Castellarenpositiu blog

Posts Tagged ‘evolution’

I’ve had the Forerunner for over a month now, and have mixed opinions. The features seem fine, and performance (when the GPS finally boots up) is great. Four main criticisms: (1) the GPS will sometimes take several minutes to locate satellites, and sometimes does not at all; (2) battery life not so hot – supposed to be ten hours, but hasn’t worked that way for me, even w/ a new unit (and charging on USB does not seem to work); (3) controls are not very intuitive; (4) it’s a bulky unit, but I knew that when I bought it.

On the other hand, the computer software was easy to install, easy to use, and informative. It’s my first GPS trainer, but my high hopes have been let down a bit.
Uncertainty and Economic Evolution

Inexpensive 6-speed 20″ girls bike. I purchased this bike for a specific goal – an inexpensive 20″ girls bike with speeds or gears for an almost 8 year old who outgrew a 16″ single speed bike. Use will be for streets & rail trail rather than true mountain biking. I was looking for hand brakes and multi speeds, but not necessarily a derailer bike, as this is. But 20″ 3 and 5 speeds were hard to find. So, despite some low ratings on other Pacific models, and no ratings or evaluations on this one, for under $100 I took a chance. Main reason – I found that Pacific is a sister company to Schwinn. That said, the bike is made in China.

We’ve had Pacific Evolution Girls Mountain Bike for 3 weeks, so I have can review it for everything but longevity. Its not too bad, but not too good either. Pluses are 6 speeds, cam adjustable seat height, comes with kick stand, attractive design. Basic assembly was easy, but derailler adjustments less so. Minuses are cheap construction (not than an 8 year old would notice) like very visible welds and cheap parts. Manual isn’t model specific. In my case, the shaft for the handlebars was a bear to get into the frame. I would have liked the seat to go a little lower, but my daughter’s growth will fix that in a month or two. But I can’t use the red reflector at the seat height she needs now. Rather than not have a rear reflector, I mounted a reflector on the back of the seat.

The hand index shifter broke while I was trying to get the speeds adjusted. (Out of the box it wouldn’t go to either end of the range). Probably my fault (hint – don’t try changing gears without cranking the pedals). Called the 800# and got the replacement in 4 days. So, customer service seems pretty good (although I was a little scared when they said the shifter was backordered and didn’t have a shipping date).

Took my time this time and got all 6 speeds shifting fine in about 1/2 hour. If you can’t handle pliers, hex wrenches and a phillips screwdriver, don’t get a bike online (and definitely don’t get this one). But if you’re somewhat mechanically inclined and don’t want to shell out more than $250 bucks for a bike your kid will outgrow in a couple years, this one is worth considering.

I’m hoping its built to stand up to kids’ ordinary use and abuse to last while my dauther goes from 8 to 10 or 11. But if it doesn’t, I won’t be out much $$ and I may have bought enough time for her to grow into a 24″ that she’ll have for a while.

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