Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
'Tis ironic how any adjustment needed on an xmart bike to get proper fit is considered outrageous and/or horrifying/disgusting, but is a barrel of fun and perfectly acceptable task if performed on a used bike obtained from a thrift store/garage sale
Well, a decent used bike is actually worth fixing up. You might end up with the sweetest ride of your life. X-mart bikes... Jee-zus! My first two "adult" bikes were X-mart. Can you say a PAIN to ride? The gears won't shift even after adjustment by a very good bike mechanic. The shocks are just there to increase the price and make the experience more miserable. The brakes are plain unsafe and the brake pads wear out FAST. The weight is comparable to that of an overfed elephant...
I can still sort of understand buying a cheapo X-mart bike: if you can't afford anything else, don't know how to check and fix bikes (so garage sales are out) and aren't going to be doing that much riding, those bikes may do you. But going for their "upper-range" bikes, as the OP mentions? In Canadia X-mart type stores may sell bikes that cost up to $700, perhaps more. Usually their main feature is all-Shimano components. Yeah, it's Shimano Tourney, maybe sometimes even *gasp* Acera, of course, but we'll omit that part. After all the customers don't understand the lingo-shwingo anyway, but the cool-looking double suspension that turns a bike into a pogo stick will make them wanna CRAVE it!
If you can afford that bike, you can afford an LBS bike. But the LBS bike is much more likely to be a better quality bike to start with, and you will get free and professional assembly as well as a free tune-up program (for just a year or for "lifetime" - depends on the LBS). Of course there are bad LBSs. But there are also good LBSs. And there are no good X-mart stores when it comes to bikes...