Schwinn Meridian

For about a year I have looked at 3 wheel bikes(trikes)intending to get one for my lady friend. I ride road bikes for exerciser and pleasure and wanted her to accompany me when I leisurely explore small country towns or cruise bike paths.She has balance problems and is not able to ride a 2 wheel bike at this time and I felt she could ride a trike..To be honest, I choose this trike because it was the cheapest deal I could find on line.. Sorry honey..I never expected this much quality for the price though..The Low Price and the fact that it's a trike is the only reason I bough it....Being this cheap I felt it may be light duty and not very well made. I hoped it would get her riding before we trashed it and she got on a two wheeler..BOY was I SHOCKED.I opened the crate, saw this trike and fell in love..The trike arrived UPS, no damage, none what so ever, zilch but there was one hole in the box where an axle rubbed..The box had been opened and taped closed..Everything was in the box, no missing parts to my surprise due to the fact all the staples had been pulled loose on top of the heavy card board box and it was clear to see someone had taped it closed again using packing tape..I have mechanical skills so assembly was no sweat..Someone who has less skill may need to ask a few questions. There is an 800 number supplied. I did not call it so I can't say if it works or not.For assembly you will need metric tools. I recommend sockets and metric allen wrenches.. A strong Phillips screw driver may be handy too..My trike had two flat tires but there is nothing wrong with the tires.New rubber can be expected to slowly leak at times because before rubber ages a tiny bit of air can seep through the rubber even when there are no holes in the tube. No telling how long those tires had sat in storage.I squirted some slime in the tubes (like I always do with new bikes ) and inflated the tires. They are holding air well..The instructions are a single page tucked in the owners manual. Hard to find and not really good when you do.There was NOTHING mentioned about trikes in the owners manual. Strange..BUT if you insert the back part to the bike to the main frame and bolt it together using the 4 bolts and nuts provided you will get past the hard part.I hear complaints about the fenders...Mine are great..The fenders will need to be adjusted to cover the tires.. Do not bend the nice shiny metal braces.After the fenders are installed you can slightly bow the center brace to line the fender with the top of the tire..with an adjustable wrench you can grasp and slightly bend the bottom part of the fender braces outward to line the fenders up with the tires..If you are careful you can get them almost perfect..Someone could drill the fake lights ( red reflectors ) located on each fender from behind and install LED's through the back.. Fill the hole with something to keep water out. Hook up a battery and have red lights for night riding..Done correctly this would be nice..When you assemble the two main parts..Think of the front of the bike as the bike and the part with the long axle as THE REAR PART.The rear part attaches to the bike where the rear wheel normally goes.It has flanges that GO INTO not over the matching flanges on the main bike frame..Put them INSIDE where the back wheel normally goes. They fit tight and may not be easy to get INSIDE. A ball bat or other heavy wooden object, covered with rags to protect the pain will help bang the parts in place..You will also need to connect a short chain during assembly but do not fear. It comes with a master link that you clip in place using pliers.I have a chain tool and I replaced the factory short chain with a better chain that I had on hand. I made a replacement short chain out of a long chain using my chain tool..I recommend that everyone buy a chain tool and learn how to use it..All bike and trike riders should know how to splice a bike chain.The photo's do not do this bike justice.The basket is strong and BIGGER than I thought it would be.My 5 year old grandson loves riding in it. Place more weight slightly to the right because the right back tire does the pulling and needs the weight for traction especially going up hills..It will coast down hills very FAST... you may want to hold slight pressure on the hand brake at times.. Always be careful costing big hills and use the brakes to keep your speed in a safe range. I feel safe on the trike at about 17 MPH..Install a bike computer.. Keep up with your miles. This will encourage you to ride more. Gives you goals..Yes. I Recommend this bike and I recommend people get it from Amazon. They have always treated me well and they have the best deals on line. I love this product and I am impressed with Amazon's service..My lady friend is very happy with her new trike. We have ridden it tonight all over the farm.. I believe it will be good for some park trails too.I regret now that I did not get one for myself so when she rides hers I can leisurely ride along side..Did I say, I love this trike? The seat is big, soft, comfortable and nice too..The angle of the seat in relation to the peddles makes it fun and easy to ride.It almost feels like riding a stationary bike.. Comfortable with more leverage..The ONLY thing I did not like about the entire package is the cheap plastic peddles. Ouch.They are NOT what I know as cruiser peddles and they will not spin freely when I give them a spin.. That is how I check my peddles. If I spin them I expect them to rotate at least 10 times on their own before slowing to a stop..I suspect these peddles NOT have BEARINGS at all..They look like Cheap Mountain bike peddles that retail for about 7 bucks a set..They are Really cheap crap for a Schwinn.But when you saved 200 bucks, you can expect something to be cheap..We will just replace them and not look back..Wallyworld sells Cruiser peddles with bearings for about 12 bucks..I like THEM much better but in all fairness the Mountain Bike Peddles may not allow your foot to slip off due to the way they are made...Quality like this, sold this cheap, is a bargain. Cheap plastic peddles and all...Better get you one while you can.. Good luck Chief.

After reading the reviews, I was truly terrified what condition my Schwinn will arrive in. Fortunately, the box arrived in good condition, no holes, dents, etc. I opened the box and looked at all parts. Thankfully all parts, fenders, etc. were in good condition, no dents on fenders, no scratches... all wrapped in card board and areas of styrofoam for cushioning during transportation. I took my Schwinn to a good friends house whom builds bicycles as a hobby. Our friend had all tools I do not have, like bicycle lubrication and tool to snap the bike chain together. After the build which took our friend a good 3 to 4 hours, the Schwinn came out amazing... rode very smooth. We did notice a few "hiccups" in which the Schwinn arrived in. The front brakes had to be readjusted because it did stick. Our friend had to remove the front brakes and readjust it. We noticed one of the rear wheels spun in a wobbly not so smooth looking spin. He says it's because the axle is probably bent, but could be replaced. Other then those issues the Schwinn was a joy to ride around and I look forward to riding it very soon when the weather gets better! A few helpful notes to mention if this is relevant to you: I am 5 feet 2 inches tall, i opted for 24 size, which worked out great. I do need the seat to be adjusted 2 inches higher which was easy to do. I also noticed there is a lable indicating the basket can only hold 20KG, which is 40 pounds. I was hoping to give my senior german shepherd rides in the basket but he's 80 pounds so that won't work.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase. It's really a fun bike to ride, the 7-speeds are enough to deal with inclines and yet get up to a decent speed on level ground. It's pretty sturdy and fairly comfortable "as is" with stock seat, pedals and grips.I wasn't thrilled, however, with the packaging. It arrived in a huge box with most everything just rattling around loosely inside. Torn holes in the side of the box made me fear that parts could be missing. Miraculously, though, nothing seemed to be damaged or lost due to shipping. However, the fenders were damaged before it even left the factory by the way they zip-tied them to the tires. The zip ties were pulled so tight that it crushed the fenders.I went to Schwinn's website to see if I could get replacement fenders under warranty, and saw on their site that shipping damage isn't covered under warranty if it was purchased through Amazon. I could not find an option to pursue replacement parts with Amazon through their support. It appeared that I would have had to return the entire bicycle to resolve the damage. I'm concerned about what I do if there are problems later with this bike, as to whether I actually have any warranty protections at all.That said, I am happy with the bike itself. I had assistance from my local bike shop assembling it for at a charge of one hour labor which wasn't much. I put most of it together first, but I was more comfortable with them dealing with attaching the gear/chain assemblies and adjusting the brakes properly. Basically, I paid them to "tune it" for me.I've already ridden it a couple of miles and love it! I'm already considering converting it to an "e-bike", however. I plan to pedal most of the time for the exercise, but it would REALLY be nice to have some electric assist on inclines, or to have the option to have it propel me home if I'm too tired or get leg cramps.I can definitely recommend this bike if you're looking for a quality adult tricycle, though bear in mind my concerns about shipping and the warranty. After the way it arrived and the potential problems with warranty coverage, I think I would prefer to buy from a local dealer (if there even is one!) if I were buying another.