Bike buying advice (Walmart?)

[Jgtdragon]

I'm thinking of buying a Mongoose or Schwinn bike from Walmart. Anyone else got a walmart/target/costco/kmart bike? Any problems?

 

[Tu13erhead]

Make sure to take a test run around the store before buying.

 

[NutBucket]

NO!

They all stink. Even if its a brand name its thoroughly dumbed down for Walmart (read, CHEAP PARTS). Actually, Schwinn was bought out by the Chinese years ago. Might as well buy a Huffy.

 

[OdiN]

Costco, FTW.

 

[EatSpam]

They all suck. Buy the cheapest one you can so you can buy a new one when it breaks.

 

[CraigRT]

I'd just go to a bike store and tell them your price range.
my favorite local shop loves to haggle with ya. I always get good deals.

 

[akodi]

Trek 820's are usually in the $249 price range, solid bike but on the heavier side.

 

[nissan720]

Just keep the receipt and take the bike back every 28 days for your cash because something will have broken by then anyway. Then purchase a new one to ride around for the next month or so.

Everytime you return one add $10 to your cash pile so you can buy the next step up.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: nissan720
Just keep the receipt and take the bike back every 28 days for your cash because something will have broken by then anyway. Then purchase a new one to ride around for the next month or so.

Everytime you return one add $10 to your cash pile so you can buy the next step up.

I'd just hit craigslist and get a used bike that is actually pretty good.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Advice? Yeah, go to a real bike store with whatever you have to spend.

Also, don't go to Bike shops to buy Bread and milk. Just a little tip...

 

[chickadee]

i bought my bike at walmart.

it was okay.
after only a month and about 9 uses -- out of nowhere -- the threading on the pedal started breaking off and i couldnt get it to go back in. it was the end of summer so i didnt care much, but come next spring i will need to be buying a new set of pedals for it.

 

[mrchan]

don't buy a bike at any walmart/target type store. don't do it.

 

[cKGunslinger]

I bought a "mountain" bike at Wal-Mart for $49 over 3 years ago. Works fine. I guess maybe if you are planning to take it off some "sweet jumps" or cycle the Himalayas, you should probably get a $XXX bike. If you want to ride around the neighborhood or park a few times a week, a "Wal-Mart bike" will certainly do ya fine.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

You need to spend $6500 on a bike or you're just wasting your money and getting something that will hold you back from true aerobic fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment.

I went from a $5000 bike to a $6500 and it was like night and day........I clocked nearly 3 seconds faster in my 5 mile sprint time.

Also, you need the tightest possible bike shorts....I mean nothing under a 28 waist even if you're a 36. And spray Teflon on it to reduce air resistance....but only use industrial grade Teflon cause the stuff you buy from Home Depot, again, will just keep you from reaching your full potential and enjoyment.

If you're just going to ride a bike around the block once or twice a month, then Walmart is fine. If you want to be a true cyclist then you need to claw raw iron ore from the earth with your bare hands and smelt it from the molten magma of Mount Hanulalalluhala and refine the resulting metal to surgical precision using just hand tools.

 

[jimbob200521]

ive bought a couple bikes from walmart before, and each one has had misaligned gears. this could be store specific, tho...

 

[ISAslot]

i've put 5,000 miles on my wal-mart mongoose :thumbsup:

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
You need to spend $6500 on a bike or you're just wasting your money and getting something that will hold you back from true aerobic fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment.

I went from a $5000 bike to a $6500 and it was like night and day........I clocked nearly 3 seconds faster in my 5 mile sprint time.

Also, you need the tightest possible bike shorts....I mean nothing under a 28 waist even if you're a 36. And spray Teflon on it to reduce air resistance....but only use industrial grade Teflon cause the stuff you buy from Home Depot, again, will just keep you from reaching your full potential and enjoyment.

If you're just going to ride a bike around the block once or twice a month, then Walmart is fine. If you want to be a true cyclist then you need to claw raw iron ore from the earth with your bare hands and smelt it from the molten magma of Mount Hanulalalluhala and refine the resulting metal to surgical precision using just hand tools.

Pussy. I just bought a $7000 bike. You should try that sh1t.

 

[Hummin]

Interesting note: That $249 Trek, the rigid front-fork steel-framed Trek touted in this thread, is most likely made in the same Chinese factory as the Schwinn Pacific Bicycles sells in Wal-Mart.

In fact, Pacific Bicycles probably sources their frames from the factories that Giant Bicycles runs in China.....go to a bike shop that sells Gaints and Treks. If you can get a peek at the boxes the bikes come in, you may be surprised to find that the manufacturing company is the same Chinese factories.

Once you move to the Made-In-USA aluminum-framed Treks, you are talking a different animal. But the bottom-barrel Treks are no different than the bottom-barrel Giants, Schwinns, or almost any other bicycle sourced from China.

If you take a close look at the Schwinns in Wal-Mart, and actually LOOK at the bike and compare what is on the bike vs. the bike shop bikes, you might find quite similar components.

Take the aluminum framed front suspensioned Schwinn in Wal-Mart. Welded aluminum, SRAM shifters, single-wall alloy rimmed wheels, 7-spd. freewheel (as opposed to 8- or 9-speed cassettes found on higher-level bicycles...and the cheapie Treks use freewheels just like the cheapie Schwinns do), an SR front fork (same quality fork like the entry-front suspension Trek), and Kenda tires. The only significant difference, well two differences actually are: The rear wheel is a bolt-on rear wheel on the Schwinn while the Trek has a quick-release rear wheel and the assembly is guaranteed to be better on the Trek, which may be a significant thing.

Now, I'm not saying the Huffys and Murrays and junk Mongooses are anything like the Schwinns, because they're not. The Schwinns are pretty much jsut what you found in the bike shops prior to Schwinn's collapse and purchase by Pacific.

And as for your pedal stripping out.....it probably wasn't tightened enough in the crank arm......happens. Remember, the pedals thread into the crank arms by tightning toward the rear of the bike......and this means right pedal is reverse threaded from the left pedal. So, if the pedals weren't properly tightened down in assembly, pedaling the bicycle will unscrew the pedal from the crank arm and the loosening of the pedal will allow the pedal to wallow around in the hole and eventually strip the hole in the crank arm.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
You need to spend $6500 on a bike or you're just wasting your money and getting something that will hold you back from true aerobic fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment.

I went from a $5000 bike to a $6500 and it was like night and day........I clocked nearly 3 seconds faster in my 5 mile sprint time.

Also, you need the tightest possible bike shorts....I mean nothing under a 28 waist even if you're a 36. And spray Teflon on it to reduce air resistance....but only use industrial grade Teflon cause the stuff you buy from Home Depot, again, will just keep you from reaching your full potential and enjoyment.

If you're just going to ride a bike around the block once or twice a month, then Walmart is fine. If you want to be a true cyclist then you need to claw raw iron ore from the earth with your bare hands and smelt it from the molten magma of Mount Hanulalalluhala and refine the resulting metal to surgical precision using just hand tools.

Pussy. I just bought a $7000 bike. You should try that sh1t.

that's nothing. i traded in my ferrari in for my bike.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: sniperruff

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
You need to spend $6500 on a bike or you're just wasting your money and getting something that will hold you back from true aerobic fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment.

I went from a $5000 bike to a $6500 and it was like night and day........I clocked nearly 3 seconds faster in my 5 mile sprint time.

Also, you need the tightest possible bike shorts....I mean nothing under a 28 waist even if you're a 36. And spray Teflon on it to reduce air resistance....but only use industrial grade Teflon cause the stuff you buy from Home Depot, again, will just keep you from reaching your full potential and enjoyment.

If you're just going to ride a bike around the block once or twice a month, then Walmart is fine. If you want to be a true cyclist then you need to claw raw iron ore from the earth with your bare hands and smelt it from the molten magma of Mount Hanulalalluhala and refine the resulting metal to surgical precision using just hand tools.

Pussy. I just bought a $7000 bike. You should try that sh1t.

that's nothing. i traded in my ferrari in for my bike.

My spare bike is made by Ferrari.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: sniperruff

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
You need to spend $6500 on a bike or you're just wasting your money and getting something that will hold you back from true aerobic fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment.

I went from a $5000 bike to a $6500 and it was like night and day........I clocked nearly 3 seconds faster in my 5 mile sprint time.

Also, you need the tightest possible bike shorts....I mean nothing under a 28 waist even if you're a 36. And spray Teflon on it to reduce air resistance....but only use industrial grade Teflon cause the stuff you buy from Home Depot, again, will just keep you from reaching your full potential and enjoyment.

If you're just going to ride a bike around the block once or twice a month, then Walmart is fine. If you want to be a true cyclist then you need to claw raw iron ore from the earth with your bare hands and smelt it from the molten magma of Mount Hanulalalluhala and refine the resulting metal to surgical precision using just hand tools.

Pussy. I just bought a $7000 bike. You should try that sh1t.

that's nothing. i traded in my ferrari in for my bike.

My spare bike is made by Ferrari.

My bike cost a mere $7.4 Billion. You can't beat that.

 

[Ornery]

We went to Mackinac Island a few years ago, and rented bikes there. There are lots of rental outfits, and the bikes they rent are ABUSED. Their choice of bike to take the abuse, day after day was Sun. We rented "Cruisers" with 4 speed Nexus hubs. If you want the most durable bike for your money, track one of those down.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
You need to spend $6500 on a bike or you're just wasting your money and getting something that will hold you back from true aerobic fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment.

I went from a $5000 bike to a $6500 and it was like night and day........I clocked nearly 3 seconds faster in my 5 mile sprint time.

Also, you need the tightest possible bike shorts....I mean nothing under a 28 waist even if you're a 36. And spray Teflon on it to reduce air resistance....but only use industrial grade Teflon cause the stuff you buy from Home Depot, again, will just keep you from reaching your full potential and enjoyment.

If you're just going to ride a bike around the block once or twice a month, then Walmart is fine. If you want to be a true cyclist then you need to claw raw iron ore from the earth with your bare hands and smelt it from the molten magma of Mount Hanulalalluhala and refine the resulting metal to surgical precision using just hand tools.

Pussy. I just bought a $7000 bike. You should try that sh1t.

Oh, SNAP. You must have the one that comes with two pedals and two full wheels. These newbs don't realize bikes from Walmart come with only half a wheel and one pedal. It's like whiiirrrrrrr....CACHUNK........whiiirrrrrr......CACHUNK.

 

[Pocatello]

I bought a bike from Wal-Mart, POS. It wasn't assembled correctly. On the plus side, I did learn how to fix a bicycle, because a lot of stuffs weren't working right.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]