Originally Posted by
DX-MAN
Y'all forgot a few.
IMO:
K-Mart, worst. Walmart, close second.
Meijer, not much better AT ALL.
Target & Toys R Us are tied, about a nose better than the above.
Dick's, marginally better.
As far as the K/Walmart bikes being "worth it" if you know what you're doing, that was true to a degree ONCE, a few years ago. Today, they're just crap. There are NO standards of manufacture in the China factories for these stores. I've seen HOLES in the welds around tubing joints, slag left inside seat tubes, and components that BREAK during adjustment.
Trust me or don't, I've only built/repaired somewhere above 26,000 of these turds.
Hi,
I agree some of the cheap bikes are awful.
My budget boxed special was made in Bangladesh, £130.
However it was near identical to another branded bike for
sale in a local bike shop for £260, and after giving that
a good once over I went ahead and bought it.
Its a bit heavy, but none of the parts are poor.
New tyres, saddle, pedals + toeclips, added framepump,
waterbottle, mudguards and chopping + flipping the
bars would have been the same for both bikes.
Incidently both bikes feature alloy look alike cranks
made if steel that weigh far too much. A set of
alloy cranks (£20) was the only unexpected cost.
rgds, sreten.