…other than “you get what you pay for” 
I just picked this bike up for free from a guy who was giving it away down the road.
It is a Schwinn Aluminum - series 5000AL
The guy told me it’s approximately 18 years old.
It could use some new tires, but other than that rides great.
I am, however, slightly confused on how the gears work. I have no problem downshifting, but upshifting requires that I pedal backwards a little it seems. 
Anyway, here’s some pics:
Thanks,
Jason
The problem with upshifting could be due to worn teeth on the rear cogs. The teeth that are worn will end up with a little hook on the end due to wear. That hook can grab the chain and keep it from shifting smoothly. The fix is a replacement cassette (set of cogs).
It could also be due to a dry chain. Lube the chain and see if it shifts better.
Or it could be due to a worn and stretched chain.
John’s suggestion for a bit of lube is probably the best thing to start with.
Do not back pedal to shift or you could end up piling the chain and rear derailer up. Likely your problem is in the cables (rust) a quick stop at your local LBS for a minor tune up would probably solve most of your problems
If you replace the chain, cassette or chainrings you should replace all 3.
what can i tell you about the bike? its got 2 wheels and needs cutting in half.
im not a genius with bikes, infact i dont have one but it sounds like the derailers playing up,so mabey the cables are rusted or the chain and gears themselves are rusted, take it to your local bike shop and they should be able to help a lot better then we can.
That makes the bike one expensive freebie!!
Just strip it of the derailleurs, shifters and cables. Find a gear you like and shorten the chain accordingly.
Take it off any sweet jumps?
You should put pegs on it.
That bike will be great with just a little bit of work.
Firstly, stop shifting into big front and big back. You see in your top picture how your derailer is so strained? Try to stay out of that gear combination.
Secondly, clean the heck out of everything with 4D-40. This will de-rust much of it. Then lube the heck out of it with a real lube. Slide the cable housing around on the cables and lube inside those as well. Also lube the shifters. Tighten your cranks and check your brakes pads and tire sidewalls for signs of wear.
The above are all relatively easy ways to get the bike working decent. The next level up is replacing the brake pads, replacing the chain and possibly replacing the cogs if they are badly worn. Adjust the shifting and brakes - use sheldonbrown.com for advice on that.
One step higher, and what I’d do if it were my bike, is replace the cables and housing, and replace those ancient rapid fire shifters with more reliable friction shifters. I would also convert the flat bars to drop bars, but that’s just me.
So there is a lot you could do depending on how much work you want to do. But for money and little skill investment you should at least be able to get it working decent with a good clean and lube. And ignore all the advice for making it a single speed - it’s just as easy to fix the shifting and keep all your gears.
And finally, make sure you let up on the pressure while shifting - the back pedaling issue you are probably having is that you are 1: getting into a bad gear combination (see first paragraph) and 2: pedaling too hard while shifting.
Thanks for all the input guys. I don’t want to put too much money into this thing because it’s merely a way to get to and from class. The crappier it is, the less likely it is to be stolen.
I put a new rear (Wal-Mart) tire on the back because the sidewall was bursting out and I lubed up a lot of the parts. After another test ride, it seems like only the two larger cogs in the back will work. I’m going to bring it down to the bike shop and see if they can get them working.
In the mean time…I got this crap Huffy for $20. But hey, everything works.
Replace the quick release seatpost clamp with a bolt. The quick release makes it too easy for someone to take the seat and post just because they can. If you use an allen key bolt you can fill the allen key hole with clear fingernail polish to make things more inconvenient for an opportunist thief.
All just steps in making the bike more ready for campus and urban life.
Bringing it to be fixed at a shop will most likely end up making it cost more than $20 dollars.
Make sure they throw some pegs on that baby.
Does your school have a co-op style or similar bike repair facility? Some schools have a place where students can take their bikes to do their own repairs. They have tools and stuff there for you to use.
On the derailleur check the high and low limiting screws. The limiting screws are what keep the derailleur from moving too far. One of the limiting screws could be preventing the deralleur from moving beyond the two larger cogs. Just be careful that you don’t adjust things so that the chain gets moved into the spokes.
Haha have you seen napolean dynamite? because they say this on it.
Good Idea. Too bad I don’t have any extra seatpost clamps lying around at the moment. I put the rather comfortable seat from the Schwinn on the Huffy. I wouldn’t want someone stealing that. Perhaps the plastic bag over the seat method would disguise it a little haha.
Unfortunately, no.
I only see one screw on the derailleur…or what I think is the derailleur. I’m a little skeptical to try and do anything to it.
Another trick for not having your seat stolen it to take an old bike chain and using a chain tool make a loop that that barely goes around the bottom of the seat metal and down around your frame and back. Then thread that loop through an old tube and connect. Unless the thief is carrying around a chain tool your seat is safe.
Personally, I think that bike is the perfect bike to learn how to fix bikes with. Spend some time on sheldonbrown.com and try your own repairs. You have to learn sometime - why not when you are 20 and have a beater bike to practice on?
Good point.
After reading Sheldon’s article on fixed-gear bikes, I’ve become more and more interested in converting the Schwinn. Now that I have the Huffy to get me from point A to point B…what use is the Schwinn? It already has a more natural feel than the Huffy because it has no suspension. Plus, as a unicyclist, I’m very intrigued by the sound of it.
His article, however, didn’t really clarify things to me very much. What is the cheapest and quickest way to convert?
…and I found the limiting screws by the way.
You see, the problem here is that it has two wheels.
Them things ’ only s’posed to have one
I’m not sure what the cheapest way to convert to a SS is. What I would do before that is adjust your shifting so it’s near perfect, just for the practice, before you butcher it by taking off all the cables and gears.
If I were do to a SS conversion I’d probably replace the rear hub and go all the way and make it a fixie.
you can get single speed kits off ebay which give you a single gear, spacers to hold your single gear in line with the front one, and a small chain tensioner. The tensioner negates the need for horizontal drop-outs found on single speed frames. Assuming you have the tools to get the cassette off the wheel, and a chain press this would be a pretty easy job to fit. For a fixie I think getting a new hub would be the only way, people have wired the largest cog to the spokes to convert old bikes in to giraffe unicycles but I very much doubt that method would take the rigours of hard bike use.