Mountain Biking - Dept. Store Bikes-Good Deal ??

I'm new to this board but I noticed some of your members say to stay away from dept. store bikes. I noticed that Wal-Mart has a Schwinn Aluminum Comp for around $150.00. Looks like a good bike to me and I've been riding bikes for years. My son and I have been talking about buying one each and doing some riding but nothing terribly rough. My son is 6' and 250 lbs.. I just don't see how the $500 and above bikes can be worth that much difference. I know they are better but they can't be that much better. The bike stores have to have a large markup to survive because bikes and accessories are all they usually sell. I may be bad wrong but someone will have to convince me first. It's hard to justify spending $500 - $700 for a bike that you are not going to ride everyday. Thanks for any comments.

It depends how serious u are about it and if ur gonna be hard on the equipment.... For example with ur son being 250lbs... thats already a strain on the equipment... the $500-$700 will have better quality, stronger and lighter frames... and all round better componenets... but if u arent really serious about it then the dept store bikes are fine... just get a bike and ride... who cares what it goes like and how it shifts... If u get more serious about biking in the future maybe u could justify buying a better bike...

If you ride a wal mart bike and then ride an expensive bike, You will notice the difference. If you plan to do mountain biking on a regular basis, even every couple weekends, I feel that justifies buying a high quality bike. The more expensive bikes have better componentry that will operate better over bumps in the trail chains falling off is so frustrating, be lighter- this makes a big difference, especially when pedaling uphill (wal-mart bikes can weigh as much as downhill race bikes, it would seem), and will have suspension that will actually work; that is to say, not bottom out and rob you of your pedaling power. They will also handle better. If you do decide to spend $500-700 dollars on a bike, I would recommend a hardtail if you dont plan to do hairy stuff, as you will get a better bike for you money. Also consider looking online at second hand listings like those of this site, or www.mtbr.com , where you can find high end bikes for midrange prices.

Also, your son's 250 pounds in particular will be very taxing on walmart suspension.

High end bikes look rediculously expensive, but only until you become into mountain biking. Once you see how much individual good quality parts cost, and how much of a difference they make, in addition to the R&D and technology that goes onto high end bikes, prices will look more reasonable. When I got into riding, paying $1000 for a bike seemed ostentatious and outrageous to me, but a year later after riding my upgraded trek hardtail around, I put down almost 2 grand for my Kona Bear, let me tell you it was worth it.

You an get a low end LBS bike for around $250 or so... which will in reality save you money in the long run. A clydesdale rider (heavier rider) is harder on equipment no questiona bout that. If you buy a bike at x-mart you will have someone who does not know what they are doing put it together on average. So will need a tuneup right away, so unless you can do that yourself you will take it to your LBS which will run you $50 give or take. Okie now the bike is setup correctly and ready to ride. But in 30 days everything will have worn in so you have to go back to the LBS (this is common with every bike a LBS or x-mart bike)again for a tune up there is another $50.. so you are the same cost now. Let's say the wheels don't hold up well your LBS can properly rebuild them can x-mart do that? So you will have to pay your LBS to do that. Most LBS will give you atleast fee 90 day tuneups, some up to a couple years. THey will also fit the bike properly to you so you are comfortable on it, not this one size fits all theory.

As for the bike at x-mart take a close look at the parts on it. Hubs are extremely cheap, same with the rims if you are lucky they are true to begin with and axles are tightened correctly. Now let's go to the brakes they are 80% plastic do you want to trust your life/safety to that? Now if just riding the roads around town etc.. and not actualy going mountaain biking you shoudl be alright for a while once you get the first 2 tuneups done.

Well speaking as a shop owner I can tell you that the service you get is beyond anything you get form "mart" bikes. Another point is durability of the individual components or parts. This is inclusive of just about everything on the bikes.
A "mart" bike for example is not designed to hold heavier riders be ridden off road, or last longer than a year. Another point is fit. A "mart" employee does not have the knowledge to fit the bike to the rider. There is not part swapping to accomadate a individuals needs.
See here for more details:
http://www.bikesrnottoys.com/

Last point mark up on bikes is not what you think it is. Actually parts and accessories are where I make my money the margins on bikes is not that much. However that is pretty much the same anywhere. The clothing industry for example has the highest mark up og anything I know 500 to 600% mark up across the board is far more than I get.

Fit is incredibly important and may change your expectation of not riding the bike all that frequently. When you ride a bike that has been fitted and tuned for you, you will want to get out on it every day. An LBS will have many different sizes available, and are often prepared to swap out parts to make the bike fit better. 'Mart' bikes are usually available in one size: medium. Your 6' son will be incredibly uncomfortable on the 'mart' bike, and won't want to ride it.

The most important reason I have for never buying a bike from a toy store is the care taken in safely building the bike at an LBS. You couldn't pay me enough to go for a ride on a 'mart' bike. I had a look at the bikes on the shelves in the local 'mart' the other day and saw one of the bikes missing a front brake pad - would you ride that?

As others have said, you don't need to spend $500 to get a good bike. Check out a Specialized Hardrock for a great value, low cost, real bike.


Originally posted by Hunter

See here for more details:
http://www.bikesrnottoys.com/


Great link, Hunter.

Ok this was discussed at length in another thread. Took me a while to find it but to save a lot of rehashing try here

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25427

We never did (and never will) convince the original poster of the validity of what we were trying to say but there are signifigant differences especially pertaining to mtbs that are being used on rough trails. :)

You have probably heard that the Schwinn brand was a good quality bike. It used to be, but now it is made with cheap parts that will quickly go bad.
However, if you are planning to ride only a few miles at a time over easy terrain then it is probably good enough. I rode a HUFFY (the equivalent of the Schwinn you are thinking of) for two years. Had it into the bike shop every month for something to be fixed. I had to learn how rto fix it myself if I was going to continue biking because it was just too expensive to maintain. If you or your son is mechanically inclined and willing to buy the proper tools for some of the specialized jobs on a bicycle then go for it; but I would be willing to bet that the wheels on your son"s bike will be one of the first things to go bad. That is just the nature of less expensive equipment.
But, as I said at the beginning, if you are only planning to ride once in awhile over easy terrain, then the Schwinn may be good enough for you.

Guys, I really appreciate your quick replies. You mentioned some things that we had not thought about. We will take your advice into consideration and try to buy the bikes that we will enjoy and bikes that will best suit our needs. Thanks again.

http://www.bikesrnottoys.com/

if you are riding occasionally due to time remember the more time you spend working on it the less time you will be riding if you like the satisfaction of doing it yourself then go for it.i am 200 lbs and am very hard on bikes.they need more maintenence when ridden by heavy riders.if you dont like tweaking spokes dont get that bike it will not hold up without lots of work.i almost bought it and i LIKE working on bikes,but it would not stay in tune for me or any heavy rider.it is a medium frame with a short seatpost and unless your son has real short legs for his height it will kill his back and knees.plus he will be leaning too far forward and any
sharp stops will make him a member of the "over the bars club"the local bike shops near me might as well be x mart if you dont hook up with a mechanic you get just a salesman so check more than one shop and not the most popular one only.if you do a little homework you will be real happy for it .i ride a walmart bike but not that one.i got an old heavy downhill mongoose for thrashing and intro into a new world of shimono and disc brakes plut a REAL cool THE fender

you can probably get away with a dept store bike for occasional casual rides, but just make sure everything is installed properly and securely. schwinn makes good bikes IMO, and they are cheaper because they are owned by a larger company now. still, the difference between a shop bike and a dept store bike will be the assembly. granted, you're not going get top of the line parts for $150, but if you make sure everything is properly installed it could be a worthy ride.

i would personally recommend a used bike in this situation or look at the lower end specializeds which come in very cheap for a quality bike. yea a wal mart bike might be a sweet deal for a college kid not looking to spend much and just wanting to get to campus, but what happens when you and your son enjoy the sport? (it's the proper assumption. eheeh.) that would have been $150 you could have put into a nice solid bike shop ride. being a college student i am on a budget too when i go shopping for bikes and bike parts. however, i value two things a lot when i am shopping. a) good value b) durability/reliability. now don't get me wrong, i wish i could only spend $150 and get a bike. truth is, the more you spend the better quality you will be getting. i spent $500 on a schwinn about 7 years ago when i was only 14. that is a huge chunk of change for a 14 year old to spend (at the time). that bike STILL rides fine and i still love it. however, my target bike was thrown away. with your son being a heavier rider, the walmart durability is going to be very questionable. as many people have said, your local bike store will be able to properly fit both of you rather than getting a generic medium size from walmart. i would be concerned about safety and using a bike from walmart on a rider than doesn't fit their generic mold of riders for their bikes. now justifying the cost of spending more money is often hard to do, but i would at least check out your local bike store and explain to them your situation. they should be helpful and if they aren't, try another store. some will also include XX days of free repair on the bike if you buy it there. but then again, if you don't plan to ride it much at all and do an occassional ride here and there, this might be your best bet. but i would look into used bikes. i know the second i got my new bike, i rode it into the ground and have been upgrading and getting more into the sport.

Everytime I go into an "X-Mart" I grab the front tire between my legs and give the handlebars a quick twist. I figure about every 3 out of 10 bikes has a stem that isn't tight! Pretty scary when you think of the #'s of bikes sold nationwide and the frequency of improperly assembled bikes!

You get what you pay for!

L8R

Originally posted by Hunter
Well speaking as a shop owner I can tell you that the service you get is beyond anything you get form "mart" bikes. Another point is durability of the individual components or parts. This is inclusive of just about everything on the bikes.
A "mart" bike for example is not designed to hold heavier riders be ridden off road, or last longer than a year. Another point is fit. A "mart" employee does not have the knowledge to fit the bike to the rider. There is not part swapping to accomadate a individuals needs.
See here for more details:
http://www.bikesrnottoys.com/

Last point mark up on bikes is not what you think it is. Actually parts and accessories are where I make my money the margins on bikes is not that much. However that is pretty much the same anywhere. The clothing industry for example has the highest mark up og anything I know 500 to 600% mark up across the board is far more than I get.

Link is in signature.

There is one positive about dept. store bikes however. You do get to learn how to fix your bike... unless of course you prefer to shell out more money on maintenance than the original cost of the bike. Hey, I learned basic and intermediate bicycle maintenance early on in my youth as my parents only purchased dept. store bikes for me. It taught me another valuable lesson about the quality of bicycles and components and as soon as I began making my own money, I made my own purchase from an LBS.

In everything I have ever done in my life it has always amazed me how people can not grasp one simple concept, you get what you pay for.

Car stereos:
You can not pay $49.95 and get a 500 watt Orion amp.

Cars:
You can not pay Kia prices for a Porche.

Computers:
A $399 Gateway is not a $3000 custom.

Bikes:
A $149 *mart bike is not a $3000 Trek.

Tools:
You can not pay Stanley prices and get Snap-On tools.

Sure there are good deals out there on things, but you will not, and I repeat, NOT pay cheapo prices and get good products, on anything in the world.

My advice if you want to save money, find a good LBS who will fit you, take care of you and actually listen to you. They are worth far more than you will ever spend on a bike. My guy at the LBS takes care of me, answers all my questions, stays late when I cant get there on time, shows me how to make my own adjustments and special orders things just to show them to me. I wouldnt buy a serious bike from anyone but him even if I saved $500! Did I mention he is over an hour away and there are at least five or six shops closer, including one five minutes away?

Allan

Originally posted by Flea77
In everything I have ever done in my life it has always amazed me how people can not grasp one simple concept, you get what you pay for.

Allan

This kind of attitude is exactly what we DO NOT NEED in order to educate some who should learn the perils of "mart" bikes. The original poster I believe understads the concept you mentioned but is ignorant on the topic as it applies to bicycles. Perhaps advice leaning in that direction is what is needed, instead of insuting ones intelligence, and understanding. :rolleyes:

Car stereos:
You can not pay $49.95 and get a 500 watt Orion amp.

(Compared to silence the $49.95 may be a better value for the consumer not concerned with quality sound) Both stereos play music. ONe is MUCH less money!


Cars:
You can not pay Kia prices for a Porche.

(Both will transport you from point A to Point B in comfort. The Kia is a million times better than a mule. The Kia is a much better value)


Computers:
A $399 Gateway is not a $3000 custom.

(For the guy who just wants to surf the internet both will do fine. The Gateway purchaser is wiser in this case)


Bikes:
A $149 *mart bike is not a $3000 Trek.

(A $149 x-mart bike is very similar to the $3000 Trek. Both of them function the same way. Both use the same laws of physics to operate in a manner which is much easier than walking)


Tools:
You can not pay Stanley prices and get Snap-On tools.

(Many homes have been built with Stanley Tools. They cost much less than Snap-On.)


All things are relative. To just assume that since you paid more the product is a better value is wrong. It may be a better product but that doesn't make it a better value.

Consider that a guy in a low income bracket has just bought a $3000 Trek. He will be eating Romen Noodles for the next 3 years. He will struggle to pay rent. He bikes on weekends around town and occasionally goes down a bike path or two.

Consider his neighbor that lives in the apartment next door. He makes about the same money and bought an X-Mart bike for $149 at Target. His riding habits are about the same and he loves his bike. He also has an extra $2851 to spend on anything he chooses. He won't be eating Romen noodles and can buy all sorts of cool bike accessories?

Who has the better deal?? As you can see, it is all relative.

Ramen :D