Today I managed to score a '81 Schwinn Traveler for $5 in a garage sale, and I love this thing. Works almost perfectly, although the brakes may need a bit of work. My other bike is a '05 Next Shocker, a $80 MTB from Wal-Mart. After replacing the grips a few weeks ago (I swear, the stock ones are designed to hurt your hands....), pretty much the only problem with it is the chain will occasionally skip.

After riding around with the "New" Schwinn, I've decided that I like it much more than the Next, and I'm not sure if I'll actually ever use the MTB again. How many of you who own just a road bike sometimes wish you had something that was a bit more suited for off road? I'm kind of worried that I may regret selling it later.

Also, any idea how much I could get for it? Like I said, it's got new grips, aside from the occasional skipping, it works fine, and there is little rust on it. I'd probably want to sell it tomorrow, as this weekend is our town's garage sale weekend.

Well, you're not going to be offroading all the time are you? Eitherway, ditch the walmart bike... if you really miss offroading get a used mtb bike from a real brand.

As for selling it... I guess you could go for 30-50...

You aren't going to get a lot for a bike that was $80 new.
Why not just keep it for a back up/foul weather bike?
I hate real skinny, slick tires and wet leaves in the Fall.

ha ha, oh wow. That thing weights like 50 pounds, right? I would say keep looking at garage sales and craigslist for a good old cheep rigid MTB then dump the NEXT when you find one. For light offroading all you need are some fatter tires.

properly dispose of/recycle the Wal-Mart bike

Sell the Next, use the money to maintain/upgrade your good bike. A better mt. bike can be bought at garage sales cheap.

My son toasted his Wally MTB , bent the rear axle, wheels and blew out the front suspension fork, all in an afternoon's ride. I agree on getting a top name brand MTB at a yard sale, craigslist, or at the LBS, and you're going to be dollars ahead.

I say, keep it and use it for bad weather or emergency spare.

Been there, done that, the wife bought me a Wally bike to use as a backup bike, I made it three blocks before turning around for home, called work and told them I'd be late coming in, and proceeded to fix my main ride. I was only late by just less than an hour, probably close to the same time I'd spend extra in a round trip work commute on the Wally bike.

Geez, Arrowana, I know you like that Schwinn, but you gotta' do something about that chain skipping. That can rare up and bite you at the worst possible time.

In my neighborhood they steal wal-mart bikes,believe it or not.

Dont dump it, if the wheels are aluminum use the parts.I use the parts from my wal-mart bikes to build other wheels.I just converted a 7 speed wheel into a single speed freewheel from one of my wal-mart bikes.I did this because coaster brakes wear out after 2500 miles(1 year of riding for me).Coaster brake wheels are $45.00 1/4 the cost of the bike.So I converted the trek cruiser classic into a single speed freewheel classic cruiser with a front brake.The brakes I took from my wal-mart bike.I know for a fact the wheel will last longer than 2500 miles.

Find some underprivileged kid who needs a bike and donate it ;-)

$80 Walmart bikes aren't suited for off-road. They are not even suited for the road. They are suited for quietly rusting in a shed.

I am always for an extra beater, but using a Walmart bike for actually riding is too painful for me to even consider it as a back-up beater. I'd rather walk. If I were you, I might try selling the thing (though I don't know how much you can get for it, really), or donating it, or using it for parts if (and that's a big if) it has any parts worth bothering with.

Ha ha, I'm reading customer reviews for that bike on Walmart's site. Just shows you what kind of hopelessly clueless buggers would consider such a bike in the first place... My favourite so far:

1) I'm deeply perplexed over the meaning of the phrase "padded shocks".
2) Omigod, omigod, the "seat" is ALMOST above the bars, they must be too low! (Leave Handel out of it, dude, he wrote good stuff!)
3) "should not be a problem for you" - yours will have some other exciting problems!
4) I hear ya! Seriously.
5) Good luck adjusting gears on that piece of crap. Especially if you intend to do so by means of "tightening the shifter".

P.S. Sorry. I am hijacking the thread, ain't I?

My favourites are when they blame the bike for their flat tires.

Also, one woman complained that the nuts on the axle became stripped after removing the wheel a few times, yet she somehow didn't know the term "stripped", so she spent a paragraph describing it.

Yeah, the bike wasn't my first choice either. My parents were low on money for buying me a birthday present, and said if I wanted something better, I'd have to pay extra...

After going for another ride on the Schwinn, I think I am just going to sell the Next if I can. Sucks that it rained today, barely anyone was out looking at garage sales.

I liked how one woman wrote "the gears are a bit shifty". Not sure if that was a deliberate pun or not.

I didn't mean to offend you, by the way. I was actually just thinking that not that many years ago I could have written a "customer review" just like the ones found on the Walmart site today. I also realize that plenty of people who have considerably more clue than I did back then still may buy a Walmart bike for financial reasons. (I would much rather look for a used bike in such a situation though, which is what you seem to be doing right now anyway.)

Craigslist?

You won't get hardly anything for the Next bike. You've owned it for 3 years without much problem, don't let the people in here talk you into believing that it's going to fall apart tomorrow with all thier walmart "horror" stories (that most are made up BTW).

Keep it as a spare.

No "made up" stories from this fellow, my wife and kids might grumble about how much more a better quality bike costs, but they can feel the difference when they ride them.

Knowing what I know now, I'd donate/sell the Wally bike as soon as a better off road bike is found.

You're a wally agent!

$80 Walmart bikes aren't suited for off-road. They are not even suited for the road. They are suited for quietly rusting in a shed


Neither are trek classic cruisers.Wear out too fast.




walmart "horror" stories (that most are made up BTW).

Those horror stories are not made up,but parents think a bicycle is a toy,that dont need,a new chain,gears sprockets or grease.

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