I hope Caroline is ok. But, I have to say: it was anti-climactic to read all 13 pages of this thread only to find that there was no conclusion.

I've been looking for a bike and weighing the same things Caroline did. Considering the Paver for a week or two.

I ordered the bike today (site-to-store), $119. I'll post my thoughts after I receive it in a couple weeks. (I'll start a new thread, with a link to this thread; and update this post with a link to the new thread.).

Bio: I haven't ridden a bike for 30 years, but was heavily into the Schwinns with banana seats, sissy bars and ape-hanger handlebars. Then varsity 10-speeds in the early- to mid-70s. Looking for something just to ride errands, to the store, etc. I agree with those who warn against (or even hate) Walmart. I try not to shop there except for the super-discounted deals (just so it costs them money).

But, considering that I don't know if I'll really get into riding, and I'm unemployed, I wasn't going to spend $400 on an experiment. If it works out, I'll learn a lot and be motivated to buy a better bike.

I wasn't inclined to wade through a lot of Craig's list ads. I stopped by the local co-op, but nothing grabbed me (they seemed to be Walmart bikes).

I like the idea of assembling the bike myself. I'm watching a lot of bicycletutor.com videos. I'm going to put a lot of time into doing it right. (Maybe take it to the co-op and see if someone will help me.).

For me, this was the right choice. But, I understand the warnings. I think my only risk is that I could have a bad experience due to a cheap bike, and give up riding. I'll need to keep that in mind and give it a second chance if that happens.

The reason I bought this bike (beyond my personal economic circumstances): my Google searches found more than a few comments by experienced riders who said, "for Walmart, that's a pretty good bike." It sounded like it could be a decent bike for the money, and the greatest risk is poor in-store assembly.

More later.

EDIT: As promised, I started a new thread with my experience and conclusions here.