eb314

I was in Target today and happened across the bike section. I started looking at some of them - and I started thinking. Most of these bikes are under $150. For a whole bike. I spent more on my seat than most of these bikes cost. A new DA crankset costs 5x more than any bike here.

Damn, I shouldn't have gotten into this sport.

BananaTugger

Those aren't bikes, those are toys.

the beef

You just got b****-slapped by the law of diminishing returns!

Steezld

Agreed. I've seen many department store mountain bikes that have warnings such as "NOT FOR OFF ROAD USE: MAY CAUSE INJURY". You couldn't rely on one of those bikes for anything.

the beef

Ah, crap..

edit: The above link is something I just posted over in the MTB forums. I picked up a Magna mountain bike off of CL for $5 a while ago (the price of two Clif bars and a chainring bolt) and had the time of my life today tearing through the forest (pics in the link). More fun than I've had on my Bianchi in a while.

markyore

For the money ($370) if this fits its a decent price for a Sora equiped bike (one size only). Also, someone on these forums bought a target bike on closeout for $37 and converted it to a decent singlespeed for ...well real cheap (cant find link now).

BananaTugger

So, in order to legitimize your new rig, you would have to remove everything that comes with it and replace it with something else.

How convenient.

markyore

So the guy bought this for $37





And made it into this for a few $ more......still probably a POS but for what most of us would spend on say a seat......its a lot of hardware




I suppose it would be easier and cheaper to find a pic of a nice bike you saw online, say a Parlee, and post it claimnig it was your own

Just kidding BTW

halfspeed

Figure the cost per pound and you'll really see what a deal you get at Target!

EventServices

Try sailing.

bigtea

Please....that warning was written by lawyers, not engineers. The bikes they sell at Target are so overbuilt.... that's why they are heavy.

You should be more concerned about your weight-shaving $5000 rig failing than someone on a big-box chain store bike.

Brian_1

What's more often than not exactly the same with higher quality bicycles and department store bikes is the liberal use of attention grabbing decals. Marketing psychology and consumer behavior are fascinating to observe. The dichotomy between maintaining and expressing a strong individualism and following the crowd is an interesting one indeed.

"Our need to commune with nature is our need to escape our world of materialism."

Grumpy McTrumpy

You can buy almost anything in department stores now. The problem is that the products only appear to be what they look like. Stanley planes, Fender guitars... these are things that are destined to be thrown away very soon. Apparently bikes are also part of this concept.

If I buy a Stanley plane from Lowe's for $40, no matter how much time I spend fixing it and sharpening it, the only result that it will produce is ruining the surface of the wood I use it on. I have Stanleys from the 1960s and earlier that I bought secondhand for a few bucks that work flawlessly.

If I want to buy a newly manufactured plane that works well, I have to spend between $150 and $400 for it. And I do.

A real fender guitar costs a heck of a lot more than a department store model as well, and with good reason!

carlfreddy

Seriously.

Want to buy me new sails for my LaserII? And fix the de-laminating deck?

stenniswood

You got that right! Cycling doesn't come close to what I spend to do one regatta.

halfspeed

So the suppliers of bikes to Target and Wal*Mart are the only bike makers that have lawyers? No, that can't be. Dorel owns both Pacific and Cannondale and only Pacific group "mountain" bikes have stickers that say they aren't intended for off road use.

They aren't heavy because they are overbuilt. They are heavy because they are cheap.

rizz

Lots of us are doing the same thing with the modern day CAAD9s. Crazy, isn't it?

sfcrossrider

Awesome! That should be the mantra of all the knuckleheads with upgrade fever.

Doohickie

You just figured out why I'm a C&V guy!

foamy

Yep. 2-3 new sails every season = $10,000 give or take. And that's just to stay competitive. Never mind the beer, rum and food for the crew over the course of a year. Bicycling's cheap by comparisome. Glad it's not my wallet.

downtube42

QFT

If you're into fishing, you know their fishing equpment is crap
the camping equipment is crap
the hunting equipment is crap
the electronics are crap
the diy tools are crap
the clothes are crap
the food is probably crap, as well

name brands mean nothing. they've been forced to cost-reduce to the point that all they can produce is crap that looks like the real thing.

darkfinger

No doubt.

I throw more money at my boat to keep it sea worthy every season than I have ever spent on my bike in a season.
It's worth it though. I love sailing almost as much as I love my bike

patentcad

I'll bet it's tough to get a road bike @ Target that weighs < 15 lbs eh?

BostonRoadee

Not at all. Just remove the frame. Everything else should just make it under.

Flatballer

Have you ever looked at the frame welds on a cheap mountain bike? I don't have my camera with me, so I can't take a picture of my old Wal-Mart MTB that I'm actually fixing up to give to Goodwill tomorrow. The welds are scarily bad. As opposed to smooth butter (what a weld should look like), they look like really cold butter that you tried to scrape off with a dull knife. The result is a bunch of little waves of weld instead of just one smooth weld. It would not surprise me at all if you hit a solid jump and the frame came apart at a weld.

As someone who has some (limited) welding experience, I don't trust those frames at all for off road riding.