Saw a 99 dollar road bike at Toys-R-US in Columbia SC. I kid you not and they had both male and female road bikes. It had plastic finger shifters mounted on the handlebars and no quick release tires or quick release seat. Tires were 700x25 Schrader. Center pull brakes instead of side pull which was a huge surprise. They both needed to be adjusted in the brakes, no biggie though. Looks like the plastic finger shifters wouldn't last long but again, a simple replacement part.

99 bucks.

I remember seeing a dodge branded bike a while back looking for a clearanced toys-"r"-us.
It was a road bike, had the classic steel frame, drop bars with brakes and extenders.

So the wheels and seat are less likely to be jacked AND you can probably refill those tires at most any gas station. so...Your point was?

Ok guys did the morning shift at the wifes store. At 5:30 tonight I'll be at my store. The best part is the double commute in one day.

On the way to work today, a SUV pulled up next to me and they said "Nice bike". I said thanks and told them they could go to Wal-Mart and get one for $158.11. Then one guy said that the bike looks like one of the 800 to 900 dollar bikes. Then The light changed and off we wnet to the next light about 1/2 mile up the road. I was doing 26.1 and kind of out run him to the light. the guy pulled up next to me and said "Man your fast" I told him that I did not want to be late for work then took off.

Denalis is still run flawless. Not a problem with it. So far I have 813.7 miles on it.

No point, just describing the bicycle. I would consider the valves on that bike to a be a plus although I have read that a Schrader value on thin tires makes the rim weaker. I would prefer quick release seat and front tire just to transport the bike easier but it's no big deal to carry a wrench around either. I always carry a quick tool with me on my local rides.

This Toys R US bike wasn't on clearance either. Had no extenders but was a steel frame. Frankly, it weighs a lot.

I still think my bike is going to be the Walmart Schwinn Varsity for $199, mainly because I've had nothing but good experiences with the Walmart Schwinn's and you can't beat the return policy. One thing I forgot to mention, the Walmart Varsity comes with clips (leather), I would like to experiment with using clips on my pedals. However, the West Columbia Walmart has had 2 Denali's out for over six months (with one obviously returned) and I might try to negotiate a lower price and if I can get one for a good discount, I'll get the Denali and just do what CigTech did to make room for my light and gps unit.

I wouldn't tour with a road bike though but I figure for local rides where I avoid the dirt roads, it's worth a go to see an increase in performance.

Cig,

Just wondering here: how is the wheelset holding up? I was actually thinking of buying one of these if only for the wheels (schraeder stem makes sense on long tours) and would like to keep a cheap set around as spares.

Man I wish I was in Florida.....

C

His says that they were doing good a while back.

There are holding up better than I thought they would. I just check them out yesterday and they are still round and true. And the rest of the bike is holding up better then I thought it would as well.

I just order some Tufo Valve Extender here is the web site:
http://www.biketiresdirect.com/produ...2337&c=5639835

Well, did the commute to work today. the breaks are still work better then I had hoped for after reading the online reviews. I did notice a little delay when shifting from 3rd to 2nd gears. So I have to check it out tomorrow. Other then that the Denali is way passed want I thought it was worth.

BTW, On the commute to work today a road a roadie into the ground. We had a tailwind of 12 mph gusting to 18 mph. and I passed him at 34.6 mph. Of course he tried to keep up but failed when I went to 7th gear (I only use the 48th chainring, So to me the Denali is only a 7 gear bike). When I got it up to 36.8 mph I left him behind in a hurry.

Cig, 1st , nice work on the review. No matter whatever specimen you
are experimenting on, it's the methodoglogy that speaks, which you get it I think. For
those who laugh at the nature of the bike, think about how much you've taken a price
tag for granted.

2nd, it's not about how much a bike is, it's about how much you can get out of it with the money.

3rd, I don't think the manufacturing difference between PR and TW is way dissimilar, like one of the poster mentioned. This is obviously biased, indicated by his political view IMO, and without support.
In fact, I know PR already overtook TW to be the main factory of High-end frames including carbon fiber. By "overtook" I mean the frames that can be made in TW can be made in PR as well. And obviously a larger number of this level of frames are made from PR due to the cheaper labor. You probably dont know much about bike industry.

4th, Cig, I don't agree with upgrading the denali with too high end components. I mean, it's definitely ligitimate and reasonable to, say, replace the wheelsets, crankset and derailer. But to a certain degree. Just to maximize the performance with this frame, you don't need to go with $800 components. there are tons of cheaper yet decent gadets out there that will make your denali a bulletproof. isn't that just what you want out of it?

Nice ressearch.

Whether people will buy the bike in question is not the point. The point is, IMO, cig is trying to prove that the denali is not as crappy as 99.9% people expect at the first glance. And it actually has the potential to be upgraded.

You should get a pro contract.

I wanted to do the race to replace lance. But do to my synthroid, that I have to take, it would make it very hard to pass the drug test that the racers have to take.

That's really speaking my heart out. those "elite" trying gain self-esteem by comparing their LeMond
with other's wally. There is no point at all. Their logic is like I've got more money, so I got an hummer, and it's more bomber proof than your dodge. So I am elite and your loser.

And notice that, there has been no reported problems from most of the components from the denali, which means, with some replacements, say the crankset and the DR, I think it's gonna last quite a while.

What's the mileage total up to?
My WW mtn bike commuter is over 1200 miles with no problems.

I now have 913.7 miles on the Denali.

The delayed shift from 3rd to 2nd was caused by sand in the derailer. So cleaned it out and all is good again.

WhaChu Talkin' 'bout? Cig Tech just reported a glitch caused by sand in the derailler. That would NEVER happen to a Lemond or similar REAL Bike owned by a REAL Cyclist, eh?

my god, the ego.

Don't tell me your bike computer costs more than your bike. ;)

It's not just that, it also comes with a warranty and is probably easy to return. Compared to an older, high end, Al road bike for the same price, it's an excellent value for someone getting their feet wet. If they go chasing older bikes w/o knowing what kind of problems to look for and expect, they can get screwed. Not that Wally's doesn't assemble more than their fair share of bikes incorrectly... But the warranty more than makes up for it.

G'day Cig,

I'm thoroughly enjoying this nice little thread you got going, even though we don't have the bike you're riding here in our stores.

It took over 420 posts but I think you've just about 'dropped' the non-beleivers in the peloton and are leading the Denali fan club breakaway group :D

No the computer I'm using is the Planet Bike Protege 8.0. It was only $16.99 + shipping. BTW it is a nice little basic bike computer.

Hey Cyclaholic,

I don't know about leading a fan club, but I think your on to something there. :D

There is alot I want to due to the Denali to improve it, But I will wait until after the test of 2000 miles. Then I'm going to change the Chainrings to 53th/39th. It has a 48/38/28 chainrings. And kick up the Cassette to a 7 speed 13,14,15,17,19,21,24. From the 14/28 Cassette. Then add the Shimano ST-3300 7 speed Break/shafters. And drop in some light high speed hubs. Then I'll be back up to my reg. speeds. And put a one piece handbars.

Sounds good! though I reckon you'll get a heck of a lot more than 2000 miles out of the stock bike if you wanted to, the way you're going. I for one would love to see just how much life you can get out of her before a major component failed. You can go to the higher gearing as sprockets & chainrings wear out, speaking of which have you been keeping a check of chain wear? I for one am curious to see how these bottom end drivetrain components do under a serious rider like yourself - that would definitely be relevant information to many of us!