Schwinn fastback 05

sie1uk
sie1uk Posts: 22
edited July 2007 in Road beginners
Hi, all

Just making a return to road cycling after 15yrs of rest, previous bike a Holdsworth Proffesional running the classic old 'Shimano Sante' groupset, OK i know this bike and parts are ancient now so its time to look for something new however at this time budget is a bit tight, so would be looking at the following

Giant scr3 £379 / Trek1000 £399 / Raleigh Airlight300 £379 / Schwinn Fastback 05 model £379

Any thoughts on which one would be best bet to get me back into road riding, mainly for general fitness.

Cheers
simon

Comments

  • acorn_user
    acorn_user Posts: 1,137
    Sante is not ancient by any means. It's the white group, right? What kind of condition is it?
    Judging by your groupset, your Holdsworth frame might be pretty nice too. If budget is tight, and you want modern STI shifters, you should buy and fit Shimano Sora 7 or 8 speed shifters (make sure you buy the right kind; there are double and triple versions).

    If you want to go beyond that, you will probably need a new wheel.... which would be an excellent excuse to go to Campag Xenon or Mirage, or ever Shimano Tiagra.

    The newer bikes may be a bit lighter, but IMHO they are not a significant step forward, and indeed, may be more uncomfortable (esp if they cut the fork too low).

    p.s. if you get new shifters, have the shop fit some gel inserts on the bar and a really cushy bar tape.
  • sie1uk
    sie1uk Posts: 22
    Dave i have recently sold the bike on ebay which will fund the new one, i got £300 for a 15 to 20 year old bike so am happy to replace with one of the new ones listed im just not sure which one to go for they all feel pretty much the same to ride except the schwinn which i havent yet tried as its mail order, the spec on the Schwinn is better with some 105 bits on but i havent had any experience of schwinn before. not realy heard of them .
  • acorn_user
    acorn_user Posts: 1,137
    300 knicker? You did pretty well! That will make the new bike 80 pounds or so then?
    Try comparing the geometry of the Schwinn with the other bikes online. They might well match pretty well. But I wouldn't get too hung up on the parts. Schwinn is a really big American brand. They dominated the market for ages (like Raleigh), set trends, but missed the MTB and BMX booms, went bust twice and got bought out by Pacific (insert Raleigh and Derby here :(

    They have a reasonable reputation here. I think that their road bikes are pretty nice. I've only ridden the scr of those. I really liked it. You can fit mudguards, and it sits you higher up. It's a good buy.

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