REI..........they have their own in-store brand these days from greenway cruisers all the way up to pretty expensive stuff. They also have a workshop in the store.

Then again, a brand new low-end Trek or Giant is still probably in the long run going to cost less than a department store bike after you have to toss the department store one in the trash when one of the crap hard-to-replace components fail.

There's a reason the Giants and Treks and such use the components they use. They can be maintained and replaced.

Department stores put parts on that the expectation is you will toss the entire bike in the trash before you need a new cassette, chain, brake pads, or shift cables. Shoot, I don't know of anyone I've ever know who owned a Walmart style BSO who even ever needed to lube the chain! The most common failure being a popped tire and a shock at the price of a tire and change at a LBS. I'd bet even then the owner is 2 seconds from considering tossing it in the dumpster behind the shop.

It's not necessarily about being "fancy" or "racy", it's about practicality and reliability. A Walmart or other "BSO" isn't meant to go 1000 to 10000 miles per year. It's meant to go maybe 1000 to 2000 miles......once, ever, over the course of maybe 10 years of a person riding for 15 minutes a time in the neighborhood. It's disposable in nearly entirely.

With the exception of some DA components, 105 and then Ultegra carry an expectation of some big miles per year on those groupsets. The cost per mile possibly cheaper than if you tried to force a BSO to go 6000 miles in a year.

Remember, you can always buy someone else's mistake. A new Giant Contend is like $650. I'd suspect used could be had for $400.

All that to say..........the frame on a department store BSO won't matter when it's in the trash anyway after less than 1000 miles of use.