I've always had something to say, but never found the place to say it. Heres the place. I have a CCM REvenge, a department store bike. My friend rides a Mongoose dual suspension. Surprisingly, my current front SIS derailler shifts better than my alivio. Big Box bikes aren't as bad as most people think, that's the truth. Saying one (a new one that has been checked to make sure that everything is assembled alright) will just break down on a simple trail is a complete lie. It's just that bikes at your LBS are more suited to the sort of riding and are overall more comfortable and efficient to ride. My friend caught 5 feet of air off a ramp, screwed up and all he had to do to fix his bike was to tighten some spokes.
Of course, I wouldn't reccomend doing something like that. But seriously, department bikes (in Canadian tire and zellers in my case) aren't as bad as you would think. The only thing I could find bad with them is the assembly (of course components, but that's how its like for under 300 bucks for a new bike). And it was the simple assembly, so it wasn't hard to fix. Big box bikes are what you need if you're not going hardcore. Why go overkill on something your never go use the limits of. I Got my scrap because I knew I would be ripping sooner or later and I needed the bike. For my rides to the grocery store, I just use my CCM Revenge.
haha, my CCM shifts better than my scrap overall. No chain skipping, no chain breaks yet. No screwed up driver train yet. (Just the rear derailler's hangy thing at the bottom wasn't straight so all I had to do was knock that into the right place. It wasn't something I regret buying.