It's very rare for a Supercycle to come back to me, after I have repaired it, even if it is a relatively new model. If it does, it's a new, unrelated problem or it can be traced to abuse.

As you say, you get what you pay for. Which raises another issue about the sales person in a store like CTC. Most know little about bicycles. These salespeople do not query the customer about type of riding that they will be doing. Personally, if I do not have the bicycle that the customer needs, I will educate them and send them to competitor so that he can get something that suits their needs. That customer will be back to me for his accessory, non-warranty repairs and his next bicycle.

In a store like CTC, even if you explain to a customer why they need a better bicycle, 95% of the time they will look at you like you are crazy. The vast majority of CTC customers are driven by cost and little else. They drive it through all kinds of weather, leave it outside, ride up and down curbs and don't do even the most rudimentary maintenance, because that costs money. Kids are even worse. The chain gets rusty, the links bind and they wonder why it's skipping. The cables rust up and they wonder why it won't shift. They drop the bicycle on the detailleur and wonder why the shifting is off. The grease in the bottom bracket gets contaminated after 3 months of riding through puddles and they wonder why it gets noisy. And it goes on and on.

In my experience, the problems with this level of bicycle usually lies with the customer. They are ignorant about bicycles and abuse them. Sure, they are not the best bicycles, but they will do what they are designed for, provided you ride reponsibly and perform the expected maintenance. I honsestly believe that they are as good as the entry level CCM of 35 years ago.