Costco Schwinn Broadway Hybrid
SMS
floor. I was looking at the Schwinn Broadway, a hybrid commuter bike
with front suspension and a suspension seat post. This is from Schwinn's
department store/club store line, so it's not on their web site.
It wasn't a bad deal at $260, but what was most amazing about it was
that Schwinn had included an absolutely awesome rear rack. It was about
40cm long, so you wouldn't hit your heel on panniers, it had triple
struts with a level dogleg strut so you could hook panniers on even
toward the back, it had braze-ons for a pump on one of the struts, it
was reinforced where the three struts come together, and the welding of
the aluminum was really clean and smooth. It was basically a high
quality touring rack, something you don't even get on most touring
bicycles. I.e. the Trek 520 includes a terrible rack.
Mike Jacoubowsky
news:ZNZkl.10391$hc1....@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
You brought up the "terrible rack" on the 520, and I'm wondering if you
saw a 520 with the wrong-sized rack such that it was too far forward.
They come in two sizes, and if a bike had the wrong rack for a given
frame size, you could have excessive issues with heel clearance. We've
certainly sold a large number of 520s, many of which have seen serious
touring duty (cross-country riding without support), using the stock
rack. I just checked one of the '09 models on the floor and it's got
quite a bit of clearance.
Regarding the level dogleg struts, most panniers are designed with hook
straps that can be adjusted fore/aft.
--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
Tom Keats
I greatly welcome the appearance of such affordable "sensible"
bikes in the market, and I hope it indicates a trend, a marketing
direction for customers who want their bikes to ~do~ stuff besides
simply going. (Bikes for simply going are good, too.)
It would be nice if retailers could offer options packages of
accessories to go with them, and thereby sell them as turnkey
systems. For example, choices from various lighting systems
(if any,) and cargo-carrying approaches -- maybe a pannier or
two, or a rack trunk, or pannier-like shopping bags. Monopod
kickstand, or one of those 'A'-shaped things, or no kickstand
at all. Choices of locking/security means. Suspension seatpost,
or classic coil-sprung saddle. And of course choice of
pedals -- clipless, clip, flatties, Eggbeaters, or whatever.
Mirrors, if the customers want 'em.
If retailers could display some of these bikes accessorized
in various configs, I think it would help show customers
what accessories are available, how desirable and perhaps
how unconsidered capabilities could be derived from bicycles.
Because, y'know what? I think a large part of this market
segment consists of "returning" riders -- folks who haven't
ridden in a longish while, want a bike that can comfortably
do/carry stuff, and are perhaps unaware of recently-available
accoutrements, while thinking in terms of the ol' familiar
traditional panniers, flashlight-battery lights and dearth
of fenders -- in other words, thinking in terms of how it was,
and what they remember from decades ago.
Bikes on the street, that visually /look/ "practical," attract
a lot of attention from passers-by, and get them to considering
what they could do with such a bike.
But the bike shops around here will typically assemble a
naked display bike as it is, out of the box, stick it in
the window or on the floor, and expect walk-in customers
to already know what they want to do with it. The bike
shops could at least stick an Axiom Hunter [tm] shopping
bag on the rack. Or install a nice BLT lighting system.
Bike shops could use display bikes to also display the
accessories that can go with them.
Steel racks last longer than aluminum ones ;-)
(They do for me, anyways. But I still luv the old-skool
rat-trap Pletschers. It's a nostalgia thing.)
cheers,
Tom
--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca