Originally Posted by
dwellman
I'll work on a Dell. I won't like it but I'll do it anyway. Macs are worse. It's like they never thought their beautiful crap would 1) break, or 2) need an upgrade.
Macs were never intended to be fixed. They are intended to be replaced. It's the "Mac Cycle": Buy new "amazing thing" every year or two.
Originally Posted by
tjspiel
'Cause one guy is statistically significant, -right ?
It's certainly possible. For example, you can camp for months in a tent from Walmart without trouble and the zipper could break the first time you use it on a high-end tent. That doesn't make the guy camping in a Walmart tent a genius and the guy who bought the Marmot an idiot for spending the extra money.
Besides "Without trouble" doesn't mean the experience was as good as it could have been. I said that I wouldn't take one on a cross-country tour. I'd want the ride to be as comfortable, effortless, and worry free as possible on that kind of adventure and I'd be willing to spend some extra money to make that a more likely outcome. If somebody else wants to take a Walmart bike on a long tour, more power to them.
Besides, I don't think I'm really disagreeing with you. One can be a very happy owner of a Walmart bike.
I don't think we're in much of a disagreement, either. However, I've yet to see a department store bike just fall apart on an owner.
Do they fall into disuse? Yes. Are they lacking many of the benefits of buying from a specialty store? Yes. But, that's the market they are hitting. People who don't shop at the specialty stores.
A hardcore outbacker wont be shopping for gear at a department store. A hardcore biker wont be shopping for gear at a department store. A hardcore CB'er wont be buying their gear at a department store. It's the same with all hobbies (Yes, cycling for most is recreational at most, some it's a hobby).
And, just because the bike comes from a department store does not mean it is junk. It is what it is. My department store bike has 800 miles on it thus far, with nary an issue. I had some slight adjustments to make after buying, but since then, nada. I picked out the proverbial "diamond in the rough" at a department store.
And, my ride could very likely be taken on a tour (I haven't gotten into that part of the hobby yet), with some good results. It's effortless to ride (Comparable to a Trek 2.3 I passed on for this), comfortable, and thus far, worry free (As would be expected, since it has the same components as a Trek would have had 6 or 7 years ago).