The Schwinn Lineup
Today's line of Schwinn bicycles covers the gamut from children's bikes to cruisers, road bikes, racing bikes, mountain bikes, hybrids, BMX, fixed gear, electric and tandems. Few, if any companies have a range of bikes this broad. In each of these categories Schwinn competes very successfully with a number of other manufacturers, most of whom are more specialized in their product ranges. Schwinn's frame materials include high-tensile steel, Chrome Moly, aluminum alloy and carbon fiber. The frames and their accompanying component mixes are commensurate with the price and intended function of the bicycle.
The Lows
It once enjoyed a sterling reputation and market share, but the Schwinn brand has been knocked about since its financial difficulties. On the low end of the scale, it is still possible to buy selected Schwinn bikes at big box outlets. A close examination will reveal shoddy frames and inferior components. These, however, are not like the Schwinn bikes available at bike shops. Any Schwinn purchased at a bike shop will have a quality-built frame, good matched components and will be competitive, point by point, with a similar bike from any other manufacturer in the same price range.
The Highs
On the plus side, Schwinn is reintroducing the "Paramount"--the high-end Schwinn of years past that was resurrected in the 1980s and is now being hand-built, one frame at a time, under the Waterford brand in Wisconsin. The Schwinn Paramount is built with Reynolds air-hardened 953 steel tubing to the customer's specifications. A very good case can be made for Waterford, and the new Paramount, being the best bicycle made today. These bikes are not, of course, inexpensive ($7,000 to $10,000 in 2009). There is a best type of bike for every rider and chances are Schwinn manufactures one in that category worthy of consideration.
Article Written By Garrison Pence
Garrison Pence has been a midwest-based (ghost)writer for three decades, taught university-level literature, and has written articles and white papers in trade publications of the Material Handling Institute, Engineering Today, Pharmaceutical, Food and Beverage Science, and Semiconductor. Pence holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in Literature.
