Schwinn 510R is the most affordable recumbent bike made by Schwinn, but it still delivers incredible value through modern features and a user-friendly design. It allows you to exercise indoors while experiencing all the excitement of outdoor adventures thanks to Explore the World®, Zwift®, and Kinomap® compatibility. The Meridian trike also has a large basket, fenders, adjustable handlebars, and efficient 26″ wheels. The steel frame is suitable for men and women and comes in two attractive colors. This adult tricycle shares a lot of the features with its electric twin but instead comes with a single-speed drivetrain that’s easy to use and maintain. It’s equipped with a fun and simple coaster brake, 20″ wheels, a racing slick rear tire, high-rise ape bars, and classic white rubber grips.
We also like the wide tires on 27.5″ wheels that not only improve comfort but also make the bike more stable and easier to handle. This bike boasts a comfortable aluminum frame available in step-over and step-through variations, paired with a Schwinn suspension fork that will eliminate vibrations. Unlike many other cruisers, Huron 7 has a 7-speed drivetrain, so it’s actually easy to pedal even uphill.
With stable wheels, bikes like our High Timber series can handle the dirt, potholes, and gravel of off-road biking. As a caution, although sturdy features make this type of bicycle excellent for rough terrain the same features can also make a ride on the road heavy and slow. These durable bikes typically have wide knobby tires, a stout frame, shock-absorbers, and straight handlebars with a raised seat that keeps you in a more upright seated position than a road bike.
If you are a serious fitness rider or you aspire to race, get a Trek model. If you are a casual rider who just enjoys cycling, Schwinn will do the job at a low price. Sadly, most Schwinn bikes are no longer suitable for more serious riders because they’re made with entry-level components that limit performance. If you’re a casual rider, though, you’ll be more than happy with any Schwinn bike.
Pacific Cycle is owned by a Canadian conglomerate called Dorel Industries, and both entities seem to at least partially understand the lasting appeal of the Schwinn brand. The contemporary designs routinely make reference to the familiar Schwinn models of yesteryear, and there have even been re-introductions of beloved icons like the Sting-Ray. W. Schwinn had been preparing to hand the leadership of the family business to his eldest son, but when Edward Schwinn died tragically of leukemia at age 48 in 1972, those plans—and the course of the company—changed. All seemed rosy, but like the last weeks of a summer holiday, colder breezes were moving in. In all, Frank Schwinn added roughly 40 new patents to the company’s arsenal.
In 2010, Dorel launched a major advertising campaign to revive and contemporize the Schwinn brand by associating it with consumer childhood memories of the company, including a reintroduction of the Schwinn Sting-Ray. The Sting-Ray mongoose bmx bike had ape-hanger handlebars, Persons’s Solo Polo Seat banana seat, and 20-inch tires. Sales were initially slow, as many parents desiring a bicycle for their children did not relate to the new, unconventional design.
But the Schwinn bicycle of today is no longer the Schwinn of the 1950s and ‘60s. Jay Pridmore and junior author Jim Hurd have done just that in their book, Schwinn Bicycles, a 1996 publication of Motorbooks International, republished in paperback in 2001. Political and corporate history is littered with examples of the next generation relying on the past with a false sense of loyalty as the cause of their downfall. Tradition may work for the House of Windsor, but unless you want to end up as a statue – like a Schwinn in a bike shop – take this opportunity as your own and make something of it.