Kev

Sounds like a good way to get your wife into cycling. It is inexpensive and life time adjustments can't ask for better then that. I still would not consider a bike like that for a long tour or riding hard, due to low end components will wear down quicker and break, but to get into cycling sounds great. Then just keep it around afterwards as a beater bike.

closetbiker

If he's going to be riding across Canada I think the main thing is he doesn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bike that has just broken beyond riding.

Buy something reliable, know how to fix things and have the attitude to hang in there when things don't go well.

Waldo

I sincerely hope you don't actually believe that. You've got a tirade coming your way if you do. There's a reason you see lots of shops going under, and it's not because we're snatching lots of bucks.

NuTz4BiKeZ

AHHHHHHhahahhah nope I was just kidding... but then again there does seem to be an attitude that your local LBS guy is just below God... I have met some real dorks that work in bike shops.
Guess you just have to make up your own mind about each separate case huh

D*Alex

Hey, Einstein-we're talking about steel here!!!

As far as the guy looking at the el-cheapo Roadmaster (Built by Pacific, same as now own the Schwinn name, but slotted at the lower end of the spectrum) for his wife: Have you considered that such a junky machine may actually turn her away from cycling? Also, what does it say about you, buying just the cheapest pile of dreck for his own wife?? Also, what do you suppose the resale value of a Roadmaster is, should she not like it? Then, consider what the resale value of a better bike would be.
Be a cheapskate at your own risk......

Aemon_

have you ever considered that your sorry attitude and anti-helpful comments may turn people away from this forum? that would be a sad thing, because the people who are actually helping are good teachers. and this forum is a great tool, i have already learned alot the few days i have been a member on here.

thanks for not helping me.

later

Waldo

NuTz4BiKeZ-I kinda figured you were joking but I wasn't sure. There are a lot of elitists at bike shops, which is really unfortunate. We should all get along better as we are all so passionate about our hobby.
Aemon-
I get some people in my shop that refuse to get on a bike because they had a bad experience with an Xmart bike (or even a poorly assembled bike from another shop-it can happen). It's terrible that people get turned off of cycling because of things like that. Hence, I've got to say that D*Alex raises a valid point, at least in my humble opinion.

Larus

good idea

fubar5

I had a Roadmaster, and a Huffy, and a Free Spirit before I ever got a bike shop bike. They were a blast, I rode those things into the ground, I rode them until the parts started falling off of them....But that was before wally world bikes had suspension forks, and full suspension, and grip shifters, or v- brakes..They were rigid, thumb shifter rigs. A couple of my brothers have the current wally-world specials...Total crap. The dam things won't stay together to save their lives. They are rusted(I thought Aluminum didn't rust??) The cranksets fall off, the BB creaks, the shifters don't work...Plus, they weigh 5 million pounds!!! I'm going to have a premature bad back from trying to lift the monsters up onto my bike stand!!!! Plus, the spokes rust, and the rims rust, bonding somehow to make a creaking, untruable wheel...Did I mention the forks??? Well, I won't go there.

Sounds to me like somebody already has their mind made up, and that certain someone is trying to spite all us bike snobs who fell for the trap.

Wally-world bikes have their place, the dumpster..They aren't meant for cross-country rides. I, nor did anyone else on this forum, come to that conclusion overnight. We didn't come to that conclusion just because.

If you wanna ride a wally world Schwinn across a continent, go ahead, go for it.

I work on wally-world bikeseveryday that don't even hold up for kids riding to school.

barkingdog

D*Alex -- You have got to be F*%$ kidding me. Did you read my post. I mean did you actually read my post. Do you think if you started on a cheap bike you won't be riding right now?? no, of course not. Either like riding or don't. If you believe equipment makes the cyclist then you are sad case in deed.

How old are you: 10? You think a husband and wife make these kinda decisions alone. This not some romantic gift I'm giving my girlfriend, hoping to impress her and get laid. This is my wife. Going the cheap route is actually her idea. Thinking being (in my original post) that if she likes it we could upgrade later, if not we're only out a 100 bucks.

Aemon_
Thanks for coming to my defense. It is sorry _____ like him that drive newbies away. Yes, I'm a newbie to this forum and to MTB. I've ridden a road cycle for most of my life, in the last few years I haven't really be riding. But now I want to get back into it and need advice from folks that have been doing recently.

I've found this forum helpful and truly most have been very helpful, but D*Alex do us all favor and go away. Feel important somewhere else. Maybe you could berate some poor guy or gal on the trail, if you've got the guts to do it in person... humm probably a long shot.

auger

the schwinns at c tire and whatnot are worth the money anyone that tells you different is not really thinking the plain and simple fact is most bikes come from tiwan and are welded by robots mass produced dont get me wrong all you mega gurus your mega buck custom rides stilll rule but if you droped your love for the sport a minute and really thought about it a mass produced bike frame ie gt cannondale schwinn devinchi kona rocky mnt is going to have a better frame weld then some of the one offs by your local welder that has decided to make bikes and sure enough the parts that come on toy store bikes are low end and they do break ....wait a minute so does my xt stuff so is xt crap and well ive broke various frames etc and they have all been high end what it comes down to for what people do on mnt bikes there will never be the perfect bike or part get what you can afford most important ride your bike and about the service at toy stores etc screw your local bike store most of the tossers in the local shop are usless unless your buying there new high end crap and i tell you man if your get a bike at c tire or some other massive toy store your warrenty will be 10 fold better then your l b s c tire for example if you buy that schwinn and you break it in half they give you a new one try that at your local bike store the whole bike is warr. for 1 year and liftime frame you cant beat that so all you techno weenies sit back and shut up man cause plain and simple money makes the world turn and all you high end bikes are going to be for sale at c tire in no time what will your ego do

chewa

This is exactly what I was meaning in this thread

Acceptance

Is this a cycling forum (people who love bikes), or a forum for those who ride expensive bikes? If the latter, I'm out of here.

I ride two expensive bikes, but my first real bike was the equivalent of a ***mart bike. I loved it because it got me into cycling. It was heavy but all t meant was when I tried a more expensive bike the difference was incredible.

i travelled thousands of miles on it, gradually updating and upgrading then transferred all the good stuff onto a new frame.

i can see why people want to buy a cheaper bike to start. hell, most of my neighbours have bikes and they virtually all hang in the garage. Why pay more for an ornament? I

if you like cycling you'll ride. the bike won't necessarily put you off.

If you don't go offroad or do a lot of distance, anything will do.

people used to do the tdf on fixed wheels for goodness sake.

God I hate snobbery.

Aemon_

this is the same thing my wife and i are doing. we went riding on tuesday and she loved it. now i am convinced, that when the budget isnt so tight and when we can afford it, we will be getting higher end bikes. so, until then, we will most likely upgrade ours alittle bit.

i agree with you wholeheartedly.

later

Aemon_

i know i'm a newbie, does anyone think this thread can be closed?

later

lotek 

Aemon_
I don't think the thread should be closed, in fact if one
strips away all of the flaming, and gut reactions there
is alot of info to be mined here.
sometimes we get a bit hot under the collar but
it isn't the norm here.

Marty

Aemon_

thats cool.

its just that i've seen good forums go down in flames because of this type of bickering. i dont want to see that, because alot can be learned here.

later

lotek 

hey guys/gals can we tone this down a bit?
Lets not forget that this is a community which
doesn't tolerate harrassement, vulgarity etc.
we fully support heated discussion but lets keep
it civil ok?

thanks,
Marty

fubar5

Oh my God. I think this sets a record.

No reason to close this thread. You guys asked for advice, and you got it. Despite the opinions of cyclist who have been riding for years, ride everyday, and post several thousand miles a year, you guys still hold to your belief that x-mart is a better way to start...Fine, go with it, no problems..If that's what gets you riding, then thats all that matters. Don't get all ticked and start telling longtime members to go away because you don't like their attitude about wally world bikes or about buying a cheap bike. That's his opinion, just like starting with a wally world bike is yours.

fubar5

Does the Schwinn in question have eyelets for a pannier rack?

KevinG

Punctuation please.
I hope you dont really expect to get your point across, when it is written like this?

Kev

I agree I don't think the thread should be closed, there is a small bit of flaming in this thread, but on average it has ALOT of good info. I don't believe this forum is made up of a bunch of snobs, who just ride expensive bikes. Yes my bikes are fairly expensive that I own, but I see no problem with starting off with a big box bike, I just like to point out that a low end bike at your LBS will not cost that much more, you could get by with spending $200 if you want to, and when you calculate the warranty/free maintenance/proper fit that easily makes up for the extra $50-100.

Aemon I'm glad you are enjoying cycling if you want to upgrade parts on your current bike, I have no problem with that. I figure anything you upgrade on it, can be moved over to a better bike when you buy one so you have no real loss. Very few things could not be moved over.

Dahon.Steve

I recently talked with a young girl who is going to sell me her Schwinn 3 speed for $50.00! I can't wait to tune it up myself and use it as a beater bike. I was going to buy a Roadmaster but figured a used three speed by Schwinn would be a better value. Why?

One answer. Sturmey Acher.

I commute on a three and seven speed hub gears and have found them to be VERY reliable. I have put thousands of miles on hub gears and they work every time even in bad weather. It's unfortunate I'm having difficulity taking these bikes on the train to work otherwise there would not be a need for a beater bike on the other side. The good thing about the whole situation is that bikes are cheap.

When it comes to gear reliability, the same cannot be said for Roadmaster. I see bike messengers riding all the time in Manhattan with Magna, Murray and Roadmaster cycles and one thing is a constant. I NEVER see them shift gears. We have some hill here in Manhattan but they don't shift gears because the sprockets are rusted or the derailler is broken. I don't understand why toy stores can't sell 3 speeds which are far more reliable than what they currently sell.

I was also thinking of getting the ToysRUS Schwinn to use as the beater but decided against it since I would practically have to reassemble the whole thing all over again and would get hit by crooks.

On a separate subject. I have no ojections against someone buying the ToysRUs Schwinns since Bicycling stated a couple of issues ago that these bikes were almost the same as the ones sold at you local bike shop. But for a little bit more money, you could buy a low end bike at a lbs that is assembled by a professional. Seriously. The Schwinns at ToysRUs were $179.00 plus tax.

I was at a LBS last week and could have bought a Jamis Citizen for $199.00. Sure it was on sale but these kind of deals happen all the time. Plus the Jamis would have been assembled much better saving you time from having to do it yourself on the toy store bike. The free tune-up alone would have been worth the extra $20.00 dollars.

supcom

Man, it's warm in here. Would someone turn on the air conditioner?

OK, lets put this all in perspective. Xmart bikes are designed for several markets:

1. Kids to use for a few years until the trash them out or outgrow them. Probably ridden less than a couple hundred miles total average.

2. Adults who haven't ridden a bicycle in years, are way out of shape and think that a few trips around the block will prevent their next heart attack. They ride a few times, then it gets too hot, too cold, or the next episode of Survivor is coming on the Tee Vee and they park the bike in the garage. They like the idea of buying a Schwinn because they had one as a kid and don't know what has happen to the brand name in recent years. Total average riding distance: less than 100 miles.

3. Senior citizens who want something to get around the RV park. I see lots of RVs with two xmart bikes on the back. If I had to park one of those land whales, I'd get a bike to go down to the grocery store too! These folks probably put a hundred miles average on a bike. Nice easy slow miles for the most part. (No intent to disrespect seniors. Some of them are in way better shape then I!)

The xmart bike is not designed for cross continent rides. It's not designed for riding 20 miles per day for 10 years. It's not designed to traverse the Great Divide trail.

That doesn't mean the bike is not good value. Good value means the bike meets the customer's needs at a good price. Not everyone wants to let their darling Junior trash an $800 bike. What need does the average Senior have with a carbon fiber frame and titanium seat rails? If I give my kid a $100 bike and it lasts two years, I figure I've got my money's worth.

I certainly would not want to try to ride an xmart bike across the continent. However, I'll bet at least one person has done it. It would probably be more of a challenge than doing it with a kilobuck touring bike!

It's not that xmart is selling a bad product. It's just not the right product for every cycling need.

ShadowRider

the real question would be wtf is wrong with KMART bikes?

Waldo

Kmart is rumored to be leaving the bike market as part of their restructuring. Apparently making $10 on a bike doesn't excite the people that drafted their bankruptcy recovery plan.