wild animals

i went to walmart the other day to check out that bike and see if they had 700c tires, but they didn't have either, so i was out of luck. if you don't have any spare tubes, get some before you need them! if you get a flat with a slow leak, you might not realize it until after your bike shop is closed for the day. i just got a 700c bike and i love it, but i hate that the tubes are so much less common. no one in my town stocks them.

DVC45

Please keep us posted on how this thing holds up. Looks like its a good recommendation for someone who want to try bicycle commuting for cheap.
Thanks in advance!

DVC45

I use 27" tubes on my commuter with 700x40 tires and it works just fine.

student_cyclist

Probably to no ones surprise, I ended up having to return my Mongoose Paver to Walmart. There were a few problems I was having. The first is that the brakes use a screw to tighten or loosen the spring. Since the spring is housed in plastic, the screw just went straight through the plastic and didn't tighten the spring. This causes major problems with my brakes especially with a wobbly wheel.

The second was more my fault. I thought I could true my wheel by simply tightening all of the nipples as far as they would go. If anyone knows of a GOOD guide with PICTURES or VIDEO that explains how to true a wheel I would be very appreciative. Doing a google search for "how to true a wheel" yielded several useless sources that I couldn't follow. To compound the problem, I used a wrench and ended up stripping a few of the nipples. I also ended up with a more wobbly tire than when I started.

Thankfully, Walmart allowed me to return it anyway. Due to this, I now have the chance to start over. I'm eyeing these two higher end bikes from Walmart:

https://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=9207802

and

https://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=8399249

The first is 7 speed, cheaper ($50) and made out of steel (heavier), and has stainless steel spokes. The second is only 3 speed, more expensive, but made out of aluminum (lighter). I don't care too much about weight, but I do like the stainless steel spokes as my bike will get rained on. Most important though is the quality. Which do you think is the better bike?

I realized that some kind of seat post suspension is important to me as I have to ride on poorly kept roads. This was a real source of pain with the Paver. Both of the bikes I linked to have suspension though

cooker

Congratulations on trying to do your own maintenance even though the first attempt was a failure (seriously!). There's a lot of info on bike maintenance on sheldonbrown.com . Sheldon Brown was a widely admired bike expert who sadly died recently.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/truing.html

Park Tools also has a do it your self website.

In general you get a bit better quality if you pay a bit more. Neither bike wil be hurt much by rain over the year or two before they wear out from use.

devildogmech

For only a little more, you can get a TREK 7000. Its a base model bike from TREK, but its a QUALITY bike.... Stay away from ANYTHING from Wallyworld.

Didn't we go over this?

student_cyclist

Yes and no. While I'm sure the more expensive Trek 7000 is a better bike, it lacks fenders and a rack. You may say, "well just put on your own". Doing this, however, will set you back 70 dollars, effectively raising the price to around $380. The other thing, is that if you buy from Walmart.com where I live, there is no sales tax. With the Trek 700 including your panniers, fenders, and sales tax, you'll be at about $400. This is a far cry from the $200 Huffy and $250 Schwinn.

Besides that, while the Schwinn may be from Walmart, it's still a Schwinn, and presumably something with a little better quality than what you may normally except from most of the bikes at Walmart. I can't speak for Huffy, however, since I haven't heard anything good or bad about their build quality.

My question still stands though, which bike, of those two, is the better? Is it clear cut or is one better over the other for specific purposes/uses/situations? Do Huffy bikes usually good decent build quality compared to Schwinn?

savethekudzu

I think you mean "less cheap."

I'd go with the Schwinn. If the spokes aren't stainless steel and they do begin to rust, you can replace them later. (For hills, I'd generally prefer to have more gears than 3, but that Huffy weighs almost 50 pounds! That alone will make it hard to get up hills.)

Another good bike-repair site, btw:

https://www.utahmountainbiking.com/fix/

You said the bike would get rained on: to minimize that possibility, don't store it outside unprotected! If it must be stored outside, at least get a tarp or something to cover it from direct rainfall.

Mr York

I have to store mine outside right now and I use a tarp. It makes a big difference. Ones bike will stay fresher much longer under a tarp than just naked to the night air and moisture. So +1 on the tarp or cover idea.

riddei

I don't think the quality of one would be any higher than the other. And you may not find this helpful, but I would not personally buy either of these. NOT because they are from Walmart, but because they both have suspension forks. The suspension fork is not needed unless you are doing serious off road stuff(more than bike trails). The suspension soaks up your energy that you are trying to put down to the road.

That, and they're from Walmart (had to say it).

student_cyclist

I realize that some of the effort in pedaling goes into shock resistance but, like I said before, I have to ride on poorly kept roads which have numerous potholes, small cliffs, small trenches, and bumps. Not having a suspension on my Paver was really hurting me. So I would be completely willing to sacrifice extra power for shock absorbers. The first LBS I went to was very rude and unhelpful to me though I might have just gotten a bad person. I'm going to try another LBS when I have more time after exams. I was looking at something like the Schwinn Voyageur 7, is that any good? I was pretty happy having 7 gears on my Paver as I commute over mostly flat (but like I said poorly kept) terrain.

riddei

Schwinn Voyageur 7, best bike you've mentioned thus far

HoustonGal

I think the Schwinn will be fine for what you want to do, but I just wanted to point out that you don't need suspension to be comfortable on a bike.

A good steel alloy frame (or fork) can really soak up bumpy roads. I too, was skeptical about this, until I got myself an old steel framed road bike. Wow, it was a huge difference from the aluminum framed bike I owned.

And suspension seatposts, while comfy, may have a dangerous side. I swear I am not making this up: I was in my LBS, buying a rear blinkie light. A cyclist on some kind of Trek stopped by with a flat and wanted the shop to change it. Mechanic grabbed the bike by it's suspension seat post to lift it up on the stand and CRACK! the seatpost snapped in half. We all stared in horror. The shop owner told me that happens more often than it should.

PunkMartyr

Get the Schwinn and don't look back. Only the biggest bike nerds will dare make fun of you. The Huffy on the other hand..

gpsblake

I've currently got 781.01 miles on my Walmart Mongoose Paver since March 10th without any problems outside of normal adjustments and a flat tire I had to patch. It's been a wonderful bicycle for me. Easy to ride, simple, and real comfortable with multiple hand positions available (I like to put my hands on the inside of the bar at times). Nice not having front gears to worry about. It does ride a bit rougher than the front suspension bikes I have ridden in the past from Walmart, like the Schwinn Skyliner.

Remember the biggest key about bicycling is comfort... If you aren't comfortable, you won't be riding much... so if you want a bike with suspension that will make cycling more comfy, get it, and don't worry about it.

I keep detailed stats on my rides and I'll say the Mongoose is about 0.5mph faster than my front and seat post suspension bicycles of the past.... But much slower than my road bike or hybrids.

A real 3 speed, cool !!!! If I don't get a recumbent bicycle next year, I might make this 3 speed my 2009 bicycle. (I buy one every year just for a new ride & usually donate the previous years model to Salvation Army, my 2008 purchase was the Mongoose Paver). I'd like to know the size of the tires, if they are big 700c tires or hybrid sized 700c tires.

gpsblake

Good ole Trek quality..... If this happened to a Walmart bicycle, the cyclo-supremacist would be talking about how cheap the bike was.......

student_cyclist

Thanks again for all of the advice. I went to a local Schwinn bike dealer and ordered a Sierra 7. I tried out the Sierra GS, but the front suspension and adjustable handle bars were very annoying. Mainly the handlebars as it seemed like the more you used it over time the looser they become and the more give they had. The front suspension was also annoying and didn't give me the ground feedback I like. I don't need 21 speeds anyway. So it seemed like an obvious choice to go for the step down, the Sierra 7 which has no front suspension or adjustable handle bars.

I think they said it would be 249 which I think is Schwinn MSRP. Also, I didn't get the Voyageur 7 because my foot kept hitting the wheel when I turned (due to the 700c tires, I had the same problem with the Paver). The 26" fatter tires with more maneuverability are probably better for me since I mostly do city runs.

Does anyone know where I can find a reviews/comments/etc of the Sierra 7 (or Voyageur 7)? I haven't paid for the bike yet (only ordered it through the LBS) and also haven't ridden it since the LBS didn't have one in stock though I did try the GS like I said) I tried a google search for "Schwinn Sierra 7 reviews" and permutations of that, but I'm coming up with nothing.

cooker

Toe strike on the front wheel is fairly normal although it's more problematic on some bikes than others. It only happens at very low speed and you learn to avoid it by only pedaling when the wheel isn't in your way.

thdave

I'd consider a Downtube. It's a folding bike that you see people bring onto trains. It is designed for commuters.

It has some advantages for you--no assembly required, fenders come standard as does a rack, and you can fold it back up and put it on the plane with you when you come back. A storage bag comes with it, although mine ripped up pretty bad.

Prices vary from $300 to $400. I enjoy riding mine--it's riding position is similar to that of a mountain bike. They are fairly fast--faster than my Breezer.

https://www.downtube.com/ss-index.html

The rack is fine for a trunk bag but it is a bit short for a pannier. When I put my grocery pannier on it, I bungie it back so I don't get heel strike.

If you get something like this and don't want to use it after this year, then you sell it when you get home. I'm sure you'd get at least $200 for it. Folding bikes hold their value fairly well.

sonatageek

Posting to an old thread so the same stuff/experience/opinions don't need to be re-hashed. Anyone in the New York City area interested in getting one of the Mongoose Paver bikes, there is a close-outs company selling them on ebay for $75. Local pick up only. Seems like a decent deal at that price. Search for Mongoose Paver on the auction site to find them.

mickey85

https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/bik/1004122190.html

a good bike, albeit a bit heavy, that will take fenders and a rack. It's made of steel, has decent components, and is a steal at the price. Actually, if this thing is still around in a couple weeks, I'm very tempted to buy this thing to build as a "signature bike" for the fall play next year (paint it black and give the kids silver paint markers).

ETA, something else to think of would be Bikesdirect.com (no, I'm not shilling, just giving another choice). You can get a pretty darn good bike for under $400, and even under $300, but you'd have to add fenders and a rack ($60 total if you shop right).

sonatageek

Used bikes are generally the best deal, if you can do the work yourself. I though posting this update about the Paver was worthwhile, because at that price someone not comfortable doing their own wrenching could take it to a bike shop to have it assembled and checked over and still be a price that would be a good value.

And again, it is in the NYC area where used bike prices are higher than much of rest of the country.

Ka_Jun

No. From OP's description, he doesn't have the technical knowledge to see if what he's getting fits his needs. Normally, I'd say, yeah, craigslist, but not in this case.

No Chain

+ 1000 Beat me to it. I picked one up less than a year ago (with the 20% off) and it's A LOT of bike for the money. It's out of your stated range at full price, but still a great bike. Comes with fenders. Tires are surprisingly nice and have reflective sidewalls. Frame is steel. There is only one set of mounting eyelets in the back, so you'll need to get some longer bolts if you intend to mount a rack (I did, works fine). It's very smooth, relatively quick, and totally bombproof. It's a great 'do-everything' bike.

You may need to have an REI close by though...

edit: Oops, I didn't notice how old this thread was when I replied. Oh well, my comments about the Buzz V still stand. It's a great commuter, especially if you can get it on sale.

Ka_Jun

I've been seeing a lot of these cheap commuter rigs in stores. Wonder if they're moving enough to see an increasing trend in bike commuters? I haven't seen any of these in the wild, so to speak.

https://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_1...?keyword=huffy