Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - New track bike at Wal-Mart... no, not that one, another one

http://walmart.com/ip/Genesis-700C-Mens-Fixed-Speed-Track-Bicycle/14089740

Looks decent for $150, especially considering it's a 21 spd track bike :)

Item Description

The Track One from Genesis is a brand new dual drive bicycle that features the best of both worlds - single speed and direct drive. Simple in concept, but not execution - this one-speed bicycle has plenty of features. Tried and true steel frame, alloy wheel set, front and rear handbrakes, and a choice between direct-drive track style or single-speed freewheel drive.
Genesis 700C Mens Fixed-Speed Track Bicycle:

21 speed Shimano Tourney drive train with dual lever shifters
Reliable front disc and rear linear pull brakes
Sturdy alloy rims
Triple ring alloy crank with low hill climbing gear
Top tube cable routing keeps shifting and braking smooth
Double bolt stem with rise handlebars
Comfortable Vitesse seat with quick-release height adjustment
Sturdy alloy crank set

I'm going to ask them how to shift on this bike and they better shift.

Ugh...**** Walmart.

haha and the front disc brake :D

i guess you gotta have options eh?

Top tube cable routing keeps shifting

that's what i read at first.

Where's the "triple ring alloy crank" and "rise handlebars" ?

i think they meant, " Double bolt stem with rise, handlebars"

what a difference a comma makes.

lets eat, grandpa!
lets eat grandpa!

I had to zoom in twice, to read that graphic on the top tube
and chain stay.

Crack one?
Wha....?

Oooooh- Track One -
that makes a lil bit more sense

This bike is steel
whereas the former Wal Mart Fix
was al-u-mini-um.

If it came in a larger size, I'd consider getting one, but it seems
from the review it's a small frame.

Also it doesn't say what kind of steel. It could be hi-ten or heavier. I'd actually take the Cachet over this at first glance. The road drops + hoods are attractive though.

Hmmm, wonder how big it is. Headtube makes it look like 52-54, but that top tube looks SHORT! Could very well fit like a 48 or so.

This bike is steel
whereas the former Wal Mart Fix
was al-u-mini-um.

what?

not "track" bike

As long as i dont see hipsters buying this and thinking there legit.

As long as i dont see hipsters buying this and thinking there legit.

Whatever, hipsters are mallcore now http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/Homepage.jsp
no hot topic fixed gears yet... but their commin

"fixed-speed"

geometry looks awful.

Awesome, the person who wrote that description has no idea what he's talking about.
The problems:
21 speed?
Front disk?
triple ring alloy crank with hill climbing gear?
looks like they copied from some other crap bike they have and pasted on few fixed/free things.

But hell, maybe it's not a bad idea for a starter fixed bike just to get into the swing of things.

shipping weight = 42lbs
bike boxes aren't that heavy...methinks there is a lot of bike in that box

I clicked the link. At the bottom of the page is a gushing review.

I've ridden a few supermarket/K-mart type bikes and find their brakes are the weakest point.

I'm sure the reviewer is independent of Wal-mart but they should go for a job in advertising.

Rob

the description is wrong...

clearly, not a 21speed with disc brakes... unless they call the front rim a 27" disc...

Why go to lbs when you can just go to walmart?

:(

i dont know. i guess as long as it gets people into bikes. and as long as the bike is not so gawd awful that it turns them away from biking forever.

i remember i started from a toys r us magna something or other.

People who buy bikes from Walmart, Target, Toys-R-Us, etc always come into the shop to get tune-ups and repairs. They almost always ending up paying way more than the bike is worth putting it in proper working order because whoever "assembled" it at one of those stores did a half-assed job. The whole "as long as it gets people into bikes" thing is great and all but in my experience, the people who buy bikes from these stores are usually the same people who leave their bikes outside all winter. When I try to explain to people why they shouldn't do that because it will end up costing them a **** ton of money to repair every year, 98% of the time it doesn't even register. I even had one guy say "It's a bike. What am I supposed to do, bring it inside?"

Just rattle can that b***h and it will look like every other non-label bike. lmao

People who buy bikes from Walmart, Target, Toys-R-Us, etc always come into the shop to get tune-ups and repairs. They almost always ending up paying way more than the bike is worth putting it in proper working order because whoever "assembled" it at one of those stores did a half-assed job. The whole "as long as it gets people into bikes" thing is great and all but in my experience, the people who buy bikes from these stores are usually the same people who leave their bikes outside all winter. When I try to explain to people why they shouldn't do that because it will end up costing them a **** ton of money to repair every year, 98% of the time it doesn't even register. I even had one guy say "It's a bike. What am I supposed to do, bring it inside?"

Thats a good point. I do remember that my bike from toys-r-us was a piece of crap. But I was ten and its the only thing I could afford at the time. But it showed me that I could have fun on a bike. It also allowed me to do basic maintenance (fix flats, clean and lube parts). Because of that crappy bike, I figured out what I want on a real bike. So when I did finally buy a real bike, I got one that I actually liked. And I have been biking since then.

I dont think cheap bikes like these are great to keep forever. But I know that it is helpful for me who was not into bikes yet and was too afraid to go to a bike shop or didnt even know where a bike shop was. It got me riding. So cheap bikes are helpful to at least one person. Well, two. Since my brother did the same thing.

I'd consider buying as a beater bike if it came in different frame sizes (just for the wheels and frame assuming the spokes are SS).
Everyting else, and I mean everything would have to be replaced.
So add the cost of bb, threadless headset, fork, stem, bars, crank, seatpost, saddle, tires, assembly time, plus the time to tension the wheels and repack/readjust the bearings and voila you have a sow's ear that ended up costing as much as a silk purse.

Enjoy

The item description must have been recently updated (maybe they read bikeforums) --

The Track One from Genesis is a brand new dual drive bicycle that features the best of both worlds - single speed and direct drive. Simple in concept, but not execution - this one-speed bicycle has plenty of features. Tried and true steel frame, alloy wheel set, front and rear handbrakes, and a choice between direct-drive track style or single-speed freewheel drive.
Genesis 700C Mens Fixed-Speed Track Bicycle:

700c Lightweight Track Bike
Front and rear alloy caliper brakes
Sturdy alloy rims
High performance racing saddle
Unique flip-flop hub has both a freewheel and fixed gear sprocket

I would say it's a pretty simple concept and execution.

Step one ... disassemble entire bike
Step two ... reassemble bike properly
Step three ... remove all graphics ... :thumb:

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/01/67/51/92/0001675192780_215X215.jpg

I like the brand Genesis. They make awesome bikes in the UK.

I think this is not the same company though.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/

shipping wieght 42 pounds....

I checked this bike out (along with the Cachet) at my local walmart. The Mongoose is a POS, but this bike seemed 1/4 decent. Im 6'1''-6'3'' and this bike was just below my waist. So it didnt seem half bad. The only issue i could really see with it, was that who ever assembled it did a halfass job, and screwed something up with the freewheel, becasue it spun for mabey ten rotations, and around the 8th or 9th it started slowing down as if someone applied the brakes. But for 150, it might be worth beating the **** outta, or a townie bike.

I wanted my homie to get on a bike, so I talked him into one. Couple pics he snapped. I haven't seen it in person yet.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i175/triple8sol/Fixies/8cada6ad.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i175/triple8sol/Fixies/b8195b99.jpg

I'm glad someone can actually get first-hand exposure to it. I would love to hear the details about it because it doesn't actually look too bad. I'd like to know how much it actually weighs, what's the actual size of it and what parts are decent/junk.

In NYC, you can't get a bike with 700c alloy wheels for any less than about $200 used unless you are really lucky. Even the thrift store bikes cost $100. So this sounds decent (though I suspect I may eat my words later). Granted, NYC also doesn't have a Walmart.

I've had a Genesis hybrid for a couple years, served me well. Not great obviously, but solid (extremely heavy though). If this bike is the same quality it's probably a very good buy for $150 imo, it even looks nice.

I rode this bicycle today at Walmart, along with the Mongoose Fixed Gear. They are both a $150, pretty good price.

The Genesis is about 25-30 pounds, I picked up my niece in one hand and the bike in the other, she is about 28 pounds and the bike weight was very comparable. The Mongoose is much lighter and simpler. This bike has all kinds of useless cables and fenders, sticker, and other crappy **** on it. However! This does come with a fixed gear hub where as the Mongoose does not, I think you have you buy a separate one.

All in all, it is a heavy and slow bike. But! I would buy it! What can you really buy for a 150 bucks in the bicycle world now a days?

A helmet. Good bibs. Phil Wood grease.

http://walmart.com/ip/Genesis-700C-Mens-Fixed-Speed-Track-Bicycle/14089740

Looks decent for $150, especially considering it's a 21 spd track bike :)


I can't buy it. It says "Mens." And I always wanted to try direct drive! Oh wait.....

I'm glad someone can actually get first-hand exposure to it. I would love to hear the details about it because it doesn't actually look too bad. I'd like to know how much it actually weighs, what's the actual size of it and what parts are decent/junk.

In NYC, you can't get a bike with 700c alloy wheels for any less than about $200 used unless you are really lucky. Even the thrift store bikes cost $100. So this sounds decent (though I suspect I may eat my words later). Granted, NYC also doesn't have a Walmart.

I'll agree with you that NYC is often overpriced, and fixed gears/conversions are always jacked up. But I've sold two conversions with good 700c wheelsets for around $200, and i bought a '90 Specialized with 8-speed upgrade and Shimano 105 for well under $200. It's geared, and it weighs less than that Walmart pig.

On eBay I managed to get an 1985 Schwinn Madison for $240 shipped, but that was sheer dumb luck :)

I once bought an unmarked frame off of ebay for 15 bucks, still have it. It's a real nice frame too.

I need to take a new pic of it. He removed all the decals, including those black stripes, so now it's just white and metallic blue only. I checked and tightened everything, adjusted the brakes and saddle position/height, then removed that plastic bashguard and the cheap plastic toe clips and nylon straps. He's riding it bone stock ss with f/r brakes, so no foot retention necessary, unless he goes for some more solid parts. I rode it around a bit too, and it feels just fine, no weird noises or slop anywhere, although it is pretty heavy. I'm guessing it's hi-ten tubing.

Like most people new to fg/ss, he wanted some new wheels for cosmetics. Since the stock wheelset is actually mechanically decent, I talked him out of that and am trying to convince him to replace the stock calipers, which are nutted and single pivot, to something dual-pivot. Adjusting them is a b*tch, but more importantly, there's hardly any braking power. Some of that could be b/c the pads weren't bedded in yet. Also, the stock 1pc crankset is complete garbage, as is the crap bb. I would def replace the crankset/bb eventually too.

I would really like to hear more about these bikes. More first hand experience with them.