Seizedpost

What chain lube do you use on your steel-is-real Walmart bike when living car-free?

indyfabz

Steel is real!

Wileyrat

I doubt that was even a thought.

I've run into lots of non/casual riders that had no idea that bikes come in different sizes.

Seizedpost

I seem to remember reading somewhere that a 54cm frame can be made to fit a large majority (75%?) of the adult population.

mrdelurk

It's a trip on a gravel road made partly of volcanic lava fragments. My months old Huffy's new tires turned grey after a single trip there, even after a good wash & wipe. So this road does seem to be a more challenging environment than city. Those tires never changed color after my city rides. Perhaps lava rock is a bit acidic, I don't know.

I wonder if LBS bikes' tires would not grey in a similar manner.

For those who complain, "Not another Walmart thread", sorry for my fumbling. I duly ran a search on "Wal-Mart" before posting my question, but it came up empty. I guess it's time I learned it's spelled simply "Walmart".

jefnvk

That, and doing a Google search for "insert search phrase here site:bikeforums.net" works infinitely better than the built in search feature.

EnjoyinTheRide

I would imagine that definitely would effect rubber tires. I recently spoke to my lbs about new tires lol....for my walmart bike lol. I thought of getting new tires for it because these have gone 400 miles and I figure maybe a better tire would make it ride smoother...The employee at the lbs basically said most tires put on bso bikes are "hard" rubber and they really dont grip well on the road. Better quality tires are "softer" in nature and I would notice a somewhat better ride because the tires would grip the road better. I asked if the new tires would create a smoother ride...He wasnt going to stick his neck out on that one....A bike is a bike he said, It depends on height/weight, conditions, how its setup and other factors that determine what an individual considers smooth...

Lol that being said. I would say rubber is rubber, Lava rock is lava rock and the reaction you get with one tire would be similar with another....It could even go the opposite way..the better tire...if its softer....could grey up more than the cheap hard tire???? because its gripping better ???

Gweedo1

Yup. But, 2 things are needed for that formula to succeed:

1) an above average level of bicycle components and construction;

2) a secure person who does not need to be validated by the opinions of others.

For some people, only Tylenol cures their pains; others' pains are cured by acetaminophen.

Lucillle

We need a 'like' button for posts like this one.

gsa103

Properly assembled, they aren't atrocious. The problem is that they're never assembled properly.

Walk in to a WalMart, I'll bet you find at least one bike with the fork backwards...

Seizedpost

There are basically two levels of Walmart bike. There are the nicer, more expensive ones (ex. Schwinn Varsity) with trigger shifters, Tourney rear derailleurs, and threadless headsets. Even the frames are nice, aluminum with replaceable derailleur hangers. These are pretty good when properly assembled, assuming no defective parts. I should know, my grandfather bought a Varsity on sale. Once I tuned it up and replaced a defective freewheel it was a nice bike.

Then there are the cheaper Walmart bikes. Their frames are sometimes steel but often aluminum with a non replaceable hanger. They have twist shifters, threaded headsets, and that Shimano rear derailleur that's so bad it doesn't have a name. They suck even if they're assembled perfectly. These are truly 'dead end bikes.'

Ironfish653

So, back to the OP, it sounds like you're planning to use the bike as a support vehicle for some other endeavor (surf camp, grow-op, whatever) rather than the bike ride being the end in itself. In that case, the Walmart bike you linked should be sufficient enough for the task. The dirt road you're concerned about, is this something that you could drive a (stock) jeep or truck through? If so, the WM bike should be sufficient.
Do any of your buddies have any mechanical ability/experience? Bicycles are pretty basic things, and that bike is about as basic as they come.

What makes big-box bikes 'dead end' is that if you break / damage something, and are unable to source the parts, and turn the wrenches yourself, having a bike shop repair it will quickly exceed the original cost of the bike.
Heck, just replacing both tires and tubes with off-the-shelf stuff from WM will cost $40-45, if you mount them yourself, which is a big chunk of the original purchase price on a $100 bike.

Maelochs

In that very rare situation when all the pros are riding the top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art bikes ... no, in that One instance, it is not about the bike.

In most other cases, the bike can make a huge difference. I know a rather well-to-do gentleman who joked that because he had a huge budget he was able to keep up with better riders. (He was a serious rider .... but he also had much better bikes than the competition, back when that was possible.)

And if it isn't about the bike, Lance could have won seven TdFs riding a Wal-mart Focus full-suspension mountain bike, because it's not about the bike, ... right?
A Pinto with a supercharged 600 cid aluminum hemi and a Charger with a stock motor? In this case, it is not about the performance of the stock machine, it is about what each driver/crew brings to the track. And in bracket racing a slower car coming closer to the prescribed time beats a much faster car which breaks out of the bracket.

In any case, neither the Ford nor the Dodge are bicycles .... so in that case also, it wouldn't be about the bike.

Maelochs

To the OP: The problem with five people using a bike is that no one feels responsible for the bike. So, when the tires starts rubbing the brake, the rider just finishes the ride and forgets it. The next guy notices it, and also just does his ride. The next guy uses the quick-adjust to open the brakes all the way so he can do his ride ... then parks it and ignores it.Then someone notices that the wheel is so warped it rubs the fork---no one ever bothered to keep the spokes tight (and in my experience cheap wheels, particularly ones which hit a lot of bumps, go out of true early and often.

Same happens to the rear wheel, but here a spoke breaks ... and then two more. Now the wheel is shot because they are drive-side spokes and no one knows how to get the cassette off.

Meanwhile the lava dust mixes with water from that last rainstorm and works its way deep inside every pivot and rotating mechanism, and starts abrading things ... and gets into the cables and hardens into cement. Because nobody bothers to wash the bike, or to lubricate it, or even really knows how .... but no one cares about the cables anyway because the brakes are useless---full open to clear the warped rims, everybody does Flintstone stops---and the derailleurs don't get used because they were never properly adjusted, and after the cables stretched, they were pretty useless anyone, so everyone rides it in whatever gear it happened to be in when everything else stopped working.

With the lave paste hardening in the cheap chain and clogging the rear wheel bearings, pretty much nobody wants to ride the bike uphill, and with no brakes, going downhill eats up sneaker soles really quickly .... and of course, the repair costs far exceed the purchase cost of the bike .... so after 60 days the Wal-Mart bikes is now yard art.

But I'd rather see a Wal-Mart bike get trashed like that instead of a really worthwhile bike.

Paramount1973 

They are also typically heavy as sin. Everything that can be made of steel is, cranks, brakes, stems, handlebars, rims, hubs, and seatposts. I have worked on low-end, full suspension mountainbikes that were close to 50 lbs. The suspensions are a joke and the brakes are difficult to true.

jefnvk

That case is where I would actually say the bike CAN play a difference: pros going all out, at peak fitness, where fractions of seconds after 150 miles can be the difference between podium and just finishing in the peloton. I doubt your buddy was really competing at a higher level because of his bikes, even if that is not the belief that the salesperson wanted him to have.

I'd bet Lance today on a Wal-Mart full suspension MTB kicks my butt on whatever state of the art wonderbike you want to have custom made for me, though.

cyccommute 

While this might have been true 10 or 15 years ago, it's no longer the case. Even properly assembled they are still atrocious. See below.

As someone who volunteers to keep these kinds of bikes operational, I have real world experience with them rather than MRT2's "friend of a friend" experience (no offense meant, MRT2). While the wheel in question may have been able to be repaired with just a cone wrench, I have seen Helmart wheels and bottom bracket bearings that have been ground to dust. Typically someone with come into my co-op with a wobbly wheel or wobbly crank and once we start taking things apart we find that there are no bearings left. I often see just the remnants of the bearing cage or bearings that are hemispherical. I've never seen that will a bike purchased from a bike shop...even the brands that Performance generally carry.

Some of the other things I've seen from Helmart bikes are the threads for the pedals eroded out of steel cranks that should have been able to withstand a close nuclear blast. I've seen spindles on cranks that have been twisted off...not sheared but twisted...and the rider was a 120 lb woman. I can't tell you how many spokes I've replaced on Helmart bikes.

I hate to be an old guy who's nostalgic for old Big Box Store bikes but the ones being made now are plain and simply bad. You might as well just take the $150 out of your pocket and burn it. You'd get more use out of it that way.

cyccommute 

You do realized that 400 miles in 3 years is extremely low mileage don't you? Most people...even some who are riding Helmart bikes...put in 10 to 20 times that mileage in 3 years. Some are going to do 400 miles in a week. Even a Helmart bike should be able to go for 400 miles without any problems. The problems start to arise when they have gone 4000 miles.

And you don't have to spend $10,000 to get a really good bike at your local LBS. A Jamis Ventura Sport is a very good road bike for about $650. A Jamis Trail X Sport is a pretty good off-road bike for $550. Both of these bikes are at least as good as the bikes I've ridden for many, many miles over the years.

Of course you can get better ones for a more money but even then you don't have to spend $10,000 to get a really, really nice bike. If you want a dually mountain bike, a Specialized FSR or Epic can be had for around $3000 and would probably fit the needs of just about anyone who isn't doing competitions. If you are willing to use a hardtail, you can get a HardRock for around $500. A Specialized Diverge start at around $900 for a very capable road bike. They aren't going to have the latest nor highest end equipment on them but they will last a lot longer and be more fun to ride than anything you can buy at Helmart.

Other manufacturers make similar bikes with similar prices.

These bikes will still be running long after the Helmart bikes have been sent to recycling.

wphamilton

I have to wonder how long the bike's been in operation with no maintenance, or how many years left out in the rain, to reduce bearing balls to dust.

It's such an easy fix though, at that point or any time previously. Order a $25 wheel and bolt it on. It's an upgrade!

Replacing or repairing the BB may or may not be an easy cheap fix.

Maybe we need a list of what to look out for in a Big Box Store bike.

For my part, if I see a 1-piece crank, or cottered crank I'll pass. I want a "normal" square taper 3-piece crank, so I can use a $15 cartridge to replace the BB some day.

If I see front shocks at all I'm wary of it. I don't know a lot about MTB shocks but I do know that those are pretty bad.

Getting over the handlebar and rocking, any play in the headset give it a pass.

Steel rims I'd probably pass.

FullGas

if you're only planning on riding to the corner convenience store for a pack of butts every now and then, a WallyWorld bike is probably fine.

other than that, aim a little higher...

12strings

Yes, which is why you really need to either take a bike friend who knows stuff, but isn't a snob, or learn what to look for regarding components.

I purchased a $200 Walmart Schwinn Varsity 1200 (road-oriented hybrid bike) 3 years ago, and it served me well for nearly 2 years, I sold it for $100 to a friend who still rides it on 10-20 mile rides. No problems...

BUT #1 - I had the bike tuned up at the Local Bike shop for $45 soon after buying it, during which they moved the mounting location of the front derrailler, and replaced the rear cassette/freewheel, which had bad bearings already. after that, 2 years of smooth operation.

BUT #2 - YOU CANNOT BUY THE BIKE I BOUGHT ANYMORE! The new green/white version of the Varsity 1200 currently at walmart has been downgraded in componentry (for the same price):
-It now has twist shifters instead of trigger shifters
-Its stem is now some super-ugly welded thing that almost looks made from sheet-metal...My stem was much more traditional looking threadless matte black alluminum.
-It appears the cranks/chain-rings, and rear derrailer are different...can't tell from online whether they are tourney anymore...my bike had tourney front and rear derraillers.

So there you go...

EnjoyinTheRide

Yes I do. Your avg Lance wannabee does 4k miles in a week lol... But I also understand that any bike will break and its not always a mileage thing. We have this place on the East called Kingdom Trails, Ive seen brand new custom made mountain bikes of extreme quality get trashed the third run down..Granted they are taking them on black diamond trails that would bust anything. But I always felt its the rider along with the conditions and not the bike. And when the helmart (love that title) breaks its actually not that expensive to fix to get back into riding shape. With todays online market you can get parts to fix any bike.....And not for nothing, these bikes can certainly teach someone the basics of a bike and how to fix them. It all starts with the frame, everything else that is built up on the bike is the issue and those parts can be easily and fun to change...

And yes Walmart and the other marts have different grades. Sears has some nice schwinns, Ive seen and talked with folks that ride them. They love em....

Bottom line if you can take care of your toys, they should last well into your future.....

jefnvk

Maybe on this forum, or if you are talking about your riding buddies. I doubt most people buying a bike, from an LBS or Wal-Mart, come anywhere near even 4000 miles in three years, let alone 8000.

genec

The embarrassing part is when you visit your buddy, whom you've known since high school... and he's heard through the grapevine that you've done a bit of biking.... maybe a cross country tour or two.... so you guys get together after a few years, and he says... "yeah, I've got a couple of bikes... let's go for a ride."

He takes you into the garage, dusts off an old plastic seat, knocks off some spider webs and presents you with a BSO that hasn't seen oil since 9-11... and he says "wadda ya think... they're great, right?"

EnjoyinTheRide

I agree, most people wont ride those distances yearly. It depends where one lives demographically. And thats why these bso bikes serve the market they do...