ive been think about this a lot,
it does not seem to be as much an issue of quality, but rather the types of bikes the low end market caters to, lets see, bmx, full suspension mountain bikes, massive cruisers extc
none of the bikes in wal mart or target are practical or capable bikes for transportation,
until this changes, until shops and the big chains carry properly suited low end bikes (ie, a British style three speed with a rack or w/e) im still going to have major beef