clockwork247

Long story short, I recently wanted to use a bike again after some 10-12 years... after a week or 2 messing around with my old mountain bike (relatively decent mountain bike, only 35 pounds), i decided that for street riding, i probably wanted a road or hybrid bike.

I thought about converting the mountain bike, but putting on new tires and tube would costs a fortune (tires are 40 bucks and tubes are probably atleast 20-30, i also wanted a back rack and that's another 20)... so i just sold the dam bike for 50 bucks and picked up this from walmart.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/700c-M-Sav...black/12517029

the wheels is a 700X38c max PSI is about 60-65 so it's not so great... weights about 40 pounds... i haven't got it yet, will get it in a few days when it ship home, i've asked the wally world people and they said they'll do a tune up if i bring it in to them.

I was thinking of getting some new tires after a few months of riding it... anything else i can do do it? has to be cheap though, i'm not a heavy cyclist, i only ride around to buy groceries and go to school...

I'm a male, 5'9" 155 pounds, so i hope it fits, but it shouldn't even matter unless it's really high, i was born in VN and we bike with w/e we had, I remember i saw kids riding on adult bike where the kid can't even reach the pedals seating so he just ride it without sitting on the seats... that was epic lol.

wphamilton

I am afraid of that bike, and I'm not sure you can improve it within the budget constraints you described. I imagine the saddle needs changed, and inexpensive suspension forks tend to break pretty quickly. I can't find out precisely what the components are, but I've seen the wheels get bent out of shape and derailleurs disintegrate on Huffy bikes. I would be loathe to let walmart do a tuneup, or touch it at all. You'd be better off with web searches on adjusting the seat height, brakes and shifters and taking care of that yourself.

But maybe this one is better. Ride it around awhile and report back here if you care to.

btw, I buy decent tires for $12-$16 and tubes $5-$6. You'll need to pick up some tubes regardless, and tires fairly soon.

irclean

"Anything to make it better?" Yes - return it for a refund. Seriously... there's a reason why that bike is so inexpensive.

Check out these two recent threads for good advice on finding a cheap, yet decent and safe bike:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...r-college-bike
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ly-tiny-budget

sillygolem

The best thing you can do is cancel the order or return it, and either buy a decent used bike or put some different tires on your mountain bike.

Pretty much any 26" tire will fit any 26" rim, and you can even get the same width (probably 2.25") in a road tire. High PSI does not make a tire better for the road. If you need tubes for some reason, they'll only cost you a few bucks. You should be able to pick up a pair of Kendas or Cheng Shin tires for $30 or less.

Wal-Mart will not "tune" your bike. They will assemble it (poorly,) but it will still need the derailleurs to be adjusted, the wheels trued, the hubs greased, etc.

goagain

A few thoughts from another newbie: I'm just a very casual, around the block older newbie who just wants, as opposed to *needs*, a bike. This past spring I decided I wanted a bike. Then I read everything here and on another forum and memorized the Giant and Trek websites. Just as the replies you've received so far state, everyone told me to avoid "bike shaped objects" and to get a better bike from a bike shop. There isn't a bike shop in my town, and it took awhile to find a bike in stock that was my size (women's XS).

The only bike I had been on in decades was my DIL's old Huffy 26" wheel bike, and I rode it down their gravel driveway once, and decided to buy a bike. She does not ride regularly, but she's had the bike for years and it is still working fine with just normal maintenance. My son often rides it the short distance to his woodworking shop which is on their farm property but is just faster to get to on a bike than by walking across the field. Also my daughter and SIL have WM bikes they bought a couple of years ago and have ridden a few times (15 miles or so each time?) with the kids on a rail-trail with no problems. Again, they don't ride regularly, and bikes are *optional* for them. Sooo--

I think it depends a lot on how much riding you plan to do and under what circumstances. Will you ride everyday? How far is it to your school? If your bike breaks, how much of a hardship would that be? "Everyone" says these wally world and other dept. store bikes just don't last and aren't really meant to last, and if you want to ride much you are wasting your money. This seems to be the universal opinion, so do take that into consideration. Usually posters on the forums recommend trying to find a used better bike in decent condition instead, if you are on a very limited budget. This is easier to do for someone who knows a little about bikes and how to work on them.

I know nothing about fixing bikes, will probably never buy another bike ever, am a weak rider, and wanted one soon, so I wound up paying $459 for a Trek 7100 town hybrid, which I am really enjoying. But, the time may not be right for you to spend that much or anything near that much. I did find one I would have liked, if it had been available, that listed for $330, but that's still lots more than $89.

I don't think you'll die if you touch a wally bike, but posters here are very knowledgeable (and serious!) about their bikes, so you might want to consider other options such as a better-brand used bike. Otoh, if you only want a bike to occasionally ride a little just for fun or errands, any bike is better than no bike. Honestly, I know more people with wally-type bikes than bike-shop bikes, but all are just occasional casual riders and certainly don't depend on their bikes for transportation. Bike shop bikes will have some better components and be lighter than wally bikes, and more dependable. Just consider what you need from a bike and what you are able to do, and try not to get discouraged. Good luck!

OK, the rest of you guys: Don't throw tomatoes at me! Remember I took your advice and am glad I did, but . . . Huffy's have worked for some people's needs. Maybe you can help find something suitable for him that is a little better?

PS to OP: Please give a little more info about your situation and needs. For example, why do you want to replace the tires soon? If you are going to be concerned about the specifics of all the components, you'd definitely do better to wait for a better bike. The tires that come on it are probably fine for casually riding around the neighborhood unless you're trying to break a speed record, ride over glass and nails, or something. And 700x38 size is fine for around town or light trails. Wait until they wear out or are damaged beyond repair, which shouldn't be soon. It's the tubes inside that are usually patched or replaced if you get a flat, and they aren't expensive. I'm sort of getting mixed messages from your post.

Bike manufacturers buy parts wholesale much cheaper than you can. It's less expensive to get the level of bike you want to start with than to try to upgrade all the parts on a cheap bike. (Upgrading bikes is a hobby for some, but your post doesn't sound like that's your situation.) HTHS-

clockwork247

i'm gonna be a lab rat and test this bike out...

I can do the easy bike stuff like changing tires/tubes, adjusting gears and breaks... simple stuff.

and as i've stated, i've never touched a good bike, all i've rode are cheap mountain bikes, really really cheap/old hybrid lol so i wouldn't know what's a good bike if it hit me in the face.

My school is really close to where i live (like 1-2 miles at most), I live in san diego so there's alot of groceries stores around (most i've biked on my mountain bike was 4-5 miles to walmart).

The reason I wanted a bike was because of the school's parking situation, it's very hard to get a parking during peak time, and a bike is probably easier to get me to class on time, plus i wanted to get some cardio in because i'm getting kindda fat.

from the replies it doesn't seem like there's anything i can do to improve the bike, so i'm just going to ride till the tire wears out and change to better tires.

I explored the option of changing tires on my mountain bike, but as i've stated, we're looking at 20-30 dollars a tire, together with a back rack (20), 2 new tubes (old one won't work with new tires) (10 each), that doesn't even consider in the shipping costs. I'm looking at 80-90 dollars, I sold the old one for 50 bucks, and put in another 50 for the new bike, it's a little cheaper IMO.

sonatageek

One of my co-workers bought this model bike to ride in the neighborhood with her son. I tried to find a better used bike for her, but nothing was really on CL at the time. I am sure it is not a great bike, but I bet it is better than the full suspension mountain bikes sitting on the sales floor next to it.

If you are able to adjust brakes and gears there is something you can do to improve the bike. Go over it and make sure it was put together in a reasonably sound way. If you are okay with re-greasing and adjusting bearings (wheels, headset etc) I would also do that. The other area I would consider taking a look at, if you have trouble with brakes or shifting after you have ridden it for a while, I would consider new (better) cables and new (good lined) housing.

John_V 

If all your are going to do is ride it to school and it's just a couple of miles, or to the grocery store, the Huffy will be OK. Once you get everything on it adjusted and the make sure the wheels are true and everything is greased properly, you should have no problems. However, if you decide to take the bike on longer trips, keep that bike for school and get a better bike for longer trips. I say this because getting an $89.00 bike stolen at school is much better than having a $300+ bike shop bike stolen.

My brother-in-law and his wife both have WalMart bikes (she has a Schwinn and he has the Huffy). They have had them for years and they are actually still very rideable. However, they don't do very much riding, maybe once or twice a month and it's only about a mile or two. The biggest problem that he has had with his Huffy is that if he doesn't keep the working parts clean, they pretty much stop working. The components are very cheap, so don't expect anything from them.

goagain

Enjoy the rides to school on your new bike!

Rider98Glide

OK, since you have made the decision to keep it I am betting one of three things will happen:
1. You will decide you really like biking and will want something that is much better quality. Much better quality is on average only $150-$200 off Craigslist.
2. You end up being an occasional rider and will enjoy the WM bike.
3. You ride it a few times. It gathers dust in the garage and you have only spent $90 to figure it out.
I say you are in good shape.
Have fun!
BTW-There is nothing to make that bike any better besides checking to make sure all the nuts and bolts are tight!

UberGeek

+10000

Ride the hell out of it, and enjoy! Down the road, if you seem to really be liking the whole cycling thing, shop for a nicer one.

giantcfr1

So I'm confused a little or missing something that obviously is an elephant...

You sold a decent 35 pound MTB because you didn't want to buy tyres and tubes, but you plan to buy tyres for the cheap bike from Wally World.
Also, there is no way on God's Earth that the replacement tubes on your MTB would be 20 - 30 dollars.

Your new tyres, tubes and rack would have been under the $90 you paid for the W-W bike.
This sounds like the regular Deneli report threads from W-W.

Amaizing thing is I've never been to Walmart, but have learned so much about their bikes and their poor damn "mechanics", all from Bikeforums.

You have got to be having a lend of us. Troll away..... (if not, sorry for my ignorance)

KungPaoSchwinn

The man said the bike ain't in his posession yet,man....it's going down.''sigh''.