gpsblake

My Walmart made bike made it 2,000 miles from South Carolina to Texas without any mechanical problems with the bicycle at all. The local Walmart here pays an hourly wage to the bike assember here, a much higher hourly rate than the LBS pays for their help.

Most parents can't afford nor are willing to plop down $500 on a bike for a child.

trackhub

Good for you and the bike. The fact remains that most (not all) department store bikes will be ridden very little. They'll spend most of their existence in the back of the garage, or stashed behind the house. Then, after a few years, they'll be sold at a yard sale, or take the aforementioned trip to the landfill.
But, if you can ride a long distance on one, more power to you.


You're right. Generally, most parents will look for bicycles for the kiddies at Walmart, Sears, Kmart, etc.

At your local Walmart, are the people doing bicycle assembly under pressure to produce a certain number of bicycles per hour?

SirMike1983 

I suppose we get what we pay for in some form or another. (provided you're not getting totally ripped off that is...hehe)

Walbikes are a plus if the kid takes up riding as a result of the bike. And if it's one that breaks all the time... takes up bicycle repair as well. THERE! A hobby AND a skill all at once! Two birds, one 800 lb trebuchet stone (sorry for the references again)...

My nephew has a Walbike Mongoose mountain bike. He has fun (but isn't that the point in the end) with it and likes to ride it around the yard. If that's what he wants, that's what he wants. And overall we may as well ride the bike we want to ride (Walbike or not).

remsav

You can take your bike back to walmart to fix any problems you have with it. I messed up the bearings by overtightening the crank (at the time I didn't know I had caused it lol) and took it back and told them I wanted a refund or a fix (about 2months after I bought it)... the mechanic came over and replaced the bearings next day.

I bought 2 walmart bikes and both had brake problems, one bike just destroyed the brake pads... not sure if it was the rim or the setup but it was eating pads. The other had little stopping power in the front brakes, as a novice I couldn't fix it and neither could the "mechanic" at walmart.

Knudsen

I believe paying by the bike would be against US federal law. As for clothes, why wouldn't they were normal clothes? Should they cross dress or sumpthin? I'm in a key position in a corporation and I wear a T-shirt and jeans to work. I talk to the pres in his office weekly or more. I get outstanding reviews.

Someone said Walmart sells value. That's really true. You will be hard pressed to find a better new bike for $150 anywhere else. When you are the largest reseller in the US, you get sweet deals from manufactureres. I'm thinking the mountain bikes are meant to be ridden on the streets and most of them will be. The mongoose warranty says if you use the bike for racing or jumping, warranty is void. I'll wager the suspension will hold up to it's intended use most of the time or get free repair.

Walmart sells junk. For short periods of time. When they get too many returns, they fix it. I'll bet todays Walmart bike is 10 X better than 5 years ago.

We need a Walmart bike forum!

geo8rge

You should have talked to the manager. If you think you can add value to the product you might try to talk to Wal*Mart corporate. There may be a high paying job for you.

Knudsen

In the end, we will all work there. Once all other biz's have shut down, we will all be Walmart employees. We will live in the communes above the store with rent deducted from our paycheck. We will all get paid the same and there will be plenty of free gruel for all! We will all have Walmart bikes. Resistance is futile.

twahl

Nope. That's how I get paid as well. Of course I put my name on every bike I build, and my name means more to me than the pay.

My understanding is that in most cases the bikes at department stores aren't built at the store. They have contracts with assembly outfits that do pay by the piece, much less than I make from what I understand. They get assembled, then sent to the stores. This may vary from location to location but that's what I understand happens here.

remsav

Walmart bikes are great for the price, just make sure the brakes and other parts are ok, and take it back for any problems. Think of it this way, instead of sending 20bucks a month or 1 cup of coffee a day to feed a hungry kid and send him to school in 3rd world countries, you are doing that by buying at walmart, creating jobs and opportunities.

古強者死神

Twahl hit it right on the head. Thats pretty much what happens under trained bike novi's usually put them together by the bike, so they turn them out as fast as posible to make a good paycheck. While a LBS or higher payed bike mechanic actually cares about there work and your safty.

I think the bikes at the Walmart down the road from me are assembled pretty well for a department store, but I didnt really get to fully inspect it. Also there would be no better test than actually riding it.

0_emissions :=)

The reason they sell these 'full suspension' bikes, is because that's what SELLS. Kids and younger teens see the pros riding sweet full suspension rigs off road gaps, over ladder bridges, bobming down trails at over 60 MPH. So, thats' what they market. Wal-mart know that a lot of parents can't afford a new DH/freeride rig like a Specialized demo 9 or something, so they buy the crap from them. Would you actually take down a course? Of course not, you'd kill yourself. almost all are rim brakes(and poor quality pads, at that), and I only saw ONE with a mechanical disc brake, no name brand no less. They could build decent cheap rigid bikes like most builders used to, but, $$$$ (flushing down drain sound)

gpsblake

Just a few comments.

1) About Walmart bike assemblers. My local Walmart pays them by the hour. But bike assembly isn't a full time job at my Walmart except during the Christmas season. The bike assember here does other duties at Walmart when not assembling bikes. She's pretty good at assembling bikes and works on cars in her spare time.

2) But I can't say the same for our local K-Mart. A lot of bikes there are assembled horrible. I'm not saying all Walmarts are good and all K-marts are bad but I can only speak from my experience.

3) Walmart has an excellent return policy. 90 days.

4) If Walmart went to a policy of not assembling bikes, there would far more dangerous bikes as many layman wouldn't know how to assemble them properly. I remember Sears in the 70s didn't assemble bikes unless you paid for it.

5) Walmart bikes are okay. But if you want to keep up with a pelaton or race or fit in with the road fashion junkies, these bikes are not for you. But for the rest of us, the bikes work fine.

6) Dick's Sporting Goods is another place I like buying at. They have a full time assembler there who will even do repairs and tune ups.

canuckbiker

I've had a while to think about what I did, and I agree that I should have never done it. I was just so frustrated with the assembly quality, that I didn't even think about the liability issues. It is not something that I ever plan to do again.

SirMike1983 

No harm, no foul in this case man. It's a case where it's a decent thing to do- you are actually helping someone out- but the way things work out, it's just not a good idea in the end. No good deed goes unpunished, I think in this case.

Knudsen

Everyone does bad things. Bad people fell good about it. Good people feel bad about it.

Now, if you only regret your actions because of possible liabilities, if you still don't worry about the feelings of the assembler or other Walmart employees, then have I got a deal for you!

I-Like-To-Bike

Agree with your comment that Walmart and other inexpensive "department store bikes" are not for the Stylemen, or road racer/fashion types. I think you will find that a large number of the BF posters do fit into that hot shot grouping and are not the "us" who are looking for either value or practicality for typical recreational/commuting/utility/fun bicycling scenarios. Hence the constant drumbeat on BF about "stupid Walmart people" and the "stupid people" who buy there, and the "stupid people" who ride such bicycles. Also explains the constant rant on BF to get thee only to an LBS to buy bicycles that the "real/true/serious" bicyclists use.

sgtsmile

People who ride walmart bikes or the equiv are not stupid. It depends on what you want to use the bike for.

1. want to go fast? want to do some "real" off roading (like surviving on the local trail system we have)? want to go on long road rides at any kind of speed? then forget walmart bikes. That is not what they are made for, and using them for that is like trying to use a k car on the autobahn and then complaining that you get dusted by bmws.....

2. on the other hand, want an inexpensive (notice I deliberately did not say cheap) bike that you can use for in city commutes? a walmart bike might the just the ticket. They are disposable - which is good if you live in a northern climate and ride year round and operate a car. Salt ruins bikes. It makes no sense to buy a 1000 dollar commuter and ruin it in a couple of winters. Buy a 250 dollar lump and ruin it instead. Personally, I would buy the 1000 dollar bike and ruin it IF I did not own a car too since for me, the pleasure of riding a good bike outweighs the benefits of saving a few dollars - especially if I have no car payments or maintenance to cover. The reality is that most (many) people who commute by bike also own a car so it is not cost effective to ruin a "good" bike and maintain a car, but grinding up an inexpensive bike is more justifiable. Only caution I would have is to make sure that the brakes work on the department store bike! (coolstop makes pads for almost any application, and can fix it if the brakes are otherwise sound). However, if your commute is like mine - 60km round trip - a heavy bike is not on. (Yay for schools with staff showers and indoor bike lock ups for staff!!!) That commute starts next week when the jake the snake gets the rack and bags... IF it ever warms up!!!

3. As well, a department store bike makes sense for kids. They grow. My daughter will likely go through a series of bikes from such places as she grows. If she decides she likes it, I will buy her a really nice bmx and install some xtr v brakes on it (a track not trick bike i mean) so she can actually stop. I will then teach her to ride off road on it. The beauty of it is that this would be a long term bike, so a little outlay is ok. It gives me the opportunity to teach her to care for something special. This is not a bike for locking up outside. However, I am not willing to dump over 1000 dollars a year into a bike she will outgrow in one season. Her "hack around bike" can just be that, a hack around bike, which costs less..... When her size stabilizes, if she wants to, we will go shopping....

4. Some cannot afford "good" bikes (it takes me years to get one, so I can relate to this! steal my car, ok, I wont care much, touch my bike? I will go ape! It comes out of my very limited discretionary money, and is not insured as heavilly as my car is). Fine, glad walmart is there then. Better to ride those than nothing! This does not make them "wonder bikes" by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a perfectly legitimate use for them!

This does not address the OP problem though, that of crappy assembly. There is no excuse for that. If a department store cannot assemble them right, and cannot or will not pay someone properly and see to their training so that the bike is safe to operate, then they have no business selling them. People who know nothing of bikes buy them and assume they are safe. Often they are not. This is like selling a car and claiming it is safe when you cannot be bothered to hire a licensed mechanic to ensure it is sound. If that happened, the shop would be closed and fined. I think it all comes down to how bikes here (north america) are viewed by those making laws, as just toys.

cudak888 

Confession: Sometimes I adjust the brake adjuster (or derailer adjuster) barrels on the GMC Denalis over at our W-M.

Of course, I always pull it out as if I were an interested customer, then I ride it a few feet to test the drive and brake system. Of course, the brakes are not even contacting the rims, and the indexing is completely off, with the result that I have to stop the machine with my feet.

Following this hazardous scene, I make some quick, casual adjustments to the adjusters on the RD and brake calipers, and follow this with another test, in where the bicycle performs perfectly. Look the bike over carefully, then put it back on the rack because of the poorly adjusted handlebars.

I'm not condoning or suggesting that everyone do this, but it's a less obtrusive way of making those adjustments. I do it only when I'm quite bored waiting for the rest of my party to finish shopping.

Take care,

-Kurt

SirMike1983 

That's the thing- you "can't do it" but if you do you might end up saving someone's neck. But then again it can always come back to bite you, despite the best intentions. Damned if you do, damned if you don't (well if you want to keep someone from breaking their neck). heh

unkchunk

Another thing Walmart has is cheaply assembled babies. They have shelves full of them in pink boxes, row after row. I took a close look and most of them are made out of plastic and have no pulse... nor DNA. What kind of parent would buy one of these poorly assembled babies is beyond me. They should go to the local hospital where real people get their babies. Walmart's a friggin joke. It sells cheap bikes and cheap babies!

古強者死神

Yeah but atleast they have the 90 day no questions asked return policy... I tried to take my kids back to the hospital and they wouldnt take them.

^^ no sutch thing as a cheap baby I have the bills to prove it.

Tom Stormcrowe

I have to admit, at our local Wally World, the assembler actually does a pretty good job. His idea is that he builds the bike as if his son or daughter were going to be riding it. I appreciate that particular attitude and he's actually paid out of pocket to pick up some training at the LBS for assembly and adjustment. I certainly won't knock this assembly guy!

DigitalQuirk

I had one of those $99 10-speed specials from Zellers back in the 1980's. It was black and looked beautiful. Sadly, even after being properly adjusted, it had problem after problem. Eventually, the forks broke. Now, it did have a lifetime frame and fork warranty, but I returned it instead for a full refund, firmly believing I could do better with a $20 yard sale special. Instead, I bought a $600 Miele from a specialty shop.

As I have matured, I realize now that my problem has been that I've always compared a cheap department store bike to a cheap bike shop bike (can't get a new road bike today from a bike shop locally for less than $900). Had I spent $50-$100 more on a better bike from Zellers (or Canadian Tire), I probably would have ended up with something satisfactory for my needs; though I was real spoiled by that Miele. My guess is, when people here think about department store bikes, they think about those $99 specials that nobody who values their life should ride.

Now, I don't normally shop at Wal-Mart, since they encourage the "Race to the bottom." However, sometimes they get things that I can't find anywhere else, and usually for a limited time. For instance, I purchased a collection of Star Trek ships made by Johnny Lightning for $4.92, which all included a Start Trek patch! Now, I haven't worked up the courage to stitch one of those patches on my jean jacket, but I proudly display these mini models, each with their own cast iron display stand. I digress. On one of my visits, I saw an aluminum frame road bike for $200 Cdn! It wasn't any lighter than the ChroMoly frame Miele I had just rebuilt (if anything, it was heavier), but I can't find a road bike anywhere else except the $900+ ones at the bike shop. They also had a $150 folding bike.

Being a parent, I'm also interested in making sure my son is on something appropriate for his age and still safe. I find for him the best value is still at local yard sales, where these various department store bikes can be had very gently used for $20. They usually need adjusting and a few parts replaced, but for a growing kid who's going to leave his bike out in the open and ready to steal, it's the only way to go. It also reaffirms my belief that a $20 yard sale special is better than a $99 department store special, since those $99 department store specials rarely last long enough to make it to the yard sale.

Today, I cannot see why someone can't buy a basic fix framed bike for $200 and expect the bike to be of decent quality and last.

As for K-cars, those were some really good cars. Solid, safe, economical, and reasonably reliable. Easy to work on, cheap to maintain and repair. My friend could change the head gasket on his in about 20 minutes. As far as low-cost automobiles go, they were the best. To get a new car for the same price today (and adjusting for inflation), you're stuck with a crummy little Korean-built hatchback that's a pain to work on. A K-car would always get you there; unlike those $99 department store specials.

sgtsmile

They were good as long as you didnt go over 90ish kmph...


Ever see one t boned? passenger door was touching the driver in the one i saw, and the speed was not great....

POS

DigitalQuirk

I don't think they did any worse than other similar sized cars of that era...they always seem to hold their own at the demolition derbies. I recall the Aries being rated as "Acceptable" in the overall crash test ratings. Also, every single one I've ever been in has never had a problem cruising at 110-120 km/h, unless there was something seriously wrong with it.

These were the cars that brought Chrysler back from the brink of bankruptcy, and they sold an awful lot of them. Add to this the fact that people in America won't buy a car that cannot cruise at 70 MPH. Had they been unreasonably unsafe as well, I would think that would have been the death blow to Chrysler.