mrbike27

Did i make a good choice or is it another crapper like my huffy im going to give away? I hope i made a decent choice, the brakes arnt really that great. I do go much faster on the road. The tires are thinner then heck. If i hit a rock wrong ill probably have a flat. Anyway anyone else own this bike happy with it. I payed $159 with tax

AEO

Walmart bike... Just don't consider upgrading anything on it...
Try adjusting everything to your liking, brakes might be set too far apart, inflate tires to correct pressure.
It's probably cheaper to buy something better instead of upgrading it (if you want to).
at $159 you can get a decent mid-range classic bike.

KingTermite 

Well....it was built by people who have no idea to build a bike and probably equipped with crappy no-name components.

LordBass

You might try https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/237231-review-gmc-denali-bicycle.html

brokenrobot

A lot of people here will despise that bike, and it's probably not quite as good a buy as you can find in a used bike at the same price... but at less than half the cost of a low-end bike store bike, you'll probably be fine - especially if you have / learn some mechanic skills. (See linked thread above!)

Falkon 

You can get a used aluminum bike with 8-speed Shimano 105 components and downtube shifters for the same price. As was mentioned, just ride it and don't bother with trying to upgrade it. If it falls apart on you, get something else.

mwrobe1

???

By all means...if you happen to run into one these...shoot me a PM. A 62cm would fit me nicely.

Falkon 

I'll see if I find one around. I sold my old Cannondale for just over $200. So maybe not the exact same price, but much less than a new bike.

gpsblake

For a road bike, the tires on the Denali (700x28) are wider than most road bikes. Make sure they are properly inflated up to the max at all times (as with ANY road bike) to avoid pinch flats. The brakes are horrible on the Denali in my opinion by just looking at them, they look just like the Roadmaster brakes.

I bought my road bike at Toys R Us (Dekra) for 99 bucks and haven't had a lick of problems with it yet and the braking is far superior over the Denali. It's my secondary bike as I don't like the harsh feel or down grips of a road bike, so I usually ride the Walmart Schwinn. The real downside to the Toys R Us road bike is that it weighs a ton compared to LBS road bikes.

skanking biker

you mean WHEN it falls apart . . . .

cccorlew

No.

www.walmartmovie.com

mike

The proof is in the pudding. How do you like it? I like the wheels. They should hold up pretty well. I think the rest of the hardware will serve you well - especially for the money. It is also a pretty good looking machine.

I notice that it has a triple front chainring. That is a definite plus for touring or bicycling in hills or strong wind.

The only thing I can see as a detractor is it's nearly 35 lb weight. That puts it very nearly in the old Schwinn Continental weight range.

What kind of shifters does it have? I can't tell from the photos.

Just by looking, I would say that you surely got your $150 bucks worth. I might have spent the extra $50 and got the Schwinn road bike at Target EXCEPT, the Schwinn doesn't have a triple, which I think is a very nice feature.

Tell us how she rides and how you like it.

DavidLee

If the bike was within your price range & is put together soundly while fitting your needs then yes you made the right choice. As stated above I would really check over or have a bike knowledgeable friend check over the brakes, derailleurs etc as you have no idea who did the wrench work. I hope the bike gives you much enjoyment!

WilliamK1974

You've all but asked a loaded question about your purchase of the Denali. You're going to find that many people on this board are going to automatically say that you've made a poor choice in bikes just because the bike came from Walmart.

Read the above mentioned thread. One of the members here put over 2000 miles on one of those bikes in the course of a few months. He put better brake pads on it and had some trouble with the tubes. He also had to adjust the derailleurs several times at first, but once he got it sorted, it turned out to be a decent bike. One of the interesting parts of that thread was reading all the haters. If he'd said that he bought the bike at an LBS, there would have been nothing but praise for it.

If you know how to keep the bike adjusted and maintained, then you've made a good choice. If not, try to find someone who can help you. If you have no desire to maintain a bike at all, then you've made a bad choice. Same goes for if the frame is a proper fit. The extra money you spend to buy a bike at an LBS provides you with a level of service that you won't get at a Mart. But not everyone can (or should) spend the big $s required to get such a machine. Just because it came from Walmart doesn't mean it's a terrible bike.

I'd buy one if I could get one in my size. That's the problem I have with the Mart bikes. They're all too small for me.

Ride it lots, and enjoy it.

SDRider

Kind of a moot point since you already bought it.

It's heavy, poorly constructed, the components are cheap and will probably need quite a bit of attention/adjustment, and you'll never be able to find replacement parts when something fails. Oh, and you'll have zero support from wallyworld when you need it. Of course, all this assumes you're actually going to ride it.

kenseth03

I see it this way. If you like it and you ride it, thats what it is all about. Enjoy your new bike!

legot73

I believe that the Denali will do the job for a while, and give you a point of reference when you're looking at your next bike.

Take very seriously all the advice to inspect and adjust everything mechanically. My neighbor brought a brand new Schwinn from Target over last night for me to do just that, and I was seriously frightened by the condition that bike was in: brake pads on upside down, not adjusted tight enough to stop the bike, seat post loose, gears, etc. In all, not a bad bike, but I spent a lot of time on it, all the while picturing her gliding into oncoming traffic with her 6 year old on a trail-behind.

sdime

I had a retail store road bike during the mid 80s. It was probably Sears. It had cheap components. It was heavy. The frame was too big for me. The derailluer was rough. The brakes sucked. Guess what, I loved that bike because it was rugged and low maintenance. I rode it everywhere for several years. It sat out doors alot. When something is maladjusted, I fixed it with basic hand tools. I was extremely rough on it. If it was an expensive carbon fiber or aluminum bike, it would not have lasted nearly as long as my Sears bike, which had heavy steel frame. I loved that bike; you wouldn't have to be a certified bicycle mechanic to know how to fix that bike. It was so simple. Even if you didn't adjust it or fix it right, it would just keep on rolling. I am guessing the current generation of Wal-mart bike is probably a lot like my Sears bike. They have a place in the bicycle world, which is for people who like to be very rough with it and don't have the time or money to maintain a expensive bike. I guess Wal-mart bikes and expensive bikeshop bikes are analygous to a Jeep CJs and a Corvette, respectively.

DVC45

My thoughts too!

Ride it, enjoy it, upgrade if neccesary. Its your bike!

mander

Maybe a busted up Lada and a corvette. For cj level use you want a real bike. It doesn't take much money to fix up a nice old mid level Japanese road or touring bike for reliable commuting.

SDRider

I too had a department store bike, a Huffy in fact, back in the early 80s. I rode it for a couple summers but it didn't last long and I soon upgraded to a used race bike from my LBS. No comparison whatsoever between the two and I'd still have the race bike today if it wasn't stolen from me in the early 90s.

e0richt

well a dawes lightning sport is a better bike but would have cost about 240.00...
with the denali, you should immediately go to the LBS and get some cloth rim tape for both wheels. It will prevent a bunch of flats that will occur because the stock rim tape is terrible... (should only cost 6.00...)

you might try getting some 700x25c tires because they will be a bit lighter and will still handle some bad road conditions...

if you need to raise the bars, you could get a stem extender...

adam12

Man I tell ya. I just got promoted to "bike builder" from garden center. I was adjusting the crappy promax v brakes on a mongoose, and my manager who's five years my junior said " Dude what are you doing? Let the customer adjust everything. Just get it slapped together" I worked in a bike shop for five years I can't just slap it together. I say ride it until in comes apart...won't be long with all that slapping together.

fender1

If the above quote is true, it should be given it's own sticky so as to answer the "Should I buy a bike from a departmnet store?" question that comes up often.

Joe1946

I purchased a 63cm Denali from Amazon.com last Dec for $89 w/free shipping and use it to do errands 6-7 days a week around my local area and it still works and nothing broke yet. I used a Walmart Next FS Mtn bike to commute to work until I retired in 2001 that I still have and nothing broke on it during the 7 years I used it. I also purchased the Mongoose Blackcomb FS Mtn bike from Walmart in April 2006 and like using it on rough roads , over train tracks etc since the FS has a great ride. I also have a Surly Pugsley with 3 wheelsets (26x4.0,26x3.0 on Large Marge 65mm and 29x2.35 on 44mm SnoCat offset 29er's) but I use my cheap bikes to do errands without the worry of someone with bolt cutters. I wish they had a Hybrid Denali with the bars and components (24-speed Shimano) like that on the Mongoose Blackcomb for a price between the Denali's $89 and the Blackcomb's $279.