Ok the anonymity of the internet (and my relative thick skin when it comes to message board flaming) lets me ask a question that I would totally be afraid to ask in real life, considering what I've read on these forums...

What's wrong with a Walmart bicycle?

I am considering getting my first bike since I was a kid (I biked to school and back about 8 miles each way in a very hilly area all through middle school!) to commute to work and back and around the park and neighborhood with my kids (right now my oldest is on a tricycle! but I'm thinking ahead). My ride to work is about 1 mile each way of mostly flat, very low-traffic road.

I think eventually I might want to invest in a good bike, so that I can make quick trips to the grocery store or Starbucks a few miles away, and just ride for fun/exercise. I grew up in Europe and as a kid we biked just about everywhere, and I loved it. I can totally see that sometime in the future I might become a "biker" again, especially when my kids are old enough to join in.

But right now (1) we have NO extra money (many tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills for my daughter, which will hopefully be over with in about a year), (2) I'm not sure what I want in a bike or whether I'll really end up wanting to bike.

So, I'm thinking of getting this bike: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=8399245 (I know it's a men's bike, but it was comfortable for me). I read the comments on here about Walmart shoppers and how stupid we are, and how people on a $100 bike are probably too lame to know how to ride without running people over, etc. etc. so I thought I might add that I made it to the top of my law school class, and just because I'm new to biking doesn't mean I'm a moron

So, my question again is, what's wrong with this bike? If I know that I will most likely end up with a better bike in the near future, and I just need something to test the whole biking to work/around the neighborhood experience out with, will this bike not do the job? If not, why? Should people who don't have $1,000 to spend on a bike never ride a bicycle? I'm not asking that to be an a**, I really am curious about whether you feel like no bike is better than a cheap bike. Honestly, it would be probably four or five years before I would feel like we could set aside $1,000 (or even $500) on a bike for me, and I hate the thought that I should just give up the idea of biking to work until then. As a kid I know I rode the cheapest bike my parents could find, and it seemed okay!

Thanks!