We got bikes for our kids from Target for awhile. It's hard to justify shelling out a lot of money on something they will grow out of in a short time. But there were definite quality issues with a couple of them while another couple were just fine. Now I get them quality used bikes.

What is kind of funny though is that a few years ago I was looking for a really small bike for my daughter who was learning how to ride without training wheels. I didn't want to spend the money on a "balance" bike so my goal was to find something little and just take the pedals off. I got this "Dora the Explorer" bike for $10. I'm sure it was originally from Target or Kmart.

Anyway, I pulled the cranks/pedals off and it did the trick. Soon she was riding her bigger bike sans training wheels without any trouble. But she didn't want to ride her bigger bike, she wanted me to put the pedals back on the Dora bike.

She rides a nicer Trek now but she refuses to give up the little Dora bike even though she's far too big for it. In fact her older brother (who's 11) and the neighbor kids all like to ride it around the driveway and the alley. It's taken a ton of abuse and it's just fine.

There's a place for bikes from Walmart or Target. Just like camping gear, tennis rackets, luggage or anything else you might use a few times a year. But if it's something you use frequently and depend on, you're better off getting something made from better materials with stricter quality controls.