Originally Posted by Shemp
1.) if you see it at a department store, you can forget about it
2.) good place for used, you local bike shop, local bike club, classifieds (craigslist) and ebay if you can pick-up and not pay for shipping
3.) doesn't matter. buy the bicycle type that fits your needs.
If you want to be happy with your bicycle purchase and usage, but what works best for how you want to ride it. If you want to buy based on price alone, you're going to shortchange yourself in terms of satisfaction. I highly suggest buying from a local bike shop because a) the bike will be set up correctly b) you usually get free tune-ups or flat fixes for a year or more c) if something isn't right, they'll be able to address it unlike a dept store.
I never thought id be saying this about a dept store bike. Recently in the a&s forum there was a post about a car v bike crash. Bike in question was a wally world 200ish dolar schwinn vacity. The original poster posted me via instant message here on the forum to her eye the bikes frame seems to be undamaged. This looks like a typical car tryign to climb the bike tire slam you hard to the ground crash. Schwinns may very well be the exception to the dept store ikes always suck rule.
I say if a new cyclist is unsure if riding is for them and are funds limited and cant not find a used bike at a thrift store then these bikes
might be worth a try.
Regardless of frame quality i seriously doubt the components are going to survive more than a season or 2 at most.
Bikes to avoid any thing with huffy kent murray or road master name also on this list are pacific and most other brand names.
My advice first hit the thrift stores. Looking for older model trek mtbs they seem to show up alot around here older model schwinns with lucgged frames in the road bike area they also show up alot least around here. Other often seens here cannondales old motobecanes (80s and under) univega also 80s 90s fujis 80s and 90s and not one of them above 75 bucks. Again as for schwinn dept store bikes they seem to be a exception to the general rule of all dept store bikes being total garbage. This is only based on one car v bike crash im aware of.
I sware if i had a realy good job id get me one of the road bikes and destroy it by pure abuse and just see what they can take. Lets just say if i have a hard time destroying a bike when i try to well its worth having haha