How bad are those Walmart machines?

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I'd never consider one, but a non-biking friend wants to know if it's a reasonably strategy to get
into the game with a $65 bike from Walmart.

I've told him used would be a much better option, but I think he is attracted by both the price
and the simplicity of the transaction. Buying used requires a whole bunch of little decisions
about things of which he knows nothing.

So, is this a feasible strategy, with the idea that if he likes biking he'll get something better?

Or is there a significant chance a Walmart bike (or other dept.-store bike) will discourage him
from ever enjoying it?

If he lucks out and gets one which fits properly (maybe you can help him with that?), and doesn't
expect it to be a great performer or to last 15 years, it might be an option, especially if he only
uses it for relatively short rides (to the store, etc).

IMO, getting one which fits properly might be a problem, though, and then he's likely to hate
riding it.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I'd never consider one, but a non-biking friend wants to know if it's a reasonably strategy to get
into the game with a $65 bike from Walmart. I've told him used would be a much better option, but I
think he is attracted by both the price and the simplicity of the transaction. Buying used requires
a whole bunch of little decisions about things of which he knows nothing. So, is this a feasible
strategy, with the idea that if he likes biking he'll get something better? Or is there a
significant chance a Walmart bike (or other dept.-store bike) will discourage him from ever
enjoying it?

If he does decide to go the walmart bike route, don't let the monkeys at walmart build the bike.
Get someone who knows about building bikes assemble the bike. That way he will get the most out of
his $65 bike.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

I bought one to tool around at my mother's house in Florida on Thanksgiving weekend. At $55, it was
cheaper than shipping my own from NY or renting one at the LBS.

For the most part, it was OK for local neighborhood riding. The gears didn't shift perfectly, but
they were bearable. The brakes were really crappy, though. They're the old center-pull cantilever
style, and every time I applied them, the whole brake assembly would move with the wheel. The bike
stopped, but I never knew when the brake pads or arms would snap off or get sucked into the spokes.

Right now, my Walmart special is sitting in Mom's garage until next Thanksgiving. My plan is to
bring a new set of brakes down there and to replace the horribly uncomfortable seat. I'll also bring
my cheat sheets to try to adjust the gears a little. Hopefully, it'll be ready to ride the Pinellas
bike path, but I don't think it'll ever be really safe for long-distance road riding -- and
DEFINITELY not for off-road!

--
Low-Impact Rides In The LI/NY Area www.geocities.com/NYRides "R.White" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"OughtFour" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'd never consider one, but a non-biking friend wants to know if it's a reasonably strategy to
get into the game with a $65 bike from Walmart.

I've told him used would be a much better option, but I think he is attracted by both the price
and the simplicity of the transaction.

Buying

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

used requires a whole bunch of little decisions about things of which he knows nothing.

So, is this a feasible strategy, with the idea that if he likes biking

he'll

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

get something better?

Or is there a significant chance a Walmart bike (or other dept.-store

bike)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

will discourage him from ever enjoying it?

IMHO, the only bike to consider in this range would be a single speed

beach

Quoted message said:

cruiser and only if it fit. That being said, I did buy a 3 speed Huffy at KMart a few years ago.
It fit well and I needed a beater for the winter. It did it's job with no complaints and when I
was done with it, I resold it for about half what I paid.

[email hidden] (R.White) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

IMHO, the only bike to consider in this range would be a single speed beach cruiser and only if it
fit. That being said, I did buy a 3 speed Huffy at KMart a few years ago. It fit well and I needed
a beater for the winter. It did it's job with no complaints and when I was done with it, I resold
it for about half what I paid.

wow. didn't know they still sold 3-speed, hub-geared bikes in x*marts!

-Luigi

archer ns_archer1960@ns_hotmail.com said:

Quoted message said:

I'd never consider one, but a non-biking friend wants to know if it's a reasonably strategy to
get into the game with a $65 bike from Walmart.

If he lucks out and gets one which fits properly (maybe you can help him with that?), and doesn't
expect it to be a great performer or to last 15 years, it might be an option, especially if he
only uses it for relatively short rides (to the store, etc).

IMO, getting one which fits properly might be a problem, though, and then he's likely to hate
riding it.

I'll add that the $65 bike at Wal-mart is probably _very_ heavy. There are more expensive Wal-mart
bikes that look to be tolerable, if embarassing, rides.

--
Rick Onanian

"OughtFour" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'd never consider one, but a non-biking friend wants to know if it's a reasonably strategy to get
into the game with a $65 bike from Walmart.

I've told him used would be a much better option, but I think he is attracted by both the price
and the simplicity of the transaction. Buying used requires a whole bunch of little decisions
about things of which he knows nothing.

So, is this a feasible strategy, with the idea that if he likes biking

he'll

Quoted message said:

get something better?

Or is there a significant chance a Walmart bike (or other dept.-store

bike)

Quoted message said:

will discourage him from ever enjoying it?

My neighbor has a Magna from Target. I think it was ~$150. Very clunky front 'shocks'. Very heavy.
The first two rides, major stuff broke. It has maybe 50 miles on it, over 3 years.

One wrong shift can easily bend something, due to the cheap pressed steel found on the lowest end
*Mart bikes. One fall can bend/break the brake levers. After a couple hundred miles or so...stuff
*will* start to wear out. Which may sour him on the whole experience.

Shop around first at a couple LBS's. I've seen rigid Specialized bikes for $199 on closeout, or
maybe there's a used something around.

The bottom end *Mart bikes are, IMHO, not suitable for an adults weight and strength.

Pete

I don't care fore the $65 bikes, they always leave me shaking my head in amazement. The Schwinn's
with the aluminum frames for $150 are pretty good, assuming it's been assembled correctly. A big
assumption. Probably would cost another $100 to get sometime as good at LBS, but they'd give you
free tune-ups.

Alex Rodriguez <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

If he does decide to go the walmart bike route, don't let the monkeys at walmart build the bike.
Get someone who knows about building bikes assemble the bike. That way he will get the most out of
his $65 bike.

As a former one of these monkeys (at a different *mart), I fully support this advice.

It's certainly possible that if you are of average size, do a good job with assembly, and are
getting the bike for casual usage with relatively low expectations, that you can do OK. I had one of
these as a winter bike for some years to ride to the bus stop.

On the other hand, if you are tall / short, mechanically challenged, and expect to do 3000+ miles a
year and keep up with club riders using road bikes, you will be disappointed.

"R.White" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

IMHO, the only bike to consider in this range would be a single speed

beach

Quoted message said:

cruiser and only if it fit.

I bought one of these a few years ago. Nothing to go wrong on it. Heavy, solid, reliable. Until it
got stolen....🙂

Pete

[email hidden] (Luigi de Guzman) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (R.White) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

IMHO, the only bike to consider in this range would be a single speed beach cruiser and only if
it fit. That being said, I did buy a 3 speed Huffy at KMart a few years ago. It fit well and I
needed a beater for the winter. It did it's job with no complaints and when I was done with it,
I resold it for about half what I paid.

wow. didn't know they still sold 3-speed, hub-geared bikes in x*marts!

This was 4 years ago to be exact.

I'll tell you this bike was something of an anomaly. It's frame was 21" according to measurments I
took (c2c,crank and tt). 3 speed with a coaster brake worked well with my home made "tire chains".
Had it not had steel rims, I might have kept it longer.

"OughtFour" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I'd never consider one, but a non-biking friend wants to know if it's a reasonably strategy to get
into the game with a $65 bike from Walmart.

I've told him used would be a much better option, but I think he is attracted by both the price
and the simplicity of the transaction. Buying used requires a whole bunch of little decisions
about things of which he knows nothing.

So, is this a feasible strategy, with the idea that if he likes biking he'll get something better?

Or is there a significant chance a Walmart bike (or other dept.-store bike) will discourage him
from ever enjoying it?

When I first starting biking as an adult I rode a dept-store style bike and ended up falling quite a
few times. However I did notice other people on better bikes who seemed to be having much fun with
it, so I didn't get discouraged, I bought a low end LBS bike instead.

For simplicity of the transaction you could offer to help him go and pick out a used bike. I was
riding on a bike path a few weeks ago (where seeing Walmart type bikes is common) and one poor rider
fell off and got up and the pedal had fallen off. These type of bikes tend not to be very sturdy or
tolerate much abuse, and are not very fun for gearing so if he is going to be going on somewhat
hilly terrain where he'll want to vary speeds he may not enjoy it very much.

I got for my wife a Trek 7100 hybrid at my LBS. She likes it a lot and it costed around 400$ CDN.
At Trek website, it says 300$ US. We've been for a 50km ride at some point and she didn't have
any problems.

"OughtFour" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'd never consider one, but a non-biking friend wants to know if it's a reasonably strategy to get
into the game with a $65 bike from Walmart.

I've told him used would be a much better option, but I think he is attracted by both the price
and the simplicity of the transaction. Buying used requires a whole bunch of little decisions
about things of which he knows nothing.

So, is this a feasible strategy, with the idea that if he likes biking

he'll

Quoted message said:

get something better?

Or is there a significant chance a Walmart bike (or other dept.-store

bike)

Quoted message said:

will discourage him from ever enjoying it?

You might be better off picking up a free bike on trash day in your neighborhood.

Serious.

"OughtFour" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'd never consider one, but a non-biking friend wants to know if it's a reasonably strategy to get
into the game with a $65 bike from Walmart.

I've told him used would be a much better option, but I think he is attracted by both the price
and the simplicity of the transaction. Buying used requires a whole bunch of little decisions
about things of which he knows nothing.

So, is this a feasible strategy, with the idea that if he likes biking

he'll

Quoted message said:

get something better?

Or is there a significant chance a Walmart bike (or other dept.-store

bike)

Quoted message said:

will discourage him from ever enjoying it?

Jeff Sutton said:

You might be better off picking up a free bike on trash day in your neighborhood.

Serious.

Yup...you won't do any worse than you'd do at Wal-mart. I've picked up a couple a la Wal-mart
mountain bikes that only needed minor adjustments and were otherwise perfect, and quite a few older
ten speeds.

1 newer green Huffy, front suspension, silly frame that's supposed to look like rear suspension
also. Damn near brand new, just a bent rim. Replaced wheel with $15 wheel from Bennys (local chain
of discount stores that sells some cheap bicycles).

1 Magna "chrome edition" rigid. Bar grips are beat, otherwise in good repair; has those terrible
plastic brake levers, so I'm afraid to ride it even as a beater to the store.

1 Schwinn "World" ten speed, lugged frame, brand new 27" tires, front derailleur is seized (more
likely, the cable), just picked up on Thursday.

Last weekend, picked up 2 ten speeds at one house, a pink-trimmed girls Huffy and a green "Kend" or
"Keno" (hard to read) (no, not a "Kent"😉. Haven't examined them for state of repair yet.

1 Peugeot 15-speed, fixed up nice.

I passed up two old 3-speed cruisers which probably had Sturmey-Archer hubs I could have put on,
say, the green Huffy... I should have taken those.
--
Rick Onanian

"Rick Onanian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 2 Aug 2003 00:44:03 -0400, Jeff Sutton <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

I passed up two old 3-speed cruisers which probably had Sturmey-Archer hubs I could have put on,
say, the green Huffy... I should have taken those.
--
Rick Onanian

I'm glad to see another trash collector. I hardly ever pass up a bike in the outgoing trash without
at least stopping to have a look. It embarrasses the kids.

M.

x-no-archive:yes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I passed up two old 3-speed cruisers which probably had Sturmey-Archer hubs I could have put on,
say, the green Huffy... I should have taken those.
--
Rick Onanian

I'm glad to see another trash collector. I hardly ever pass up a bike in the outgoing trash
without at least stopping to have a look. It embarrasses the kids.

M.

ANYTHING we do embarrasses the kids. Learn to embrace the concept: you can have a lot of fun with
it. I know I do.

Pat in TX

"Pat" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

ANYTHING we do embarrasses the kids. Learn to embrace the concept: you can have a lot of fun with
it. I know I do.

"Dad...Don't do that!. It's embarrassing"

"Yes. I know it is. That's my job"

Pete

x-no-archive:yes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ANYTHING we do embarrasses the kids. Learn to embrace the concept: you

can

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

have a lot of fun with it. I know I do. Pat

Quoted message said:

"Dad...Don't do that!. It's embarrassing"

"Yes. I know it is. That's my job"

Pete

Try singing in the car when they are with you....especially singing to one of their radio stations.
Also, writhing around in the car as if you are dancing to the music is especially good.

Pat

Mon, 4 Aug 2003 09:32:57 -0500, <[email hidden]>, "Pat"

Quoted message said:

Try singing in the car when they are with you....especially singing to one of their radio stations.
Also, writhing around in the car as if you are dancing to the music is especially good.

Pat

When you're piloting your speeding hunk of lethal [censored] on the public

Yeah it's a boring task, but that's your choice. You owe it to the rest of us to give it all of your
attention.
--
zk