WRT big box store bikes. A few years back I saw a "Schwinn" cruiser on Amazon for something like $200 delivered, so I took the lunge and ordered it. Absolute worst case, I'd only use the frame and fork for a project I had been thinking about for years.
I already posted a thread about it here but to recap - I was pleasantly surprised when it showed up. I worked as mechanic in a Schwinn shop for about ten years starting around 1978 so I have experience with "real" Schwinns (Yes I am highly biased). The bike was packaged a lot better than they used to be. The paintwork was nice. The hubs were one piece aluminum, better than the hubs low end bikes had back in the day. So far so good. The frame/fork would work for what I wanted. On to assembling it.
Holy crap. NONE of the bearings were adjusted correctly. And they had virtually no grease. The cable housings were all too long. The fender braces and chainguard were about half as sturdy as the classic bikes. The rims were painted and trash - the brakes weren't great and could not be made to not squeal. Sidenote - I detest the straight pull (Linear?) brakes or whatever they call them that cheap bikes get these days. Every one I've dealt with has been trash. Too flimsy.
To make a long story shorter, virtually EVERYTHING on the bike had to be pulled apart and rebuilt. Hubs. Headset. Bottom bracket. All cables.
Once the bike was completely rebuilt, it wasn't bad. Aside from the brakes never getting quiet. Yes I know how to adust them. These would not shut up.
Bottom line, I don't see where the average Joe would have ended up with a decent bike just following the assembly instructions. If you have the resources to rebuild a bike they're decent IMHO. If you are expecting to pull it out of the box and spend half an hour assembling it, forget it. There is no way I beleive that if I had bought this in a store that it would have been assembled/set up correctly. And if you take ti to a bike shop to be set up, they're gogin to want to rebuild everything too, and it won't be a cheap bike anymore. So I'm torn on how I feel about them - decent if yo uare ok putting the work in, dissappointing if you just want to buy and ride.
I was happy with the purchase, but I always qualified it with "for what I paid..."
Then... while searching for stronger fender braces and better pedals, I went off the deep end.
EDIT: Here's the thread with more info on this bike.
Schwinn Sanctuary 7
Forgive the repost (this has been posted here before) but here it is in it's current set up
Front brake upgraded. Yes the angle of the pad was corrected after I saw this picture.
5 speed IGH with drum brake. The derailluer is bluetooth - no cables! Actually it's just a tensioner - the frame has vertical drop outs. But the shift cable is still hidden. ;-)
Drum brake that's strong enough to lock the rear wheel. The frame mounted linear brakes are just to hide the welded on brake bosses.
Upgraded rims, stainless spokes, QR front hub
It rides a lot nicer now, and the brakes don't squeal.
But I have a skootch more than $200 into it at this point.