Wife's wretched new bike from Wal-Mart
#51
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You get what you pay for,,, pure & simple ! And if you buy an $80 bike at WM, & it is assembled perfectly, it is still JUNK ! If you want something at least safe & rideable,,, you do not have to go to an expensive Cannondale, etc. There are decent $200 bikes around for the occassional rider,, & there is always Craigslist.
Last edited by Esteban32696; 07-02-08 at 06:00 AM.
#53
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OP again -
So we mostly agree Wal-Mart bicycles are sub-standard ..."checkmark"
So we mostly agree that Wal-Mart puts bicycles together in a manner that does not equal
what an LBS shop would do ..."checkmark"
Statistics show that there is never a time when massively made products have 0% manufacturing flaws.
Statistics also would show that you cannot have anyone put together a product correctly 100% of the time.
What blows me away is how Wal-Mart has gotten away with this for so long. I guess "statistically" they know a percentage of products will fail. I know the insurance companies factor all that in as well.
So we mostly agree Wal-Mart bicycles are sub-standard ..."checkmark"
So we mostly agree that Wal-Mart puts bicycles together in a manner that does not equal
what an LBS shop would do ..."checkmark"
Statistics show that there is never a time when massively made products have 0% manufacturing flaws.
Statistics also would show that you cannot have anyone put together a product correctly 100% of the time.
What blows me away is how Wal-Mart has gotten away with this for so long. I guess "statistically" they know a percentage of products will fail. I know the insurance companies factor all that in as well.
#55
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Do a search for moms suing walmart, I guess there are a bunch of moms getting together to sue walworld
because they were not told the bikes they bought had quick releases and they were not given a manual so
they could understand what it was and why it is darn important. Well their kids are riding along happy as can
be feeling that feeling only a brand new bike gives you especially when you are a kid and maybe they pop a
wheelie or go over a bump and boom the front wheel goes flying off and the forks dig into the pavement and
little johnny ain't so happy. I guess there are injuries and broken arms and stitches resulting from it and the
store where they bought it takes the bike back and gives a new one or another of equal value and then sends
them on their way. Of course we all know the Qr are more then likely way out of adjustment and if they aaren't
too tight thay are way too loose. Just check the next time you are at a wally world and while you are there do
a nice thing and adjust it the right way and you could be a HERO!!
because they were not told the bikes they bought had quick releases and they were not given a manual so
they could understand what it was and why it is darn important. Well their kids are riding along happy as can
be feeling that feeling only a brand new bike gives you especially when you are a kid and maybe they pop a
wheelie or go over a bump and boom the front wheel goes flying off and the forks dig into the pavement and
little johnny ain't so happy. I guess there are injuries and broken arms and stitches resulting from it and the
store where they bought it takes the bike back and gives a new one or another of equal value and then sends
them on their way. Of course we all know the Qr are more then likely way out of adjustment and if they aaren't
too tight thay are way too loose. Just check the next time you are at a wally world and while you are there do
a nice thing and adjust it the right way and you could be a HERO!!
#56
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This mans wife was injured in an accident and all folks can do is find blame w/ the poster? Amazing. Yes not everyone, but enough to warrant a comment. Now that is what is rich about this forum. Not.
First and foremost I hope your wife is restored to her full health and that you get all you deserve out of walmart for assembling and selling un safe bikes. Especially, with their documented history as pointed out by another poster. Regardless of the oh your a bike person you should have known comments...there are millions of others who aren't and wouldn't know. Therefore I hope you take this to the wall against walmart for all of those other un suspecting buyers.
Good luck and Goodspeed.
First and foremost I hope your wife is restored to her full health and that you get all you deserve out of walmart for assembling and selling un safe bikes. Especially, with their documented history as pointed out by another poster. Regardless of the oh your a bike person you should have known comments...there are millions of others who aren't and wouldn't know. Therefore I hope you take this to the wall against walmart for all of those other un suspecting buyers.
Good luck and Goodspeed.
#57
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I own a walmart bike for riding across campus (nobody's going to try and steal it off of a rack that way). The brakes suck in general. The cables were never stretched so by about the third time I used them they were gone and to keep them running at all the cables have to be pulled tighter weekly. The brake pad also contacts the rim awkwardly. However, I don't blame walmart. I purchased a crappy bike knowing it was a crappy bike (in fact thats the reason I bought it). I paid 63 dollars for the thing. I wasn't even expecting it to last as long as it did. If you're expecting to make this work you definitly need a lawyer. You won't be the first person to try and sue walmart for this and they'll probably have plenty of answers for your claims. That being said I hope your wife heals quickly!
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my wife came home with a bike from that place...I went right out and bought her a Trek and gave the ***mart bike to my mother in law....
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I'm a roadie, but I did buy a mountain bike from W - M for $97 with 21 speed indexed shifting. I bought it simply because we do camping and the kids have bikes and decided I should join in with them. The bike is somewhat heavy but rides and shifts really well. No problems at all from day one. I actually enjoy riding this bike - jumping over stumps, curbs and doing stupid stunts I would not dream of doing with my Bianchi Giro roadie.
I think you or your wife should have tested the bike out first before riding it. When I bought my W -M bike I tested the thing out first in the driveway. Mind you I know what to look for for problems.
Moral of the story is make sure everything is working before doing a ride. Actually, I do that everytime I go for a ride. Check the brakes, tire pressure, whell alignment and etc.
I think you or your wife should have tested the bike out first before riding it. When I bought my W -M bike I tested the thing out first in the driveway. Mind you I know what to look for for problems.
Moral of the story is make sure everything is working before doing a ride. Actually, I do that everytime I go for a ride. Check the brakes, tire pressure, whell alignment and etc.
#60
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I'm a roadie, but I did buy a mountain bike from W - M for $97 with 21 speed indexed shifting. I bought it simply because we do camping and the kids have bikes and decided I should join in with them. The bike is somewhat heavy but rides and shifts really well. No problems at all from day one. I actually enjoy riding this bike - jumping over stumps, curbs and doing stupid stunts I would not dream of doing with my Bianchi Giro roadie.
I think you or your wife should have tested the bike out first before riding it. When I bought my W -M bike I tested the thing out first in the driveway. Mind you I know what to look for for problems.
Moral of the story is make sure everything is working before doing a ride. Actually, I do that everytime I go for a ride. Check the brakes, tire pressure, whell alignment and etc.
I think you or your wife should have tested the bike out first before riding it. When I bought my W -M bike I tested the thing out first in the driveway. Mind you I know what to look for for problems.
Moral of the story is make sure everything is working before doing a ride. Actually, I do that everytime I go for a ride. Check the brakes, tire pressure, whell alignment and etc.
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#61
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I'm a roadie, but I did buy a mountain bike from W - M for $97 with 21 speed indexed shifting. I bought it simply because we do camping and the kids have bikes and decided I should join in with them. The bike is somewhat heavy but rides and shifts really well. No problems at all from day one. I actually enjoy riding this bike - jumping over stumps, curbs and doing stupid stunts I would not dream of doing with my Bianchi Giro roadie.
I think you or your wife should have tested the bike out first before riding it. When I bought my W -M bike I tested the thing out first in the driveway. Mind you I know what to look for for problems.
Moral of the story is make sure everything is working before doing a ride. Actually, I do that everytime I go for a ride. Check the brakes, tire pressure, whell alignment and etc.
I think you or your wife should have tested the bike out first before riding it. When I bought my W -M bike I tested the thing out first in the driveway. Mind you I know what to look for for problems.
Moral of the story is make sure everything is working before doing a ride. Actually, I do that everytime I go for a ride. Check the brakes, tire pressure, whell alignment and etc.
Update:
I have checked out the brake levers in a bit more detail this time and did notice that the brake lines never slid out any around the bolt that tightens the brake line down on the caliper/wheel end. This leads me to believe that the brake lines did not slip out or that the bolt was on loose. It may be that the brake lines stretched a bit after a few rides and on the ride where the brakes failed to slow my wife down was when they were just stretched a bit too much. Now add to that the brake levers were able to be squeezed almost all the way to the hand grip in the beginning - add to that the brake lines stretching after a few rides...then put that together - stretched lines + brake levers gripped to the hand grip = not enough line to pull the brake into the wheel?
#62
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I did check the bicycle out initially before she even got on it. She did ride it for about 10 minutes before going down the hill. Everything did seem to work properly on normal LEVEL ground. It seems to me that the brakes were just good enough to stop her under slow speeds. My wife not be a bicycle racer did not ever race the bicycle fast. She didn't just walk the bicycle up the hill out of the driveway and take off.
Update:
I have checked out the brake levers in a bit more detail this time and did notice that the brake lines never slid out any around the bolt that tightens the brake line down on the caliper/wheel end. This leads me to believe that the brake lines did not slip out or that the bolt was on loose. It may be that the brake lines stretched a bit after a few rides and on the ride where the brakes failed to slow my wife down was when they were just stretched a bit too much. Now add to that the brake levers were able to be squeezed almost all the way to the hand grip in the beginning - add to that the brake lines stretching after a few rides...then put that together - stretched lines + brake levers gripped to the hand grip = not enough line to pull the brake into the wheel?
Update:
I have checked out the brake levers in a bit more detail this time and did notice that the brake lines never slid out any around the bolt that tightens the brake line down on the caliper/wheel end. This leads me to believe that the brake lines did not slip out or that the bolt was on loose. It may be that the brake lines stretched a bit after a few rides and on the ride where the brakes failed to slow my wife down was when they were just stretched a bit too much. Now add to that the brake levers were able to be squeezed almost all the way to the hand grip in the beginning - add to that the brake lines stretching after a few rides...then put that together - stretched lines + brake levers gripped to the hand grip = not enough line to pull the brake into the wheel?
Cables do stretch some, but not any GREAT amount; the simple and plain fact is that the brakes were not adjusted properly. Brake levers should accomplish average braking by the time the levers are halfway to the bar.
What SHOULD have happened (before purchase!) was this: brakes adjusted to the above spec or even a touch tighter, then the brake levers SQUEEEEEZED all the way to the bar; this does most of the cable stretching. Then, re-checked and adjusted if necessary. Takes about 30-40 seconds. I do this daily, so it isn't a time-eater.
There's plenty of cable; the problem isn't that there was "not enough", but that there was too much -- after all, what hangs out the other side of the pinch bolt is just there, doing nothing but giving you someplace to grab when you adjust them again. Between the lever and the brake itself is where the magic happens....
#63
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This mans wife was injured in an accident and all folks can do is find blame w/ the poster? Amazing. Yes not everyone, but enough to warrant a comment. Now that is what is rich about this forum. Not.
First and foremost I hope your wife is restored to her full health and that you get all you deserve out of walmart for assembling and selling un safe bikes. Especially, with their documented history as pointed out by another poster. Regardless of the oh your a bike person you should have known comments...there are millions of others who aren't and wouldn't know. Therefore I hope you take this to the wall against walmart for all of those other un suspecting buyers.
First and foremost I hope your wife is restored to her full health and that you get all you deserve out of walmart for assembling and selling un safe bikes. Especially, with their documented history as pointed out by another poster. Regardless of the oh your a bike person you should have known comments...there are millions of others who aren't and wouldn't know. Therefore I hope you take this to the wall against walmart for all of those other un suspecting buyers.
#64
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Perhaps WM doesn't settle cases for nuisance value?
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it is still JUNK
I own a walmart bike for riding across campus (nobody's going to try and steal it off of a rack that way). The brakes suck in general. The cables were never stretched so by about the third time I used them they were gone and to keep them running at all the cables have to be pulled tighter weekly. The brake pad also contacts the rim awkwardly. However, I don't blame walmart. I purchased a crappy bike knowing it was a crappy bike (in fact thats the reason I bought it). I paid 63 dollars for the thing. I wasn't even expecting it to last as long as it did. If you're expecting to make this work you definitly need a lawyer. You won't be the first person to try and sue walmart for this and they'll probably have plenty of answers for your claims. That being said I hope your wife heals quickly!
500 miles and it never broke a spoke.
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It may be that the brake lines stretched a bit after a few rides and on the ride where the brakes failed to slow my wife down was when they were just stretched a bit too much.
That attitude explains why garbage dumps are overflowing. It is exactly the mentality that people need to get away from, not propagate.
#67
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I bought one a month ago worked on it to get it perfect,you know put it together grease bearings,tighten everything,true the rims and its fine.brakes dont rub because I bought the tools too adjust.
500 miles and it never broke a spoke.
500 miles and it never broke a spoke.
Way to polish that turd son.
By riding a Walmart toy-store bike in public, an adult automatically becomes a rolling example to children on how they will end up of they don't pay attention in school.
Walmart bikes = Chariot of choice for dropouts.
Even the homeless aren't that stupid. They'll go dig a rusted Letour "Classic" out of a garbage dump before they are seen riding a shiny new Walmart bike.
#68
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Way to polish that turd son.
By riding a Walmart toy-store bike in public, an adult automatically becomes a rolling example to children on how they will end up of they don't pay attention in school.
Walmart bikes = Chariot of choice for dropouts.
Even the homeless aren't that stupid. They'll go dig a rusted Letour "Classic" out of a garbage dump before they are seen riding a shiny new Walmart bike.
By riding a Walmart toy-store bike in public, an adult automatically becomes a rolling example to children on how they will end up of they don't pay attention in school.
Walmart bikes = Chariot of choice for dropouts.
Even the homeless aren't that stupid. They'll go dig a rusted Letour "Classic" out of a garbage dump before they are seen riding a shiny new Walmart bike.
When I'm out on the roads, trails, etc. and see people without helmets I give em a nod, wave and a smile. No big deal dude. I'm not goin to come down on other adults who are on bikes, the same as myself. It's hard enough for some people to make the switch from auto to bike only to have this avalanche of "$accessories$" thrown upon them. Why the h*ll should new cyclists be made to feel inferior because they are without a helmet, kit, titanium frame..etc. That pretty much ruins the whole transition for some people. Much less BS and hassle to just drive the car.
They are out cruising on a bike. The most powerful statement one can make in this day -n- age.
#69
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i just helped assemble some of 200 bikes bought from WalMart by a local church to be handed out to those who would not otherwise have transportation.
nightmarish experience, really.
junk does not begin to describe these things; every wheel was out-of-true, every hub bearing was overtightened (sans grease), and we had to pretty much disassemble/reassemble the drivetrain and brakes on every bike to get a moderate amount of function.
they should have bought cruisers. nobody needs gears around here.
nightmarish experience, really.
junk does not begin to describe these things; every wheel was out-of-true, every hub bearing was overtightened (sans grease), and we had to pretty much disassemble/reassemble the drivetrain and brakes on every bike to get a moderate amount of function.
they should have bought cruisers. nobody needs gears around here.
#70
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My, my, aint you the hypocrite? See:
Have another expresso Fixie!
#71
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I bought a bike for my son from Target. I asked in the store who put the bike together, they said that it was the same person who puts the grills together, every Wednesday. Our next stop before riding was to the LBS and they went over it from front tire to rear tire. It had a few improper adjustments. But now I know that it is put together properly and is safe to ride. The kicker is that even after paying the LBS for the tune-up, I am still ahead in the money game if even only by a little bit, about $150.
Bill
Bill
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I did not forget that part of your message; it was irrelevant to the sensible content in the one message that you ignored in the other message. The omitted part does not alter my accurate observation of your ridiculous hypocrisy about judging people by the type of equipment they use. It appears that for you it depends on which category of equipment other cyclists use, to bring out the bike snob tendencies.
#73
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It appears that for you it depends on which category of equipment other cyclists use, to bring out the bike snob tendencies.
#74
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Walmart bikes are assembled in the speediest fashion possible. People who aren't real mechanics assemble them, for piece work.
And it's suprising they are badly assembled?
And it's suprising they are badly assembled?
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Just for clarification, I'll tell this little bit....
4 years ago, I was working in a WM, had a co-worker who I called "Captain Feeble"; w/ a cheater bar on his ratchet, couldn't tighten down a threaded stem bolt as tight as I could one-handed. The two of us had a 170-spot rack to maintain. Spring rush upon us...surprise! We were behind! Mgr. called a local contract place, they sent a guy. He was there 2 days (before I blew the whistle inadvertantly to the mgr's boss), built 75 bikes.
70 of them needed my detailed attention before they could be sold. One, a BMX wannabe, had the pegs channel-lock tight over finger-tight axle nuts. Oboy....
We fight the battle EVERY DAY to build these BSO's as well as they can be built (without the total disassembly they really need!), with mgrs. saying, "Get the rack full! Fill the rack!"
I won't put out a bike that's not ready to ride.