hooligan

I mean I REALLY like LBS bike, HELL I would want any LBS bike above 400 CDN, cuz that's where the goodness starts. In other words, I like LBS bikes more than department store bikes, just that I can't afford them well.

Okay here's the news, Raleigh is going to Canadian Tire and a lot of other department stores, like NEXT and Mongoose. All craptacular bikes to the storez. Wow what a rip...sure you may say it's good news to me, but really, it isn't. What's next? Norco?

Maelstrom 

Norco isn't next. They have a huge market and are making money. Those companies became dept stores bike because they loose money...

Balfa 'could' end up there in the next 5 years if pro-cycles doesn't shut the lineup down. I am not trying to rumour monger here, I have no inside info, just giving an example of a falling company, that if mis-treated may end up as crap.

diamondback_man

ughhh...department store bikes suck @$$!!! I mean come on, TechTeam, SuperCycle....the list goes on..why do people even by those recycle-cycles?

hooligan

Amen to that, my rear shock is already going squeak like a mouse on steroids.

hooligan

Amen to that, my rear shock is already going squeak like a mouse on steroids. Wait...UPDATE: Raleigh - Sort of good bikes are at Canadian Tire...that dont sort of suck. Such as Raleigh Tarantula. It's an okay bike...

diamondback_man

I think there are like, 3 Catagorie type things

Department Store bikes: You know your bike is good when you can buy it, a pack of gum, 12 rolls of toilet paper, and a pair of pants all in the same store

Sports Stores: Specialize in sports. Moutain biking is a sport, so they are more concerned and are fairly knowladgable when it comes to bikes. They also carry many varieties of good quality, good brand, long lasting bikes. But, they still do sell other sporting things, so they're focus isent entirly on bikes.

LBS: 100% Focused on bikes, and knows what you want. Offers test rides all the time, and lets you customize your bike the way you want it. Carries the top of the line bikes.

And those are the bike quality levels!

iamthetas

the bad thing is when you see a bike in xmart AND your local bike shop with different stuff on it.Schwinn is one,mongoose another(havent seen any in anywhere but sports stores as of late ) or raleigh is available at target(my first aluminum mt bike was).how does a newbie not get taken if they dont know the difference between DEORE and FALCON on a rear derailer etc.my youngest son rides his bike on the road mostly he weighs 70# abd is only 10.he has a mongoose and it is fine for him as the riding he does is infrequent and short intervals.when he goes with me i take tame routes.my oldest son is different.hes 13 and heavier with a style that is more bmx so he has a bike accordingly its a diamond back.my 2 daughters ride trails with me and my youngest son and they are 9 and12 and have xmart bikes as well as my wife.they all ride little but want to look STYLISH while doing so.as they progress i will upgrade to fit their needs but if i knew nothing about bikes i would have a honda or magna for all and not some not so dangerous bikes.you can get bikes that will be ok commuters and you can get them that are dangerous to sit on.a neighbor kid had a shogun that had PLASTIC crankarms(i kid you not) and he was over 120#his parents were clueless to bikes and could not understand why he trashed it in no time.they gave it to me for parts and even the seatpost holder was a p.o.c.had to throw it all away.please do research before buying a bike from anywhere

Jay_2004

Click Here

Its a pretty good link if your going into that stage of looking for a higher end bike.