After my bike was stolen, I needed a new bike. Most of the stuff on Craig's List looked stolen (I'm in a high-bike-theft area), and my LBS didn't have any road bikes for <$700.

More power to CigTech.

Contact to buy tubes from Kent.

Hey! I'm not defending the thread only trying to justify where you are coming from. Mind you I don't own this bike. I did and sold it. I preferred something with higher quality components. But... Since you are insulting people for owning it. I was thinking that if you posted a picture of your ride for them it might help them understand where you are coming from. Also... You are a brand new member and have 6 posts. 5 in this thread. People will be people. Obivously by there being a thread like this on a bike forum you had to realize what you were getting into clicking on it. As well there is 37 pages of good posts and bad. It has beat the dead horse. Let people enjoy their bikes. Do you go around on the street and look for people to insult? That's essentially what you are doing.

Sorry to switch topics a little but... I bought a pair of matching sora derailleurs. Front and a long cage rear. I test fitted them on but i was wondering if i need a new chain and shifter cable? Maybe its just me but the chain seems too big now and the cable well... i don't know. I'm actually thinking of getting sora sti shifters along with those. Just wondering what all i need to get it right. And for a side note, i have no previous experience with working with bikes. I got the denali knowing that it has low quality parts. I wanted a new bike that i can work with to increase my knowledge, and this bike is doing the job fine. I've now learned how to adjust derailleurs, brakes, put on rim tape, and a few other minor things. It's not perfect but hey, i like doin my own work, especially if it saves money. I appreciate any advice that can aid me. thanks

well, unless you have the component lying around from a donor bicycle, it probably would have been less expensive to go with the gmc Yukon... it has the sti shifters and a lighter bike frame (see amazon.com for reviews...) it seems to be really highly rated (compared to the denali...) and you can also get it from certain walmarts in your area...

Donny, the Sora deraileurs should work with the stock chain as well as the cables. If you change out to the Sora shifters you will have to.

Well if i buy the shifters i will still have spent less than if i bought the yukon. Weight isn't too big of an issue right now, I'm trying to build up some strength. Plus the denali supposedly has the stronger frame. The derailleurs aren't even on the websites like the denali either. Customizing is fun too, even to the pedals.

On saturday I did my mountain road climb again. I didn't let the speedometer read much over 40. But the good part was on the way up (we're talking 10% grading or worse) I only stopped once and it was only because I had to put a foot down for ballance. Great ride though. I learned a lot last week in a spin class at the gym on taking hills and it translated well in the climb.

Today I'm going to hit a local bike shop and price out some cool stops brake pads, rim tape, and the crank extractor tool. I have the cash for em and I'm ready for a little extra stopping power when doing the downhill part of my mountain ride.

So I go to Walmart to look at a road bike for my 12 year old daughter. I see the Denali, but I also saw the Schwinn Varsity; of the two the Schwinn seemed better, though both were cheaply made, but after all it's for a 12 year old.

yeah, if you get a deal on ebay, thats probably true...

as a sideline note... did anyone know that there is now a "carbon fiber" version of the yukon for around 525.00 that I was kind of surprised to see and walmart sells it (this is also true for the schwinn varsity)... and the sti shifters are for 3 x 8 speed... seems that the sti shifters for the 7 gears are not being manufactured anymore?

oops, seems the "carbon fiber" yukon is a combination of aluminum and carbon seat stays/fork... and
the gearing seems to be l2xr8...

You should have taken her to TRU. They have some cute pink ones... and unlike walmart they actually have the girls road bikes in stock.

Just food for thought.

Atleast you were smart enough not to spend big $$$ on your kids bikes. Most lbs fans around here would burn you alive for considering a non lbs bike (or used bike that was once purchased at an lbs) for anyone. They would question your parenthood as well.

But I'm glad atleast you aren't as rigid as those people. Kudos to you good sir.

where do these people post?

The Advocacy & Safety forum. There's a thread on Toys-R-Us bikes.

Hey Cig aren't you going to write a review for this bike on Amazon.com? I just found out about the GMC Denali last night, and just happened on this thread. Man I don't know if I can do all 37 pages to find out how the bike worked and I been on here reading for over 5 hours (other posts and articles on the Internet).

Just a quick question. Mind you this is not a flame, as I had the bike. How did you hit 40 mph let alone the 51 in your avatar title? I could see 40 pedaling like a madman or CigTech. But the gearing on that bike is sooo low. The 40, was that downhill? The 51 that was definately downhill right?

He lives in the hills, so yes it was downhill.

[QUOTE=CigTech]See you can't please all the people all the time. I have a "what you call" higher end bike. I got this one so I would have something to ride while rebuilding the other. I seen the Denali and was looking at the reviews. But the reviews for the Denali just said that the bike was a POS. So I wanted to get a full review that give all the good and bad on this bike. So take it for what it is.

I have a couple of questions:

1)Can you run down the approximate cost of the components you've replaced, or plan to replace, to date?
-If I've been following you correctly, it seems you've mentioned brake levers/shifters, front and rear derailleurs, crankset and/or chainrings, tires, rim tape, and have had to special order tubes to fit your wheels. Have I missed anything or added anything in error?

and

2)What was wrong with your other bike that prevented you from riding it and have you fixed it yet?

jmarkley710, it's a true mountain road not a hill at all. I ascend about 800 feet in under 2 miles to where the road dead ends at the top of the mountain. The downhill is great. I only hit that top speed once because I was stupid. I pedaled hard into the start of the last major downhill segment on the way down just to see how fast i could go. I won't be aiming to top my top speed anytime soon though I'm sure I could if I really wanted to. Would I survive though?

Keeping it under 40 even without hard pedaling at the start is a true test of anyones brakes. Before I hit that road again I'll get myself some cool stops or some other better brake pads.

Todate so far, I have changed out only the rear and front deraileurs (10.99 for the front and 14.99 for the rear). That's it. I did order the tubes but have not put them on yet. Four tubes 3.00 each from Kent. know as for the RSX shifters. I have not recivied them yet. I ordered them form someone out of the USA. So I have been e-mailing them and they are tring to track them now. Rim tape 10.00. Set of tires 17.98.

So the total so far is only $65.96. Did not add the shifters because I don't have them yet.

Well, whether you've actually received them or not isn't the point - you've paid money for them in order to replace the shifters and brake lever that were on the bike.

My point is this: I think you've done nothing but - at best - show that the Denali has an adequate frame, but haven't really shown that it is an adequate bike. After skimming threw your initial posts, I noticed that within 2 weeks after buying the bike, you admitted that the following parts were inadequate and should or would be replaced:
-Brake pads and calipers
-Handle bars
-Shifters
-"gears" Chainrings and cassette
-chain
-pedals
-tires
-Did I miss anything?

You've also had to adjust spoke tension, derailleurs, brakes, Brake hoods, and re-grease pedals.
None of which are things that someone who knows little to nothing about the difference between a good and a crappy bike are likely to be able to do themselves.

You've spent in the neighborhood of $300 total so far, and I'm sure more upgrades will follow as you replace all the other components you found lacking (not to mention the innertubes you will have to special order for the life of your wheelset). Do you still think that's such a great deal?
Can you honestly recommend to anybody to go to walmart, or anywhere else, and buy one of these type of bikes new and still feel like they are spending their money wisely for an adequate bike? Remember, cost and price aren't necessarily the same thing.

Now, I won't argue that if you find one of these bikes out at the curb on trash day, or at a garage sale, or on Craigslist for very cheap, and you've got a healthy spare parts bin, that you can't put something together that will get you where you're going. However, to suggest that buying this bike, or ones like it, make for a good entry level bike to start cycling, is completely ludicrous. You've only had the bike for ~8months and have (or will have) spent more on the upgrades to make it adequate than the original price of the bike. If you need something right away while you look for something better or rebuild your current bike, fine, but take it back before the 90day warranty for chrissakes so you don't completely waste your money!

This has been an absolutely entertaining thread, but it has done absolutely nothing to show that these walmart bikes are worth the time and money. There are good, cheap bikes out there. This ain't one of them.

I wonder what kind of bike your Peugot would be if you spent the money on it?

u1st, you have reading comprehension issues I take it?

That's cool, hey I have a problem remembering every persons name. I'm just not a name person.

He said he spent $66 so far. The bike cost about $162 with tax (for me anyway). So my math says he spent around $228... not $300.

As for his opinion when he first got the bike and thought things would break or need replaced... and now some 3000+ miles later he hasn't had to replace nearly anything.... well, I think like him, you should be open to having your mind changed. Personally, I've bought things before that I though wouldn't last but I needed it right then and so I bought something cheap that ultimately lasted a lot longer than I ever imagined.

One example... tools. Like many LBS-proponents (which if you are a used bike guy then how do you expect to find a used bike that doesn't require some kind of servicing which you'd have to do to it? So people are incapable of doing some basic stuff to the denali but they can be experts at buying a used bike and fix it up? It makes no sense)...

anyway like many LBS-proponents I had a thing for tools due to how I was raised. I was raised to buy craftsman tools above all else because they had that policy of if you break a wrench you bring it to sears and get a free replacement. This kept me from buying some cheaper tools. Heck a lot of my tools today still are craftsman, but I've also in a pinch picked up some cheap tools from walmart and none of them have broken or given me any troubles. I had a misunderstanding of the quality of what I was buying, but what I bought lasted anyway.

So, try to open your mind a bit to reality. This thread isn't a couple days old and it didn't start with cigtech thinking the bike would last him as long as it has. So it's been 8 months or whatever.. it's also been 3000+ miles... a lot of views can change in that amount of time and that amount of riding.

Any bike is going to evenually need some new tubes and tires. You don't have to buy them from Kent. You can use standard tubes, however the valve just doesn't stick out as much (someone else here used regular off the shelf tubes without a problem) or you can get valve extenders for a buck or two. You can use off the shelf tires. You don't have to change the deraileurs... I still have my factory ones on there. Sure rimtape is a good buy... $10 for two wheels worth shouldn't brake the bank. Expecially compared to buying a much more expensive bike at an lbs and after that first year starting to see the charges for bike servicing.

The denali is a great first road bike or a good backup bike. It would IMO make a great commuter. You can get where your going, not throw a ton of money at the bike, and you get to learn just about everything there is to know about bicycle maintenance (parktools.com is of great help!). I'd feel better learning on a $150 bike than putting $600+ into a bike and be afraid to do anything to it for fear of fubar'ing it. Which would mean spending a lot of money over the bikes life at lbs's getting service work done.

I don't know I have been riding my new fuji touring bike for almost two months, bought from a LBS. However in the first few weeks. I had to:
Replace the brake pads from and back in addition to adjust them.
Get the quill stem tightened because they didn't lock it down
Get a rear bolt replaced on the rack that was extending over the cassette, no shifting for me!
Rewrap the bars with new tape
New pedals
New Tires
New Rim Tape
Multiple trips to get broken spokes fixed/wheels trued.
Multiple Derailleur adjustments
New Seat


After a month
New hand built wheelset, gave up on LBS and fuji wheel.

I've put just under 1,000 miles on the bike to date. I spent alot more then the OP did on his bike yet seem have a pretty similar list of problem/upgrades. Even if you take away the poor LBS caused issues I still have spent more money changes then the OP spent overall.

holy crap, be careful! I wouldn't just worry about brakes, debris on the road could do a number on you as well. Just hitting a pebble with my front tire has torqued my front wheel's handling for a second at slow speeds.

That sounds like an incredibly shoddy bike. Wasn't it covered by the warranty? How do pedals break after only a few weeks?