Schwinn Men's Prelude Bicycle (BBWhite)

I've been riding my 1986 Schwinn Sprint for over 20 years, so it was definitely time for an update. I've been a casual rider, mostly just with my kids around the subdivision and the Sprint has been fine for that for many years. I recently decided to be a bit more serious about riding more for exercise (and fun, of course) and was looking for an entry level road bike for less than $300. How is this bike similar to a $700 bike:

Modern components easily upgradeable, serviceable, and standard. The bike stem brakes cassettes, everything except the handle bars that are smaller than 28mm( I think) which means no clip on aero bars. Light weight well constructed frame and wheels. Wheels have no seam like other cheap bikes. It has a seat that is very usable. Smooth reliable shifts. Components ( brake shifters etc.) are very workable. Cage pedals are great!

I read literally dozens of reviews of the Schwinn Prelude and they seem to represent both ends of the spectrum - seasoned riders deride this bike as a low end piece of junk, and new riders tend to praise it's low cost and good quality for the money. From my perspective, I want something that will work well for riding around town for maybe 100-150 miles a month. The biggest problem I've seen mentioned about this bike is the issue with frequent flat tires. Evidently inflating these to the recommended PSI will cause a flat almost immediately. The easy fix to this problem is to go to your local bike shop and buy some high quality rim tape, take the tires off and replace the stock tape. I did that right away based on existing reviews (it seems to be the only big problem with this bike out of the box) and haven't had any issues. It costs only about $5 or so per wheel to replace the rim tape. I also read reviews that complained about the stock seat, so far I've had no issues with it. I used the same stock seat on my old '86 Schwinn and never replaced it, it was fine for me, and it feels about the same as my brand new Prelude in my opinion.

I figured buying a cost effective road bike could solve both of my problems and I hope that it does!

So, I did a few hours of research online and found this bike to have the most healthy ratings and it seemed to be the best bang for the buck. I wanted to spend less initially, but from what I've researched it is nearly impossible to get a road bike that's not just a single speed for less than $230.

As per advice of others on reviews I first thing added good rim tapes SRAM 700C Rim Tape Pair as standard ones gave lots of flats to people in reviews. So far fine, no flat tires.

Also installed most popular inexpensive bike computer Schwinn 20-Function Bike Computer to give idea of my speed and distance. Installed flashing backlight Planet Bike Blinky "3" 3-Led Rear Bicycle Light for evening trip safety.

In summary I have nothing but positive things to say about this bike. For the $230 (not including tax) I paid at the local store for the Prelude I am delighted with my purchase. I highly recommend this bike if you want a very good entry-level bike to explore the sport. 5-stars for sure!