Wal Mart Bikes which is better for me?

[e0richt]

That is a problem with the manufacturers, and not the LBS. The manufacturers do not believe that there is a market for road bikes that weigh in above 24 pounds. To bring weight down causes costs to go up exponentially. The manufacturers believe, though, that anyone who would buy a 30 pound bike would be just as happy with a hybrid as they would be with a 30 pound bike that looks like a road bike, so they do not offer inexpensive road bikes.

I, too, am a recreational and fitness rider. I have a $400 hybrid and a $1900 road bike. The road bike weighs 20 pounds, and the hybrid weighs more than 30 pounds. I use the hybrid on trails or when I am riding on short rides with folks I know are slower than I am. With no additional effort, I can go about 3.5 mph faster on the road bike than I can on the hybrid. I always use the road bike for rides longer than about 20 miles. Even though I do not race, when I ride 75 miles, I would much rather do it in 4.5 hours instead of 5.5 hours.

For not much money, you could put lighter, thinner wheels and tires on a Trek 7000 (and even drop bars if that is what you are after), and have a bike that is better than the Walmart road bikes. The suspension fork on the 7100 would not make it as good a candidate for conversion as the 7000, but it could work.

I dont have a walmart bike but I have a Dawes, cro-molly framed bike that weighs 22 lbs and I got it for less than what the hybrid cost me... now it does have bottom of the line shimano components, but they are components that are listed on their website, (the walmart bikes have shimano too, but I couldn't seem to find info on them... except for the GMC line). But to continue, I love the road bike, not the hybrid because I am able to use it on group rides (c/d level rides) and easily keep up with the other Trek's, Peugeot's and c-dales...

between my hybrid and the road bike, I have put about the same mileage on them and I did have some problems with the rear wheel on the hybrid that I had to take back to the shop, and I had some problems with the front derailer shifting for the 3 chain rings... on the road bike, I had to have the shop adjust the derailer because I screwed it up. So far, the road bike has been a bit better in terms of maintenance but I think that in the big picture, given the same amount of miles, that would even out to be the same.

 

[cheapie]

not sure what to make of that statement. I had to think about that for a bit to even answer you because my first instinct is to deride you as probably some poseur... (by the way what DO you do with your bike? Do you race?)

what? i was just saying that your posts seem to indicate you think a LBS is a ripoff. they probably are aware of that feeling and don't go out of their way to give you a great deal.

why would this paint me as a poser? and do i race? every ride with my friends is a race, sanctioned or not.

I would guess that from your comment, that I should turn my brain off and just accept what some shop tells me? what kind of a dork would ever suggest that you should accept any opinion without some critical thinking?

uh.....no. that's not what i'm saying. but i am saying that a good relationship with a great LBS will save you a lot of hassle. maybe not money but becoming friends with them and asking lots of questions before you buy will pay off in the end.

for example. i had a pair of specialized road shoes that were out of warranty and had a small crack in the strap that was not officially fixable. a guy that i frequently work with there knew that specialized wouldn't take care of it but he called his local specialized rep and talked to him about my problem. the dude ended up having a spare buckle in his office and i was able to get my shoe repaired for around $3 for the part and $10ish for seamstress instead of having to spend $175 for new shoes because i had developed that relationship and he wanted to take care of me.

and it's important to note that the shop made no money off of all the work he did trackin the part down on my behalf.

 

[e0richt]

My sources indicate suspension forks are not unheard of on road racing bikes and competitive efforts using them have entered the TDF, although the names and dates elude me now. Perhaps it was a fad which rode the wave of practical mountain components when suspensions took off in the early '90s.

Why not front suspension? I would maybe hop it up by adding a stiffer set of springs, but I think it would (and does) work fine on a roadie.

I guess though that it adds weight, wierdness, and a bit of drag....factors to include in your cost-benefit analysis.

hmmm I have to admit that I bought the 7100 about 2 years ago and rode it for some very limited distance. I only really caught the bug this season. I don't know if it was the fork, or the tires (80 psi) but the feel of the bike was, for lack of a better term, "squishy". I couldn't get it to not feel like I was trying to pedal a motorcycle.

 

[e0richt]

That is a problem with the manufacturers, and not the LBS. The manufacturers do not believe that there is a market for road bikes that weigh in above 24 pounds.

agreed. But we are buying from a bike shop aren't we? and part of the package is that they can fit and customize a bike to you... if all you can get is cookie cutout types of bikes then what are you really paying for?

For not much money, you could put lighter, thinner wheels and tires on a Trek 7000 (and even drop bars if that is what you are after), and have a bike that is better than the Walmart road bikes. The suspension fork on the 7100 would not make it as good a candidate for conversion as the 7000, but it could work.

when I was there, I remember asking why all the road bikes were that expensive and how come I couldnt get something at the low end like the hybrids. I got mumbo jumbo about how they would have to change the components and that would get expensive (not sure how much expensive was compared to the road bikes.... ). I got intimidated and dropped it... Now, Im just a bit peeved with both the shops here because, now, I know better.

for just having road handlebars, and putting some thinner slicks and a travel agent put on the brakes, I would have been happier...

 

[garage sale GT]

hmmm I have to admit that I bought the 7100 about 2 years ago and rode it for some very limited distance. I only really caught the bug this season. I don't know if it was the fork, or the tires (80 psi) but the feel of the bike was, for lack of a better term, "squishy". I couldn't get it to not feel like I was trying to pedal a motorcycle.

IMHO a front suspension should not bob from pedaling.

Maybe those guys at the lbs who think you have an attitude problem didn't pump the forks up enough.

 

[e0richt]

IMHO a front suspension should not bob from pedaling.

Maybe those guys at the lbs who think you have an attitude problem didn't pump the forks up enough.

yeah, guess so... those b-tards!
but seriously, I don't notice a bob when pedaling. so maybe it was just the tires along with the weight of the frame that was the problem... I haven't ridden it since.

 

[RickF]

IMHO a front suspension should not bob from pedaling.

Maybe those guys at the lbs who think you have an attitude problem didn't pump the forks up enough.

The suspension on the 7100 is not adjustable. If the rider weighs more than the pre-set tension can handle, the front end will be very mushy. I would not recomend the 7100 or 7200 for that reason. IMHO, it is better to have no suspension (7000) or an adjustable suspension (7300 and up).

Better tires, even on the same rims, go a long way towards improving the feel of the 7100. It is possible to put 32 mm, 100 or 110 psi tires on the same rims in place of the 35 mm, 80 psi standard tires. In fact, the Specialized Armadillo 38 mm tires can be pumped to 100 psi, and feel much less "mushy" than the stock tires on the Trek 7000 series, but if I was going to replace the tires, I would go with 32 mm tires that can be pumped to 110 psi.

 

[e0richt]

My sources indicate suspension forks are not unheard of on road racing bikes and competitive efforts using them have entered the TDF, although the names and dates elude me now. Perhaps it was a fad which rode the wave of practical mountain components when suspensions took off in the early '90s.

maybe that has something to do with the cobblestone streets that you would encounter on the tdf... you don't really problem with asphalt (at least for the most part... there are some stretches where you can get some pretty good vibration from either the road being in disrepair, or the use of rock aggregate...)

 

[e0richt]

Well today was a day of discovery on the reality of road bikes for me. After much sacrificed research on road bikes, I decided to take the advice of many people and call a LBS for a bike. I called 4 stores in my local area. The cheapest bicycle I found was 630 dollars. I asked each one of them what road bike I could get for 200 dollars and they said none. I asked them even about used road bikes, still no cigar.

So that was it with the road bikes.

Then I took the advice of some people here about buying a road bike at Wal Mart.

Well I went to Wal Mart and they only had 2 schwinn varsitys. Both were in not new condition and had scratches on paint and the handlebar clamp metal paint was scratched and black. I actually pointed out some rust on the fork that was starting and when I asked for a discount in light of all these things. They said that I would have surrender my right to return it if anything was wrong with it. OK I said. How much is the discount? 10 %! was the answer I got. I said no thank you. And walked away.

I was hoping to get a substantial discount like tscar5 but no can do.He must of did something to get that discount.

now I am debating whether to go to another wal mart and repeat or go the same one at different hour to see a different manager will give me more of a discount.

thanks for reading

hi, I just wanted to know what you ended up doing and can we get a review of the bike that you bought (assuming you have got one now...).

 

[ryanspeer]

If you're REALLY on that much of a budget, check out Craigslist in your area (www.craigslist.org). $200 will get you a heck of a lot more bike there than ANY new "bike" from WalMart. The old anecdote "you get what you pay for" couldn't be more true with the garbage from a place like WalMart. If you just spend some time looking around, you can get a decent $200 used road bike on Craigslist that would've normally retailed for perhaps as much as $600+ when new.

With a budget like yours, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to buy anything other than used. Then take it to a bike shop and spend $40 on a tuneup. After that, you'll be pretty much set and will have 4x the bike you would've ever gotten at the toy store.

 

[RickF]

http://www.bikesrnottoys.com/

 

[e0richt]

If you're REALLY on that much of a budget, check out Craigslist in your area (www.craigslist.org). $200 will get you a heck of a lot more bike there than ANY new "bike" from WalMart. The old anecdote "you get what you pay for" couldn't be more true with the garbage from a place like WalMart. If you just spend some time looking around, you can get a decent $200 used road bike on Craigslist that would've normally retailed for perhaps as much as $600+ when new.

With a budget like yours, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to buy anything other than used. Then take it to a bike shop and spend $40 on a tuneup. After that, you'll be pretty much set and will have 4x the bike you would've ever gotten at the toy store.

that depends on how much you know about bikes. You can easily pay for a bike that you have to pay quite a bit of money to fix up because you didn't put it through some paces... for example, I went to look at a raleigh that looked ok, tubes were flat so I couldn't take it on ride to see how things worked, couldnt tell me if the cogs skipped which meant that you might have to replace the cassette (assuming it had one) or maybe a free wheel which is a problem it you have seen earlier posts about "freewheels"... I purchased a bike that I did take out for a little spin but when I got home, and really cleaned up the chain and cogs found that I had to replace the cassette and chain. Oh I also took the stem out to adjust and found moisture in the frame so that will have to be taken care of. I tested the shifting but didn't shift all the gears. well, the "rapid fire" shifters were not totally accurate so I couldn't get all the gears on the bike so that had to be taken care of. I didn't know about how to check a loose headset then, well I do now because I found that the one that I got is loose and am not sure what I want to do about it...

so please, as with everything else, caveat emptor...

 

[therapyLane6346]

Hello i am totally new to cycling. I am debating whether to order a schwinn varsity from walmart which the frame is like 55 cm. The GMC denali which the frame is 57 cm inches from walmart. Or the gmc denali xl which is 57.5 cm available from amazon. My height is 6 feet 0 inches and I weigh 200 pounds even. What is the best fit for my height?

Is the schwinn varsity good for my height?

thanks looking for some experts to chime in.

Buying bikes from large department stores is just asking for a new bike less than a year later

 

[e0richt]

Buying bikes from large department stores is just asking for a new bike less than a year later

really? gee I have bought a dept store bike before... it lasted over 3 years and was still in fairly good condition when I sold it for 10.00... I should have kept it... the only thing wrong was a few spokes in the rear wheel that snapped, but I didn't know how to lace a wheel...

 

[blindsaint]

This is what I'd say...

First, go to a good LBS and have them fit you to a bike. Get the mesurements and tell them that you'll be back. Then go to E-bay and check out what they have that's your size or something that can be converted to your size. You can find Treks and others that are more name brand bikes and are more likely to be fixed at LBS's.

On the Wal-mart bikes, I have a Schwinn Varsity and I love it. I used to race Bianchi (owned by the team coach) a couple years ago and it was way better than the Vasity (obviously) but for running around, the Varsity is not bad. I've not had any problems with it and I've put around 200 miles on it in the month that I've had it. I had to adjust a few things, like the seat hight, shifters were just thrown on, brakes weren't tightened... normal stuff. With any bike, the more you ride it, the more things will need fixing. I wouldn't suggest the GMC bikes because I have heard very little about them and the ones I saw at Walmart weren't in good condition anyway.

With the bike they were talking about above, it was a mountain bike and the tires on a $99 mountain bike are the cheepest quality. If I was buying a mountain bike from a mart, I'd get a target one and expect to pay between $200 - $250 for a good one.

Take your mesurements that you get from the LBS to Walmart and see if you can fit the bike to you. If you can, then go home, get online and order one so you know it'll be in good condition. Measurment charts are hard to go by online. Comfort means different things to different people, one way of sitting on the couch might be comfortable to you, but not to someone else. It's the same way with bikes, I can't ride how some people ride, it hurts my lower back, I ride the best way for me, and at the end of the day, I feel just fine.

I'm 6 feet tall, 155, and it's great for me. The only things I'm looking at changing in the neer future are the seat post and sadle (I want one that's a little more fit to my "seat") and later on, the wheels (changing to Zipp, jsut to make it look more "official").

Most of the people in this forum are hardcore bikers and biking is the biggest hobby of theirs. They know a lot about the bikes they ride, what their friends ride, and what they've heard, but will put down anything they think sucks without even trying it. It's like Jaquire people when you pull up in a Carolla. It runs, it's reliable, parts are cheep, it's just no Jaguire.

 

[garage sale GT]

This is what I'd say...

First, go to a good LBS and have them fit you to a bike. Get the mesurements and tell them that you'll be back. Then go to E-bay...

The same fit kits the bike stores use are available online in case you don't want to be a ripoff artist. Or go to Sheldonbrown.com for links to fit websites.

 

[zaskar]

The Wal Mart bike only cost $99.

Amazing, my pedals cost 2 times that.

 

[e0richt]

Amazing, my pedals cost 2 times that.

yeah, but they are probably made out of titanium?

 

[e0richt]

On the Wal-mart bikes, I have a Schwinn Varsity and I love it. I used to race Bianchi (owned by the team coach) a couple years ago and it was way better than the Vasity (obviously) but for running around, the Varsity is not bad. I've not had any problems with it and I've put around 200 miles on it in the month that I've had it. I had to adjust a few things, like the seat hight, shifters were just thrown on, brakes weren't tightened... normal stuff. With any bike, the more you ride it, the more things will need fixing. I wouldn't suggest the GMC bikes because I have heard very little about them and the ones I saw at Walmart weren't in good condition anyway.

good to know more info on the varsity... I wish more people that have bought either product the schwinns and the gmc line of bikes would give some reviews of what they got... I prefer factual info on the product rather than the judgement of "just go to an LBS...".

How do you use the bike? (commuting, exercise...)
How many miles per week do you put on the bike?
Have you had any problem with "chain skip"?
Have you had many flats?
Has the chain broke?
Do you have to adjust the shifters often or just the one time after you bought it? Did you add any things to the bike for comfort?
How do the brakes handle once adjusted?
Any miscellaneous type of problems (brake hoods or seat starting to split, rattling of the chain, problems with the front or rear derailer...)?

go to www.amazon.com and type "gmc denali" and there are reviews of the product (some good, some bad)... interestingly enough, the Scwinn Varsity is not available but there are other Schwinn bikes that are low end but no one has reviewed them...

oh and there is a version of the GMC line (the Yukon) that has Shimano Sora STI shifters for around 298.00 thats less than half the cost of an LBS bike that would have those components... geez get it and if you need to, replace the frame when it wears out...

 

[Blademun]

Got to play around with a GMC denalli the other day. It came into the shop and Kevin was working on it. THe customer had come in and said "This bike is SO light, it must weigh 6 lbs". When I heard that I just grinned, picked the 35+ lb bike up breifly, then set it down again with a huff. It is heavier then my all chromoly mountain bike. The shifters -did- actually work, after much adjustments, though I couldn't imagine a worse place for them then right there near the stem. Steering must be hard while your twisting on those things in the center of your bar.

We returned the "6 pound bike" to the customer yesterday. I love how stupid wal-mart riders are, it just makes you smile.