Saturday, August 15, 2009

Schwinn World DLX - my new foul weather bike and low priced tourer




Jes, I sold St. Joe to a deserving rider from Brooklyn who drove all the way to LI in the rain on a Friday night. He had his stolen when he and his girlfriend were riding in Chelsea, and when he saw my ad on Craigslist, he couldn't believe it, it was the exact one that was stolen. I wasn't so sure if he wanted to buy it or check to see if I actually stole it, but once we met, he couldn't be happier. I'm glad he got his bike back and that I had recouped some moolah for the Schwinn.

For those of you who are avid bike tourers, you probably own a LHT, or Trek 520 or Jamis Aurora or Fuji... the list is endless and the price is upwards from $600 to infinity. I haven't the need to tour the world (Yet!) but was excited of maybe getting the chance of putting a tourer in the stable. I was thinking more and more about the Schwinn World Tour DLX.



Schwinn wasn't even an option, but when I saw this exclusive on Performance, it was worth a look. Chromoly frame; Tiagra STI shifters; Continental sport contact tires; PB fenders and racks... I was interested. And then I saw it was on sale and had another 15% off so I could get it for under $600. Guess what happens next.

Some features...

Continental Sport Contact Tires:

Tiagra STI shifters with Tektro bar top levers:

A mounts for 3 water bottle cages!


The bike came before I went on vacation and let me tell you, it was tough to get away. Well not so tough.


I digress... let me continue.


(FPD NWL-326) Pedals with one side clipless and one side TPR insert




Planet Bike Freddy Fenders and rear rack:



Deore RD and Sora FD (RD is not XT... I know, I know, will need to upgrade if ever I do tour the earth!)



Braze-ons/mounts for front rack/lowrider:


And the kicker for you Surly fans... spoke holders. Yeah, they aped the LHT, but would that be so bad??


So, if anything, it's going to be a great foul weather commuter. And if I want to do some touring, I'm prepared to carry some weight. As I mentioned on other posts, the reason I had to let St. Joe go was 1)Old man river needs gears for old man hills 2)Need a long chainstay (the Schwinn has 17.5" chainstay, longer than the Aurora, which isn't too shabby!!) 3) Need a bike that can haul my gear. 4)If I am in trouble with the wifey, I can always haul myself to the nearest campsite without any incident. And 5)If ever I do want to tour the world....

I haven't ridden it yet, but really can't wait for rain now. I didn't want the cage on the pedals, and really couldn't disassemble the pedal, so I might have to cut the plastic cages or get new clipless pedals. Although I like the fact that I could go clipless or platform with this, so I'll have to see.

I'll keep updates on those times I head out on this. Pretty curious to see- it's much heavier than the Sequoia, but it can haul my stuff worry free.


Here are the full specs from the Schwinn website:

Frameset
Frame: Schwinn N' Gauged Cro-Moly Bio Tuned Touring Geometry.
Fork: N' Gauged Cro-Moly TIG welded Unicrown with Forged dropouts and low-rider mounts
Drivetrain
Bottom Bracket: FSA cartridge square taper
Derailleurs: Shimano Deore rear, Sora front
Shifters: Shimano Tiagra STI
Chain: KMC Z9000

Wheels
Rims: Jalco DT21 double wall alloy with eyelets with 36 holes
Hubs: Shimano MC18 rear, MC12 front
Spokes: 14 gauge stainless steel
Tires: Continental Sport Contact 700x32C

Components
Pedals: FPD NWL-326 with one side clipless and one side TPR insert
Brake Levers: Shimano Tiagra STI with Tektro bar top levers
Handlebar: Road Tuned 6000 series alloy ergonomic drop bar, 26.0mm clamp area
Stem: Alloy road quill
Headset: 1 1/8" Semi cartridge threaded
Grips: Road Tuned Gel tape
Saddle: Bio Tuned with two tone cover

Extras
Extras: Planet Bike Freddy Fenders, Planet Bike rear alloy rack, and alloy seat binder

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