GrimJump

I saw this today. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Triace-24-..._fb_revshr_001 It's made of aluminum. It was being sold for $450 but their website says $399. It felt really good but I'm not a bike guy. Does anyone here have any experience with them?

I was trying to figure out if it was Made In China but couldn't find anything. There was a small sticker with a triangular American flag design. Can't find a website for the company.

GrimJump

RunningPirate

I think as a matter of policy, most BF folks would advise against buying a bike from WalMart, Target, Costco, Sports Authority, etc....

For that money, you'd do better to get a decent used bike off of Craigslist.

gorshkov

Well, it is probably not as bad as most of the bikes Wal-Mart sells, but I'd second the used bike from craigslist option.

Yes, the price looks good, and the components specs are similar to most entry level bikes that you would get at a bike shop for $5-600, but here are a few things to consider.

(1) the bike was assembled by a Wal-Mart employee who probably doesn't know jack about bikes. Given my experience at Wal-Mart, you are probably lucky that the brakes worked during your test ride. If you are ordering it off of the website, you will have to assemble it yourself. Since you describe yourself as "not a bike guy", that probably means paying your local bike shop 50 or 60 dollars to assemble it and do the initial tune-up, and then paying them some more money to tune it again a month later after all the cables have stretched. Those would be rolled in with the cost of a new bike at the shop.

(2) If you are going to tour, this is a poor choice of bike, even if it turns out to be of good quality.

(3) Good luck getting Wal-Mart to fix it for you if something does break.

Also, it is certainly made in China - the only bikes that are still made in the US these days are small-run steel/ti frames, and some high-end carbon, either of which is likely to run something north of $1500 for the frameset.

Dynocoaster 

Portland CL Nice bike to fix up for touring https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/bik/2346770212.html
or this and for less money https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/2342983405.html

oban_kobi

A walmart bike is a terrible choice for touring, I'd just as soon leave without food. As others have said, craigslist would be much better, you may even be able to find one at a bike shop for that price.

Bacciagalupe

I concur that the Walmart option is probably not a good choice.

You can get a decent hybrid with better gearing and put together by someone who actually knows what they're doing, and will stand by their work, for about the same price.

AbueloLoco

Walmart sells tons of stuff on line that is of better quality. Search their PC's sometime. Online sales just like Amazon does. They just send it to you or to their store to pick up. The link says it is NOT assembled. Note that this is only available in limited stores so the goal is the online catalog sales, not the stores. The reviews are good but one points out the lack of frame sizes. It is seems to me that it is pretty obviously not a touring bike but if into club riding, it might work as a first bike at the low end of that food chain.

dart

Most of the replies here are from people who I doubt have actually ridden/owned/or even tried the bike itself. Just because Walmart is generally thought of to be a discount store that sells lower quality products doesn't mean this bike is indeed low quality. If there's anyone out there with this particular bike or anyone who has experience with it, can you please post your thoughts?

I believe this is the website for Triace

tabletop101

I'm replying for 3 reasons... because there is very little about this bike on the internet, I agree with 'dart's' comments about the other replies, and I just bought what may be the last one...

First off, this is NOT a 'walmart bike'. This is a Triace road bike sold by walmart. Triace is a Chinese bike company that not only produces high end road and touring bikes, but specializes in carbon composite bikes, and bicycle design innovation. There is nothing Triace makes that could be considered 'cheap'.
Triace had a limited contract with walmart, and when walmart wanted the price point to be lowered from 449 to 399, Triace said no. So walmart did not renew the contract, and lowered the price to 399 to sell the remaining stock. As of now the bike is listed as completely out of stock.

Second, this is a 'road bike' and not a 'tour bike', though there is but a few distinctions between the two. In fact a tour bike could be any ol' bike that a person takes on a 'tour ride' with them. Tour biking and Road biking are basically the same accept for the 'Tour' part. The difference in the bikes is mostly weight, aerodynamics and component performance.

Now the bike itself "Triace S503"

The triacebike.com website shows detailed picks... in Chinese though, the 'english' specs are online.
Though this is at the lower end of the Triace line of bikes, as I said before they are a high end bike company, and the S503 is nothing less than a mid to high range intermediate road bike. A beginner could certainly ride it, but may have problems understanding the fitting, tuning and maintenance of a modern bicycle. So unless your willing to have a bike shop do that for you, I would say you should know what your doing before you mess with anything.

Mine was an order that someone had cancelled after the bike had been shipped, and was not even added to the stores web inventory. The guy that built it pulled it down for me, and aired the tires. I have been a cyclist (bmx, road, mountain bike) since I was 6, 43 now. Not just casual either. Anyways, I could tell this guy knew his way around bikes. Maybe not a qualified tech, but put together well... Mind you, it wasn't quite to my standards.

Most all components on this bike are Triace, including seat, rims and stem, accept for joy tech hubs, shimono 24 speed crank set, derailers and promax break clamps.
Triace carbon fork and bushings, aluminum frame.
The bike is 21 lbs. Not bad, but about 2 lbs could be shed with a 10 speed gear set. Which is what a 'tour' rider would use. A slight bit of performance could be gained by upgrading the hubs. But unless your a pro, you will notice little difference in the hubs.

I first removed the rims and repacked and readjusted the hubs (Joy Tech), as the rear hub was a bit snug, and both needed more grease. Crankcase and headset were fine. Rims are true. After 3 test rides and fitting adjustments I was off.
This bike is sweet! The carbon fork and bushings provide excellent shock dampening. Braking performance is high. Gear and derailer performance is high, and able to withstand heavy loads without complaining, considering the 24 speed system. A 10 speed set would obviously perform better, but who's climbing the alps? I've ridden many of my friends $700-1000 bikes and prefer my Triace.
And all this about buying a used bike from craigslist...??? Maybe a coffee table or couch... but not a road bike. You have no idea what people do to bikes. What parts are on it... the wrong chain, anything could be wrong and go wrong in the worst way. New is better!
This bike was made to work optimally with it's components by the manufacturer, and trust it 1000x more than someone's 'used' bike. Though it is not a professional road bike, it is certainly an excellent high range intermediate road bike that could easily be upgraded.
The worst part is that you would be lucky to find one now, unless you ordered from China. I call it the 'Mazda Miata' of bicycles... 'the only bike to actually be worth more money after you buy it'. (of course they raised the price of the Miata after they found that out)... Anyways, I did a lot of research, and this is an $850 road bike for $400 bucks.

research yourself and hope that helps.... and thanks dart for the website!

shelbyfv

What are carbon bushings?

rogerstg

Regardless of all the particulars, it does not look like much of a touring bike to me, except maybe for the UL/CC folks.

tabletop101

A bushing is a sort of a sleeve, (portion of a hollow tube), that generally would go between the stem (goose neck) and the head set. They provide 2 functions. As a spacer for height adjustments, and to allow a moving joint to be 'snug' while minimizing resistance on the bearings. They can be made of various materials... mostly metal. But carbon fiber is not only strong like metal, but has a superior 'flex' capability (without bending). The bushings under the stem (goose neck) and the carbon fork provide a sort of shock absorption. This helps a lot when encountering a sudden change in road pitch (like when a bike path abruptly goes up), or on a bumpy road.

It's not a 'shock absorber' like on a mountain bike... road bikes are a rough stiff ride. A good intermediate or advance rider will definitely notice, and appreciate the difference. Road biking is gonna hurt. But only in the best way.

shelbyfv

I call BS. I don't think you can provide a link to any legitimate tests that show any noticeable difference in the ride of a bike with carbon headset spacers as opposed to one with aluminum spacers. Gooseneck? Really???

tabletop101

It's a mid to high grade intermediate 'road' bike, as I said earlier. A 'touring' bike is simply a super fancy road bike. You could certainly tour on this bike with some up-grades. 10 speed crank set, upgraded to racing hubs, rims and brakes....or look on the site to see the selection of road bikes..... but I already said all that. (and its in Chinese, lol)

Most people bite off more bike than they can chew. It's really more the biker than the bike. Lookout Mountain is 4.3 miles and 1300 ft up in elevation (no flats). It's a good start for a good rider... but if you can't make it the 1st time... don't blame the bike. This bike has no problem in tough situations.

tabletop101

It's called a stem. 'Goose neck' is just an old school term. All you have to do is google carbon fork shock absorption. Learn about the properties of materials.

tabletop101

I built a 17ft wood fiberglass composite sea kayak. Designed myself. I know a little something about material properties.

This is a thread about a simple bike. I stand by what I said, and I think it's a good bike because I know it is.

shelbyfv

OK, something we can agree on. Burkhalter is difficult. I have not had to walk it yet, but I get older every year. See you at 3S3M.

gpsblake

I rode a Walmart Schwinn Sidewinder from South Carolina to Abilene Texas.... The only problem was fixing flats and had to adjust the brakes once....

bicyclridr4life

Yeah, Craig's List is a GREAT option, a little bondo and paint will cover most frame defects - dents, cracks, etc. Then there is the "joy" of discovering that the bike you bought was stolen a couple month before, and never recovered ... Oh, yeah, CL is GREAT ... if you want problems ...

As for "made in China" so what? Most bikes sold in the US, including those by Trek, Cannondale, Lite Speed, and others are made in China.

Those who say that anything cycling Walmart (specially) along with Target, Kmart et-al is "junk"are people who feel that unless you spend a minimum of $1,250 for a Bike Shop sold bike, you do not have a bike worth riding. I have big box bikes - several of them - I also have some LBS bikes, like Giant and KHS. The big box bikes are just as reliable as the LBS bikes. The LBS bikes will have better components with a little better finish and weigh a little less, but they function the same as a bottom line Shimano SIS with trigger or low end twist/trigger shifters. ANY bike is better than NO bike!

OldZephyr

I don't think that's correct, at least as most people in the area understand the term "touring bike".

A touring bike isn't a "super fancy" road bike. It's a bike with most or all of the following characteristics -- longer than normal chainstays, longer than normal wheelbase, strong wheels, more relaxed geometry, lower gearing, and bars that permit a multitude of hand positions. A Surly LHT wouldn't be considered fancy by any stretch of the imagination but it's a touring bike. And it's not a question of cost -- for example, a 90s rigid mountain bike has most of the characteristics of a touring bike, although often outfitted with wider tires than ordinarily needed on a hard surfaced road (and might be better with different handlebars than flat ones).

njkayaker

This would, though, make this appear somewhat likely (though, not certain).

That's helpful!

Even being able to read Chinese, it's hard to say whether the specs indicated on that website would match the specs for the bike being sold by WalMart.

njkayaker

The website is thin on details.

Absent any clear indication otherwise, assume it's made in China (the flag doesn't mean anything). (Just to be clear, stuff from China can be good.)

njkayaker

???

No. A "super fancy road bike" would kind of suck for touring (generally).

Good luck and have fun with it!

DW99

Screw China-mart! If a manufacturer has a problem with an item, whether a bicycle, bobsled or battery, the problem items are going to Mall-Wart. First, those bad ones can get lost in large volume and because over time they have beat that manufacturer down on their price so badly they can't afford to do anything else. There are so many reasons not to pay the high cost for low prices at Mall-Wart.