Posts
1
Joined
7/25/2023
Location
Woodbridge, VA, USA
Don't laugh I have a Schwinn Kempo 700c mtb and went on a trail today and it beat me to death. I don't want to sink a lot of money into it as I'm trying to decide if I like it enough to invest in a good bike in the future. I'm looking for suspension QR forks that are bolt up and work with my disc brake. They are 16.5" from the bottom to under the neck and 27" total but I am having no luck trying to find this on my own as there are a ton of options out there and I'd rather not have to modify anything for a cheap set of forks. Any help is appreciated.
Save your money. Cheap forks (under 200) and those with QR's are not worth having on the bike. They may take some sting out of hard hits, but the performance is so bad that they are a net zero in terms of control/confidence. I would prefer a fully rigid fork, to anything that works in the price range desired and the requirements (head tube, qr, disk etc etc).
Beat yourself up a bit more, if your still smiling and wanting more then think about upgrading to a more capable bike.
Also, find a buddy who has a nicer bike and ride his. You will likely decide you like the sport and you'll see what a difference a good bike can make.
Lower tire pressure (if possible without being too low), and/or fatter tires will help a little. Softer grips too. But really, I'd take the the prior poster advice and borrow a niceish mtb or maybe a demo day, even renting a bike for a day (if a local shop has rentals) should give you some perspective about it.
Agreed with what was said above..save the $ and borrow/rent a bike.
I basically have gone through the same scenario...
in 2009 I broke an elbow racing motocross. During recovery, I thought it would be bad to swing my arms running so I bought a 2009 Schwinn Sidewinder from WalMart for $179.99
The schwinn stays on the street, I rode it up into Joshua Tree park every day to stay fit.
In 2022 I had an ACL reconstruction and the doc told me there's no cartilage left... So running for fitness is no longer an option.
Back on the Schwinn, but now I am home in Washington and I want to hit the trails.
I also have a ton of problems with the bottom bracket on the schwinn... JUNK.
I bought a good/used 2007 Transition Gran Mal almost a year ago (Aug, 2022)
It's a quality 26" bike, even though it's "vintage" or "out-dated" and a heavy at 42lbs ready to ride.
If you don't want to spend a bunch of cash, find a good used bike for $400 - $800.
I see a lot of 26" Kona bicycles around here for sale. They seem to be super durable and they have all the modern features with somewhat older geometry. These older bikes are lightyears ahead of anything Schwinn sells and they generally have super durable parts with industry standard replacement compatibility.
I'm fully hooked on mountain biking after the past year on an older bike. I ride almost every day.
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