Hi,

Just thought I'd share my story with a department store bike. When I brought it I didn't quite realise what I was in for (I spent $118 AUD). It was a front-suspension MTB, 18 speed. It was made by Dunlop... Dunlop seemed like a reputable brand, its suprising that they actually damage their reputation selling this junk.

The bicycle itself was not fully assembled. It was packed in a box and all that had to be done is attaching the front wheel.

The bicycle did not come with a warranty and had a few mechanical problems to begin with. First, the locknut for the one-piece crank kept on coming loose. There was a bulge in it which prevented it from fully tightening. I rode the bike with the locknut loose for a while. I got buy with tighting the cone and the locknut with my fingers every few km for a while. A friend also pointed out to me that the fork was installed backwards. That was quickly fixed.

After these minor issues, the bike worked for about 2 weeks and then things started to disintigrate. First, the one-piece crank bearings somehow got crushed :/. After inspection, I noticed that I could bend the retainers with my fingers. The replacement set that I brought from a LBS was much stronger and did not suffer from this problem.

At around the same time, the rear derailleur (I didn't even use it!) started rocking back and forth. I couldnt fix that weird problem by adjusting it, so I decided to dispose of it. I took off both rear & front and put them away.

I also brought a new handlebar because I didn't like the flexy one with ultra-hard grips that made your fringers numb in 5 minutes of riding. It was an odd swap (riser bar to drop bar, without modifying brake levers. I managed to squeeze the MTB brake levers on it somehow.).

In this condition, the bike ran for a while (about another 2 weeks). Then, one time I was going quite fast and noticed loud clunking sounds coming from the rear. I ignored it, and later that day the rear wheel disintigrated. I carried the bike home and inspected the hub. The bearings somehow ate a hole through the cups and you could see the hub casing through the huge pits. The axle was badly bent, you could see it by just looking at it. What is even more odd, is that the rear hub had only 4 bearings on the badly pitted side... I didn't expect the quality to be that bad.

I un-did the front hub and to my suprise there is no damage. It must have been the odd bearing count that caused a huge wear.

Right now, all I have left from this bike that is functioning is the:

• Frame / Fork (Frame is dented)
• Seat Post and Saddle
• Front Wheel
• Brakes

I spent at least $150 up to now on stuff including tools, replacement parts, etc etc

I did read comments on department store bikes before, but I did not expect it to be THIS bad.

Share your stories

What a bargain!