Jaharmes

I want to get a bike to start biking recreationally but maybe some commuting in the future. I tried to do some research to find the best fit because I purchased a vintage Schwinn World 10 speed based on my 16 year old selfs memories, but I realized that I would prefer to sit more upright at this stage of my life. So now that sits in my basement and I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.

looked at 3 speed bikes realizing that most will require some maintenance to be rideable but what to choose, hub vs derailleur? Now I read that mountain bikes are a good choice but most of them are 21 speed and I don’t see me needing that many gears.

I don’t want to spend a lot of money just to find out I don’t find it as enjoyable as I did when I was young, and I end up with 2 bikes in the basement.

I would appreciate any common sense suggestions going forward, maybe some your own stories if you can relate to my confusion.

wheelreason

Get a rigid fork bike with 700c wheels that will accept a wide (38-40 something tire) with straight bars. Don't worrry about the number of speeds, you can never touch a shifter, if that's your thing (but you will want to at some point). These bikes are usually referrred to a hybrids, comfort, or leisure. Most brands meke something like that.

Maelochs

First, forget what you used to know. What we did decades ago ... we were different, bikes were different.

Mountain bikes with smooth tires can be excellent commuters. However, most of them have suspension forks, which are heavy and not particularly useful unless you like to ride off one-foot drops or up and down staircases.

21 speeds .... means nothing. The range of gears is more important ... you want to be able to ride as fast as you feel like, and also be able to climb whatever hills you come across, carrying whatever load you are carrying. (Many road bikes nowadays have 22 speeds by the way, and most MTB or road bikes have at least 18 ... except the cheaper ones which have 14 or 21, and the more expensive which have 12 or 24 (or maybe 26 if you are pretty wealthy.))

For comfortable cruising, I would say you want tires at least 32 mm wide (28 is fine) and you would want a low gear about 1:1 ... my comfortable low is 32-34 (16:17, almost 1:1) ... on my touring/Serious huge load hauling bike it is 34x28 (17:14, over 1:1) but that is for huge loads and big hills.

Most people would suggest either a gravel bike or some flatbar road bikes. You can have your handlebar high (relative to the seat) with drop bars, or super low with flat bars ..... a lot of riders prefer drops because there are more places to grab while riding. However, a properly set-up flatbar bike will also work.

I like the Giant Fastroad (https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/fastroad-ar-2-2023) at about $1000 .... or any of the other Fastroads (never owned one but talked with a guy who did city commutes on one).... or as an alternative, the Giant Escape, staring at about $500 (https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/escape-3-2021) to $850 (https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/bi...cape-disc-2021)

Use these as reference only. I don't care much about brand names ... these are bikes that have the features which would suit the way you think you want to ride, ... every bike maker will have something similar at a similar price point.

For about $300 there is this: https://bikesdirect.com/products/gra...road-bikes.htm but it comes to your home in a box--some assembly needed, and the bike shop won't be throwing in a free tune-up unless you drop $100 to have them build it .... it is very inexpensive ... adequate quality. I wouldn't expect it to break in normal usage.

For commuting and general fun i much prefer this (https://bikesdirect.com/products/mot...avel-bikes.htm) at about $600. Better components, 38 mm tires, looks good to me.

If you prefer flat bar, this one has 24-speed Claris or Microshift, and hydro discs ... https://bikesdirect.com/products/mot...atbar-road.htm for $600. This one is also a very nice-looking bike for the money .... also needs some assembly (I have trained a bunch of non-riding novices to assemble these bikes ... but you would want to go to YouTube to learn how to adjust the brakes and shifters ... but you want to do that with Any bike you buy.)

If none of this helps come back and complain .... we will try harder.

wheelreason

Nope, the Complaint Department Closed sign is next to the We don't lend tools sign, which is next to the Hoy no se fía, mañana sí sign...

Bogey Speedwell

I concur with skipping the suspension fork. I as an idiot had people telling me this and I didn’t listen. The benefits of suspension will not trump the energy burned for the extra weigh for crushed limestone and asphalt.

quite a few fitness bikes on Craigslist, just make sure you get the proper size.

BTinNYC 

You can change handlebars and brake levers on your Schwinn to make it more upright for under a hunnert dollars. $50-60 for parts plus $20ish for new cables and housings and $15 for a pair of cable cutters.

My story getting back into cycling 3 years ago; I had my college 10 speed and needed to be more upright. Made the above changes. Fell back into cycling in a big way. Six months later my flexibility was so improved that I restored the drop bars (plus lost 15% of body weight, all slop).

Broctoon

If you're serious about getting into cycling more than very occasionally, I recommend spending five to seven hundred bucks to get a decent bike. Skip the department stores. Go to a bike shop. Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, Giant, Fuji, and even REI Co-op all have good stuff. Get a hybrid, which means a bike with the following: flat or riser bar, comfortable geometry, two or three chain rings and probably eight to ten cogs, and provisions for water bottles and perhaps racks and fenders (if you decide some day you want those).

Iride01 

The Schwinn World should have given you a fairly upright position. Did you buy one that is several sizes too small for you?

SpedFast

Go to Wally World-you'll find what you're looking for. to the forums.

icemilkcoffee 

First let's take a look at the Schwinn World sport you got. Is it in good working condition? If so , you can try some easy things first. Like raising the handlebar as high as it can go. Give that a try for a few weeks. The road bike position is not a natural position for the human body. It takes ~2-3 weeks for your butt, hands and neck to get used to that position. If you still want to get more upright after a few weeks, then you can try changing to a comfort bike handlebar like this:

^I found this on our local Craigslist for $15 BTW.

Post a picture to the Gallery so we can see what you have and go on from there.

jack pot 

RETROSPEC app $200 new and app $50 used

Vintage Schwinn

Jaharmes:

This is all that you will NEED to make that CIRCA 1985 ( GIANT made in Taiwan for Schwinn) Schwinn World an UPRIGHT CONFIGURATION tourist style bike.

1) Schwinn 7881 handlebars
Here is one Ebay listing for model 7881 handlebars from a 1968 schwinn (the 7881 handlebars first arrived in the 1967 model year and remained for about a decade..ALL ARE THE SAME)
Yeah, there is NO DIFFERENCE, you will SEE the stamping 7881-68 in the photos here..........whatever 7881- year indicated .....they are all the same throughout the years of production.
THE Schwinn 7881 handlebars are in my opinion, the world's best ever tourist handlebar design.....certainly the best that Schwinn ever employed.
( Fear not, however because if you don't agree, you can choose from probably hundreds of different Used or New handlebars as your bike takes bars of the old fashioned 25.4mm sized clamp section portion and millions of common bikes from the 1930's to the 1980's feature this One Inch (25.4mm) size)
----USED schwinn 7881 handlebars (from '68......see picture showing 7881-68) on fleabay for $17.99 Buy It Now and $9.99 standard shipping
https://www.ebay.com/itm/166383877366



2) You WILL NEED THE weinmann/diacompe TOURIST BRAKE LEVERS
Here is an excellent condition used set from a random fleabay seller for $19.99 Buy IT NOW with Free Shipping
https://www.ebay.com/itm/126103065961

3) YOU WILL NEED NEW BRAKE CABLES because the cable ends differ on TOURIST LEVERS versus the DROP BAR LEVERS
The TOURIST LEVER cable ends are ROUND "ASPRIN TABLET SHAPED" versus the mushroom bullet like ends on the DROP BAR LEVERS.
The BELL PITCREW 600 Replacement Cable Set is PERFECT and relatively inexpensive (ace hardware ONLINE ONLY & walmart ONLINE, as well as select walmart stores carry it)
This BELL PITCREW 600 CABLE SET includes the ALUMINUM ALLOY ferrules that are Needed for the location where the cable immediately exits from the weinmann-diacompe tourist levers. Ace online and Wallyworld had the Bell Pitcrew 600 Cable Set for about $11 to $12.
Here is a vendor on thE bay that has it for $4.99 + $8.15 shipping
https://www.ebay.com/itm/305180612880

4) You WILL NEED a tool to Cleanly Cut The BRAKE CABLES with......see Ebay....SEARCH: bicycle brake cutter (ALL CATEGORIES)
You will see this red handled "no name brand" cable cutter that both respected vendors, TRAILTHIS , and BIKESMITHS always have in stock
trailthis currently has the lowest price at $15.25 and free shipping, though Bikesmiths usually isn't much higher if they aren't with the lowest price
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224042681917


Of course, you'll need handlebar grips of your choice & a tourist saddle seat that you like the best.....
I suggest that you seriously consider the SCHWINN COMFORT Handlebar Grips that were first seen on the 1971 SUBURBAN.
These SCHWINN COMFORT GRIPS are all black, BUT ARE UNIQUE AND PATENTED IN THAT THEY HAVE what looks like a hollow pocket that you could have used to hide a lil bit of grass from the fuzz back in '71 because ya didn't want Malloy & Reed hasselin' you because you were ridin' high with Joe Cocker & Mad Dogs & Englishmen blaring from the 8 track portable stereo player that was tied to the Pletscher rack.....
..........Seriously though, those are the world's most comfortable of the traditional handlebar grips.......make certain that that hollow pocket is visible there on them when you view them closely from the rear, otherwise they are not the Comfort Grips, and are just regular grips....
here is a pair of good USED Schwinn Comfort Grips from fleabayer called stewbay2005 for $8.95 buy it now and $4.50 shipping
https://www.ebay.com/itm/166385622868



As I mentioned earlier, I strongly suspect that your SCHWINN WORLD is of the circa 1985 made in Taiwan by GIANT ten speed with lugged frame, aluminum 27" wheels (32-630)27 X 1 1/4 tires, quill stem with 25.4mm sized handlebar , STEM SHIFTERS which are GREAT for any conversion to UPRIGHT TOURIST STYLE, you have a quality lightweight 3 piece crank, excellent quality Japanese deraillers, and basic but decent enough sidepull brakes..................................Overall if the bike fits you and is in decent condition now, it will be a GREAT CANDIDATE FOR TOURIST STYLE CONVERSION.
My guess is your "GIANT made in Taiwan" Schwinn World is circa 1985 and looks something like this example below, although it probably might be a different sized frame than this random example that is shown in the ebay link below
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264603521727


Do the Math and ADD UP ALL THE INDIVIDUAL LINE ITEM COSTS OF THE PARTS that I have itemized from random Ebay sellers..... IT ISN'T MUCH and it is so simple that even you can do all of it yourself within a Sunday afternoon..... (my guess is that someone that HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING BEFORE, would be able to do all of this, Start to Finish within a Six Hour time span from say Noon to 6PM while watching Football games on television. Somebody that has done something before, anything on a bike, would be able to complete this easily, Start to Finish in less than 90 minutes.
Your GIANT schwinn world , IF THE FRAME SIZE FITS YOU......(yeah it should be the appropriate frame size for you, don't proceed but Seek Another Bicycle that fits you...)
IF THE FRAME SIZE DOES FIT YOU, then your GIANT made Schwinn World would be a nice Tourist Style bike, and it won't cost you very much to convert over.
REMEMBER that you may be able to find the used handlebars and used weinmann-diacompe tourist levers at lower prices, either locally or from fleabay if you are willing to look around but also remember that spinning your wheels and driving all over town , burning significant dollars of gasoline just to find the used parts at cheaper prices is foolish as my advice is to get nice looking USED parts off of the bay delivered to your doorstep, and save your time for riding or spending quailty time with the family rather than running all over town and out of town chasing used parts, wasting your time, and probably spending at least $40 in gasoline cost if not more. Remember 50 years ago when the yellow pages' slogan was "Let Your Fingers Do The Walking"................well, perhaps maybe update that to "Let your eyeballs do the viewing on your laptop and Let Your Fingers Do The Clicking and have it arrive on your doorstep in just a few business days."

chaadster

There are some real characters around here…

OldTryGuy

Referring to the BOLD -- Is it a World SPORT with racing bars? IF SO, simply rotate the bars so the bar ends are pointing to the front and the sky at a 45 degree angle then carefully ride around sitting upright and see how things feel.

RH Clark

Go to a bike shop and at least ride some different bikes to find out what style you like and size you need. Watch some RJ the bike guy vids on YouTube and you can easily change the bars on that Schwinn to make it upright.

VegasTriker

You can probably date the bike by looking at the frame colors shown here Schwinn World Tourist. The fact that it says Schwinn Approved proves that it was not made in the Chicago factory where the heavier bikes were made. The 1980 model shown in the first picture weighs 33 pounds which is way better than the same year Schwinn Varsity. The idea of changing the handlebars is a good one. If you try to buy a new bike it is going to cost you a lot more and the quality just may not be comparable. The prices I see for used ones are all over the place from $35 for one, 90 for a pair, to $450 which is nutty. An old quality bike in good condition is a better buy than a poorly maintained bike that is much newer. If you are not mechanistically inclined, use YouTube videos to get step by step instructions on replacing the handlebars and the controls.

SpedFast

OP hasn't come back, probably went to Wally World

Jaharmes

I have ordered a hybrid 700c bike. No offense but I’m not sharing the brand since I don’t want to start a heated debate.

thank you all for your information and suggestions, greatly appreciated.

Maelochs

@Jaharmes,

Please post pics and first impressions after a while. Trust me, we don;'t need any outside input to have big debates ... we will argue over how big clouds should be, or whatever.

We would like to know what you bought and how you like it ....