Thread: Wal Mart Bikes

Originally Posted by dynodonn 15K? You did good Machka, we bought for our son a two hundred dollar front suspension Mongoose MTB from Target many years back, he bent the rear axle, blew out the front suspension, and wheels in an afternoon's ride. I'm very careful with my stuff. I've taken my Mongoose on a few trails, and of course snowbiking, but most of my riding was on the road ... and definitely no leaping off curbs or any...

Originally Posted by degnaw But they don't really enlongate do they? What else would you call it when something that used to be 12" long is not 12 1/8" long? If it's not stretching and not elongating, what word would you use? Incidentally, I had a few disagreements with Sheldon Brown over the years. His answers were always fun to read. Sometimes he had a point, at least once he said he needed to revise the page on...

Originally Posted by Machka Mine ... the one I did 15,000 kms on, etc. etc. as seen in Post #2 ... is a suspension mtn bike. Not all suspension mtn bikes from Walmart are bad ... or maybe it depends how you ride and how you take care of them. There are several nice shots of my Mongoose here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7602332361641/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7602327322020/ 15K? You did good Machka, we bought for...

I took my skyliner into the LBS today because I bent the RD hanger in a crash on the single track yesterday, the mechanic gave it a once over and asked what I paid for it, when I told him he said for the price it's pretty hard to beat how it was equipped. I ended up replacing the RD while I was there with a Deore because the RD had a bent cage and the bolt that atttaches it to the frame was stripped, but it still wasn't bad, I got...

Originally Posted by Cyclaholic .... not even had to put air in their tires! My commuting wheelset actually has tubes from my original Wal-Mart Magna bike from 11 years ago. Cheng Sing in China makes very durable inner tubes - I think they also make tubes for a bunch of actual brands like Kenda.

Well heck.. I am looking for a "Grocery" bike that I won't miss that much is it gets stolen.. Sounds like I am going to have to try an X-mart bike... At least I won't have to carry 10 pounds worth of chain and locks on them :-)

Originally Posted by joe_5700 Ignorance is bliss. Whatever you do, do not test ride anything else that costs more at an LBS. Don't worry. I've been around and I'm not all that ignorant. I know better than to spend as much to ride a bike as I do to drive a car.

I do real well on my walmart bikes and ride them everyday. I did a month long tour on a Walmart bicycle. As long as you can do your own adjustments and maintenance, they will last quite a while. I usually buy a new one or two each year, not because they break down, because I like a new ride every year or so. I then donate the older working bicycle to charity. BTW: I think the Skyliner is the best of the bunch at Walmart. 99 bucks here also.

Having worked for a while assembling department store bikes, I have 2 comments. The first is, there is a lot of variation on quality, the price level is not always an accurate guide. Second, the build quality varies even more. If you want to buy one, take someone who knows bikes with you, ( ignore build problems when shopping ) then, before riding, go over everything.

Originally Posted by Machka Not all suspension mtn bikes from Walmart are bad ... or maybe it depends how you ride and how you take care of them. We also *do* get ones in where the suspension is working correctly. I don't have anything against manufactuers creating lower end suspension mountain bikes, but they have to be kept within a design range where things are still done right. The incidence of outright failure or improper...