Originally Posted by DarthSensate

I concur. I have been shopping around for about a month now for a entry level full suspension bike WITH decent components. My 90's GT All Terra Timberline just in the last two months wore out a lot of parts. I'll rebuild it later. LBS bikes are all out of my budget at this time and I decided I did not want to get into a used bike at this time. (I would rebuild my GT if I wanted to stick with used.)

I found that Target generally had a better assembly quality. I compared Wally and Target store from eight different locations around Akron Canton Cleveland, OH. I finally settled on a Schwinn S-25 from Target.

The Schwinn's were decidedly better build and assembly quality than the Mongoose, Next, and Triax brands. Keep in mind that all four are now Pacific Cycles brands (GT is now as well.). Pacific is well established as JUNK bikes.

The Schwinn S-25 I decided on is all aluminum frame, steel Suntour front forks, and, most important to me, ALL Shimano components and trigger shifters. The S-25 from earlier this year had SRAM trigger shifters and derailleurs. This revision of the S-25 just appeared this month at Target. Cost out the door was $267.

I checked it over briefly in store and rode it in the aisles. It appeared to be assembled almost completely correctly (they almost never are in a big box store). Brought it home checked and adjusted the shifters and lubricated EVERYTHING. Bike rides great. Shifters are smooth. Front derailleur needs a bit more tuning. Feels like it may last a while if the crank bearings and sprockets and chain hold up.

Feel free to bash this big box bike as much as you like. I will promptly ignore such trolling. :> and continue to enjoy the ride. I will say that I make no suggestion that this bike can even compare to my old GT or Trek or Giant brand bikes, but for my budget and needs, this looks like money well spent.