Originally Posted by
Maelochs
You have obviously never tried to repair a Walmart bike.
Most of the parts are proprietary and ultra-flimsy---hard plastic or stamped pot-metal levers, stamped chain rings, cheap and flimsy stamped brakes .... you cannot buy replacement parts so you have to go to a real bike retailer and pay----almost always half or more of the total worth of the bike---to get real parts.
Now you have a $120 bike with $60 brakes and the rest is still crap. When the next bit fails .... spend another $60?
As far as recycling goes, when is the last time you actually took a bike to a recycler? How much of it gets reused?
The plastic might ... but probably none of it is recyclable. The metal might ... but how much does the recycler pay to have workers disassemble the bike for $1.22 worth of aluminum?
And where I live, a lot of "recyclable" material is Not accepted for recycling any more because there is no profit---the market is flooded with cheap crap. A lot of it cannot be reused due to contamination, and a lot of the plastic is already partially recycled and all it is good for is blown-in insulation for houses ... and there are only so many houses.
I know it is probably regional, but I question how much of any "recycling: is actually done---as opposed to companies shipping everything to landfills in India so they can meet their federal requirements for waste-stream recycling by percentage.
I thought they were easy to repair? Hmmmmm .....
Also ... High-end bikes Don't get thrown away. Most of them are used by their owners and then relegated to back-up or rain bike when they get replaced by a new model. A lot are sold. And even the expensive bikes which don't get ridden get sold---garage queens? ever heard the term?---and then ridden by someone else who really appreciates a good bike.
High-end bikes Can be repaired, and generally get good maintenance, because not a lot of people spend a lot of money on expensive stuff and trash it. And even if they don't get maintained, they still get sold ... and people replace the worn bits and ride them for years longer. It is worth doing if the basic bike is of good quality.
Walmart bikes ... break them, toss them, because almost any repair will cost more than a new bike.
Yup. The economics of repairing a department store bike just don't add up. Whenever I get a question from a friend or acquaintance about an old bike it usually goes something like this.
"So since you are into bikes, could you help me? I (have an old bike sitting in my garage/just got a bike from my father/mother/uncle, just bought a used bike on Craigslist) and was wondering what you think?"
I always ask them to show me the bike, or take a couple of pictures and I know right away if it is worth saving.
If it was a decent bike when it was new, whether that was 5, 10, or even 25 years ago, and the bike is reasonably clean, the answer usually is, yes. For $50 to $100 of parts and/or labor, you have yourself a rideable bike that will probably get you by until funds allow you to upgrade to something better.
If it is a Huffy, Roadmaster, or some such department store brand, even if it is practically brand new, my answer is, just donate it and get something else. Because even $50 put into such a bike is throwing good money after bad.