Originally Posted by
ramzilla
Bike brand names are practically meaningless for anything sold under about $700 - $800. If you do a quick google search you'll discover that something like 80% - 90% of all bikes are made by a handful of companies in Taiwan & China. Bike frames & parts are mass produced by robots. If you're shopping for something new & inexpensive you need to pay attention to frame construction, wheel types, components, basic features and, (most importantly) who did the final assembly. The word "Schwinn" on it doesn't count for anything IMHO.
That is a very good question. Why not provide an example of two similar bikes, one sold by a mass retailer and one sold through bike shops? That way it would be possible to compare the components that were used. Without that, all you have left is to compare price. Bulk purchasers may well be able to offer better components for less money, but if the bike wasn't put together properly, it may not work well. On the other hand, better quality bikes tend to be assembled better in the factory, and are easier to assemble for the consumer. A very high priced discount store bike might well be better than an entry level bike from a bike store and might not sell for much more. In the end, a savvy bike buyer might do better for the same money buying from Walmart, but should be aware that store assembly will almost always be substandard