Digital Gee

Got to thinking about Walmart's bikes and how awful they are.

(Have to admit, haven't looked at so I can't comment on the $1,900 carbon bike they advertise as "Assembled by the hands of skilled Italian mechanics to be tuned up and ready to ride right out of the box" )

But I would nominate Kent as a cellar dweller. What other brands belong at the low end of the quality pile? Magna? Diamondback? (I have no personal experience with any of these, so I could be wrong. Just don't see many posts on them.)

What about Diamondback and Univega? GT?

Big Paulie

Sasha WHITE, VANILLA bikes...

EDIT: Oh wait, that's the the worst brand NAME, not the worst qualilty bike!

Hermes

One man's turkey is another man's Thanksgiving dinner. I suggest no brand bashing - it's Christmas.

Digital Gee

Good point. I meant no disrespect to anyone. If I could pull the thread, I would. Sorry!

Tom Bombadil

Most of the Diamondback and GT bikes are decent bikes for the money. I've looked over their $250-$350 hybrids and they were almost identical to big brand hybrids, except they were about $25 cheaper. They are made in the same factories with most of the same components. Some small-town LBS's carry these lines, but they are usually targeted for sporting goods stores, like Dick's.

Many of Schwinn's bikes are good too, but their lowest end models really skimp on quality.

Huffy and Murray always had low end bikes out too.

All of these have some decent bikes out. For example, a Huffy single speed cruiser is a decently constructed bike. But stores love to have the $79 24-speed mountain bike, and those are crap, no matter what name is on them.

urban rider

Mongoose! and their customer service sucks!

gpelpel

Pacific Bicycles is the World Champion of the low-end market. In addition to the Huffys, Magnas, and others they bought decent names such as Mongoose, GT, and Schwinn and managed to kill their reputation. They have the worst quality design and manufacturing possible, and their customer support is second to none in terms of customer deception.

gpelpel

Yeah, thanks to Pacific Bicycles. They used to offer superb value before though. I rode a Mongoose MTB from 1989 for about 17 years without changing a part except for tires, brake pads, and grips. Their frames were well made with good geometry and the component offering was top Shimano stuff (Deore, XT).

Unfortunately that's the story of many decent brands that have been cannibalized by giant manufacturing consortiums.

Tom Bombadil

Pacific Cycles is all over the place on quality. Some are cheap, some are average, some are excellent. The high end Mongoose mountain bikes are still extremely good and sell for $3000 & over. Likewise for high-end Schwinns. The University of Wisconsin cycling team rides Schwinns and one of our local LBS carries a rack of expensive Schwinns.

You can see the current Mongoose line here:
https://www.mongoose.com/mtn/bikes.html

I think the cycling team rides these $4300 Peloton LTDs: https://www.schwinnbike.com/products/...ail.php?id=952

These brands really don't represent a single company or line anymore. The high-end Schwinns have essentially no relationship to the Schwinns sold at Wal-Mart.

stapfam

Can think of a great number of bike manufacturers that used to make good bikes. Unfortunately- Once these brands get into difficulties and are bought up by investors to make a quick buck- The quality goes never to reappear.

Raleigh- never a top end manufacturer but now definitely low end of the market.

GT- the same. Just don't make the bikes they used to

Univega- Have never made a good bike- except by mistake such as the MTB LX bike that they sold for about 3 months before changing the colour and calling it a new name at double the price.

And a few brands that are probably only in the UK

Apollo- sold through Halfords
Carrera- sold through Halfords
N.E.Other sold by Halfords.

And don't get me started on the White bikes!!!!!

Tom Bombadil

There are a number of other nice Schwinns out too. Like their $1700 & $2000 electric bikes:
https://www.schwinnbike.com/products/...ail.php?id=888

They have one of the nicest, if not the nicest, sub-$1000 flat bar road bikes on the market:
https://www.schwinnbike.com/products/...ail.php?id=959

And some sharp world bike / commuters too:
https://www.schwinnbike.com/products/...ail.php?id=954

Their $250-$400 hybrids are also one of the best values out there in that type of bike.

Tom Bombadil

You must be talking about the UK Raleigh company. The USA Raleigh is having a bit of a resurgence of late. Many of their bikes are quite nice. Two large LBS' in Madison are stocking more and more Raleighs every year and sing their praises.

Artkansas 

My nomination would be the nameless bikes I saw being sold out of general merchandise stores in Koreatown.

I once owned a Le Prix bicycle. Try and find that brand. I bought it used. Surprisingly it was a pretty nice frame for a cheap 10 speed. I bought it used for $25.00 at my local bike store But I lost it in the divorce.

Next to that I think the brands that Kent sells like Cadillac, GMC and Lamborghini are pretty high up on the list. But I bet those are just rebranded versions of My Little Pony, Tootsie Roll and Tonka bikes.

dbg

Murry, Huffy, Pacifica, almost anything from a department store.

maddmaxx 

The brand names have a large spread from top to bottom. There are turkey's and there are also some fine bikes, you just have to do you research to determine what your looking at.

The same is true for automobiles, appliances and even clothing. There are items made for low end box stores and some items for better retail establishments.

gpelpel

Yes, you are correct. Pacific has started reviving some brands such as Mongoose and Schwinn but also GT. The effort began about a year or 2 ago.
I have been burned enough but Pacific that I will never give them my money again. There are enough decent companies around that treat their customers right and offer superb value. Think about Jamis for instance.

Tom Bombadil

Yep, Pacific got a change of heart around 2006 and recommitted themselves to producing higher quality bikes. Got a new president in 2007 who is a big advocate of this. Their 2008 bike lineup for speciality stores (i.e. LBS) is very solid. Likewise for Mongoose.

If I were starting up a new LBS and didn't want to subject myself to the heavy handed approach of Trek and/or Specialized, I would seriously look at Schwinn & Mongoose ... and Raleigh. Those are brands that many customers would recognize and I'd have good bikes to show them.

Pamestique 

Since I covet a Vanilla, I knew that was not right!

Can anyone say SCATTANTE???

Ken Brown

Here in Canada there is a brand called CCM (they make hockey equipment too). When I was a kid we said CCM stands for crappiest crate made. That was close to the truth, and I believe they still make (or more likely import) bikes today.

Monoborracho

In terms of worst...are we asking about the worst quality, in general, or the worst value for the money?

I can think of one well known bike company that charges about a 25 - 40% premium to put their name on your bike in two or three places...at least IMHO (and I own two bikes from that company).

Jet Travis

Ding, ding, ding, I think we have a winner, at least in terms of the name itself--although in fairness, their bikes are pretty nicely spec'ed

2manybikes

I like this bike, but they should learn to spell.

Deluxe = De Luxe

Bicycle = Bicyele

Bill Kapaun

Road Master

Tom Bombadil

I've seen a few model names that have made me shake my hand. Some examples:

The Raleigh Detour. Detours are bad, annoying things. I hate being out on a drive and encountering a detour. They even have a Detour Deluxe. And other bikes named the Rush Hour and the One Way.

The Trek Pure. What does that mean? The first thing that comes to mind is that it might be the purest form of a bike. Except that it is odd and kludgy looking.

Cannondale's strange road bike names, like the Six13 1, and Six13 3, then above that is the SuperSix 1 and SuperSix 1 Compact. I might like the bike, but why would I be turned on by having a bike named the Six13 5 Compact?

maddmaxx 

My Scattante XRL frame purchased as Supergo was going under was one of the smoothest riding frames I ever got to build. How many manufacturere provide an extra derailleur hanger and a bottle of touch up paint?