Outstanding bike for a great price. I’m new to road biking, but I’ve been mountain biking for quite some time now. The one thing that I’ve learned is that you want to start off with a well built bike that has potential. This is that bike. There are a lot of newer mechanical advances that allows for further upgrades to some of the newest and hottest components on the market. It comes with a 1 1/8″ threadless headset, three piece crankset, rear derailleur hanger and a single bolt seat post. All features are convenient for easy upgrades. Mechanically that bike performs very well. Out of the box assembly was minimal and easy. I’m 5′ 7″ and went with the 54cm model and Schwinn Katana Road Bike fits me great. Once I took it on a quick spin I noticed that the gears needed a little adjusting which almost all bikes due. Ever since it’s been working great. I’ve had no problems with it and I’m already past 100 miles. Last thing I want to leave u with is that bike shops are really the only place to buy these bikes and they start off at around $700. Also if you try to find a good used one chances are the bike is going to be pretty old and still sell for about $400 plus.
Excellent affordable bike.. For the money this bike is worth it. I wanted a street bike for traveling, but didn’t want to spend too much and that is just what I got. It is super lightweight, fast and easy to assemble with basic tools. The only complaint I have is the seat hurts. This was easily solved with an aftermarket gel cover. I have done 100 miles now with no mechanical problems at all.
Great *ROAD* bike for the Price. Ordered the Katana from Amazon about a month ago. Since then, I’ve put 20 miles on it riding through hard sand/gravel on the C&C Canal path by Georgetown, Maryland. Half way through, it started to rain, and we were pedaling in wet weather. Obviously the bike stood up well, even in those rough sandy conditions where it wasn’t designed for. After that, I used a high-pressure hose to spray off all the sand/gravel that got caught in it. Then after drying and oiling it up properly (brakes, chain, etc.), it works like a charm now on the city roads, where it was designed to be.
All said, this bike comes from amazon pretty much pre-assembled. It helps a lot to assemble it with someone who’s done it before, but I managed to do it alone, without ever assembling a bike before. All you really need is: 1) an adjustable hex wrench for the pedals, and for taking the back tires off. 2) allen wrench set for putting the handle bars on, and readjusting the brakes/gears.
The good thing about the cantilever breaks is that they’re very easy to adjust to the right tension with one person, one hand holding the cable, and one hand tightening the screw. (Read the instruction manual to set this up the right way so you get it right on the first try).
Then, after adding some chain oil (Finish Line, Wet Lubricant) to the chains, and some brake cable lube (Tri-flo mineral oil or White Lightening wax lube), your bike will run very smoothly.
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