Walmart road bikes?????
 

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...Specifications
I couldn't believe when I saw it either.
Well, has anyone ever road one?

They were talking about a Wally road bike in the road forum: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hlight=walmart. Looks like the same one... iirc, nobody thought much of it.

I was actually wondering that myself today. Considering that most people have bikes here that cost 10-20 times this much, I was wondering how much of a difference riding a bike like this would make. I'd actually like to try riding one in one of my weekly group tempo rides just to see how much of a difference it would make. My current ride is a Felt F2C.

What I think is funny is that this damn thing shows up about once a month, with somebody asking what we all think of it. And we reply.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom

"It hurts so good..."


LOL- Damn! I knew I should have searched first but I was in shock! I have never seen seen one yet as often as my wife drags me to walfart. Still, wonder what they ride like.
Dont post. wont hurt my feeling. let the thread die in peace.

Kent bicycles are built in NJ.

Apparently they have had some problems with their bikes. Found this on google


In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Lida Bicycle Co. Ltd., of China, is recalling about 2,400 men's bicycles. The frames of these bicycles can break apart, causing the rider to fall and suffer injuries.

Lida Bicycle and the bicycle distributor, Kent International Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., have received four reports of the frames of these bicycles breaking. Two riders suffered minor contusions and abrasions. The other two riders were not injured.

The bicycle is a 26-inch, 21-speed, dual-suspension men's bicycle with a double-bar, white frame. "Kent" is written on the down tube and head tube of the bicycle. The decal reading "2100DH" or "PRO-X" appears on the top tube near the head of the bicycle.

Discount department stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, and independent bicycle shops in New York and New Jersey sold these bicycles from April 2002 through August 2002 for between $200 and $250.

Consumers should stop riding these bicycles immediately, and return them to the store where purchased for a refund or store credit. For more information, consumers should call Kent Bicycles at (800) 451- 5368 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to the Kent web site at www.kentbicycles.com

Apparently walmart categorizes that bike as a type "mountain" if you look down at the specifications. Interesting, I wonder if they would let me return it after riding it in some of the "mountains" around here. :) Maybe that is why the frame has problems? :)

Buy at your own risk. There are good inexpensive bikes and then there are Wal-Mart bikes. Would you trust them to assemble and set up a bike properly? And it comes in only 1 size? If you want to throw your money away, go ahead.

Even their bikes that look like mountain bikes have labels that say "not for off-road use."

they're ouffy guy

Preface: I'm not suggesting anyone buy a Walmart bike.

I've met several LBS' that have quite a lucrative business assembling bicycles FOR the larger chains like W*lmart.

Win win for the businesses - having the bikes professionally assembled may limit returns that would have occurred if an unqualified person did the job.

Conceding it's possible a W*mart bike has been professionally assembled, I've yet to see one that has any kind of quality components to start with nor with any kind of sizing options.

Can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear. ;)

Every WalMart I've been in - including our new Super WalMart in-town, sells the bikes in the toy department. HELLO! - hows that for "attitude" toward your new bike?

I'm usually a champion for Walmart bikes and in fact rode a Walmart bike almost 2,000 miles on my tour this March.

But this was one bike I checked out that I can not recommend for the price. If they would invest in quick release wheels, quick release seat, put in frame gear shifters instead of on the handlbar taking up valuable real estate, and better brakes and slap $30 more to the price, it would be worth it.

And the tires are 700x28c, thick for a roadie bike I think. If i had $150 to spend on a Walmart, I get the Schwinn Sidewinder. That's what I used on my tour and not a lick of problem with it.

Only if New Jersey has become a province of China.

Yeah, the only way I'd consider owning one of these bikes is if you're mechanically adept enough to do all the repair & maintenance work yourself. It's gonna require it. And if you take it to a shop every single time something goes out of adjustment or breaks, it's going to end up costing you more in a year than it took to buy the bike to begin with! So if you're handy with tools and can fix every single part on that bike yourself, then go for it.

Or if you can't swing 700+ for a bike. It's an excellent bike for the price you pay. I think some people juist don't want to believe that you can get a new entry level bike for under 700. It's a good bike for what you pay. I rode nearly 15k miles on my Mongoose XR-100. Went riding with a local group once for 51-61 miles and they couldn't believe I did what i did on the bike, let alone keep up with them.

No. WalMart is evil, and their bikes suck. Even the people who defend them know about their unethical labor practices and shoddy goods. Send me $100 if you really want to flush your money down the toilet.

Give them time.

Great link. I'm working my ass off at work due to labor cuts in my department at a grocery store's GM department thanks to a few new Walmarts in the nieghbohood. I figure sooner or later Walmart will control all retail movement in the country and most of us who have anything to do with any kind of sales will be at thier mercy. Walmart's growth is out of control and they won't stop untill they have total control. Yes. I agree. Walmart is Evil. .
Also Walmart is not "always" the lowest. Thier ad campaign has convinced folks to just shop only there thinking that Walmart will be the cheapest.

29lbs...

atleast they are putting roadbikes to the massmarket

Yep - that is wha is important imho. Most people who buy these bikes are not going to put 1000 miles in a month - or maybe even a year these bikes should last them a long time.


I feel your pain sort of - but Wal-Mart definitely has a niche.
Spend 4 bucks on towels and 5 bucks on a silverware set
Both last barely a year
Spend 4 bucks on towels and 5 bucks on a silverware set next year
Spend 30 bucks on a towel that might last 2-3 years and a 50-100 bucks on a silverware set after spending 20 bucks on gas trying to find a place that isn't target or wal-mart or k-mart. Do i know of anyother place to buy towels - Bed Bath & Beyond is the only thing that comes to mind and I've never dealt with them but their name to me implies instant 20-50% markup. Silverware? I would not even know where to begin shopping.

Wal-Mart is a place to find it. If i need silverware or towels I know exactly where to go. I understand the quality that I am paying for but 9 out of 10 times I would spend more on gas just trying to find a place that has this - let alone the extravagant 70% markup price - when in actuality you are NOT guaranteed a product of higher calibre then Wal-Mart and getting a return is usually 100% times more difficult.

I understand the quality I am paying for, its a single stop for everything and i know that if i am pissed i can get a return or an exchange with literally no hassle. I think alot of people, whether they are conscious of it are aware of this also. If a small business wants to attract business from large corporations they have to provide something the big businesses don't.

And honestly almost NOBODY does that. When you buy from a small / local business so many times one may not treated properly, wonders whether the employee that just served you got out of jail, get charged an extra charge for using a visa card, doesn't have xyz item in stock, or won't accept a refund readily, are selling the exact same item wal-mart sells, sometimes with a smaller selection of choices but at a 20-30% markup.