Originally Posted by
gpsblake
Funny, i've never had any real problems with any Walmart bicycle I have ridden or bought. I rode one 2000 miles on a tour with the biggest problem being flats. So you might have to make an adjustment once in a while.... all bicycles requires adjustments once in a while...
But yet, when I go into my local LBS, you can see more expensive in there constantly being repairs... so much so, that there is a week long waiting list just for them to repair or tuneup a bicycle.
Usually I find the more expensive the bicycle, the more that person hates Walmart. A direct ratio.
But yet these same people are willing to spends many times more on repairs at an LBS than I spend on a new bicycle.
I do buy a new bike about once a year from Walmart, I like getting a new ride each year, and I donate my old perfectly working bicycle to charity each year.
But I'm not going to be riding in pelotons or fitting in with the fashion types.
Yes, it's really all about fashion. Bikes made in Taiwan, Japan and Italy are of the same level of quality as bikes made in Chinese factories. They weigh the same, are the exact same level of quality and work just as well, too. I'm just a snob. It's the cool thing to do to hate on Walmart, I totally get laid all the time because I post about how much I hate it on the internet. You totally caught me.
Seriously guy, there's like 3 of you on this forum that like to go on about Wally World bikes, and, while it's really cute and all, it's intellectually dishonest to imply they are in any way comparable, except to say that they compare unfavorably, to LBS bikes. At an LBS you can spend twice the money and get five times the bike. This means you could buy a bike that would last a decade instead of trading it in every year, with components that weren't crap, and didn't weigh 35 pounds. It's not about racing or fashion, just being sensible and being able to do math.
People post on here because they love bikes and have access to the internet, this generally means that folks on here know a little about cycling and make enough to cover a monthly bill for the internet, that's why there aren't any X-mart bike riders here. I could go on 'til I'm blue in the face on a car forum about how a Yugo was just as good as a Tercel, but that doesn't mean it would make sense, and it wouldn't oblige many people to agree with me.