We just bought a Walmart tandem as an experiment if Tandeming will be right for us. Wife and I have been folding bike travelers since the 80's. Wife has a condition where the left eye has lost vision so she now gets scared to ride the streets with limited peripheral vision. To counter the fear, we decided to experiment on this Walmart tandem.
I come from the bike industry so I know most of the parts will be entry level - frame hiten and most parts steel, cheap wheels - but it is worth the experiment for the price. $260+ for bike plus sales tax =under $300. Opted for the free ship to store. Ship to store also limits shipping damage as it is carried by Walmart trucks.
First impressions - not bad for the price. I have some used wheels with QR/double wall alloy rims/Big Apple tires lying around so we never installed the stock wheels. Just sold stock wheels on craigslist for $30. It's a one size bike. Stoker will accomodate a wide range with the low top tube. Front has sloping top tube but works for me (i'm about 5'8"). Shifters derailleurs are all entry level. Shifts well after you tune it up - had to shorten a cable housing to shift better. Cranks, seatpost, handlebar etc are steel. Upgraded the brake pads. No quick releases - seatpost clamps are all allen bolt type. Bike actually runs very similar to a fat tire tandem we borrowed a few months back. Picts of the bike at
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kent-Duald...icycle/3663045
THe bike is never expected to be fast and be light weight. I think it is probably in the mid 40+ lbs weight. We plan on using it as a beater or shopping tandem. Something we can lock to a meter if we have to go to a store, eat out, museum etc. I raised handlebar as much as I can for a more upright position. Saddles are spring type and surprisingly has not produced my penile numbness. Might be the more upright riding style. Installed rear rack, and a Wald cruiser bar for the stoker so she can ride more upright as well. A few cable locks and a U lock hopefully will discourage thieves. We park it in an enclosed garage so hopefully it does not rust too fast.
Experiences so far has been positive. It's like buying a car. We never expected a Lexus ride cause we were on a used Toyota Corolla budget. I've already learned a few lessons on tandem frame geometry. Hopefully by winter, we can start designing/building a collapsible travel frame with 20" wheels so we can go back to travelling.
Any questions on the bike just ask.