SRAM cassettes are probably spaced differently than the freewheel this bike came with. [Actuation Ratio matters too. eg 1:1 or 1:2 ratio].

Thanks. These are helpful tips. I have already discovered the rear derailleur is VERY wobbly, and it's making an annoying clicking noise. It's not a shocker, as I did expect these to pop up. I can easily ride it in single-speed mode and be happy with it. I may even covert it to a single-peed ( if i have gears, I will keep mucking around with it..lol).

The brake brackets seem to be made of tin. I will give it a try tomorrow and see how it holds up. I may have to replace the brake components, levers & cables. The chainring, freewheel and the frame seems decent quality, which i didn't expect. Time will tell more. Will provide more updates.

Thanks

Assuming that RD and cogset have Shimano style cable pull and spacing, then the MRX will work just fine.

weird, why does cheap bikes come with steel chainring and cogs? Most expensive and high end bikes seem to come with aluminum chainrings. My Surly LHT came with Aluminum chainrings, but the frame is steel, so does weight really matter when it comes to chainrings (steel vs alumninum)? I personally would prefer Steel chainring/cogs over aluminum but you can't even get em anywhere...

I prefer steel small and mid rings on my MTBs. Many of the good ones only come with steel small rings, though.

I've never shopped for steel road rings. EDIT: just looked at your LHT. I bet you could find a steel little ring for that at the very least. What's the crank make/model?

Almost all Cogs are steel. A few are titanium. Aluminum cogs have been tried before, I dunno if anyone's doing 'em right now.

You can get good quality steel chain rings but they would cost more than the bike you have there.

Surly stainless rings are about $40.00 each... without the cranks... so factor in a few more beans for that.

Sora chain rings are steel and if it was a road bike a crank with rings would run about $80.00.

Expensive bikes come with very well made, and light, alloy chain rings.

That Roadmaster looks like par for the course of the cheapest mountian bikes you can buy at Walmart Target etc. If you don't ride them hard and don't expect it to shift to all gears you will be happy with it as just a bike to get around. I think most of those cheap grip shifters I have seen broken are because of a crash or other abuse. They feel really cheap though but if they do break are easily replaceable. As was mentioned before the most scary part of some of these bikes is the brakes. Those canti's are often very weak and so there is some danger there. Once agin if you are just casually riding around never going superfast or extreme at all this bike will do just fine with appropriate low expectations. If you have parts that wear out just watch the trash and you can get a donor bike for free. lol but seriously...

I was wrong, my bad. I meant to say stock surly chainrings are aluminum.

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/long_hau...omplete/#specs

Crankset: Andel, Forged arms, Silver. Aluminum rings, 110mm BCD, 48-36-26t

Stainless steel would have been nice, but the aluminum chainrings shjould last for a while, I guess.

Thanks for pointing it out.

PS: what is alloy? Mix of steel and some other metal?

Well, not sure what the BCD of the small ring is, it looks like it's probably 74mm, which I can't find any steel rings for.

Alloy can be a combination of any two or more metals. In the bike world it's typically code for Aluminum alloy.

I have never been in a "Walmart"
But I did go to "K Mart" once or twice, and a "Caldor's" and A "Zare" and a "Mongomery-Ward"...

I would think that a cheapo-department store bike might not allow you to develop a love for cycling.
Especially if it is heavy, ugly and often broken.
For my money I would buy a good used, lightweight older steed..preferably one w/o ANY parts made in China what-so-ever.
Older Japanese stuff can primo.. yard sale Ebay etc.
BTW some are of the opinion that Walmart ruined what was once known as "Main Street"
I don't shop there.
but that's just me..

Mom and dad had matching Hawthorne 3-speeds from Monkey Wards, they weren't too bad a bike as I recall. Just a tad below a Raleigh Sports I reckon.

Good job!
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/%7Erkhosla/cookie.jpg

I wouldn't say Walmart did it. It's our (collective) tolerance for offshoring jobs under the guise of "free markets."

There's nothing "free" about forcing Americans to pay for sewers, trash pickup, air- and water-quality standards, animal and child welfare, and then allow them to "compete" against those who use their gutters as sewers, use their backyards as smelting operations, and pimp their 13-year-old daughters to supplement the family income.

The problem is far deeper and insidious than Walmart. You can say it's the people who shop there. But, it extends to patronizing companies who offshore engineering and computer jobs too. When you buy a cell phone, you're part of the problem as much as the person who buys imported stuff from Walmart. (I.e., everything is connected. When you support offshored professional jobs it places pressure on displaced professionals to "play within the system" and save money by shopping at Walmart, Target, Sears, etc.).

If you want to boycott the system, that's fine. But, it seems like an incredibly futile exercise. We need change at the legislative level to promote honestly "free" markets. We need to let people opt out of all the things I mentioned above, and compete on a level playing field. Or, accept that we (collectively) don't want to live in that kind of society, and that the "free markets" we promote today are undermining our national interests.

The problem I have with individually boycotting the system is that it's like voluntarily paying higher taxes because you support paying down the national debt. It's not effective, and not fair if only you bear the burden.

I think mongoose is a decent brand.It could save you a ton of money on gas if you use it regularly.Oh, by the way you have me drooling over the mongoose fixie now,I hope you are happy:notamused:

I remember seeing wal-mart bikes that prominently featured the name Shimano in their marketing. Maybe that has gone away?

Walmart, Target, Sears all sell bikes with Shimano and Suntour components. My local Walmart stocks quite a few of these in the $200 range. I think they're decent bikes, and superb if overhauled upon purchase. They have little grease and often overtightened race cups from the factory. And then the store's assembly is questionable.

The Shimano parts are usually Tourney. Like the RD-TX50 rear derailer, and ST-EF50 shifters. They're easily found through Google (unless the person searching doesn't want to find them.).

I've seen the product spec sheets on Shimano's web site. They're not gray-market models. My local bike shop even stocks that rear derailer because they get department-store buyers coming in for replacement parts.

I think that's a point that's been overlooked too. The individual who buys at department stores probably doesn't have the passion or diligence to regularly maintain their bike. That contributes to stories of "it only lasted 6 months" or "it always broke down." Those buyers are part of a genre that contributes to the problem. We don't know how LBS bikes would hold up under similar circumstances because those customers aren't comparable. Someone spending $500 on a bike has an "investment factor" that will cause them to treat their bike differently.

I really think a person can get a decent bike for $200 from a department store *if* they put the time into overhauling and regular maintenance. Maybe replace some components sooner rather than later (pedals, brakes).

I have also been so tempted by the Mongoose Cachet, but I haven't bought one. I would be alot more interested if I could see one in a store, but ultimately I don't need any more bikes.

Well put. One of my friend bought a Schwin for $99 and it does have decent components. I did notice the rear derailleur was Shimano Tourney. You can find these parts if you know where to look.

As for my bike, it took me hours to tweak and tune. The factory assembly was horrible (was done in a hurry). Now I have fastened all the screws (managed to strip one screw), nuts, bolts, brakes and and trued the wheel. It's feels much solid now.

The manual on these bikes does remind anyone to double-check all the screws, fasteners & bolts before it's taken out for a ride. This holds true for all mail-in order bikes.

I still cant believe my bike cost me $78. The frame alone is worth much more. I will be test riding it this weekend. I will update frequently and how it holds up after the honeymoon period is over.

Cheers.

My LBS sells the components under discussion. Even Walmart sells them:

Tourney derailer $12
Altus derailer $21
Shifter $29
Freewheel $10
Crank set $25

If you browse Walmart's 5-6 pages of bike parts, they have others like 5-speed derailers, 8-speed cassettes and bulk cable.

Before Christmas I found the above parts on sale at Meijer.com with free shipping. I bought three freewheels and cranksets for $7 and $18 respectively. I suppose that will last me 5 years.

Not all parts are Shimano. How about "TD One"? That's what my bike came with. I have yet to call Pacific bike and inquire.

My friend who has had the walmart bike was complaining on how difficult it was for the bike to shift on her Shcwin MTB, and guess what...the drive-train was never lubed.

My take is, if you have a good knowledge on bikes and maintenance, you can use any cheap bike for commuting or simply use it as a utility bike without major issues. If however, you do not have the tools or knowledge on bikes, you should probably head to the LBS. You can get a decent bike starting from $300. The plus is, they will not only assemble it for you, but throw in a $80 tune-up as well at no extra charge.

[QUOTE=sonnetg;12234802]Not all parts are Shimano. How about "TD One"? That's what my bike came with. I have yet to call Pacific bike and inquire. [/bquote]

I'm not familiar with that. Googling for "TD One Bicycle Parts" turns up a few things, including that it's a trademark owned by Pacific Bicycles (the conglomerate who ownes Schwinn, Huffy, Mongoose, et. al.). I called Pacific about a damaged brake cable. They sent a replacement very fast. When I spoke to them, I asked if it was possible to buy other parts, like the "aero" wheels that come on many of the Schwinn hybrids. She said it was, but I didn't think to ask the price.

So, that should be an option too.

However, your bike was $74. I don't know many advocates/defenders of department store bikes who recommend those. Usually we say the $150-$250 bikes pose a significant value. Occasionally you can find a $130 bike on sale for $99 (like the recent Huffy Savannah) which might be a good value.




I agree. I think the problem with this topic is when people make sweeping generalizations (all department-store bikes are a bad value; or, all are equally a good value.). There are a lot of factors. The ones you mentioned about an individual's willingness to learn their own maintenance (and invest $100 in special tools). Or, whether the one-size-fits-all bike doesn't fit, and gives the rider a bad impression of riding. Or, if they wouldn't get into riding if they have to pay $400 instead of $150.

I think the point about tools and learning to maintain one's own bike is a "good news, bad news" thing. It adds time and expense to the initial purchase of a department-store bike. But, it will save a lot of money. Not just on the initial purchase of the DSB, but ongoing LBS charges for maintenance (which the rider will have to pay regardless of the bike they buy, and will be motivated to dive into at some point.). With instructional videos and forums (like bicycletutor.com), anyone should be able to do it. Most bike riders are extremely generous. I bet a newbie could easily find a local rider to help them.

I bought the cheapest I could find (not really...they did have a $55 Next MTB...even i couldn't go that low...lol).

And as for the rest of your post, you have said it well. All bikes do need a yearly check-up/tune up, no matter how expensive or cheap. It just that the cheaper bikes have cheaper parts, which are prone to failing often...but, on the contrary, are high end bikes really worth the price of it's parts? I am beginning to doubt that...I bought Surly LHT, which cost me a little over $1500, and.. guess what, the frame is made in Taiwan. Not that anything is wrong with Taiwan, but I really thought Surly's were made in USA....but guess not. [Surly is based in Minneapolis, MN]


Anyways...speaking of the topic, i can ride the xmart bike because I wanted a technical challenge. Let's see how all my training on bike maintenance holds up. [Do not try this at home :]

http://picasaweb.google.com/sonnet.g...e101#slideshow

Nice pictures sonnetg.

Thank you. I figured, a picture tells a thousand words. It was quite a learning experience to DIY. Well worth it.

I look at that from a different perspective: I think cheaper parts are on bikes purchased by less demanding, less careful, less observant riders. Those riders (their lack of sensitivity to the condition of their bike) are prone to more failed components.

Another factor is that department-store bikes aren't adjusted as well as bike-store bikes. The 3-4 I've worked with out-of-the-box had seriously overtightened axles, bottom brackets and pedals. They were grumbly and felt like turning a dial with detentes (more or less resistance at different places). I bet the bearings/races wear faster if ridden in that condition. And then, in some cases there was little grease. Or, metal shavings in the bottom bracket.

It's probably a combination of all 3 factors. Cheaper components, factory assembly that isn't re-checked like it would be at a LBS, and less-demanding riders.

That's part of my concern with common sentiment that buying department-store bikes undermine local bike shops. LBSs are selling bikes that are almost entirely foreign made. Isn't that like undermining their customers -- who could be working at manufacturing jobs making the bikes they're told they should buy to be a good member of the community?

I'm not blaming LBSes. Just saying that these things are intertwined. People who buy from department stores are undoubtedly affected by 30 years of obsessing over "free markets" that are far from free. They're the victims. I don't think we should blame them for the challenge LBSes face -- especially when LBSes are selling bikes made almost entirely overseas.

(Not that you did that. But, it's a common theme that we're not good, faithful community members if we don't patronize the LBS.).

*mart bikes. . .
 

aside from the crap components and horrendously heavy frames, the builds are often sketchy and at times downright unsafe. The guy who built bikes on Tuesday may have been building barbeques on Monday and lawn furniture on Wednesday. I've worked in LBS and we've had folks bring dangerously built bikes in for tune-ups. Unsafe brakes to begin with are even worse when installed badly. Crap wheels that taco at the sight of a bump. Too tight or too loose headsets. . .etc.. .it's a cliche but true, you get what you pay for.