General Cycling Discussion - Wal*Mart Has Opened an LBS

Wal*Mart has opened an LBS in one of their stores. The Kryptonite blog as a little blurb on it here. I wonder if the build quality of the bikes is better than the standard X-mart build quality...


http://unbreakable-bonds.blogspot.com/2007/11/newest-shop-in-texas.html

Interesting...I wonder if they will actually check over the cheap crap they sell? I was in a WalMart the other night for an emergency purchase and swung thru the bike section. They had a bike on the rack with a cracked frame:eek: I left a message for the store manager, but they probably will depend on their return policy to CYA. Cheap crappy bikes is cheap crappy bikes even if they do have a fancy place to sell them. And I seriously doubt they will be hiring any type of certified mechanics, like some LBSes do.

Aaron:)

I'll be danged if this isn't $120.00 worth of bike:
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/01/67/51/52/0001675152642_215X215.jpg (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3596787)
I'd like to see the LBS duplicate that bang for the buck!

They sell Canon, Sony, Michelin, Remington, Dremel, Levi, Bunn, Dyson, Wilson... The items sold under those brands don't become inferior just because they're from a Walmart.

I'll be danged if this isn't $120.00 worth of bike:
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/01/67/51/52/0001675152642_215X215.jpg (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3596787)
I'd like to see the LBS duplicate that bang for the buck!

They sell Canon, Sony, Michelin, Remington, Dremel, Levi, Bunn, Dyson, Wilson... The items sold under those brands don't become inferior just because they're from a Walmart.

Maybe not, but quite often they are built specifically for Walmart and ARE NOT the quality you may purchase somewhere else. As far as Bang for the Buck Bicycles I bought a gently used Staiger Trekking bike for $175 that sold for over $700 new. Also show me a WM bike that is still hanging around in ridable condtion in 30+ years like my 1972 Raleigh Superbe. And I have a 197? Raleigh Sports Standard that has seen over 15,000 documented miles (and probably that many more undocumented) and still has most of the original parts on it. I am not going to get into the social issues side of Walmart. But you get what you pay for.

Aaron:)

I'll get into the "social issues" of Walmart, as well as address the "built specifically for Walmart" folklore. The retail packages purchased at Walmart are EXACTLY the same as those purchased elsewhere. Stores like Sears rebrand their Michelin tires and such, but that's not the case at Walmart.

I can buy a box of 100 washers at Walmart for a fraction of the price charged by the local mom & pop hardware store for the EXACT same package. Volume buying power has that effect. Not to mention, the local mom & pop shop didn't feel too guilty about gouging their customers when they were the only game in town. Sucks when the tables turn, eh?

When it's worth their while to start stocking high end bikes, the Treks sold at Walmart will be the EXACT same units sold at the LBS. I saw my first Snapper riding mower at Walmart a couple years ago. It was the EXACT same model offered by the local mower dealers, except it was the lowest in their line. If you wanted a larger engine, deck or bagging sytem, you had to go the local mower dealer instead. Take some vaseline (sold cheap at Walmart) with you!

...certified mechanics, like some LBSes do.

What's dat? Who's dat? And how many $69 - $189 bikes do they lay wrenches on?

I'm glad you are such a fan of Walmart...but I guarantee you that when they are the only game in town they raise their prices, I've seen it. Also I have this GE iron that my wife purchased...read the fine print on the label it says "built to Walmart Specifications". Tell the 2,000 people in Erwin, NC that used to work at the Swift Denim Mill how great it was to lose a job that paid an average of $14 an hour (in 2000), to have only 1/4 of those jobs replaced by Walmart at an average wage of $8 an hour (in 2006). As far as the mom and pop, they pay taxes on the building they rent or own, they typically spend their money with other local merchants. Walmart gets incentives to come to town, only to move 5 or 6 years later leaving a huge empty retail space that quite often goes unused. And all the tax money that was used to lure them is wasted. Another thing that people don't want to see...people that make $8 an hour don't pay taxes at the same rate as people that make $14 or more. They actually use more tax dollars than they pay in, but that is what the American public wants...cheap products at cheap prices regardless of the cost.

Aaron:)

What's dat? Who's dat? And how many $69 - $189 bikes do they lay wrenches on?

My LBS has mechanics that have been trained at either Barnett Bicycle Institute or Park Tools School. Every bike that comes in that store for sale, new or used is torn down and checked prior to going out on the sales floor, even the trade ins. I worked there as a part time employee for a couple of years to support my cycling habit. I was allowed to perform minor repairs but they were checked by one of the other mechanics. If I had wanted to continue I would have had to attend one of the schools.

Aaron:)

I'm not surprised as two of the Walton sons are big into cycling. Another spent a few summers as a whitewater rafting guide. One son cleaned up land in Alabama (maybe Arkansas?) and created a mtb park. The other son is roadie.

Yes, WM has problems, but all the positive stuff WM is doing -- eg. trying to become environmentally responsible -- is all a result of the offspring pushing to become a better global citizen.

The mom & pop shops around here have handled the Big Box influx just fine. They offer products not sold by the giants. In the mean time, since I don't buy into the hype of "high end", I can obtain products at a fair price. If you're performing a service that can be done for half the wages by somebody else, it's time to get into a new line of work. I do NOT support protectionism of any kind.

Video killed the radio star, and now Wally's gonna kill the LBS. :D

Seriously, it's just as well Little 5-year-old Chow Meo can sure lace up a set of wheels - and he doesn't even need one smoke-break on his 16-hour shift.

... Brad

Maybe not, but quite often they are built specifically for Walmart and ARE NOT the quality you may purchase somewhere else. ....
I would second this.

Every time Wal-Mart offers another sales contract to a vendor, Wal-Mart almost always insists a lower unit price than the previous contract. So what happens with a lot of items is, the manufacturers start cheapening them just to offer a lower price that Wal-Mart demands. Sometimes this is a special "lower-quality/price" production run just for Wal-Mart, and sometimes the product manufacturers cheapen their entire product output and sell the lower quality stuff to everyone else (for the old prices!) too.

I know someone IRL who is a chemical engineer in the soap industry--and they knew for a fact that this is true for some of the soap products that Wal-Mart sells.
~

I'll be danged if this isn't $120.00 worth of bike:
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/01/67/51/52/0001675152642_215X215.jpg (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3596787)
I'd like to see the LBS duplicate that bang for the buck!

They sell Canon, Sony, Michelin, Remington, Dremel, Levi, Bunn, Dyson, Wilson... The items sold under those brands don't become inferior just because they're from a Walmart.

They do when the item is manufactured to meet Walmart's ongoing need for lower and lower prices from their suppliers.

I saw my first Snapper riding mower at Walmart a couple years ago. It was the EXACT same model offered by the local mower dealers, except it was the lowest in their line. If you wanted a larger engine, deck or bagging sytem, you had to go the local mower dealer instead. Take some vaseline (sold cheap at Walmart) with you!


I might be wrong but I think Snapper told Walmart to go pi$$ up a rope a while back.

Edit: Nope, not wrong.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html

I'm glad you are such a fan of Walmart...followed by the usual WalMart is evil blah, blah, blah.

Is that your response to a question about your statement about alleged certified mechanics tenderly crafting together inexpensive bikes sold at the typical LBS?

If the Model Number/SKU is the same, it's the same product.

KDL-40S3000 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7768673) VS KDL-40S3000 (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Bravia-KDL-40S3000-720p-HDTV/dp/B000P6R6D8)

Dyson DC07 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5230519) VS Dyson DC07 (http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=159650&WT.mc_n=67&WT.mc_t=U&cm_ven=COMPARISON%20SHOPPING&cm_cat=PRICEGRABBER&cm_pla=DATAFEED->PRODUCTS&cm_ite=1%20PRODUCT&cm_keycode=67)

UPC: 0088697115132 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7960751) VS UPC: 0088697115132 (http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=600278401/search=0088697115132/sort_type=bottomline)

Yes, Snapper bailed on Walmart as an outlet, but they did offer some for a while. It was great for the consumer while it lasted. You still can't buy Stihl at Home Depot or Lowes (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115369927780214907.html?mod=mm_hs_advertising) either, but I still shop at both those stores, as well as Walmart. I'll buy bike accessories and parts online as well. If you don't need the hand holding of the LBS, why not?

Perhaps the mom & pop stores are price gouging, perhaps what you're experiencing is simply a natural order of the economic market, EX:

mom & pop order 150 boxes of nails.

Wal-Mart orders 250,000, and distributes them out to their stores nation wide. Oh, and some off to Canada too.

When you deal in the extreme end of bulk, you can retail at bulk prices.

Of course, that's the point! It's good for the consumer, of which I'm one. Used to be, you'd go to the local hardware store to by a widget. They'd tell you the price, and when you balked, they'd say, "Take it or leave it", knowing they had the only one within a 30 mile radius. Now we have Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart and can shop online. Do I feel sorry for the prick who had me over a barrel 20 years ago?

Our local electronics store (http://www.mentortv.com/pages/AboutMentorTV.html) felt the pinch when Sun Appliance and Best Buy rolled into town. Did they piss & moan and cry to the local representatives to keep them out? Nope, they just went high end, and they're thriving. Gotta be light on your feet, which should be easy for a small business.

I'll get into the "social issues" of Walmart, as well as address the "built specifically for Walmart" folklore. The retail packages purchased at Walmart are EXACTLY the same as those purchased elsewhere. Stores like Sears rebrand their Michelin tires and such, but that's not the case at Walmart.

I can buy a box of 100 washers at Walmart for a fraction of the price charged by the local mom & pop hardware store for the EXACT same package. Volume buying power has that effect. Not to mention, the local mom & pop shop didn't feel too guilty about gouging their customers when they were the only game in town. Sucks when the tables turn, eh?

When it's worth their while to start stocking high end bikes, the Treks sold at Walmart will be the EXACT same units sold at the LBS. I saw my first Snapper riding mower at Walmart a couple years ago. It was the EXACT same model offered by the local mower dealers, except it was the lowest in their line. If you wanted a larger engine, deck or bagging sytem, you had to go the local mower dealer instead. Take some vaseline (sold cheap at Walmart) with you!

http://www.turboconnection.com/images/picard.jpg

I'll be danged if this isn't $120.00 worth of bike:
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/01/67/51/52/0001675152642_215X215.jpg (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3596787)
I'd like to see the LBS duplicate that bang for the buck!

They sell Canon, Sony, Michelin, Remington, Dremel, Levi, Bunn, Dyson, Wilson... The items sold under those brands don't become inferior just because they're from a Walmart.

This bike can't compare with the Trek Lime or Electra Townie. You can't sell a BMW at Hugo prices

http://www.m-nomura.com/st/images/ferengi.jpg

You don't understand. Walmart workers don't
want to stop the exploitation. We want to find
ways to become the exploiters.


"You can't sell a BMW at Hugo prices"

My that's deep. If I walk into a bike shop with $125.00 for a bike to use at say, a summer cottage for the month, what will I get? I know what I can get from Walmart. I know what I could possibly get used. I want to know what the LBS has to offer besides a used bike. I don't need a LBS for that.

I want to know what the LBS has to offer besides a used bike. I don't need a LBS for that.
Maybe you will get "certified mechanics" subjecting the LBS product to an intensive, top to bottom 100% inspection and rebuild of every component to meet the exacting standards found on every item sold there.

Then again, maybe you won't.

As you sighted in a post "if you want a cheap bike for the cottage" well I wanted to try mountain biking and didn't want to spend a lot if I didn't like it so much to the dismay of my friends I bought one of your so called "bikes" at a big-box retailer (spend a whooping $150) three rides later with less than 50 miles on the bike, while climbing a small hill I ripped the cassette and rear derailer completely off the bike. garbage in, garbage out!! Quality costs money dude, but do as you see fit, it's your nickel.

The hub alone is over $50.00 (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=HU2209) without the coaster brake. A MTB is a ludicrous application for fragile derailleurs*, let alone the dime store variety, but that's another topic.

If I were a contractor, I wouldn't buy a Skil electric drill from Walmart either. I'd head on up to Home Depot for something beafier. But, a home owner could make do with a $20.00 drill from Walmart for decades. Doesn't take much to hang a picture or two. It pays to be a smart shopper.

*Singlespeed bikes are also considerably more sturdy and reliable than multispeed bikes. There's no derailer to catch on the underbrush or to get overshifted into the spokes. (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html)

What's dat? Who's dat? And how many $69 - $189 bikes do they lay wrenches on?
Many of the ones bought at Wal-Mart that were not properly built.

A co-worker bought one as a Christmas present last year and asked me to check the brakes. The brakes were set OK but it was easy to tell the cones on the hubs were not properly adjusted, making the bike dangerous. I had no idea where my 13mm cone wrench was and did not have time to look for it before Christmas. So the co-worker had to take his brand new present to the LBS.

Not to mention the LBS across from the Sports Authority. They fixed up the poor assembly and quick failures all the time.

A pdf version of why this Walmart has a bicycle shop

http://www.retailingtoday.com/uploadedFiles/RetailingTodaycom/Digital_studio/Special_reports/2007/WMT_Highland1.pdf

I think it's a great gesture by Walmart.

1) Having a bike shop keeps customers from pestering the guys in the auto tire shop.

2) I have noticed that some Wal Marts have non walmart stores like nail salons and other stores in their buildings. If someone were looking for a place to open a bike shop, maybe walmart is worth a look.

My guess is it's so they don't have to accept as many returns on the pre-assembled bikes in their stores.

No they are NOT the same product. Talk to the Scwhinn area reps and find that out. Talk to Levis and they have 501 bluejeans made for Walmart with different materials. Same label, different product. The CEO of Snapper lawnmower pulled all their products from Walmart for that reason. Walmart even told him where they could have their decks made a little lighter and sell them for less. He refused. (There was an article in either Inc. Magazine or Entrepenuer Magazine interviewing him) For that reason, I don't trust anything that comes from Walmart. I don't know that or if it's the same product.

Wal-Mart alliance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi's)

In 2002, Levi Strauss began a close business collaboration with Wal-Mart, producing a special line of "Signature" jeans and other clothes for exclusive sale in Wal-Mart stores until 2006. Levi Strauss Signature jeans can now be purchased at Wal-Mart, KMart, Target, Pamida, Meijer, Orchard Supply Hardware Stores and ShopKo stores in US; Wal-Mart and Zellers in Canada and Jusco, Rapty, Cecile and Shop Channel Stores in Japan.Schwinn bikes sold at Walmart have a Walmart SKU, not Schwinn. Same as Sears Michelins. If the SKU/Model Number is the same, it's the same.

The Snappers sold at Walmart were EXACTLY the same as those available at local mower shops. Their CEO did not take them up on their suggestion to build them cheaper, but the ones sold were identical. The thing is, most mower shops would up sell to higher end models. They generally only ever have a couple low end ones in stock.

Many of the ones bought at Wal-Mart that were not properly built.

A co-worker bought one as a Christmas present last year and asked me to check the brakes. The brakes were set OK but it was easy to tell the cones on the hubs were not properly adjusted, making the bike dangerous. I had no idea where my 13mm cone wrench was and did not have time to look for it before Christmas. So the co-worker had to take his brand new present to the LBS.

Not to mention the LBS across from the Sports Authority. They fixed up the poor assembly and quick failures all the time.

Are you or any any of the cited mechanics "certified"? That was the question, not could improvements or adjustments be made on a bike if reexamined after purchase (from anywhere), by someone with an ax to grind or profit to be made.

Are you or any any of the cited mechanics "certified"? That was the question, not could improvements or adjustments be made on a bike if reexamined after purchase (from anywhere), by someone with an ax to grind or profit to be made.

Do you honestly think the bikes from X-mart stores all come assembled to the same level as the average LBS? Do you also think that the average purchaser thinks that they do?


From an X-mart ad.
http://www.industryoutsider.com/images/bikead.jpg

As you sighted in a post "if you want a cheap bike for the cottage" well I wanted to try mountain biking and didn't want to spend a lot if I didn't like it so much to the dismay of my friends I bought one of your so called "bikes" at a big-box retailer (spend a whooping $150) three rides later with less than 50 miles on the bike, while climbing a small hill I ripped the cassette and rear derailer completely off the bike. garbage in, garbage out!! Quality costs money dude, but do as you see fit, it's your nickel.

Maybe you should take better care of your gear???

The ONLY new bike I've EVER owned was a Walmart Huffy... I bought it with my first paycheck from my first job. I rode that bike EVERYWHERE for 2 and a half years... putting many thousands of miles on it. When I went into the Navy I gave it away.

Last time I was back home (over 8 years later) the guy was STILL riding that bike. It had a new seat and drivetrain, but he was still riding it. :shrug:

To save BF members vast amounts of time spent typing, couldn't the powers that be make a smiley with the following message.
"WalMart is evil blah, blah, blah."

Do you honestly think the bikes from X-mart stores all come assembled to the same level as the average LBS? Do you also think that the average purchaser thinks that they do?

I honestly believe that a handful of bike enthusiasts and/or LBS connected personnel who obsessively wail about the evils of $69-$129 bikes sold at Big Box stores not meeting the same standards as mega dollar bikes sold at their favorite LBS are not exactly an unbiased source of info about the relative value of bicycles.

Nor are the enthusiasts and LBS connected posters' interests and needs identical, or necessarily even close, to the typical purchasers/users of inexpensive bikes purchased at Big box/department stores.

If putting a shop in the Wal-Mart helps them to assemble bikes more safely (a cousin had his spleen ruptured when the front wheel fell of his new x-mart bike), I am all for it. Like it or not, and I am certainly a not, Wal-Mart and other big boxes are where the majority of bikes are sold in the US. It would be nice if more of those bikes were more carefully assembled and maintained.

That said, my major objection to Wal-Mart bikes (and most Wal-Mart stuff) is that are really not all that good a value in my estimation. I doubt a new display will change that much.

I honestly believe that a handful of bike enthusiasts and/or LBS connected personnel who obsessively wail about the evils of $69-$129 bikes sold at Big Box stores not meeting the same standards as mega dollar bikes sold at their favorite LBS are not exactly an unbiased source of info about the relative value of bicycles.

Nor are the enthusiasts and LBS connected posters' interests and needs identical, or necessarily even close, to the typical purchasers/users of inexpensive bikes purchased at Big box/department stores.

Care to address the backwards fork in the big box ad? Is that part of a conspiracy too?

Fwiw, the x-mart bikes where I live often have backwards forks, brake cables which go into the rear spokes, brakes which don't work properly, and QR skewers which aren't tightened correctly. It's frightening.

I honestly believe that a handful of bike enthusiasts and/or LBS connected personnel who obsessively wail about the evils of $69-$129 bikes sold at Big Box stores not meeting the same standards as mega dollar bikes sold at their favorite LBS are not exactly an unbiased source of info about the relative value of bicycles.

Nor are the enthusiasts and LBS connected posters' interests and needs identical, or necessarily even close, to the typical purchasers/users of inexpensive bikes purchased at Big box/department stores.

This is the most naive and ignorant thing i've read so far. Walmart employees (not trained bicycle mechanics are paid piece work to assemble as many bikes as possible. You bet your ass nothing is going to be adjusted properly and only the shoddiest of assemblies done.

Sure you could say the same for some LBS's. But at least they have REAL mechanics who do this job. There's no such thing as "relative" value. The $69-$129 bicycles will get people around maybe. Assuming something isn't so far out of whack as to render a repair uneconomical given the cost of the bike.

Walmart and big box retailers were never interested in servicing their bikes - because they know they are ****. The cost of doing a repair on a CCM or a supercycle with even basic problems will be too much for anyone who thinks "real bikes" can be bought for $100 new.

If I go into any LBS and ask for a 3spd bike with aluminum frame (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3596787) for a buck and a quarter, they won't be able to touch it, even if I offer to take a boxed one they haven't put a minute's worth of labor into. That's how Walmart should sell their bikes too. In boxes with "some assembly required" instructions. People who can't do it, can take it to their LBS (or neigbor's kid) and pay the freight for assembly.

BTW, I was sold a "real bike" with a loose BB (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=232713&highlight=bracket) by an LBS who wasn't so local. You think he could at least sell me the wrench to pull it apart for a decent price? http://www.ornery.net/images/rollEyes.gif

Walmart and big box retailers were never interested in servicing their bikes - because they know they are ****. The cost of doing a repair on a CCM or a supercycle with even basic problems will be too much for anyone who thinks "real bikes" can be bought for $100 new.
Posted like a Real Cyclist who thinks he knows all about the needs and capabilities of the Untermensch who don't have the smarts like himself to get their Real Bicycles from a Real Retailer.

Posted like a Real Cyclist who thinks he knows all about the needs and capabilities

You don't need to know jack**** about needs and capabilities to realize that a poorly assembled cheap bike is a poorly assembled cheap bike.

Maybe you are too much of a moron to know that. In that case I truly feel sorry for you.

What a hoot. Years ago I was told the department store bikes were "cheap" because the frames were made in Taiwan... http://www.ornery.net/images/rollEyes.gif

You don't need to know jack**** about needs and capabilities to realize that a poorly assembled cheap bike is a poorly assembled cheap bike.
And a selection of over priced bikes, inappropriate for the casual riding of most bicyclists, that will never be considered for purchase, let alone ridden by the public is just the ticket for the Real Bicyclist Crowd and the Jacks who worship US LBS Retailing Concepts - Cheap and/or inexpensive bikes are spawned by Satan; only a baptism by an LBS wrench can redeem them, eh?

This bike can't compare with the Trek Lime or Electra Townie. You can't sell a BMW at Hugo prices


You mean Yugo, don't you? I don't know what a Hugo is. Maybe I'm just out of the loop. Or maybe it's the walmart version of a Yugo?

IAlso I have this GE iron that my wife purchased...read the fine print on the label it says "built to Walmart Specifications". Aaron:)

One issue is that GE sold their small appliance division a bizillion years ago to Black and Decker, who has had some Chinese company make them for them. Black and Decker bought the GE small appliance name for a 25 year period which is about to end, so GE small appliances will disappear soon just like GE\RCA TV's did. Your right though, they do have some products made specifically for them by the big names just like many other places, only instead of putting the Walmart name on it, they leave the manufacturers name on it for better marketing.

I'll be danged if this isn't $120.00 worth of bike:
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/01/67/51/52/0001675152642_215X215.jpg (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3596787)
I'd like to see the LBS duplicate that bang for the buck!

They sell Canon, Sony, Michelin, Remington, Dremel, Levi, Bunn, Dyson, Wilson... The items sold under those brands don't become inferior just because they're from a Walmart.

One thing you'll find is that Walmart doesn't sell "tall" bikes. Frames all tend to be on the small end. I ran into this at Academy as well. They had a nice cruiser-type bike similar to the one above. I'm 6'-2" and it was just too small, regardless of seat adjustment. In other words, of zero value to me.

As for having a bike shop in a Walmart, I don't think it's a workable idea with the way they do business. If they pay experienced people a decent wage to assemble, they won't be selling $39.95 bikes like other Walmarts do. And if they have a "bike shop" with some guys marginally able to fix a flat, it doesn't count for much.

Over here we have a company called Halfords. They do sell a few higher name brands aswell as the cheap fallaprt when you sit on them "Starter" bikes. Unfortunately- The staff are are in the cheaper fall apart bracket. They have no knowledge of bikes-Have no inclination to sell the right bikes and the preparation of the bikes does leave a lot to be desired. What is more- The prices are not that cheap and no possiblity of a discounted price.

My LBS is not far from a Halfords store and they found that they were not selling many bikes and nearly closed. That has now turned round and the dissatisfied Halford customers have realised that they are not getting the product, information or after sales from Halfords and are going to the LBS.

Wallymart have a long way to go before they can beat a specialist shop and although it will hit the local traders- They will realise their mistake and get back to where- knowledge and service counts. Problem is how many LBS will close in the meantime.

You probably have at least 3 times as many avid cyclists in Sussex as we do here. When I was a kid, I lived on my bike. Wherever I was, my bike was there. Not so with kids here today. I don't know why, but that's reality. We've also transformed into a "throw away" form of consumption. Quality comes after function and low price. I can't blame manufacturers for building this junk, or retailers for selling it, because that's what our fickle consumers demand.

Our LBS are generally opened by enthusiasts who like to cater to others who appreciate quality equipment, but there aren't enough to of them to keep the shops in business. So, they also carry lower end stuff to keep the neophytes coming in. Trouble is, they obviously can't compete with the big box store on price, and these low end consumers don't care about quality.

IMO, the consumers really do get what they pay for in a Walmart bike. They're purchased as a kid's first or second bike, which is quickly outgrown, or they only ride at a leisurely pace, once in a while. Even cheap bikes can last for many years under those conditions. Until more people around here take to riding bikes, and our consumers start to care about quality, our local bike shops are going to have an uphill battle.

I wish they would start selling "cheap" bikes like the Raleigh Sprite again. There are still tons of those things around, as they were heavy but well built machines. My girlfriend rides one from the 70s, and it is a great bike for getting around. The bikes at department stores often include too many non-functional and problematic "features", such as pogo stick, steel coil "suspension" systems. That kind of bike is just junk, and won't last all that long.

My Raleigh Sports cost me $137.00 in 1968, so they weren't particularly low cost. Mine is still functioning today, though. Frequently, it is cheaper to buy quality once, than to buy inferior products over and over. Especially when you finally end up buying the quality product anyway! But, sometimes it doesn't work out that way. I bought a small saber saw from Sears about 30 years ago for $8.88. You can imagine, it isn't the greatest "quality", but it's still performing intermittent duty today, and it has been used in a few renovations.