn has been selling them for years with a front fork that doesn’t fit. Shame on Schwinn! So disappointing…wish I could get my time back, guess I’ll be buying a new bike a a bike store when they open on the morning. Ugh