Today I thought about buying a Walmart bike
 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Huffy-26-...2&from=/search

I was in Walmart today and I saw this men's 26" wheel Huffy mountain bike for $98. It is essentially a dirt cheap 90's hard tail mountain bike. It is literally so dirt cheap that I realized I could buy it, strip the parts, pitch the bike, and come out with essentially a pile of parts I could use for less than 1/2 price. I realize this will probably offend 98% of the forum, but if you look at my list of parts below, most of them will work fine for kids.

My price - what I might pay if I needed this part for my kid's bike -
Grip shifter grips $10
Tires $15 x2
Grip shifters $20
Freewheel $15
Chain $15
Rear derailleur cage $10
Reflectors $5
Wheels $80ish for the pair
Tubes $4 x2
Brake pads $10
Dork disk $10
Still have the rest for picking small parts - seals, noodles, seat post and seat, bolts, etc.

Maybe you should buy two or three of them then.

Well, so far I bought zero because I just ordered a whole bunch of bike parts for the family, and that added up on me. I still might buy one however. After that, I'm tying up money for diminishing returns on items I might never actually use. I have three kids. The oldest is 10.

The frame is probably the most durable part of the Walmart bike. Seems a shame to throw it away. Your reasoning seems sound enough, otherwise.

One reason to consider keeping the frame: your kids may have some friends who are into getting big air on BMX bikes. Trying those same jumps on even a decent-quality MTB would likely result in a bent frame or bent fork or both. Can't hurt to have a spare frame and fork.

I'd say the frame is generally the best part of one of these bikes. The rest of the parts are what hold them back.

Might be better off looking for a $50 bike at Goodwill or similar?

Yep... I get it. Man, my parts bins are down to Stems and Seeds. I keep an eye out for old bikes at a good price but around my area they have disappeared.Few years ago one of my buddies came over looking for an emergency replacement 700c wheel set. All my wheel sets are 27-1/4. Well we ended up at Wallmart and picked through the 90 USD 700c bicycles till we found a decent set. Yep... 4 years latter he is still using that wheel set. I dont know what he did with the rest of the bicycle...

If you’re bored and need somethin’ to work on for a week or two, buy one !

Barry

If you want to buy junk bike parts you can get them cheap online without having to buy a Huffy. Don't your kids deserve something a bit better, like maybe stuff that works reasonably well and lasts a while?

This is a very logical position, and I'm sure many agree with you. I've certainly bought my kids lots of parts already, of various qualities.

This was a proud dad weekend, by the way. My daughter (8) was riding in a big sloping high school parking lot and started to learn to shift. Also, my son (5) finally learned how to get "off the wall" at the ice rink.

My position is not that my kids don't deserve stuff, but how I can best provide it. Every dollar I save on bike parts is a dollar I can put toward ice skating or summer camp or whatever.

I looked at the Huffy bike in person. It is an adult bike and the parts are a bit nicer than the kid offerings. The brake levers were too big for my kids, so I didn't list them. The brakes themselves were stamped steel garbage, so I didn't list those. The pedals were crap, so I didn't list them. The rear derailleur was the lowest level Shimano, so I didn't list that. The short grips excited me, because they are a little hard to find and $10 a pop. The matching set of brand new 26" treaded tires would work fine for my kids, and they would like them. The grip shifters caught my attention because a cover is missing on the bike my daughter rides. The protector for the rear derailleur caught my eye because the kids throw the bikes down on the derailleurs all the time. The wheels are the big one. They were built to support a grown man, so should do just fine for 10-12 year old kids. They were shiny, attractive, and new.

My kids hand the bikes down as they move up from the 12" wheels to the 16s, the 18s, the 20s, the 24s, and when they get to the 26" wheels, we have a smaller frame that my oldest is riding currently. The trick is making the kids love their beat up, hand me down bikes. When they were little, that meant choosing a spray paint color and some stickers. Now it's new colored cable housings and components. For example, now that my daughter is up to adult-size pedals, I bought her some decent ones that are a multi-colored pink and purple finish. She can take them with her from bike to bike.

In the end, I didn't get the bike. I have lots of parts coming in this week and hopefully won't need too many parts for awhile.

IME the parts don't work well at all because they are the cheapest of the cheapest (cost and quality)
Wrenching on any BSO (friends, relatives and neighbors bring them to me) will show you that. they don't adjust well, wheels don't stay true, screws and nuts are soft and strip out and round, shifters die in months the list goes on

IMHO this is a false economy that will cost more time and money over time (but cheap sunrace thumb shifters are a life saver)

squirtdad ,
You wanna refresh my memory about how much it cost to get a quality bike for your DIL? And I'm gonna bet it is still working as it should. And Wally World was nowhere to bein the discussion. Smiles, MH

You make some good points, however I wouldn’t count on this one being accurate, and the wheels are the most substantial cost of all those parts.

You're a good dad using your acumen to maximize the spare $. When mine were small there weren't many options for higher quality bikes except BMX. We had bikes that all four kids used as one outgrew and another stepped in. I'd repaint and refurbish as necessary.

Excellent strategy, Sir.

I don't know why anyone would need so many replacement parts for other bikes in the first place. The bikes I rode as a kid never wore out anything but tires. What has happened to these bikes that they need all this stuff replaced? Why not buy a used bike shop bike for $100 and ride it as is?

This topic stirs my memory about a good friend calling me over to his house to help sort out a mechanical problem.
Turns out he bought a Walmart mountain bike for, say, $140. He proudly stated he got their high-end model. lol
Spent a few minutes poking around to determine the freewheel assploded during his first miles. Bearings tumbling out everywhere.
Then all the crap components and stuff that could break after taking some modest jolts.
I told him to take it back for a full refund and go to our local shop to get something legit.
Dude could afford most anything, too. Boggled my mind how he equated it with one costing $500 at the LBS.

Nothing happening with the bikes except wear and tear and old age. They were all (except one) curb finds before my three kids even started with them. They just need parts from time to time.

I brought my son's bike into the local bike shop for a replacement front derailleur. The guy at the desk pushed back and said essentially that the derailleur moved freely and could probably be made to work. I told him that it was so rusty and nasty that I didn't care if he could make it work or not - I wanted a shiny new part. He smiled and ordered one.

This is a little different situation, but what Mad Honk is referring is that there are a lot of good older bikes to be found that are higher quality than BSO big box store bikes the longer story to is that he gave a nice older bike to my future daughter in law (PHD student in gravitational physics at purdue) that she uses everyday (except maybe snow days) to commute to class and lab. (He went over and above and even delivered the bike)

I understand what ScottCommutes is try to do maintaining his kids fleet of bikes and balancing bike costs with all the other kids costs. as I noted in another IME all the parts on the bike he did not get, are so sub par (have worked on lot over the years, friends, neighbors, relatives, bike charity) that i think he would have regretted

Congrats on the kids accomplishments..... the need to go into the shop and build you a best dad badge :thumb:

I mean I guess buying the cheapest of the cheap to have broken parts in your bin is something to do? There are so many decent but cheap 90s mountain bikes that would be great for kids or plenty of decent longer lasting kids bikes and I generally see plenty of listings for parts in various places.

I mean I get that the false economy seems good but the bikes aren't of any quality and the parts are not designed to last in any sense of the word. I could understand if the child is literally growing out of the bike in a short time and riding very infrequently and you have the mechanical knowledge to basically overhaul the bike and build it properly but even then time is money and buying a bike to toss it into the trash which is what I would do with one of those things is just silly.

There's also a question if this new bike is likely to donate that many parts that are compatible with bikes they're intended for.

I would not buy the proposed. The op is much better off using a local bike kitchen

My 2 cents, pass on the Walmart bike. My son is 13 and so far I have bought him 2 bikes. The first was a Redline BMX bike circa 2005 that was fairly high end in its day. It was very scratched up but no dents. I replaced the heavily scratched pedals and stem, stripped the paint, new grips, seat and rear brake. I did a full service on it and I’m in it about $150.

Bike number 2 is an extra small (39 cm) 800 series Trek. Gripshift, 26” wheels, rigid fork and it is darned near perfect. Total investment, $80. When I started looking, I saw several similar bikes in the same size, condition and price. He’s growing quite quickly and has an interest in road bikes so that may be the next purchase or I’ll slap together the medium-sized Killer V I have been slow to progress on. I’ve spent an irresponsible amount of money on it but it will fit me if he outgrows it.

A pile of parts that no one wants.

although it can vary and be sporadic (?) - there is typically a good supply of available decent quality used bikes for kids

at one time they were plentiful at flea markets, garage sales etc - now fairly common on craigslist and FB marketplace

can often pass the bike(s) down to the next younger kid(s) - and then when outgrown sell at similar price (or even higher and turn a small profit)