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Schwinn Katana Road Bike | 
| Brand: Schwinn
Category: Sports
Buy Used: $313.10 - $318.60
as of 7/30/2010 18:15 CDT details
Where applicable you'll select size, color, etc. after you click the buy button.
Rating:  57 reviews
Sales Rank: 2267
ASIN: B000GZT6PO
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| Features:
| • | Entry-level road bike with ultra-light aluminum frame | | • | 14-speed Shimano drivetrain and shifters with A050 rear derailleur | | • | Tru-Vativ IsoFlow alloy cranks; alloy wheels, and paired spokes | | • | Ideal for morning commutes or casual city riding | | • | 54cm frame size is appropriate for riders 5'6" to 5'9"; 58cm frame size is appropriate for riders 5'10 to 6'1" |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Ideal for that morning commute or getting out for your evening ride, the Schwinn Katana has everything you need to get you quickly and easily from point A to point B. The Katana features a 14-speed Shimano drivetrain with a quick-shifting A050 rear derailleur, and lightweight Tru-Vativ IsoFlow alloy cranks to keep your legs moving fast. The alloy Aero frame, deep-dish alloy wheels and paired spokes make the Katana ready to hit the road in a snap. Katana Specifications: - Speeds: 14
- Drivetrain: Shimano
- Rear derailleur: A050
- Cranks: Tru-Vativ IsoFlow alloy
- Frame: Alloy Aero
Bike Sizing Information: - 54cm frame size is appropriate for riders 5'6" to 5'9"
- 58cm frame size is appropriate for riders 5'10 to 6'1"
About Schwinn
Ignaz Schwinn, with his partner Adolph Arnold, incorporated "Arnold, Schwinn & Company" on October 22, 1895. Within a few short years of its creation, the company became an acknowledged technical and quality leader of the bicycle industry. More than 100 years later, Schwinn has become an American icon and built some of the best-known and best-loved bicycles of all time. A world leader in technology and fabrication, Schwinn has been an indispensable player in revolutionizing bicycling around the world. With these moves and a continued dedication to quality, forever synonymous with the Schwinn name, America's most famous bicycle brand looks forward to another century of quality, dependability and performance. Moving forward, Schwinn continues to lead the industry with innovative new bikes and technologies.
Product Description
Ideal for that morning commute or getting out for your evening ride, the Schwinn Katana has everything you need to get you quickly and easily from point A to point B. The Katana features a 14-speed Shimano drivetrain with a quick-shifting A050 rear derailleur, and lightweight Tru-Vativ IsoFlow alloy cranks to keep your legs moving fast. The alloy Aero frame, deep-dish alloy wheels and paired spokes make the Katana ready to hit the road in a snap.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 57
 Excellent Value Road Bike July 28, 2010
Kenneth R. Shapiro (Cedarhurst, Long Island)
This review is actually for the Schwinn Varsity 700C which I understand is rebranded as the Schwinn Katana 54 on Amazon (katana actually means "small" in hebrew and I suspect it is therefrom derived)
In my younger days I used to ride my bicylce everywhere. Alas, a few decades have passed and renewal of my bicycle riding seemed like an easy and fun way of exercising. I wanted a bicycle with a drop handlebar probably more for sentimental reasons than anything else. I quickly learned a few things; these drop handlebar bicycles are called road bikes and are expensive and seem to built for taller people. I am only 5'7" with an inseam of about 30".
The Schwinn Varsity was really the solution. It is reasonably priced and is a little smaller than most. The seat is adjustable without tools. However, to make it as low as possible, you have to (temporarily) remove the reflector.
I purchased this bike at Walmart which does not seem to stock these and must be ordered. Howver, when purchased on line and sent to a store, Walmart will assemble the bicycle free of charge (at least they did for me in Valley Stream NY).
The bicycle is very light and comfortable. The gears shift smoothly and the brakes are very good. In the beginning I was annoyed with the high position of brake lever and the lack of a side handle, but I have gotten used to it and its OK. There are fittings on the pedals which were very annoying so I removed them.
I have only driven it around 30 miles since I bought it, but so far I have no problems and everything works fine. The bicycle is comfortable for shorter people such as myself but may be too small for tall people (although the seat may be adjusted quite high). I would like to lower the handlebars a few inches to be at the same level as the seat, but I can not figure out how.
 Mostly dissapointed... July 25, 2010
Bike_Owner
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm a brand new Triathlete, and the money to invest in a road bicycle was minimal. After searching around Amazon's website for a while, I made my choice on the Katana without any real knowledge on road bikes. The unit was not difficult to put together, but like some of the other reviews on this site, there were a couple small pieces missing from shipping.
Like with any brand new bike, you're supposed to take it to a bike shop(unless you are a bike tech) to get it fine tuned and ready for serious riding. Once at the shop, the tech's laughed under their breath at this bike because of the cheap derailleurs and accessories fastened to the bicycle. Even after a $55 tune up fee, they promised NO perfection in the overall quality of the riding.
After my first two rides, the stem and the left pedal completely stripped out causing my rides to turn into walks. Schwinn was kind enough to send replacement parts, but ironically they shipped two pieces that were twice the quality as the ones received on the stock product.
All in all, road bikes range from $300 to $20,000. I understand the more you pay, the smoother the ride and quality the accessories may be. But $300 is a lot to spend on a bike that has DISSAPPOINTMENT written all over it. On the top of the handlebars the logo displays,"Schwinn Quality." This just isn't so. In my opinion, if you're looking for a piece of equipment that is fully functional and a good ride... stay away from Schwinn and invest some more dime. It will be worth it.
fantastic bike! July 21, 2010
staiky
After reading through the specs and reviews for this bike I decided to buy it, especially that I was on a tight budget and the price was so appealing for what was offered. It was delivered by FedEx super fast(I ordered it on Sunday and the package came Wednesday morning) and costed only 28$. Although assembling the bike looked easy I decided to take it to a LBS to get is set up and tuned professionally. I was very happy when I finally got the bike and started riding it. Pedaling this bike feels like pedaling an expensive over a thousand dollar bike.
Here are some minor complaints:
1) definitely not a 19 lb bike like some people commented, but light enough for a racing road bike (but this is expected as the really light aero-frame bikes typically cost over 2000$ even when on sale);
2) the freewheel is making some noise sometimes when I am pedaling on certain gears ... the LBS technician told me that it could be the defective freewheel that makes the noise. It doesn't bother too much, so I decided to leave it on. It costs only 15$-30$ for the new similar kind of freewheel and I will have it replaced in the near future as I plan to upgrade to a 11-28T freewheel.
3) the gear levers are located on the handlebar next to the stem and not on the brake levers, which is a bit inconvenient if you like to switch the gears often. Also this makes it not much room to place a bike computer and a light, but I managed to place both on the handlebar after moving the shifters as far on the sides as I could.
4) brakes are not very good and don't feel secure when you go fast and want to emergency stop. I advise to switch to good brakes for this bike if you plan on riding at high speeds and/or if you plan to bike in the city.
5) the rear wheel tire (when inflated to a standard 100 PSI) comes about a millimeter or 2 away from the frame, which makes it touch the frame if the wheel becomes slightly untrued vertically. This problem can be easily fixed by switching to a different (lower hight) tires (the original tires are pretty high).
other than these I love everything on the bike.
Overall, the small problems 2, 4 and 5 can be solved by upgrading and adjusting some bike components, which will be a tiny fraction of the bike price/value that you will get in the end. When you buy a road bike, you usually pay around 80% of the cost for the frame and the wheels. Both of these are superb on this bike. The other components can be easily replaced if needed. You can find all of them here on Amazon.
I have put almost 400 miles on it since I got it and didn't experienced any problems at all. I suggest to put lime into the tubes or to buy the tubes, to avoid flat tires often. I am very satisfied with my purchase, and surprised at the price tag for this bike being only 320$, which is like giving it away for free. I owned an 850$ road bike before that I bought on a 60% off sale, and to tell the truth I like this one (Schwinn Katana) better.
 with this bike, purchase hiking boots July 15, 2010
flounder
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
in the span of one week and 50 miles i had to return one of these bikes. i received another three days later. within three commutes, i was stranded three times: one destroyed front derailer and two flat tires. the two flat tires were within a twelve hour period and the first ride with my second kattana. i will never buy another schwinn product and i am done with amazon llc. youve got to be a terrible company to sell this junk, plus their customer service is great, probably because theyre so busy. if you hit the add to cart button, be sure to buy a pair of asolos, too.
good for the money June 14, 2010
andrew
Great bike for the price. Things to note: The welding was well done, but wasn't cleaned up. The shifters are ancient. I think the rear derailer gears use sleeve bearings (the little ones, not the casset). Book is terrible! Brakes are pretty bad.
For long term the brakes and the rear derailer bother me the most. Who knows how good the bearings are till they fail lol.
I will update when something breaks on it! I've put about 150 miles on it riding mostly on a dry dirt trail and no problems so far. Average is about 100 miles a week depending on weather.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 57
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