Schwinn Roadster 12-Inch Trike (Red)

We bought this trike in pink for our 3.5 year old daughter and she really loves it. She calls it her "big bike." I will say that the quality level of this trike is pretty good - not up to the par of some of Schwinn's beach-bikes (or their two-wheel bikes for that matter) but I really wouldn't expect that for the price. One issue that cropped up is that the chrome wheels do seem to be very rust-prone. I noticed this when I first pumped up the tires and even the moisture from my hands made some rather "permanent" fingerprints on the chrome. The chrome handlebars and wheel-covers don't seem to suffer from this, though.

I did read the other reviews here and wanted to address some issues that they brought up. First, the tires - when I ordered I was afraid that the bike we would receive would have the "flat tire" syndrome. We received the bike with deflated tires, so after getting it, I looked under the inner tube inside the tire to make sure that there was that rubber ribbon installed around the wheels to protect the inner tube from the spoke screws inside the wheels. It was there. So I inflated the tires to just over 30 psi and we've had no issues with deflating/flat tires to date. If you purchase this trike, make sure it has that ribbon. Incidentally, if you need a source for purchasing 12 or 10 inch inner tubes, Google those terms and take your pick.

Second, the packaging - it is packaged pretty tightly, but the components in the package we received were pretty well protected. The main body was bubble wrapped and the ends had foam around them, while the other components (minus the tires) were also bubble wrapped. The wheel covers had cardboard taped to them for protection. Plus the back wheel assembly had plastic "throw-away" caps at the ends to protect them and hold them tightly within the box. It should be noted that Amazon ships the box by itself with no other protection. Our trike wasn't damaged in any way, so perhaps the Schwinn folks have solved this problem (or maybe we got lucky).

I would expect this trike to last a few years and then either rust (the wheels) or be forgotten about. Though I do think that with some regular care and maintenance (and occasional "custom" work) this trike could last 10-20 years in the right hands. Overall, my kid(s) enjoy this trike enough to justify some occasional hassles. The rubber tires are a great improvement over plastic or soft plastic tires that dominate these little kid trikes.Get more detail about Schwinn Roadster 12-Inch Trike (Red).