Archive for January, 2010
Terrible Assembly Direstions. Mostly I just want to say how terrible the assembly directions for this bike are.
I went through the manual probably 10 times looking for the brake assembly and finally found Disney Girls Bike not actually in the manual, but on a separate loose page.
The brake assembly was extremely difficult and following the directions was extremely useless. I finally had to go online for help and discovered that you actually need to loosen the cable from the wheel to get enough slack to have any hope of getting it to reach the handbrake itself. Once I figured this out, there was a lot of work involved getting it to the right tension so that the brake would grip easily, but not drag on the tires.
Really frustrating assembly experience, but my daughter does love the bike.
First Look at Schwinn 220 Recumbent Bike. Please note that this review is written based on only ONE WEEK of use, so Schwinn 220 Recumbent Exercise Bike can’t possibly address performance over the long term. If I remember to, I’ll come back in a few months and give a more complete review.
First, the machine was shipped promptly and arrived on time. The package was somewhat damaged, but all the bike parts arrived in good condition. It appears to me that the Chinese manufacturer packaged the bike for containerized shipment, and not for individual transport. Nevertheless, all was okay.
Assembly is straight-forward. I was interrupted (neighbor’s horses got out), but total assembly time was probably about one hour, working alone. Note that I’m an experienced assembler, having put together many wagons, carts, bikes, trikes, etc. in the wee hours of Christmas morning. Also note that Step 5 (page 11) calls for REMOVING the seat rail bracket; the bracket on my bike WAS NOT already installed, and, not reading the instruction, I installed the bracket, as that’s what the diagram suggested. No big deal, but you’ll have to remove it later. Other than that glitch, all went smoothly. By the way, all the tools that you will need are included in the package – nice touch.
With only one week’s use, the machine has been absolutely silent in operation; I certainly hope that continues. By default, the bike starts at intensity level 3. Stepping up to level 4 is detectable but not severe. Further steps seem to increase resistance at a higher level.
I cannot grasp the front handle bars while sitting with my back against the backrest; in fact I can barely touch them with my finger tips. To grasp the handles I must lean forward. Not a biggie, but I would prefer them to be located in front of the electronic display, rather than behind it.
As to the electronic panel, it appears to me that the MPH shown is high; at 80 RPMs it registers 16 miles per hour, while my old bike showed 13 MPH. The display registers about 25 calories per mile at resistance level 4. The heart rate monitor shows about 5 beats per minute higher than my Polar unit, but I can’t say for sure which one is closer.
I do not like the way the “time” feature changes between “elapsed time” and a one-minute countdown display at 6-second intervals – I would prefer it to stay on the elapsed time screen. If there is a way to reset this feature I haven’t been able to find it.
Also, my old bike stopped the elapsed-time clock whenever I quit pedaling, but this one continues to run – a stop to answer the doorbell reflected 5 minutes of exercise time while I was away.
I have not used any of the programmed workout programs, because I exercise at 78-82 RPMs for 30 minutes, varying pedal resistance during the workout (I’m a 70-year-old male, and I’m not trying to build endurance.)
The “magazine rack” is merely a small ledge. It will hold a magazine, I suppose, but I place my very small MP3 player on it. I don’t believe that some of the larger players would stay on the ledge.
I knew this before I ordered the bike, so I can’t really complain, but I would much prefer the display unit to be powered by a battery, as my old bike was. The Schwinn 220 must be plugged into an AC outlet – without electricity you don’t get any readouts, and can’t vary resistance.
The Schwinn 220 seems to be pretty stout, and my overall impression, at this point, is favorable. If it continues to function like it does now, I’ll be pleased with my purchase. Time will tell
Schwinn 240 is GREAT!. I just purchased the Schwinn 240. It is the first exercise bike I have ever owned but have used others my friends had. This machine is light years ahead of what I’ve used before.
After having tried other brands I settled on this one due to how well Schwinn 240 Recumbent Exercise Bike is constructed, ease of use etc.
I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because the instructions as to how to use it to get the most out of it SUCK! I wrote the company concerning this. It was *kind of* easy to initially set it up. (Don’t set it up for Guest if you are the primary user or it won’t save your workouts.) It is alot of guess work for me to go from going to my name then getting to the actual workout screen.
I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually but, why should I have to? That should be Schwinn’s responsibility to have already figured it out for me to make my life a little more simpler!
Also, all the parts to put it together come on two pieces of card board with plastic over them to keep them in place. There are numbers etc. under each nut and bolt but none of these letters and numbers match up with the book to put the machine together. You have to figure that out for yourself by looking at the pictures in the book. Another Schwinn blunder. They could very easily have put a number under each nut and put that **same** number in the book.
Other than these blunders, I really love the machine and am getting lots of use from it! I hope to have it many years and extend my quality of life for many years to come.
Schwinn, get a clue. We don’t want to learn this machine by trial and error. Put together a better manual on how to use this machine. Don’t make me have to put one together for you!
This is a great game. Well worth it.. I first played this at my in-law’s house and just had to get it. It is a fun strategy game, kind of like scrabble, dominos, and uno combined. You match either shapes or colors. This game has been a hit among friends and Qwirkle Board Game really makes you think and can get pretty competitive! This isn’t a good party game but it would be perfect for a game night or family night. Kids can pick up on this, too! My nine year old sister is amazing. By the way, one way to rack up points at the end when all pieces have been drawn is to put your pieces down one at a time to milk the points.
Love this!. Our five year old is pretty slim. He was struggling to get his bike going and really hated the wobble of the training wheels. He wasn’t biking much and we could tell he was scared of falling over, even though it was unlikely. Anyway, we wanted him to feel how to balance and to enjoy biking more. So we got the WeeRide. We’ve done a few family bike rides and wow! We’re all having fun and getting places. Our son loves it. No stigma attached – he’s helping pedal. It turns nicely and seems safe. I’d love to get another attachment piece so we could switch from my bike to my husband’s without tools. Other than that, we’re very happy with this purchase.