I think you addressed your own point. For new riders, I don't see them waiting six months to save and spend $3000 on a bike (or, spend hours going to thrift shops and inquiring into poorly-written Craigslist ads). They'll use the money for a new flat-screen, or a motorcycle.

I think it's a valid warning that a department-store bike *can* be a bad experience (poor assembly or poor fit), giving a new rider an unrepresentative experience. But, as long as they know what they're getting into they can make an informed choice. For example, choosing to learn bike maintenance (which will payoff for a lifetime and make even an LBS purchase more affordable). Or, spending money on post-purchase assembly. Or, simply throwing the dice and accepting that it may not work, and be another buyer-beware item posted to Craigslist.

I think the problem with anti-DSB arguments is that they address all buyers as if they are the same. Some people can get an exceptional deal from a department store bike. Most importantly, it can get them into riding when they wouldn't (if the choice were waiting months to save large amounts of money).

I think the challenge is how to help those riders make an informed choice, and if they choose a DSB (which they will), how to mitigate their risks (such as committing to a longer-term investment of learning to maintain their bike). Just denying that DSB buyers exist, or dismissing them as making a mistake doesn't seem productive.

It's an "All Terrain Bicycle" according to one of the stickers I peeled off of it. It's a hard tail mountain bike design, but it would be great as a commuter bike with some street tires; I live on dirt roads, so the tires are great. It has a comfortable riding position and dual eyelets on the rear for both fenders and a rack.

The saddle is a Cloud 9 women's cruiser saddle. They use much firmer gel than what you'd get on a saddle at a department store, and the springs are adequately sized for a clyde like me. I'm tempted to keep it on here and buy a more appropriate retro saddle for my 3-speed.

It is not as good as a new LBS bike, but it's on par with a used bike. The brakes and shifters are on par with what was out twenty years ago, but they still work.

Get a smaller kids bike so you can take some jumps along the way : D. Soooo fun! Catch some air!

I am also a newbie. What about the bikes from bikesdirect.com?

If you are buying new and are willing to put them together they can be a pretty good deal. I think most people are pretty happy with the bikes they get. I have been happy with the overall quality of the bike I bought from them.

there are a lot of bike snobs here who claim that if they saw you with a bikesdirect bike they'd yell at you for not supporting your local bike store (and may even yell at you on line), but a lot of those same bike snobs will have one bikesdirect bike in the back of their garage that's a different type than the bikes they usually ride. Just be sure to factor abut $150 for install into the price (or be able to do it yourself).

Positives are that the bikes come in different sizes, unlike department stores. Probably better quality parts (you'll get a cassette instead of a freewheel?).

IMO, the big negative is that you're buying a bike unseen and it can't be easily returned. You can't beat Walmart's 90-day return policy. Just return the bike to your nearest store in decent quality, with all the stickers, packaging and tags, and you get your money back.

Bikesdirect has been great with all of my purchases. I ride their Motobecanes aand Merciers and have no gripes at all. I also have a couple Sevens and other high end stuff. Like my motorcycles, I love my Hondas as much as my Ducatis and MVs. Gotta be prepared to put Bikesdirect bikes together or pay to have it done, though. Buy what you like; just make an informed purchase and learn basic mechanical skills. Grab a decent set of bike tools from Performance or Nashbar and a bike maintenance book from the local library. A beater bike is better than NO bike IMHO. Don't let the haters of the world bring you down. I routinely mop up the 'holier than thou-gotta be top shelf or nuthin' crowd on a Wallyworld Mongoose Cachet singlespeed that was bought just for that task ;)

I think i am hooked to mountain biking. I took this bike out for a spin on the Loch Raven MTB trail. it held up really well today. No melted brake pads, squeaky pedals or noisy cranks. It was a good day.

Some pics I took ... :)

https://picasaweb.google.com/sonnet....62754794426002


Enjoy.

It looks like you are having plenty of fun with the bike. I tried to hit up some of the trails here with my Diamondback, but they were just too muddy from all the rain and snow we had so I went back to the bike paths which wasn't as exciting.

Yes. It was really fun and the views were breathtaking. We had over 3 inches of rain day before yesterday. As you can see the blue water turned muddy, but I am surprised the trails and the banks were very dry. I will be doing road biking tomorrow. This mountain biking isn't really meant for my bones...haha, but it's really fun and exhilarating. I am already shopping for an upgrade, but not in a real hurry. I can wait till next October for a new MTB :-)

Today was not such a fun day. Had my first flat while riding on the road on my way to the trail. The tires look tough, but the walls of it seem paper thin. Not sure if this is normal for MTB tires or if it's time to replace...

Any advice? I never had a flat with Schwalbe tires. Maybe it's time to upgrade the tires.


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_O...s640/Flat1.jpg

A really big hole...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_O...s576/Flat2.jpg

I am planning on upgrading both the tires with a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB Tire - 26" x 2.10". It will cost more than the bike, but, at least, I will have a piece of mind. :notamused:


PS: The bike came with a 26" x 1.95" tire. I should be able to swap it out with 26" x 2.10", no?

For a mountain bike, I'd use Slime. One department-store bike I had came with some non-brand Chinese Slime-like flatstop material in the tube. I rode it for 3 weeks before removing the tire. I found 3-4 places where goatshead thorns punctured the tire and the flatstop stopped the flat.

That was informative. I don't think I would have tried Slime. But, seeing it work so well, now I would.

I think the reason Slime gets bad reports is that it's only good for lower-pressure tires like mountain bikes. At higher pressure it sprays more than clogs. In your case, it should work well.

For my pavement bikes, I replaced the tires with Bontrager hardcase. $40 each. (I've heard good things about Vittoria Randonneurs for $30. I might try them next time.).

The next time I have some cheap department-store tires, I'd like to try Mr. Tuffy tire liners. They create a hardcase barrier. For about $7. I'd like to see if they work.

There are also thorn resistant tubes with thicker walls. I tried some on my pavement bikes but being narrower tires, the thicker rubber reduced the available air cavity, giving it a harsh ride (especially in combination with stiffer hardcase tires). That might not be as much of a problem for a mountain bike with wider tires at lower pressures. TR tubes might be a good combination with Slime (and/or stiffer tires).

Thanks. These are some really great advice. I am still contemplating on whether to use tire liners or to upgrade the tires. Flats are just a fact of life, but this bike has bolts instead of quick release skewers, which makes it even more difficult to fix flats. [ I will need to carry a ratchet all the time, or a big/heavy 17mm wrench]

These soft rubber tires work fine in trails and hills, which is what it's intended to be, but I normally ride my bike to the trails instead of driving and setting up racks and whatnot..

Oh well...i wont be doing any MTB trails any time soon. I will definitely replace the tubes. I might invest in the tire liners as well. Never tried slime...but it just sounds so slimy...haha. I might give it a try as well.

Regards,

Has anyone noticed the Tour De France line of bikes offered at Walmart? Some of them look like they might be a reasonable value. Here are a couple I found interesting.

Commuter for $220

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cycle-Forc...cycle/15383046

Nifty looking (maybe cheesy to some) singlespeed I sorta want one of these, but don't need one.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cycle-Forc...cycle/15382926

All the bikes Tour De France bikes they offer.

http://www.walmart.com/search/search...h_constraint=0

I encourage you to try the tire liners just because you began this as a learning experience, and I think experimenting with tire liners would add value to your results. (At least for me, because I want to experiment with them.).

Be aware that you'll need to do some research about their use. I've read stories of people complaining they caused flats. Other people said it's because the sharp corners need to be rounded off. Or, that the edges need to overlap (if you try to butt them together they can pinch when the tire compresses and the liner ends move together).

You can replace those nutted axles with hollow ones, and use skewers. Google for Wheels Manufacturing and browse their axles. Choose a hollow axle that is the same diameter and thread pitch as your existing axle. And one with a length that will allow for 4-5 mm to extend into the dropout on each side, being flush (or a little less) than the outer surface of the dropout. That's like 8-10mm longer than the space between the dropouts.

In the rear, maybe not due to the claw derailer? Either way, you have to be aware of the risks. For example, the forward facing dropout is a risk. If you snug a QR lightly, a risk exists that the wheel will pull forward when pedaling hard. That wouldn't be pleasant. (For the front, less risk. But, without the "lawyer lips" to retain a loose QR, you want to be sure the front QR is always super tight.).

There was a guy on the bicycletutor.com forum saying he patented a sold axle with quick release levers. He started selling 2-3 months ago. If you can't find it, I could look. That might be designed to work better with a claw derailer.

EDIT: I found the solid quick-release axle replacements I mentioned: Axlerelease.com. It's a thread-on QR to replace the nut. It doesn't replace the axle.

Wow, nice find. Those look nice. I would have considered that commuter bike last November when I bought the Schwinn Trailway at Target as a backup/cargo/basket bike. Back then I was looking at Giant Nomad and GT Traffic commuter bikes, and a Hiland City-Spark at Walmart. Nothing felt as good as my Schwinn Avenue (Walmart), so I decided to buy the Trailway (almost identical to the Avenue, just wanted a different color, taller headset adjustment.).

I found this announcement from Cycle Force Group:


Tour de France bikes available through Cycle Force Group

CFG is the supplier for many of those Walmart parts we were discussing 2-3 weeks ago. The Shimano parts, etc. When I ordered some parts Site-to-Store, it came in a box taped with CFG logo.

The parts I ordered from meijer.com did too.

They seem to be the Pacific Bicycles of the parts world, and getting into bikes too.

More about CFG:

(I bet the cork sniffers are rushing to wikipedia to edit that article, explaining how Nims is undermining the American cycling, even leading Tour de France to shameful association with Walmart :) ).

Thanks for finding all that info. I go through Ames alot and I have family there. I would love to see some of these bikes in person. Wow they even have a 20 inch roadbike (can you say mini velo?). Ok, just kidding on that one. LOL

http://www.cyclefg.com/shop/product.php?productid=714000151&cat=351&page=1

If I didn't have an awesome bike co-op and very good connections I would consider one of those tour de france. But the fact is I still built the kuwie for almost the same price as the trekking one. Though now that I have it torn apart and am upgrading some stuff the cost has increased.

That kuwie is a nice bike.

Yeah with all these budget bikes out there it gets hard to want to mess with all the projects I have. I have a bunch of mountain bike frames I am am trying to figure out which one to keep for a commuter. I want to fix up 4 of them for campus bikes at the college I work at. I threw a couple of MTB frames up on CL last night. I have sold a bunch of road bike frames and complete bikes the last few weeks. I have a large empty space on my garage floor for the first time in a long time. I need to keep working on getting rid of stuff I know I don't want and then I'll have time later to work everything else out.

This site has some tempting bikes as well especially the singlespeeds. The closeout frameset with seatpost and bottom bracket and 4 color choices thats pretty cheap if someone was looking for a cheap singlespeed frame to order.

http://www.roadbikeoutlet.com/

damn you monsterpile, that frameset is an awesome deal especially with the free shipping

Yeah, I would buy one, but then I could buy a whole bike for just $240 or buy one of the Walmart cheap singlespeeds. Looking at the frames of those Tour De France bikes they look like really nice singlespeed frames especially the rear dropouts. Its probably good I can't see them in person right now or I would buy one. Of course I've said the same thing about the Mongoose Cachet. LOL I don't need either of those bikes, but they look so cool and I am curious about them. If only one would pop up on CL. =P

If I had to choose a bike from Wally World, I'd get this one.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cycle-Forc...cycle/15382966

Yeah, but why get that bike when for the same money you can get a better bike?
http://bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/kilott.htm
http://www.torkerusa.com/bikes/commu...2011-udistrict

Etcetera