Southern California - Nishiki or Wal*Mart bike?

You all know that I have this Nishiki moutain-ish bike. I would love a real MTB, and I saw one I likes at Wal*Mart the other day. I was wondering if it was better to sell the Nishiki and buy the Wal*Mart bike, or keep the Nishiki and continue upgrading it. I had a full suspension Toys 'r' us bike, and it worked wonderfully until I outgrew it.
Whaddaya thinks?

and.....GO!!!

I hope you are kidding.. Look at craigslist locally before buying a walmart bike..

come on guys.... he's a kid! BE NICE!

max... walmart is NEVER a good option for buying a bike! (nor is taget or kmart!)

Ok I'll check Craigslist

come on guys.... he's a kid! BE NICE!

max... walmart is NEVER a good option for buying a bike! (nor is taget or kmart!)

I had no idea he was a kid.. I still think money is better spent on a decent used bike than 200.00 on a walmart special...

I see trek, fishers, giants and other name brand bikes for well under 200.00..

I choose the Wal*Mart bike. If I am not satisfied I can just return it.

Now that you outgrew the other dept store bike, You're prolly bigger and gonna put mo stress on the new dept store bike....Snap!:eek:

I had no idea he was a kid.. I still think money is better spent on a decent used bike than 200.00 on a walmart special...

I see fishers, giants and other name brand bikes for well under 200.00..
Yes I am 13 years old

Ok I looked around and saw...nothing.
All 300 and above. The Walmart bike is only 160.
So yeah...Wal*Mart bike for me :D

max... walmart bikes are NOT good... they are really a waste of money! please think about it....

here is specialized in orange county for 75.00, it retails for 280.00

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/248822212.html

I hate to even buy toilet paper from Walmart...nothing political...I just hate that store.

I hate to even buy toilet paper from Walmart...nothing political...I just hate that store.


Ditto.

Wal-Fart

here is specialized in orange county for 75.00, it retails for 280.00

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/248822212.html
24" is way too small for me. 26" is the way to go. And I don't belive that there would be a deal like that. No pics either

Ok I looked around and saw...nothing.
All 300 and above. The Walmart bike is only 160.
So yeah...Wal*Mart bike for me :D

Be patient. Getting a good used bike takes time.

When I decided to buy a mountain bike, I checked Craigslist several times a day. I finally saw a '99 Trek 6500 that someone had bought, ridden a few times and then stored. He asked for $285, we agreed on $240 and he threw in a truck rack. I sold the rack for $50 and another bike for $85 so I was out of pocket $105. The Trek isn't a top of the line bike but it's like new and has decent components. I would be hesitant to ride a Walmart Magna bike off road.

I'll see the walmart bike again. I'm considering the 24" one. Too small eh?

What happened to that other bike? The Puch.
Is it just cause you want an mtb too?

you gotta hold out max-look in LA and OC on craigslist-wait a few days, something will turn up. Don't buy the walmart junk, you'll regret it...

I also think going used on craigslist is a better idea.

If you still want to go new with Walmart...
For those interested, Walmart online shows 2 bikes at the $160 price, a Schwinn alum hardtail and a Mongoose full suspension. Which one do you have in mind? They list 26", but I think that's just the wheel size. Don't know if they carry your size. (http://www.walmart.com/search/browse-ng.do?ic=12_0&ref=125872.125880+500000.500590+500863.4293871697&catNavId=4178)

Performance Bike also has something similiar (exactly the same?) as the Schwinn alum, but for a higher price (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=23241&subcategory_ID=3050). You may want to wait until Performance has those 10/20% sales again if you're going for the hardtail. At least they give free tuneups and seem to have more size available.

Have fun!

and.....GO!!!

:roflmao:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=882808

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4231518

I'll probably be buying one of these. Which one is better?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=882808

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4231518

I'll probably be buying one of these. Which one is better?

I'm sure you'll get all $60.00 worth of quality, too. You get what you pay for...

I'd shop around (craiglist, etc.), per everyone's advice.

Graa
I am master bike fixer.
Road bikes are easier to fix, mostly cause they don't break as often as MTBs.

If you're a "master fixer" then why not buy a decent used bike that needs some work rather than a brand new bike that's crappy even when it's in tip-top condition?

Someone helped find a potential used bike and you said the following:

24" is way too small for me. 26" is the way to go.
Then an hour later you said:

I'll see the walmart bike again. I'm considering the 24" one. Too small eh?
Argh. Get whatever makes you happy. They all have two wheels and two pedals and allow you to move around.

Hello Max,

I'll respond one last time to one of your threads that is going this way and you can take or leave my advice. If you are going to ask a question when you've already made up your mind then don't ask the question in a public forum. This thread and others (such as the powder coated rims thread) have people thinking that they don't need to reply to your questions because you've already made up your mind.

Now, as far as your question on buying a Wal-Mart bike, I would HIGHLY recommend AGAINST buying a Wal-Mart, Kmart, or Target bicycle if you are going to ride the bike regularly. These bicycles are not designed for regular, hard use. Any durability that they have is because they are over-designed for the inferior materials that they use. But even with the added weight these bikes and their components will not hold up in the long run.

As others have said, if you are a bit patient, you should be able to find a good used bike on craigslist or ebay. And given your mechanical skills, you will do much better with maintaining and upgrading a good used bike instead of dealing with a new "department store" bike.

I truly hope that this helps. :)

something tells me hes not looking for help cleave...just sayin'...

Hello Max,

I'll respond one last time to one of your threads that is going this way and you can take or leave my advice. If you are going to ask a question when you've already made up your mind then don't ask the question in a public forum. This thread and others (such as the powder coated rims thread) have people thinking that they don't need to reply to your questions because you've already made up your mind.

Now, as far as your question on buying a Wal-Mart bike, I would HIGHLY recommend AGAINST buying a Wal-Mart, Kmart, or Target bicycle if you are going to ride the bike regularly. These bicycles are not designed for regular, hard use. Any durability that they have is because they are over-designed for the inferior materials that they use. But even with the added weight these bikes and their components will not hold up in the long run.

As others have said, if you are a bit patient, you should be able to find a good used bike on craigslist or ebay. And given your mechanical skills, you will do much better with maintaining and upgrading a good used bike instead of dealing with a new "department store" bike.

I truly hope that this helps. :)
Thanks your advice Cleav I think I'll wait and keep looking on Craigslist

what size frame are you looking for 16" or 18" frame size??

I'm not sure.
Just a regular 26" wheel bike.
You got something to offer?

The bikes framesize matters too. You're still growing. 16" or 18" is the length of the seat tube. What I've done for my kids is collected used 105/ultegra stuff and then thrown the parts on a replacable frame. Leader makes a decent aluminum frameset for $140, so that's what my 14 yo daughter rides.

Ok, yeah, my kids are bike spoiled and have never had a dept store bike. My wife didn't know the difference until I built up a Medici for her, now she won't go back either. You get what you pay for, and I would NEVER recommend a department store bike to anyone. I always tell people to shop craigslist, or other used places. There are quite a few people who buy a new bike for say $1000, ride it a few months, then hang it up. 5-10 years later, they're looking at it, going man, I should just sell that thing, so they put it on craigslist. You will find tons of low miles 80's and 90's bikes that were high end in there time for cheap on CL. You just need to know what size frame you need, and what components you're willing to settle with. I gave $200 for my wife's Medici, $160 for a Terry with 8spd Campy, $100 for an 85 terry with Shimano 600 components (ultegra of it's day). My son's Redline Mini bmx bike I bought for $150 when he was three, he rode it until he was 8. I put it on craigslist and within 2 hours had it sold for $150. I could do the same with any of the other bikes. In fact I'm tempted to put my Paramount on there since I don't ride it anymore.

I'm not sure.
Just a regular 26" wheel bike.
You got something to offer?


How tall are you right now.. Since you are still growing, buy a bike a little bigger than you need.. Most likely at 13 years of age, a 16" frame would be the right size..

How tall are you right now.. Since you are still growing, buy a bike a little bigger than you need.. Most likely at 13 years of age, a 16" frame would be the right size..

Thirteen year olds can be pretty tall. I bought my son an 18" MTB when he was about that age and he outgrew it pretty quickly. Given that standover height is usually not a problem with MTBs, especially more recent designs with sloping top tubes I would look for the biggest frame that is workable. It will fit perfectly in no time at all.