catatonic

I saw it with my own two beady little eyes the other day.

I was exploring target, mostly figuring out what stuff I needd for some furniture repair...and I decided to check out the bikes, just to see what's new.

...and lo and behold....a "vertical" brand road bike?

It was an aluminum frame, with an aluminum "aero" fork (al for forks scare me..), drop bars with proper levers...but with suicide shifters . It has 700x25c tires and wheels on it, canti brakes, and a "21 speed" shimano drivetrain (below "tourney" level parts). The cranks were some unkown brand, and were just insanely cheap. I did not see a price.

From the get-go, it looks at least like it could be a decent starter roadbike. I would have concerms with the wheels though, fork, and brakes though....even though the brakes were cantis...they were cheap stamped metal units, and did not look like they would last very long if I was to really put the power on that bike, and then try to stop. Also the bike lacked any type of QR skewers. The fork also looked very weird for some reason...it almost looked like the fok blades were way too long (more proprietary junk maybe?)

At the very least, the bike would be on par with a "gas pipe" bike boom bike, or so it seems. If it's around $120, then it can be converted into a decent "$200-ish" bike by buying some cheap but solid wheels (rigida rims, and some Shimano 7-sp freehubs), and some Tektro or better cantis...if that is, the fork doesn't prove to be an issue.

slvoid

Thankfully, people who buy $120 bikes from Target aren't the same ones to put "the power on".

Old Dirt Hill

I'm going to be travelling on vacation next month and think I'm going to pick up a department store bike rather than ship mine down or trying to rent one for the week. Anyone know if you can find one of these throwaways anywhere in Southern Florida?

And don't tell anyone that I might try to return it and get my money back at the end of the week.

catatonic

The exact Target I found this one at was the MLK (9th St. N to some of you) location. A few miles south of Gandy Blvd for those who are not familiar with the area.

Like I said...I don't know what the price is...$120 was a ballpark number based on what the other models that have that drivetrain tend to be priced at.

Play it again sports and other used sports equipment shops are great bets to get a bike for cheap. One of my co-workers commutes on a Mongoose he got at a sports authority for like $40. Given it's a post-buyout Mongoose, but it's still a decent bike for the 2mi commute he pulls.

Patriot

I bought a cheapy MTB Mongoose bike from Walmart. I beat the daylight out of that thing. Somehow, it is still going. I just use it to bum around the neighborhood now when my daughter wants to ride on the road. She's 6yo.

shakeNbake

I posted a mini-review a while ago about it in the sub-700 bike forum.

roughrider504

Link?

shakeNbake

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...et#post2596881

steve_wmn

I was killing time in my local Toys'R'Us tonight while my daughter picked out a birthday present for a friend and I spotted a road bike there too. This one was a Dodge Viper, believe it or not. $99.00, marked down from $199. Aluminum frame/fork, 27" wheels with chunky looking 27x1 1/4 tires. Stem mounted shifters. The rear derailler looked like it was all plastic. Smallish frame and nothing to indicate there were other frame sizes. It was labelled as a 26" road bike and I'm not sure why. The wheels aren't 26" and the frame was closer to a 52cm or so.

catatonic

it's because most x-marts categorize by wheel size, and usually their system only gies up to 26".....downside of computerization and "niche items"

Old Dirt Hill

I'm looking for a used road bike in the $150 - $100 (or less ) range in the Naples, Florida area during the first week of July. If anyone knows where I can find one for purchase, PM me please!

I'm going to be in the area for a week or so and would like to go on some casual rides with family in the area. I don't want to pay to have my bike shipped when for about the same price I might be able to find a nice beater ride (some members of my family will be driving home and would be able to take my new purchase back home with them...I'm flying, so no such luck).

Any ideas, please let me know.

kyle!

^craigslist???...^

always cheap bikes there.