I also might want to add the store clerks were looking at me kinda funny when I bought this toy bike. It's like they felt sorry I couldn't afford something better. They weren't aware I spent almost $2000.00 dollars on bikes the past three years and was going to use this basically as a beater cycle. Even the clerks knew the bikes were junk.

To be totally honest, I was happy with my purchase. I knew what I was getting (junk) and a new bicycle is ALWAYS a happy moment. That bike just about made my day and even though the quality was poor. I was beaming.

It's unfortunate for many people, this is the best they can do. If people could just save a few more bucks, you could have a much better cycle. Seriously. The bicycling experience is much better when you riding something that works.

What kills me is that ToysRUS sells thousands of quality products that work great but the bikes are barely functional. That angers me. If all their products worked as good as their bikes, this retailer would have gone out of business years ago.

Still. This bike just made me happy.

I just like bikes. Period.

Barkingdog,

check out Kopps bike shop in Princeton (you did say
central NJ right?).
They may not have a large selection of used
but I'm guessing they can point you in right direction.
Englishtown Auction?
There used to be a good LBS in Highland Park but
I don't remember the name (on the main drag to the
bridge into New Brunswick). Also its getting towards
summer, college letting out, you might check the
college papers to see whats available.

Marty

Snapper, don't get one of the full-suspension models. If I were you, I wouldn't even get a model with a front shock, as they are next to useless. Just get a vanilla model(i.e. all rigid, thumbshifters, yada yada). Then, convert it to a single speed and you'll be rockin' the suburbs.

I have the full suspension model. Unfortunately, most of the bikes ToysRUS sell are FULL suspension models or have front shocks. I don't care since my commuter is only expected to last 4 months.

After my 4 month period, I'll post an update on the condition of my Pacific toy bike with a detailed review on the good, bad and ugly. It should be interesting.

lotek,

thanks, you're the second nod for Knopps, so I'll be checking them out. I've been to the highland park shop you're thinking of, I think it's called highland park cycles or something close. Seemed like a good shop, but nothing cheap -- I'm still thinking of a Trek for myself, so I may be back there. Englishtown didn't have a thing worth looking at, but I think it's still early in the season, I'll probably try them again, soon.

Any of you NJ folks familar with victory cycles up around springfield or around there? Just wondering if anyone has any experiences with them.

Looking at the current line up of the walmart bikes, it looks like the best deal they have is either the Schwinn cruiser that someone else recommended, or the Schwinn aluminum hardtail. I haven't seen the cruiser, but I recommended the hardtail to my 13 year brother ($140). The brakes are decent, as are the components. I don't like the shifters or the pedals very much and I can't speak for the quality of the metallurgy, but it will suffice for him until he's ready for the capability that a real bike will give him. I helped him to pick the least touched looking one off of the floor and helped him make the necessary adjustments before I let him ride more than enough to ensure there was no damage.
Quick story - I worked at Sears for the last couple of months that bikes were sold there. Someone bought one for his son, then rode it out into the parking lot without even looking at it or checking torque on the wheelnuts (something I do even with LBS bikes). He starts jumping curbs with it and guess what... the front wheel fell off. He hit his chin on the pavement. He called 3 MONTHS later to complain and say he wanted to sue.

Sounds like two and a half months after the incident he sat around getting oiled up with a few beers with his friends and told them his story. "You should sue 'em for all they got Fred." "Yeah, what a good idea. Never thought of that."

Try Dick's sporting goods

Sorry-they have mostly the same sorry collection of Sino-junk bikes, with a few 'slightly better' bikes (Diamondback, etc) which sell for roughly the same price as at the local bike shop!!! Gee, that makes sense....spend the same amount for no service after the sale!!! Hell, I even went there to check on prices for Yakima racks. Guess what-the bike shop was cheaper!!

I know it's bad to bump....but if you ahve to go wal-mart steer clear of roadmaster.

I used to have one of these, and it gave me nothing but trouble: https://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...%3A4183%3A5304

Basically, after one month the headset started to make noises...and the brakes never worked right. The next month I started having problems with chains blowing off my chainring under load...then I had my front caliper brake get bent from having to stop suddenly (almost got doored).

The final straw ws when the chain blew off again, this time while I was trying to start from a stop...went over the handlebars. Turns out the crankset was warped....what the heck? The next day I went and bought my current bike.

Basically Roadmaster is not a very good bike...the parts are ridiculously cheap, even for wal-mart bikes. Get a wal-mart schwinn, mongoose, or even a murray...heck my old murray back in high school was far tought than that roadmaster.

And then you get mad when someone tells you it's a heap of junk?

Walmart give lifetime tuneups and a fitting before buying? LOL,i couldnt help it.

HEY! This is an old post..

I guess I'll reply to my old post since I promised I would. Here's goes.

A.) The GOOD - The only good part about my Pacific Toy Store bike is that it's still working after having lived an entire year on the mean street of New York City. The brakes still work and that's what counts and the suspension still provides some relief from the potholes. The bike is basically a rusting crusier that crooks look the other way. I use the bike almost every day for my half mile journey and would not think about replacing it with anything more expensive.

B.) The BAD - The bike needed new tires after the 2nd month of use. The knobbies that came with that junker exploded one day and I was lucky to walk away. The brakes needed serviced because the small parts came apart when trying to adjust them after one month. I was able to find an LBS that did adjust them and found the bike really brakes much better than I thought.

C.) The UGLY - The drivetrain is completely rusted. The bike no longer shifts and doing so drops the chain. I do exactly what the food vendors do and keep the bike on a very low gear. The wheels, chain and even the frame is now rusting. You would never ride this bike for more than 2 or 3 miles because the the condition.

I say just go to a thrift store, salvation army, goodwill, whatever. Buy an old bike for pennys (most under 10$ here), either fix it up yourself, or pay your LBS 100$ for the overhaul tune-up. Just steer clear of the same brands of bike you would find at Target, Wallyworld etc, cause they really aren't worth fixing up.

Or even more fun, just convert the bike to SS or Fixed, cause once you get fixed its a irreversable operation.

I bought a "Next Extreme" from Wal Mart for $345.00 (after taxes) and was very happy with it... for a while. I had an accident, and took the bike to a pro bike shop, who it turned out couldn't fix it. A special part connecting frame to deraileur was bent. A piece, not 2 inches long, made bike unridable. Went to Wal Mart and was told several times about how it wasn't their responsibility, to which I replied several times, "I know, I'm the one who broke it." I just wanted them to order the part or have their bike mechanic look at it, at MY expense. ( Warranty expired, and wouldn't have applied anyway). After 15 minutes of this I ended up leaving without having gotten anything done. So, I did a search for "Next Extreme Bicycles" etc... and came up with over 63,000 sites on the net, including this BikeForum. Not what I was looking for, but I like it . So, when you by any bike, find out all you can BEFORE you buy. Is it a disposable bike, or can it be repaired?

I've owned one bike bought from a WalMart type store (Canadian Tire actually) and it lasted me one night. The fork started going easy rider on me within a few hours. Here's what happened: My parents did not want me riding my much more expensive BMX bike to school which was starting the following Monday. So on the Friday night before we went out and got me a cheapie from Canadian Tire, maybe it was Toys R Us... Anyway when we got home I went out with a friend to get used to it and after a few drops off of curbs and bunny hops up them the fork was done. I stuck some BMX forks in them (Made Wheelies particularly interesting) and still rode the thing around but boy was it a beast and required constant maintenance until the frame finally went snap. Lasted a little more than a month.

I've never known anyone who has been a serious cyclist who has managed to get a bike like that last too long. Not that I know many who have bought bikes from such places. Best advice in this situation is to take a look at the used market. A used bike from a decent bike maker will easily be much stronger and more reliable than one of these bikes.

A good example to follow in this situation is to look at the bikes people are using as beaters on this forum. Are they using new WalMart bikes or picking up old bikes from reputable builders? We all know the answer to that and the really neat thing about that is some of these bikes are 10-15 years old and being used for daily commutes with little fuss.

Edit: Forgot to add WalMart is evil!

But seriously they are.

I've had great luck picking up bikes at Goodwill. Sometimes the better bikes are cheaper because they look older or have a few more scrapes. The Takara I just bought is basically brand new, and for $9.99. The tires are even perfect. Needs zero work to ride anywhere tomorrow. Probably hung in someone's garage for 25yrs.

You can also just ask around. The Jeunet I have a guy gave me after I put a "wanted" note on the company swap sheet. Was hanging in his garage, and he wanted it gone.

Pat

I had a bike from ToysRUs that I thought was fantastic, my first geared bike, a 21 speed! But the pedal on the non drive side wasn't threaded correctly, and would come off, even after we brought it in a couple times and had it screwed in hydraulically (sp?). The funny part, however, is that someone stole it from my backyard, and all I can think is that about a mile down the road the pedal fell off, and with any luck they crashed.

I can't believe you didn't mention e-bay or police auctions! Trying to keep them off your turf?

Anyways -

If you do go eBay, here's an idea if you don't really know what size you're looking for. Go to a LBS and ask about picking up some lights for your non-existent bike. Tell them that you're broke and looking for a beater on eBay, but don't know exactly you should be looking for. Ask what size range they think you would need, what you'll be using it for, and if they have any recommendations on what brands you could look out for. Let them know that you'll probably be bringing it in once you get it for a tune up.

I think you might end up getting a really good bike that works really well, holds up a long time, quite possibly for around the same price as an X-mart.

It would also help you get to know your LBS, so you would have an idea of what the service is. If they're jerks about spending time with a customer with questions who isn't spending a lot of money, it might not be the best place for you. If they are cool about it and help you out, buy the lights and hit eBay!!!!!

I was about 12 or so. A familly member used my bike. Well, it got stoleden. Well, years later, he bought me one from Kmart. It was okay. At that time, I didn't know really anything about the names of bicycles, but I did know how to fix them. So when I got it home, I had to make it for me (of coures I had to make it fit me; adjust seat, handle bars, ect.). Well, I road that bicycle to work; about 5.3 miles one way. But to make that bicycle work, and perform the way I wanted(perfection), I had to adjust the hubs, staighten the rims, adjust the brakes, basikly, rebuild the bike. After going though it,(the bearing, head set,ect)the bicycle lasted for years. I'd go THOUGH it about every six months or so. And when I sold it, It was like bran new. So, if you get a bike, take it ALL apart, (wal-mart,K-mart,bike shop) clean every thing,and re-grease the bearing, adjust the brakes, re-true the rimes.Then you will know that the bike is like new.
p.s. I've never had a spoke brake on me from a rim that I re-built.

I just bought a Diamondback Topanga Comp at Dick's that my local bike shop wanted $200 more for. Sure the setup was awful, but I tend to repair and adjust my own anyway. I've been a loyal buyer from my lbs, but the local could not come close to matching the price for the same bike. The salesperson TOLD me to buy the bike at Dicks and he'd have no qualms about doing major service in the future. The shop still fixes all of my other bikes and I still support their business. The $200 that I saved will no doubt be spent at my local shop in the future.

If you buy at a discount store or an auction....do your homework and compare component for component.

Recently Upgraded my "WalMart special" Roadmaster Mt Fury. with a Bell gel padded saddle and Shimano front and rear derailiuars from a wrecked MT bike.. Spell check. $40 was hard to beat. Next Im going to change the handlebar style. to the "riser" type.