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A good Walmart road or hybrid?

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Old 12-05-10, 12:58 AM
  #26  
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Agreed, please don't buy a bike from Walmart! You'll find something much better on CL.
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Old 12-05-10, 07:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
I run a small shop here in Edmonton, work for a frame builder as a builder and mechanic, and also volunteer and sit on the board of our commuter's society so I can say that I see and service a lot of bikes.

There is rarely a part on a Walmart bike that we can salvage for re-use as in many cases the parts are so inferior we won't use them.

Servicing them in an exercise in frustration as nothing is built very well and quite often the specs on components don't match up like bottom bracket spindles that are too long.

The brake pads are terrible and if they are not too hard they are so soft that they wear out in very short order.

They are built to the cheapest standard imaginable and if you have a little more time and a little more money I'd shop at a local bike shop or look for a decent used bike of better quality.
This has been my experience. I am sure there are plenty of decent quality used bikes available in the LA area. Also look for a bike cooperative or bike kitchen, you will get a much better deal, than a brand new BSO from WM.

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Old 12-05-10, 07:40 AM
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When I saw the post about a "30 inch inseam" it immediately told me that there was limited knowledge of bike fit. Which bike is NOT the core question. Rather, Rule #1 is fit. If it does not fit, you will not ride it, or if you percist through the uncomfortable fit, potentially injure yourself.

I looked at the Denali and some Schwinns on line and were "one size fits all." RUN THE OTHER WAY! Look for a line in a discount store that at least offers S, M L sizes of the same model - and yes, they have been adding them in recent years, particurally at sporting goods stores like Dicks and Sports Authority. The old 2" clearance guidance is no longer valid as most bikes are built around a compact frame (slating top bar.) If too large, will have excessive extension and less control. If too small, seat to handlebar impacts upper body compressing lungs impacting breathing and tightens shoulders. Seat to crank, even when adjusted to slight knee bend at full downstroke, the angle getting to the downstroke is not straight down from the knee, but reversed back putting presssure on your knee. With extended use, you can do irreverible damage to your knee. The fact that it "hurts" from the lack of fit is why people quit riding - and the bike collects cobwebs. (I just described my wife and the reason she will not ride her Huffy Cruiser bought 10 years ago at KMart - worse, won't let me get her a decent fitting bike).

To understand fit - even if going to an LBS - there are some good calculators online.
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO
https://www.wrenchscience.com/Store.aspx?stylecode=R (on menu, but requires login/register to access)
https://www.ebikewarehouse.com/Tiemey...Calculator.htm

google others.

The point is, if you are not part of the population that fits the "one size fits all" don't buy the bike. Those calculatiors will give a good starting point - and even initial saddle to handlebar and saddle height to pedals adjustment points.
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Old 12-05-10, 12:37 PM
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In any event, Walmart-style bikes in general have adequate brake pads. I don't know why you'd want to replace them before anything else -- even if higher end brake pads do stop better, the difference is going to be small.

my issue with the pads wasnt stopping distance...it was that they didnt work when wet (it was a commuter bike)...the pads that came stock would be adequate in dry weather if the brakes are properly set up

Doug in snowy iowa
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Old 12-07-10, 10:59 AM
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Originally Posted by djtilton1969
even if higher end brake pads do stop better, the difference is going to be small.
No. I replaced the brakes on my Jamis Citizen 1 with Kool-Stops and the braking difference was substantial. It made a much bigger difference in wet weather than dry, but there was still a substantial improvement in dry weather.
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Old 12-07-10, 03:41 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by fishymamba
i bought a schwinn mountain bike from walmart a while back. I was going down a hill at 30mph and tried to use my brakes. The pads/pad holders broke off the calipers and i had to cross two red signals before i finally came to a stop.
yikes!!!
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Old 12-07-10, 04:17 PM
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What's wrong with department-store bikes --- v 1.0 Dec 7, 2010

[this info is collected over many years--any of these issues MAY have been resolved, but it's not likely that all of them are]

1) No frame sizing.... Usually department store bikes only have one frame size available, and getting the proper frame size is important to maximizing comfort. Bicycle store models usually have at least three or four sizes available.

2) Poor hub construction.... Many department store bikes have bearings where the balls roll inside a groove cut right into the hubs. Vintage bicycles all did this and they still lasted a long time, because they used quality steels and hardened them properly. Modern cheap bicycles usually do neither. When the [cheap, soft] ball-bearings go bad, they ruin the hubs as well. Since replacing the hubs alone is usually not economically justifiable, you basically end up buying a whole new wheel just because the bearings went bad.

3) Lower headset bearings.... Many times I have seen with department-store bikes that there are no seals or covers on the lower headset (fork) bearings. If there is no front fender, the front tire will throw water and dirt up while riding, right into the lower headset bearings, quickly rusting them out.

4) Poor shock absorbers.... The shock absorbers used on cheaper bicycles are not very durable, usually their only form of dampening is a plastic bushing that relies on mechanical friction. When that wears out, the shocks spring-spring-spring up and down all the time and usually squeak too, and replacement parts are usually NOT available from anywhere. You can grease them inside to get rid of the squeaking, but that just makes the pogo problem worse. Additionally, even if you decide to spend the money for a better shock, a better one usually won't fit--because bicycle shocks are getting longer over time, and all the name-brand bicycle shocks tend to be significantly longer than the generic ones used.

5) Overall lack of quality.... In order to offer the lowest-possible price, Wal-mart has lower-quality BRANDED products made specifically to sell at its stores. Such items do not have the same overall quality as what you would get spending the same amount for the same brand of item from other smaller stores. Independent bike shops would not tolerate carrying a brand if they saw that Wal-Mart could sell the exact same thing for a lot less. The reason real bike shops don't care is that they know that the Wal-mart stuff is priced much lower because it is a much lower quality.

-------

This is not to say that Wal-Mart bikes are totally useless, they aren't. A lot of people only buy a bike to use it a few times a year at most, and then only over fairly short distances. But keep in mind that if you ride it very far or very hard at all, stuff is going to fail that wouldn't have happened with a better-quality bicycle.
~

Last edited by Doug5150; 12-07-10 at 04:21 PM.
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Old 12-07-10, 04:30 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by djtilton1969
In any event, Walmart-style bikes in general have adequate brake pads. I don't know why you'd want to replace them before anything else -- even if higher end brake pads do stop better, the difference is going to be small.

my issue with the pads wasnt stopping distance...it was that they didnt work when wet (it was a commuter bike)...the pads that came stock would be adequate in dry weather if the brakes are properly set up

Doug in snowy iowa
It is because the calipers and levers are made of cheese.

Would you run second rate brakes on your car ?
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Old 12-07-10, 05:07 PM
  #34  
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There's also the Ikea Bike!

+1 on the Schwinn Tourist at Target. $249. Nice and light. Equivalent version of that bike at LBS would cost 2x and would likely be heavier.
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Old 12-07-10, 10:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
Would you run second rate brakes on your car ?
My completely stock 2010 Honda Fit has drum brakes on the back. Disc brakes are generally superior to drum brakes, so I'd say yes -- I am running second rate brakes on my car.

Of course, even my "second rate brakes" can lock up the tires easily, so they aren't the bottleneck when I need to stop fast -- that's reserved for the limited traction between the road and the rubber. Bikes have an additional bottleneck -- the tendency to endo.

Looking at bicycles, I'd say in general that disc brakes are superior to rim brakes in every way but weight. So that would suggest that everybody using rim brakes is using "second rate brakes" -- though of course, the limiting factor isn't the brake or even the friction of the tire -- it's the tendency to endo, so it doesn't even matter. (Though it might begin to matter when your rims get wet, and certainly will matter if you dent your rims badly.)

And really, I've found the brakes on department store bikes to be adequate, with the front brake generally good enough to endo the bike if you try (and there's no point in being any better than that.) I haven't tested an exhaustive number of them, but I've ridden a few of them.

If you want to talk about inadequate brakes, look at the bikes with only a rear brake -- they can't stop anywhere near as well as a bike with any sort of front brake. Or look at the brakeless fixies, which can't even stop as well as that bike with a coaster brake, even if the rider has legs made of wood ...

Last edited by dougmc; 12-07-10 at 10:51 PM.
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Old 12-08-10, 12:05 AM
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Ahh screw the gears and rim brakes. Get a cruiser with coaster brakes.
My dad got us a big old 1939 Rudge from his uncle in 1967 and we have been using it every year since.
I rode it up some pretty good hills when i was only 120 lbs.
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Old 12-08-10, 04:19 AM
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I was just going to say - if you get a department store bike make sure to get a single speed of some kind. At least you won't have to mess with those horribly-****ty plastic grip shifters.

Ever seen a plastic screw? Open one of those .
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Old 12-08-10, 08:49 AM
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My first bike was a $200 Walmart bike..

The sucker was heavy. 40 pounds.

The grip shifters were very sloppy with too much play. Shifting was guesswork.

The rims were extremely flimsy. Wheels went out of true after 1 week of riding, and the bent rims obviously affected braking since the brakes were rim brakes.

The rear axle snapped after 1 month. It was a freewheel, not the stronger freehub/cassette design found on better bikes.

The drivetrain sounded like it was going to explode every time I tried to shift.

For years I thought that's how bikes are supposed to be (and stopped riding for several years because of my frustrations with the Walmart bike.). Until a friend persuaded me to test-ride his $1000 Giant FCR2. Holy cow what a difference.

I'm a convert. I'm NEVER going back to a Walmart bike. I would advise you to avoid Walmart bikes like the plague. Look for a better bike on Craigslist instead.
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Old 12-08-10, 12:09 PM
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Originally Posted by dougmc
And really, I've found the brakes on department store bikes to be adequate, with the front brake generally good enough to endo the bike if you try (and there's no point in being any better than that.)
This is about where the CPSC standard lies. It takes about 0.5 g's to stop a bike going 15 mph in the distance required. It also takes about 0.5 g's for an upright rider to endo an undersized bike. I don't remember what grip strength they apply to the brake lever though.

Coaster brakes manage to meet the standard by exploiting the upright position of the rider applying more weight to the rear wheel, a lower recommended pressure for the rear tire, and more leverage available from the rider's legs.

Last time I looked, they weren't selling fixies in department stores. I don't know if this is because of liability or because fixie riders are too "haught" to buy them.

In any case, I'm not a big fan of coaster brakes or fixies without a front brake. I know. I'm not cool. I prefer the redundancy of having some kind of braking on both the front and the rear wheel. That has a lot to do with the traffic light on Highway 91 at the bottom of the 10% grade I ride down when I leave home.
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Old 12-08-10, 12:24 PM
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In addition to component quality issues. already thoroughly covered, there is the assembly/adjustment problem with department store bikes. They are put together by contract personnel usuallly who are paid piece rates. Per posts here from someone who did it for a while the rate per bike allows about 10 minutes per bike for all unpacking, assembly and adjustment IIRC. Proper assembly and adjustment cannot be done in that amount of time and an improperly assembled and adjusted bike can be Dangerous!
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Old 12-08-10, 12:40 PM
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My experience with cheap department store bikes, mid level bikes and ones built with top quality parts is that as the price goes up the ability to set it up to work properly goes way up. The comments about brakes on department store bikes is dead on the money. They are a PITA to get set up correctly (bad tolerances and no quality control) but they can be made to work. They won't stay in adjustment and won't work very well for very long. Replacement brake pads (koolstops) make a world of difference on cheap and better quality brakes -- I know this from personal experience.

The last time Walmart had a bike that i though was maybe a reasonable choice was the Mongoose Paver. 700c wheels, no suspension, v-brakes, 7 speeds and just a tad over $100. I took a look at one in a store once, and if I was not interested or willing to go the CL route (due to time, availability or skills to check and fix a used bike) I would have considered it. I don't think they carry it anymore.
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Old 12-08-10, 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted by cachehiker
Coaster brakes manage to meet the standard by exploiting the upright position of the rider applying more weight to the rear wheel, a lower recommended pressure for the rear tire, and more leverage available from the rider's legs.
There is no way a standard bicycle with only a rear brake can stop at 0.5 g's unless it hits something or you jam your foot into the front wheel. 0.25 g's seems more likely, and even that's on the high side.

The criteria for bikes with only a foot brake are less stringent. The CPSC regulations can be read here -- https://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/regsumbicycles.pdf . To be more precise, a foot brake only bike must stop from 10 mph in 15 mph, which works out to about 0.22 g's. (Going from 15 mph to 0 mph in 15 feet is 0.5 g's. The formula is "acceleration = 0.5 * speed^2 / distance", and you can let google calculator or wolfram alpha handle the units for you like this.)

In any case, I'm not a big fan of coaster brakes or fixies without a front brake. I know. I'm not cool. I prefer the redundancy of having some kind of braking on both the front and the rear wheel. That has a lot to do with the traffic light on Highway 91 at the bottom of the 10% grade I ride down when I leave home.
Coaster brakes are fine with me, but like you, I want two brakes -- one on each wheel. I like redundancy, and the front brake is by far the most effective, simply due to the geometry of the bike.

Last edited by dougmc; 12-08-10 at 03:40 PM.
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Old 12-08-10, 04:04 PM
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Originally Posted by cachehiker
This is about where the CPSC standard lies. It takes about 0.5 g's to stop a bike going 15 mph in the distance required. It also takes about 0.5 g's for an upright rider to endo an undersized bike. I don't remember what grip strength they apply to the brake lever though.

Coaster brakes manage to meet the standard by exploiting the upright position of the rider applying more weight to the rear wheel, a lower recommended pressure for the rear tire, and more leverage available from the rider's legs.

Last time I looked, they weren't selling fixies in department stores. I don't know if this is because of liability or because fixie riders are too "haught" to buy them.

In any case, I'm not a big fan of coaster brakes or fixies without a front brake. I know. I'm not cool. I prefer the redundancy of having some kind of braking on both the front and the rear wheel. That has a lot to do with the traffic light on Highway 91 at the bottom of the 10% grade I ride down when I leave home.
Walmart has one, complete with a flip flop hub, don't recall the model name at them moment.

I actually prefer a coaster brake on a bike used for normal upright city riding, it allows me to moderate speed without using my hand brakes. FWIW I usually set up a coaster brake bike with 3 brakes. My current city bike has roller brakes and can stop plenty fast enough.

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Old 12-08-10, 04:46 PM
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Originally Posted by wahoonc
Walmart has one [a fixie], complete with a flip flop hub, don't recall the model name at them moment.
Sort of. You're thinking of this bike -- https://www.walmart.com/ip/700C-Men-s...-Bike/13398142

It's "fixed speed" (which seems to mean "single speed".) It's just a basic single speed bike (with two rim brakes, I might add, so it likely has acceptable braking), though you could convert it to fixed by making a trip to the bike shop and spending some money -- but you can't make it fixed out of the box. It didn't review too badly -- here's a reasonable review where they're not trying to be funny (like BSNYC was.)

https://urbanvelo.org/mongoose-cachet...-walmart-bike/

Last edited by dougmc; 12-08-10 at 04:51 PM.
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Old 12-08-10, 06:12 PM
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Here is an example of a new, reasonable beginner/city bike , 3 speed, for about $410.
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...er/7333/44445/
The one speed is $330 or so.
I would rather have a drum front brake with it, also.
If I was to fit it, I would likely make the HB lower by turning it upsidedown or something.
It's a Giant model, so it must have more quality than those other names aformentioned. Better than the bike in the
insurance commercial thread. haha
Anyway, I wouldn't leave home without a crescent wrench. Same as any bike needs a few tools along for the ride.

Last edited by GamblerGORD53; 12-20-10 at 04:13 PM.
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Old 12-08-10, 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by dougmc
The CPSC regulations can be read here -- https://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/regsumbicycles.pdf.
Cool. Thanks. Nice to have the regs. I get asked about this at work in spite of the fact that I'm not a mechanical engineer, not an attorney, and not responsible for those end products in any way, shape, or form. I'm merely an electrical engineer, fixture designer, and automation programmer who hates ineffective brakes in emergency situations.
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Old 12-08-10, 08:33 PM
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The Target Schwinn Tourist is a decent "cheap bike" for LIGHT duty, My wife has about 1500 road miles on hers and no problems other than the usual brake and derailluer adjustments. If you do get one, immediately pull the tires off and install decent rim tape from the LBS, otherwise you will become an expert on flat repair very quickly!! Also, the tires that come on them are total crap, dangerous even. Front derailluer is Junk but somehow manages to work. Anyway, its a decent start point for someone who doesnt want to spend alot or buy used. They fit a person 5'6' to 5'9" pretty well i would imagine, you might need a different stem to fine tune the fit.

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Old 12-09-10, 08:06 AM
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Originally Posted by dougmc
Sort of. You're thinking of this bike -- https://www.walmart.com/ip/700C-Men-s...-Bike/13398142

It's "fixed speed" (which seems to mean "single speed".) It's just a basic single speed bike (with two rim brakes, I might add, so it likely has acceptable braking), though you could convert it to fixed by making a trip to the bike shop and spending some money -- but you can't make it fixed out of the box. It didn't review too badly -- here's a reasonable review where they're not trying to be funny (like BSNYC was.)

https://urbanvelo.org/mongoose-cachet...-walmart-bike/
That is the one, it does come with the flip flop hub, all you need is a sprocket and lock ring to go fixed. Given the quality of brakes and the WM standards of adjustment...

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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
wahoonc is offline  
Old 12-10-10, 04:21 PM
  #49  
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Bikes: Lynskey R230 DA DI2 ENVE 3.4 SES, 6KU Fixie, Cheap Aluminum Slapstick Trainer only bike

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Happened to drop by costco today and lo and behold, they do have 700c hybrid bicycle for $250. Shimano Acera (?) part 24 spd it looks like, no funky shock seat post. Actually looked decent and brakes seems to be adjusted properly looking at few they had. Geometry looked fine and to top it off, it did come in 4 sizes. S, M, L, XL (only had S and XL in warehouse I was at though). I think this probably fits all criteria you were looking for.
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Old 12-11-10, 10:08 PM
  #50  
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The man who only thinks of price is Wal-Marts lawful prey. bk
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