# Schwinn Cutter / Thoughts?



## Van-Go (Feb 26, 2009)

Construction has begun on bike lanes in my home town which will allow me to safely attempt a commute to work (and other places).

Willing to give it a go but do not want to spend a fortune on a bike just to commute.

Nashbar has a Schwinn Cutter on sale for $199 (out of stock - have to order but that is OK - the lanes aren't finished).

Mountain bikes I know a bit about. Road and commuters - not so much.

*Any thoughts on whether this is a decent bike to get me started?*

(almost purchased the Nashbar commuter SS and have looked at a Dawes and an SE but something just turned me off - was looking for a slightly better name)

Any help/thoughts appreciated and I thank you in advance.


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## Kevin_Federline (Nov 19, 2008)

i own one, and its pretty decent, put a carbon dropbar (i know overkill) and its pretty sturdy. owned it for a little over a year, and havent changed a tube, or adjusted anything. prolly put about 1500 miles on it.

id say go for it


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

In general, I think of chromoly steel as a minimum standard for an acceptable frame. Hi-ten's pretty heavy and rusts easily if you're not careful. Chromoly has a better yield strength, so frames can be built with less of it and are typically lighter and have a little better ride quality. Within the Schwinn line, the Madison's a bit better, although it's a lot more expensive. The SE Premium has an okay frame too, and the Nashbar SS 29er (is that the one you were looking at?) looks like a pretty good option.

A friend of mine was looking at a Torker U-District - it looks like a pretty solid spec to me, although slightly weird geometry. Redline makes a line of commuters as well. The 925 is their singlespeed road bike, and pretty well-regarded.

I hate "commuter" bikes. My experience is that they're based on hybrids and have crappy frames and a really upright riding position - okay for someone who's just getting back into riding, but slow and frustrating to someone who's accustomed to a more athletic style. My preference is to start with a road bike and fit it to the needs of my commute.

This was my commuter in NY.


From Andrew's Reflections

I ended up getting a BMX driver not to long after that picture was taken - a road freewheel designed to shift will shift on its own without a derailleur to keep things under control.


From Andrew's Reflections

My current ride. There are hills in Seattle, so I've kept the geared drivetrain. It's got a rack and full fenders now. Both bikes started life as road bikes, some time in the '80s.


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## Van-Go (Feb 26, 2009)

Thanks Kevin... and Andrw:

Andrw:

The Nashbar bike I looked at before was the "commuter" house brand bike - definitely a road bike. Not their cream colored rigid 29er.

Thanks for your input.

My LBS has a Torker and I've ridden the Gary Fisher Gritty which I like (except the crank/cog ratio isn't quite to my liking - can be fixed though) although it is twice the price as this Schwin (but probably twice the bike too  ).

Any other comments welcome.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

It's only $50 more than the already infamous Walmart SS bike and probably speced a lot higher. I say go for. 

And if K-Fed says it's good then you can't really go wrong!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sure, I prefer cromo. But for $200, that ain`t gonna happen on a brand new bike- my suggestion is to buy one when it comes back in stock and enjoy.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

I wouldn't expect chromoly on a new $200 bike, but it seems like there might be some aluminum ones out there. The Diamondback Insight (from Performance) is $250 although it has gears...


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## sendler (Nov 5, 2008)

*Off road?*



Kevin_Federline said:


> i own one, and its pretty decent, put a carbon dropbar (i know overkill) and its pretty sturdy. owned it for a little over a year, and havent changed a tube, or adjusted anything. prolly put about 1500 miles on it.
> 
> id say go for it


Crank and brakes are still ok? What is the bolt circle for the ring gear? would a 39 fit for off road?


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