Bicycle Mechanics - Target or Walmart for tire tube?(mtb 26X2.00)

So....
Target or Walmart?

Jacob

So....
Target or Walmart?

Jacob

Your LBS. There won't be a price difference... a basic tube is $4-5 no matter where you go, and buying from the little guy helps keep people out of poverty.

-chris

Your LBS. There won't be a price difference... a basic tube is $4-5 no matter where you go, and buying from the little guy helps keep people out of poverty.

-chris
Seconded.

lbs for tubes.

Doesn't really matter, unless you need a special tube (slime filled, lightweight, or some other sort of thing...). I mean, a cheap tube from the LBS is probably the same tube you get at ***-mart, and is problably made at the same usafe sweatshop in china. If the price is the same (or cheaper), why bother making a second trip?

I'm running bike store thorn tubes with slime from Walmart in them. Haven't had a flat in nearly 1000 miles. If you aren't concerned about weight, try this approach and stay in the saddle instead of on the side of the road fixing flats.

Your LBS. There won't be a price difference... a basic tube is $4-5 no matter where you go, and buying from the little guy helps keep people out of poverty.

-chris

I couldn't agree more.

Regards.

Doesn't really matter, unless you need a special tube (slime filled, lightweight, or some other sort of thing...). I mean, a cheap tube from the LBS is probably the same tube you get at ***-mart, and is problably made at the same usafe sweatshop in china. If the price is the same (or cheaper), why bother making a second trip?

It's not the manufacturer's wages I meant to comment on - it's Wal-mart's! They pay just under 60% of the normal (unionized) wages for cashiers and stockers at grocery stores and large retailers, have been sanctioned several hundred times for illegal labor practices related to suppressing union activity, and according to a recent article I read, are under federal investigation for allegedly locking employees in their stores so they could be forced to do (unpaid) overtime. Anything I can get elsewhere, I do...

...So, you think things are any better for employees at bike shops? Heck, most bike shop mechanics make less than a stock person at ***-mart, and don't get any benefits, either.

jacob...as a matter of convenience get it wherever is closet to you.

gypsy robot...without getting political...bicycle tube unions? If those existed we'd be paying $13.99 for tubes of lesser quality. Did you ever think that union workers make 40% more than normal (non-union) wages for cashiers?

jacob...as a matter of convenience get it wherever is closet to you.

gypsy robot...without getting political...bicycle tube unions? If those existed we'd be paying $13.99 for tubes of lesser quality. Did you ever think that union workers make 40% more than normal (non-union) wages for cashiers?

Hey - nobody's getting rich bagging groceries, union or otherwise, and I'm not particularly pro-union... I'm just strongly anti-poverty. Normal wages for a cashier are ~$18,000/yr; Wal-Mart wages are ~$14,000, which is below the poverty line. If I can help to keep Wal-Mart wages from becoming average wages, I will. But that's the end of my political argument; I don't want to argue. ;)

There's a NYTimes editorial on the subject here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/15/opinion/15SAT1.html

-chris

-chris

Jacob,

To answer your original question; If all you need is regular schrader valve tubes, I have had good service out of stock Walmart tubes. The popular sizes are only $2.99 at our Walmart. I haven't tried Target tires.

For the record I also avoid Walmart as much as possible. I don't shop there normally but I run a community service project with my students where we rebuild donated bikes and give them to the local children's shelter and other service agencies. Our school has an account set up at Walmart, plus I also buy LOTS of tubes, tires, handlebar grips, brake rebuild kits, etc.

Jacob,

To answer your original question; If all you need is regular schrader valve tubes, I have had good service out of stock Walmart tubes. The popular sizes are only $2.99 at our Walmart.

My LBS sells schrader valve tubes for $2.19.

It seems like the 'marts are more expensive when it comes to tubing. I just got a buncha Specialized tubes on sale for like $1.50 each. The most I pay for tubes is $2.50. I go through them too fast to pay as much as even $3 or $4.

I SHOULD get off my arse and start patching up my old tubes. :p

Walmart bulldozed my apartment. Target.

TArget it was.

Jacob