Not all Walmart bikes bad. My commuter bike is a 4 year old Schwinn "mountain" bike with thousands of miles on it. Aside from tune ups and minor adjustments (common for any type of bike), I've never had trouble with it. On rides of 50+ miles, it's done ok. The problem with Walmart bikes is that they are heavier and slower than other bikes. My bike weighs almost 40 pounds and even though I've put slicks on it, it's much slower than my road bike. Commuting on it makes me appreciate my road bike even more. There is no real comparison between them. When I do ride my road bike, it's more like flying than riding . I easily sail past most other cyclists on my 20 pound, skinny tire road bike. Unfortunately, bike thefts are all to common at the college I go to. So I needed a cheap bike I can afford to replace, instead of my much more expensive road bike.