The limited assembly was easy, although I must say the 1st one took me longer than the 15 minutes referenced by the original reviewer. Almost everything is adjustable for comfort, and like the original reviewer, we too took off the fenders and like the result. It would have been nice if Schwinn had included a couple of allen wrenches, and maybe a pouch to carry them in, since that is the tool most often needed for assembly and adjustments.

We have been riding for a couple of weeks now and really like the way the bikes handle. I’m a big guy, well over 200lbs, yet the ride is smooth and comfortable. We are amazed at how those gears smooth out the hills. Most of our riding is on pavement, but we have ridden on some gravel/dirt roads, and the “Hybrid” tires performed well.

My wife and I agree that this is definitely a great bike for the price.
Rating: 5 / 5

The bike comes nearly fully assembled and is well packaged, inside an inner and outer protective carton. Setting up the handlebars, pedals and seat were a snap.

The whole process took about 15 minutes.

The frame is painted a very nice black (So I’m told, It actually looks dark green to my eyes), though it isn’t the same frame seen in the product photo (The down tube is much thicker on the bike I received). The saddle is very, very comfortable and the adjustable sprung aluminum stem is a nice bonus, accommodating a variety of preferred sitting/riding styles.

Braking is very even and responsive with little fade. The bike feels well balanced while maneuvering and provides very forgiving handling characteristics. The front suspension fork is lightweight and mostly responsive on the rebound. IMO, it needs a bit more pressure but I’ve yet to get to it. I’d recommend experimenting with the proper pressure based on your weight and riding style.

The cables are well protected and insulated from the frame to avoid scratches. The fenders and baskets are easily removed, should you choose to do so (I did. It took about 12 minutes because you need to remove the rear tire to get at a screw for the rear fender). Adding a quick release hub to the rear tire (the front tire already has one) would be an inexpensive and highly useful tool, IMO.

I’m about average height and weight (5’7″@ 165lbs) and I can ride for hours without discomfort on the stock saddle. Shifting is easy and smooth and the system never skipped a gear, even when pedaling uphill and changing gears.

I recently compared this model to a few local bike shop products that cost $200+ more than the Schwinn. The overall workmanship/fit and finish of the Schwinn holds up well compared to the popular models I saw.

The bike is equipped with bike shop quality components, albeit not the high end, that will generally perform quite well.

After checking out several department store bikes from Walmart and Target, I’d definitely recommend staying away from the lesser quality bikes commonly sold in department stores. With few exceptions they tend to have cheaper, heavier frames and poor quality components and poor fit and finish in the assembly.

Comparing frames among several bikes (including this one) ranging in price from ~$300 to ~$900 yielded components of Chinese manufacture with finish of the welds, weight and general construction approximately equal.

I’m not suggesting the Schwinn Crrest is better than a well build bike shop bicycle like a mid-grade Giant, Trek or Santa Cruz, but the latter could set you back anywhere from $600 to $2000, easily.

I am suggesting that, this bike is comparable, for the average, casual road or paved trail rider, to much more expensive bikes I’ve looked at and ridden.

Happy trails.. or roads
Rating: 5 / 5