Originally Posted by
aMull
Buy it and you'll find out.
Originally Posted by
darkfinger
Walmart bikes are built shoddily,
Originally Posted by
notfred
Its association with Walmart alone is enough reason for *me* not to buy it.
Originally Posted by
modernjess
IMHO - Buying anything at Walmart is a mistake. I don't care what it is.
These are just a sampling, but as you can tell, many people hate anything associated with WalMart.
Originally Posted by
caroline162
My plan was to buy the bike and have my neighbor teach me about it.... I've changed the tire on my car, does that make me "mechanically competent"?
But seriously, no I don't know anything about bikes right now. I intend to learn what I need to to ride safely (just like my daddy wouldn't let me drive a car until I knew how to jump start it and change the tires!)
Caroline, talk with your neighbor as he is willing to help you get started. The one you had picked is a good bike for the price. Yes, yes, yes, you get what you pay for. But in your situation, it looks like a fine bike to start with. Especially since you are not sure you'll want to really continue. If they know of a good used bike in your price range, then go for it. But the Mongoose looks fine for what you want right now.
I do NOT support my "local" LBS, they won't give me the time of day - and yeah, I bought a bike from them. But at the time they were the only choice around that I knew of. I drive 20 miles (2 towns away) to another bike shop now. But I'm also not a WalMart basher - but I don't shop at WalMart because it is a pain in the a** to go there. I support free enterprise. My neighbor just got a WalMart bike, and that's fine with me. He now
rides and that's what's important. I'm more than willing to help him with it.
I would recommend you pick up a copy of "Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance". It has a heck of a lot of good detail to maintain your bike yourself. It isn't cheap - $24.95, but it is very good. It can help you greatly when trying to figure out what is going on with your bike - and if your neighbor is a 'hard core rider', he may have a copy he'll let you use.
Get what you are comfortable with - $$$ and physically. It is a starter bike. Get out and ride it and after a few months or a couple of years get a better bike if that's what you want.