Dibaded

The title says it all. A year ago my girlfriend bought me a walmart road bike and i fell in love with biking and fixing it just simple parts like adjusting my derailleurs and brakes, sadly after about 8 months though my spokes started to break and then to top it off it was stolen from the same walmart i got it from. After this i went in search of a new walmart bike i tried out a mongoose mountain bime but i didnt like it so i went back and traded it for a schwinn which was beautiful but the tire kept going flat and whoever put it together put the axle nuts on too tight and i ended up stripping them so i took it back so i then went to a bike shop with 200 bucks in my pocket and picked up a fixie i know bike shops are the best option for a good bike that will last but im a bit skeptical on how good a cheap fixie would be compared to a 200 dollar bike from a walmart

dabac

There are far less parts on a fixie. So each part can be allowed to cost a bit more w/o the bike becoming expensive
There's a big difference in use characteristics. Fixies aren't for everybody.

Maelochs

Really, no one knows exactly what will work best for you. You are actually doing the experiment to answer the question you asked in your post.

Fixies are harder to ride in hilly terrain, but simpler to maintain.

As for durability, as you found for yourself, you know that Walmart bikes can be less than robust, and less than well-assembled.

Take care of your bike and it should last for the rest of your life. Whether it is the last bike you ever buy is a much different matter.

wphamilton

It depends entirely on which Walmart bike and which cheap fixed gear. I know that's not especially helpful, but I can give you my anecdotal experience. I have a GMC Denali, and a Bikes Direct cheap fixed gear. Both were internet orders so I did the final assembly and check-over myself (as opposed to a walmart person). I have put around 3-4000 miles on the fixed gear and the Denali who knows, at least 15,000 miles.

As far as maintenance and trouble-free operation goes, the fixed gear has needed WAY less attention. I may have adjusted the cone tightness (wouldn't hurt for you to get some cone wrenches) a time or two, and trued the wheels a bit (which mostly avoids your spoke-breaking problem) and that's it. The Denali (Walmart type bike) needed pretty frequent love and care. I wouldn't worry about it being a step down from your walmart road bike - I think that you're better off now.

As far as how good it is to ride, if you like to ride fixed gear it's fine. If you'd rather have gears, or need them for your type of riding or for hills, maybe not. It's a purely personal preference.

BTW, in case there is any concern about what the fixie is 'supposed' to be, or the image or anything of that nature, I am about as far from any fixie stereotype as you can get. I've loaded mine down with accessories, and it's slotted as a commuting bike, running errands, rain bike, and it's perfect for that as far as I'm concerned. If I wanted it to be a get out for fun rides bike, or a trainer, or something to use for faster group rides, I'd change a few things and it would be fine for any of those. It's not what the bike is, it is what you make of it.

AlmostTrick

Which fix gear bike did you get?


Single speed/fixed gear can work out well, even with some hills. The key is setting the bike up with the ratio that works best for you. You may find a rear cog with one or two more teeth than what most bikes come with to be more enjoyable and efficient.

manapua_man

Do you mean fixie or single speed? I've noticed a lot of people who were just getting into things don't seem to know the difference.

In any case something from an actual bike from a shop is more likely to be assembled properly.

Barabaika

You can search on Craigslist.

There are mountain bikes that started as $400 bikes and are sold for $150. They may need tweaks if you know how to fix bikes.

TimothyH

The Mercier Kilo TT from Bikes Direct is widely accepted as a quality, entry level fixed gear/single speed bike. The base model starts at $399. There are a few other models including the Stripper, Pro and WT which tops at at $499.

Lots of guys in the Fixed Gear/Single Speed forum own these or got their start on them. They are actually good bikes with great value for the price.

#KiloTT


-Tim-

ssmorol

What is the difference between single gear and fixie?

CrankyOne

A fixie is a fixed gear - you pedal forward you go forward, you pedal backwards you go backwards, no coasting so if the bike is moving so are the pedals.

People use single gear to refer to fixies but also to single speed back-pedal or coaster brake bikes (which unlike fixie's can coast and when you back pedal you put on brake) or single speed coaster bikes with hand brakes.

Dibaded

Woah thank you all for the replys

ill definitely check out those tools and when should i true wheels? like every month? and ill be using it just to get around and for some exercise i plan on getting a good road bike later on i just want a good bike to start me off and im thinking a fixie is a good way to get into bikes from a shop
it's called a caraci it has some good reviews on amazon but thats from amazon >_>

It has both fixed and freewheel

That's a bit pricey for me since im currently unemployed which is why i bought a 200$ one just to get around in my area

OldsCOOL

Walmart and bike do not belong in the same context let alone question.

The Full Monty

Why? While I made my bike purchase through the local bike shop, if the bike fits what they want to do with it, and they're willing to put up with the issues a Wal-Mart bike may have, why not? I wouldn't do it after visiting the bike shop and having their assistance, but everyone is different and is in a different situation.

I-Like-To-Bike

Question: Why?
Answer: Because bicycle/"roadie" snobbery and/or self interest (due to emotional or financial attachments to LBS and brand name products sold by LBS) dictate the rote Walmart (and other similar big box store operations) bike bashing remarks posted on BF.

TimothyH

I think the poor people who feed their family by riding Walmart bikes home from the restaurant at 2:00 AM bring a dignity to cycling that many of us never will.

xodondum

wow, learned something. what's the purpose of a fixie? doing tricks?

OldsCOOL

Absolutely correct.

VegasTriker

Well, some of us have seen enough problems with Walmart bikes to realize that buying one is akin to going to the casino and popping money into a slot machine. Sometimes you win but often you lose. In one case I am entirely familiar with, a boy brought his brand new Walmart bike on a 10 mile ride that was the first of a series of rides for BSA cycling merit badge. We checked over the bike for safety features like the steering and brakes but missed the fact that the pedals had been undertightened in the cranks. It took about 3 miles for the pedals to loosen up enough to strip the threads. His ride was over. The other factor is the bike was obese. It had all of the bells and whistles to make it appeal to a young kid (and his stupid father who we told no to buy a Walmart bike) like worthless full suspension, flashy paint on an overbuilt aluminum frame, and a cheap price. The bike weighed nearly half his weight. He showed up for the second 10 mile ride on his 3rd Walmart bike. This one held together for the entire ride but he gave up on the merit badge because it was still an obese bike and he wasn't strong enough to pedal it the 15 mile ride that would be the third required ride.

corrado33

Honestly, yes you've been around for a while... but after fixing a few hundred to a thousand wal-mart bikes, you'll grow to hate them really quickly.

I'm not sure what it is. They contain all the same parts as nicer bikes, but somehow they just don't stay... in tune. Hubs will grow loose over time, regardless of how well they're adjusted the first time. Gears need almost constant adjustment due to the really crappy housing used. Brakes work... for a while, until the wheels grow out of true or the plastic lever breaks. It's like these bikes were built to work for ~150 miles, then fall apart catastrophically. Sure, if you're a decent bike mechanic then you can keep it going indefinitely, but for most people, that's not feasible.

Not to mention that the cheap grip shifters they put on those bikes are not meant to have replaceable cables. And putting them back together with a new cable is an artform I haven't mastered yet.

A vintage mountain bike from the 80s or 90s will be easier to fix up than a wal-mart bike from the 2000s or 2010s. It will also last orders of magnitude longer than a wal mart bike. (Somewhat ironically, the older you go for wal-mart bikes the easier they get to fix because they used friction shifters and decent brakes. Back in the day when plastic wasn't QUITE up to par for things like brake levers the old "cheap" bikes were of better quality than they are now.)

The problem I have with wal-mart bikes is that you can easily buy a nicer bike for cheaper if you just think about going used. You could even have it tuned and still spend less. (EDIT: Ok after checking wal-mart's website my previous statement may not be 100% true. How the hell do they sell a full suspension bike for $120?)

If someone brought us a complete vintage mountain bike that needed EVERYTHING adjusted, cables replaced, etc, and we took our time, teaching them as we went along, it'd probably take about 3 hours provided we didn't run into anything that was stuck. At $8 an hour that's $24.

Hell, at the coop we SELL old vintage mountain bikes for the same price as wal-mart bikes. The only time an old mountain bike will be more expensive than $165 is when it has a very nice fork on it (say a decent rockshock or older manitou fork.)

Gresp15C

A fixie can serve a number of purposes. Because cycling is a mix of sport, recreation, and utility, it's often hard to pin down a single reason for any particular technology. Sometimes a technology will emerge in the competitive realm, leading mainstream cyclists to get curious and try out the same technology for their own use.

For instance, some bike racing events use fixed gear bikes, such as track racing. The people I know who ride fixies, do so just because it's fun. They ride fixies on pavement for "regular" cycling -- just getting around town, even commuting. There's a certain challenge and enjoyment to be gained from conquering the streets with the simplest possible technology.

I enjoy single-speed freewheel for the same reason, but not quite as extreme, as I don't trust myself to control a fixie. A lot of folks have asked me what's the point.

corrado33

Oh stop.

Fixies are popular because they stem from "track" bikes. And people always try to emulate "professional" bikes. (See the entirety of the bike market...)

People and kids see these guys on fixed gear bikes on the track going really fast with no brakes and say "I want to do that too because it LOOKS cool and people are cheering for them."

There is no POINT of a fixed gear bike on the road other than to make cycling artificially harder. You could accomplish the SAME thing on a derailleur equipped bike by simply NOT SHIFTING.

Now-a-day fixies are used as a form of self expression. People aren't good enough at normal things so they seek admiration by riding a bike that's "harder" to ride than a normal bike. They LIKE to hear "Oh you ride a fixie?" Or rather, as to not offend that crowd (they hate the word "fixie"... it sounds too feminine to describe their "manly" bikes) "Oh you ride fixed?"

Or some people probably ride it for the adrenaline rush. "I'm going to ride a bike that's woefully ill equipped to deal with traffic and try not to die." I mean, if that's how you get your kicks... go ahead.

The whole "simplicity" idea of a fixie is a farce. Derailleur equipped bikes would last for just as long if you never shifted. And you'd never have to worry about correctly tensioning the chain. Riding a fixie requires an entirely new skillset than riding normal bikes. How is that "simple?"

Maelochs

Every time this topic comes up we hear the same anecdotes, positive and negative, and in the end, it’s just peple bickering.

As I see it, sometimes Walmart/Box-store bikes are the best choice. If you don’t have a vehicle and thus can’t conveniently buy used, if you don’t have time/tools/talent to fix a used bike, if you just need basic “home from the restaurant at 2 a.m.” transport ....

Some people ride them for a few years, functioning less well each year, before replacing them .... $50 a year is One Tire for many of us.

A used bike is generally a better value for someone who can take the time and spend the money to track down such a bike, and tune it up. I watch CL and EBay and mid-902-to 2005 rigid MTBs in my size aren’t that common.

if I had unlimited time I could find a great deal ... I might have to take six or seven two-hour round trips to check and reject bikes to get the right one.

A lot of people don’t have time to shop like that, then to research the bike and source parts and put everything into working order.

I’d say most people would be Much better off buying the $300 Nashbar flat bar road bike ... I have recommended it many, many times. I’d bet that bike would last literally lifetime with only the most minor maintenance.

Most Walmart bike customers have never heard of Nashbar, aren’t going to shop for a bike online, maybe don’t have a credit card (or one they could put a several hundred dollars on, what with bills to pay.) Most people who would buy a box-store bike couldn’t tell a good deal form a bad one at BikesDirect.

For anyone who wants to ride recreationally, I would Definitely suggest used or cheap new from a website.

For people who just need a bike for transport and don’t care about performance at all ... I’d say a simple Walmart bike will probably serve their needs.

I-Like-To-Bike

How many people and kids in the U.S. have ever seen fixed bikes on the track, even on TV?
My guess is less than one in a hundred. Probably even a lower percentage want to emulate them in any way shape or fashion.

The other reasons you posted for fixie fad/fever may have some validity but not an alleged attraction or appeal of the "track racing" look for people and kids in the U.S.

Barabaika

I think current fixies look beautiful with classic proportions. They also have pretty good components; though, prices are affordable.
Walmart bikes are ugly with sloping tubes and half-baked suspensions.

This is cool.


What can I say about this?

Maelochs

Of course that "fixie" could be a single-speed and look exactly the same. And likely you could buy a bike which looks like that at Walmart.