Got the Schwinn Link bike home and started unassembly.
 

First thing was the front tire: The tires are directional and they had the front tire backwards. Pulled the quick release and reversed the tire.

Second was the handle bars: Cables were all twisted, so I removed the handle bar and spun it a few times to get the cables flowing properly and tightened all screws.

Third was the brakes: Had to recenter and adjust pads for front brake. Back brake was good.

Fourth was the seat: Just needed adjusting and tightening of the quick release.

Finally tested the gears: All worked just fine and relubed the chain.

First ride this afternoon after work.

Nice.

Schwinn Link bike test run
 

First ride was good. It took me about a quarter of a mile to remember how to ride a bike. :lol: I ended up going six miles for my first time out. Felt good.

Now about the bike:
Everything felt good, gears shifted smoothly, front shocks kind of freaked me out when I stood up to pedal, but the only thing I might upgrade in the near future are the brakes.
Maybe get some shimano's to match the gears. Bike is very fast downhill. I noticed it had Quando high performance hubs. Are these any good?

Hey there Decatur!

Nice report!

This is appreciated. However, I'm concerned about the frame. Does the frame look just as solid as any other you've seen?

I've always had the opinion, that if the frame is good an solid, you could always replace the components and end up with a pretty decent bike.

Thank you!

- Slim :)

Thanks Slim,

The frame is steel and I checked out all of the welds and they looked good. Question for you. How often do you check the quick release on the front wheel? I'm 53 and I guess kind of old school and this is the first bike I've had with quick release. Do you know anything about the hubs?

Hey there my friend!

The QR's are just fine. Once you've secured them, they'll be just great. I have QR's on two bikes and they've worked just fine! You shouldn't have to check afterwards...

- Slim :)

PS.

Did you need to know something about the hubs?

If you get it stroll around the neighborhood theyre ok. I got a "mtb" from wm, it lasted two weeks and I didnt even reach 25 miles of trails on it.

Hey there Titmawz!

What happened to your Walmart MTB? ...Please explain...

Thank you!

- Slim :)

wal-mart dose sell a lot of poorly made bicycles but so do other discount department stores even sports authority and dicks sporting goods. i found a simple way to find a decent bicycle at these stores. (1) frame: if its aluminum snap your fingernail on what looks like a thin tube area if you hear a ting not good if you hear a thud its going to be strong. (2) front dropouts: if they are stamped tube not good if they are fabricated or cast good. (3) crank: only get a three-piece or a cast one-piece not the bent steel rod one-piece. if you look for these features youll find a good discount department store bicycle.

Good evening,

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Corsa-FC-L...d-Bike/5751048

Full CF frame and Ultegra/105, is this a wind-up?

Wallmart recently bought a supermarket chain in the UK called ASDA, and if this bike was available "over here" I would be down there with my cash very quickly.

Bye

Ian

Of late, x-marts have been offering some better quality products and at times people have bought them to strip the parts for other bikes as the price of the whole bike is less than the groupo and then sell off the parts they don't need.

I believe that this comes as a response to lawsuits filed regarding cheaply made and unsafe bicycles and a desire to tap into a wider market by offering something better.

One of the biggest issues with x mart is that it is not a bicycle shop, they offer little to no support and still list bicycles under "toys".

Is that an "issue" with anybody who is not affiliated with a bicycle shop?

Many folks like to buy products based on more than the bottom line price and part of the value lies in the service and support you get from the supplier / manufacturer.

I believe it is an issue with any consumer product... not just bicycles.

Presumably those bicycle consumers NEVER were shopping for bicycles at Walmart.

Walmart sells a lot of bicycles and on the whole may be one of the largest distributors of bicycles in North America.

It would serve them well if they improved the support they offer and actually hired trained mechanics to handle set up and handle warranty / repair issues and if they combined this with a better product it could drive smaller shops out of business.

Mountain Equipment Co-op in Canada (our version of REI) just added bicycles to their range of products and these are decently made bicycles that come with an amazing money back guarantee and rather decent support.

A bicycle from MEC will cost more than a bike from x-mart as they are middle to high end models with rather decent parts.

Presumably... you did not just get off the boat and have been wandering around here long enough to have seen the countless threads on x mart bikes so know that many people who are getting into cycling look at the same store where they get their rest of their stuff, not realizing that there is a marked difference in the quality of what is being offered.

The thread that won't die...
http://www.city-data.com/forum/attac...bie-thread.jpg

I seldom, if ever, read a comment from the actual purchasers of Walmart bikes who didn't know EXACTLY what he/she was buying.

The complaints almost invariably are from people associated with bicycle shops who "are getting their ass handed to them" by the competition.

This is the thread that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends
Some people started arguing and don't know how to stop,
And the arguing will go on and on because...

This is where we differ as besides reading comments (and I get a lot of mail on bicycle related topics) I also get to deal first hand with people who bought a bike at x-mart thinking that it was a much better product and at minimum, expected a working bicycle that would not need so much post purchase care.

And presumably NEVER "deal with" or get mail from satisfied consumers of department store bikes who got exactly what they expected.

The only problem my little ones have had with Walmart bikes is the parts are made by low bidder. They don't hold together as well. On that note, my Trek has also had some issues with shifters. Get it, try it out. If you like cycling, some Local bike shops will give a generous trade-in allowance on a name brand bike, or worst case, you are not out much. Looks like a win-win to me. Good luck and happy cycling.

I feel like writting a "confessions of a mad man" thread to describe the weird tale of my effort to build a touring bike. Because I kept changing my ideas about what I wanted to do, I ended up buying several cranksets, front derailleurs and rear derailleurs. And some of those derailleurs of course are Deore or Deore LX quality.

After all this insanity, I still haven't completed the bike. Actually, I'm going to end up building two because of all the parts I have. At one point, I want to sell some extra parts I have and buy another frameset. Then I want to sell the first touring bike and use the money to pay for the wheels for the "real dream touring bike".

The point of all this is that I went almost full circle on my opinions on the quality levels of a bike. I've ridden I don't know how many winters on Canadian Tire bicycles with a snow mobile helmet and ski pants. The other day I saw a Diadora Palermo at Sports Experts on sale for $279 (regular price $350). It had a Shimano Altus front derailleur and a Shimano Acera rear derailleur. It was a hybrid with V-brakes and no suspension and fairly light for a cheap bike. I thought it was a perfect bike to take replace the shifters with Falcon friction shifters, silver Shimano Deore brake levers, silver riser bars, a longer silver stem, a chrome seatpost, silver seatpost clamp and better saddle and call it a day. With fenders, backrack, panniers and lights this would be the perfect rain/city bike. But, that's just an idea because I don't have the money to do it. It had a nice weird looking purple frame though which was the perfect touch. I mean who wouldn't want to ride around in a funny looking color with curved tubes? I thought it was so cool. Haha.

That being said, I still think the many department store bicycles I've owned were acceptable to ride. :)

You presume to much and must have missed it when I said that not all x-mart bicycles are crap and that many x marts have been improving on the quality level of the bicycles they offer.

But there are still a large number of models that we refer to as BSO's... Bicycle Shaped Objects.

Some consumers are informed and will do the research and go to x mart to get a bicycle, being fully aware that the bicycle they are getting may not be of the same quality as what they will find at a decent bike shop but of acceptable enough quality to meet their needs.

My experience is that many consumers are poorly informed and fail to do enough research and look for the best deal and end up disappointed.

I always tell people to buy the best bike they can afford and to steer away from x mart unless they are prepared to do quite a bit of work to make that bike reliable and in many cases, safe.

My wife quit driving many years ago and was shopping for a bicycle and did a ton of research on what was available and because she was replacing her car and needed a bicycle she could depend on 365 days of the year spent a little more on a much better bicycle.

For some, $1000.00 is an exceptional amount to spend on a bike but her ride has been going strong for five years and would expect this bicycle to keep going strongly for decades since it was built right in the first place.

Amortize this amount over the time she has owned it and it has cost her less than $1.00 a day which is much less than what she was paying to own and drive a car. In five years that cost will be cut in half.

I don't buy new bicycles... everything I ride has been built up from recycled and re-used parts and do look for quality when I am building things up as I expect these bicycles to last a very long time.

Some of the parts they put on children's bikes are horrible and would not put my kids on them.

Stamped brake calipers, poor quality brake pads, and weak assemblies are a recipe for disaster... being that bikes are my business and I have a decent stock of parts have built up their bicycles to be solid and safe. The cast off parts got tossed into the recyling bin as they were not re-useable, even when they were new.

Both ride vintage 3 speeds as their primary townies / commuters and they have each reached an age where they can ride folders that will grow with them into adulthood and I have upgraded many of the components.

My youngest has a Raleigh mountain bike that came from x mart... it is a reasonably well made bike but the brakes were inferior and the shifters,levers, and derailleurs were crap. Her bike now has some nice Avid v brakes with Kool Stops and some nice Shimano STI brakes and shifters mated to some Deore derailleurs.

She won't wear this bike out and when she is done with it we will pass it along to my nieces who are a few years younger and ride the bikes she and her older sister have outgrown that were also upgraded with better parts.