gpsblake

Here we go again... Got nearly 5,000 miles on my current Schwinn Sidewinder from Walmart. It's all depends on what your priorities are. And I guarantee you, those who are spending $2,000 on their bikes spend more tuning up and repairing their bike then someone who buys a new Walmart bike each year. Like I said in the past, just go into any LBS shop and you'll see dozens of high priced bikes in the shop getting repaired (in fact, that's how an LBS makes their money, repairing high end bicycles)

dpeters11

I have a friend who claims his old KMart bike only needed the tires pumped up once every few years, even when he rode it a lot. When he got his LBS Globe, he was quite upset to find that he needed to pump up the tires in the spring.

My LBS bikes don't spend much time in the shop.

DX-MAN

Guarantee you're wrong; it takes more work to INITIALLY TUNE a Sidewinder than what I've put into my Kona ALL YEAR to date; since I build that Schwinn schtuff for a living, I think I'm pretty well qualified to give feedback on them. Unless you're BABYING your Schwinn, you're putting more into it than an LBS bike would need.

Notgrownup

I was at the Performance Bikes today in Raleigh NC.... nice variety and stock...Holy $hit stocked...Scattante, Fuji, Diamondback....I will go back when i have more time...
I bought a Schwinn Admiral for my Wife from Wal Mart...Well it rides ok but it needed a little tweaking...All in all it's a nice bike...rides very good...Never even looked at Kmart or Target...REI is decent in my opinion...Dicks was ok but not much knowledge there...maybe i was there at the wrong time but i wasn't there to actually buy a bike that day...

gpsblake

Disagree. Like I said, walk into any LBS shop and you'll see all kinds of bikes in there getting repaired. Often with a waiting list and sometimes several weeks before they can get to your bike.

What have I had to replace on my current Schwinn Sidewinder? Two things... Pedals (ten bucks) and tires (the stock tires got me about 3,000 miles, I got Continental Town and Country tires now). Only a few brake and gear adjustments.. Lube and clean the chain. Rode a Walmart Schwinn 2,000 miles in one month back in 2005.

Now of course I don't race the bike, nor ride in a peloton, nor do I try to impress others. However, for great exercise, getting from point A to B, and using it as a cargo bike, it works just as well as any other bike made. Your cardio rate will be the same rather you ride a 100 buck Walmart bike or a 10,000 dollar road bike.

MEversbergII

I'd imagine the single speed setups would be the best overall bet, assuming you're buying from a box store.

M.

I-Like-To-Bike

"We all" know the conventional BF/LBS/enthusiast's spiel/Conventional Wisdom about buying bikes with the proper provenance and from the proper sources in order to confirm what "we know."

wahoonc

Ever considered the fact that many of those bikes may be WM bikes in for adjustment? WM doesn't do bike repair or adjustment. Also, there are many people that have zero ability when it comes to fixing anything on a bike, even putting air in the tires.

I have been wrenching on bikes for close to 40 years and I can assure you that the "quality" of the big store bikes has been going steadily down hill. Yes you can get the occasional "good" bike from WM, but it is the exception rather than the rule.

Aaron

Notgrownup

LOcal LBS work on any bike so it's hard to say what the ratio is...Only a LBS would be able to answer that and i would be curious to know...

Retro Grouch 

I'm thinking that when I had my own shop the repair ratio was around 20 bike shop bikes to 1 department store bike. When you consider the tune up labor cost plus parts (and there will ALWAYS be parts needed) buying a completely new department store bike instead of fixing the old one makes sense.

Phil_gretz

I maintain 10 bicycles in my home, and perform free maintenance/adjustment/repair on the bikes of at least a dozen friends annually, and do roughly five to 10 complete ground-up builds/flips per year for spending money - or for friends.

The proposotion above, that one could own a new department store bike each year and do less total maintenance as compared with the workload involved in keeping one fine bike running...that statement boggles the mind. The department store bike would need significant adjustment/tuning, repacking/adjustment of bearings, adjustment of hubs, tightening of fasteners, truing of wheels, and even replacement of failed components every year as it arrives. That would be prior to riding. In terms of wear and tear - there would be suspension fork failures and the like, too.

The savings would be in replacing cables and chains, and bar tape, I guess, since the department store bike is discarded each winter. But the headaches of trying to get poor quality components to perform within acceptable (to me) tolerances would drive me batty...

DX-MAN

Disagree all you want, and expound on the 'virtues' of a Walmart Schwinn all you want -- they are inferior. If they SERVE your purpose, fine, but don't try and tell people who KNOW BETTER that they are as good as the LBS bike that costs $1000 or more, it's JUST. NOT. TRUE. They STILL come with $5-10 derailleurs, single-wall rims, hi-ten steel hubs with inferior bearings, fasteners that rust in a week, and fit issues between parts that can only be fixed with a LOT of attention or better parts. Like I said, 26,000 bikes later, I have a bit more experience with them than you do. (BTW, a 2005 Schwinn was 5x the bike they are NOW...!) And don't forget the stock 170mm cranks and square-taper caged-bearing BB's.

Now, as far as the same HR on a $100 Wally special as on a $10K custom...BWAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA!! One of two things will be different -- either your HR will be LESS at the same speed on the $10K bike (more efficient AND lighter), or at the same effort, you will be noticeably FASTER on the $10K bike.

Your experience is your experience, blake; I don't discount that. But PLEASE, stop trying to convince us that we are silly for overlooking these PIECES OF SHAT. I'd be a little UPSET if all I got from a pair of tires was 3k miles. My tires average 10-12k, and I'm a hard-riding Clyde.

EDIT: OOPS, forgot about the repair reference; in my town, the ONE shop that's worth going into won't TOUCH a Walmart bike, too much cost to fix, it IS cheaper to just buy another. Another shop would evict you from their shop if you tried to bring one to them, and a third, I won't touch, because I'm better than they are.

mr645

Worst thing I ever did was going into Sports Authority to buy bikes for the wife and I. We wanted basic cruise around the area bikes and bought a pair of Diamond Back City bikes. Her's has been good but mine is 2 sizes too big and took them three tries to get it to shirt properly and true the front wheel before I finally took it to a real LBS. This was the first bikes I had bought in 25 years and really did not know any better. The staff knew nothing about bikes and let us ride them around the store. Overall a small step better then Wal-Mart or Target

dpeters11

I know of one shop here that will work on them, but their normal guarantee doesn't apply and I believe they require part of the payment upfront.

Compared to my bike, sometimes they haven't even charged me for basic service, and I didn't even buy it there.

oddjob2

REI usually has one or more service techs who have mechanics certification FWIW. I have seen guys studying the exam at REI too. Also, they really stand by their products and service. Very fair prices too for the service and fast. They remove freewheels for me without charge. They really are not a discounter, but a specialty retailer.

Bikes at the big discounters are assembled generally by 3rd party contractors who get a piece rate and are the same guys who assemble the gas propane grills. They work for anyone and speed is everything. I've seen those jobs advertised on craigslist in NNJ. Only qualifications; tools and a drivers license.

As far as bike quality, there of course is overlap of brands and models among the discounters and even REI with respect to Diamondback.

Here's a recent post on a Kmart bike.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...from-Lands-End

LBS are hit or miss as well. Often peak season help in a busy shop are teens with very little experience.

gpsblake

No kidding a 10k bike will be faster then a Walmart bike. But you will burn exactly the same amount of calories riding a walmart bike then you will a $10,000 bike per hour. In fact, I would burn more calories riding 10 miles then you would on an LBS bike because while your machine would be more efficient, it also makes the task of riding 10 miles a lot easier and quicker. Sure, I get blown away when cycling on the road by those riding a $10,000 machine, but that's not my purpose in riding a bike.

Plus on my Walmart bike, I can load up 50 or more pounds of groceries or gear on it. I can take it off road, which I do often. And the worst thing, I can just buy a new one, I used to do that yearly, just because I wanted a new ride. However, been sticking to the same Mart bikes for years. People who actually use their bikes for commuting and such know this.

10,000-12,000 miles on a set of tires? Highest I've ever heard of. We like to know your secrets. Most claim 2,000-4,000 miles and that's on the hardcore roadie forums.

My response (as well as 1,000s of others about the same question)
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...earch&aq=f&oq=

and

https://forums.roadbikereview.com/beg...ast-78902.html

and

Well, with all the LBS going out of business lately (far less shops today then ten years ago), congrats they are doing so well they can market out most of the public. A friendly LBS of course would understand alienating people isn't a good way to do business and will gladly fix any bike, not only for the money, but good relations is a way to get people to buy a more expensive bike & service. In fact, fixing a department store bike is extremely simple, the parts are almost always there in stock.

Now of course, there are certain disadvantages of buying a Walmart bike, like having to do your own adjustments for example. Any bicycle on the planet will require adjustments almost immediately after being ridden a few times and from time to time after riding them. Most LBS will offer a free tune up after 30 days (of course you have to make the appointment, which can be weeks). I just tune my own up.

Bottom line, when someone riding a $10,000 bike claims they are superior, or that their bike is superior, or they are a "real cyclist", or whatever I view it for the supremacist garbage that it is. And it's almost always Americans who do it, Europeans know that the vast majority of the public ride inexpensive bikes and they respect that.

Retro Grouch 

Another problem for bike shops. Most folks who own department store bikes aren't avid bike riders. They might leave their bike at the shop for months. Meanwhile the bike shop has to store it and safeguard it from theft and isn't getting paid.

DX-MAN

OK, one last time....

First statement in bold is foolish; you will burn the same # of calories by riding at the same level of effort, the bike itself is irrelevant. Then, in your 2nd sentence, you contradict yourself. As for the underlined sentence, it's a "so what" statement, neither of us was talking about that.

I can hang 50# of groceries or gear off my Kona's handlebar any time I choose, and have done so. So what? My Kona IS an off-road rig, which will still outperform anything Walmart sells, and do so exponentially better even than the price difference. It's not just about dollars and time in the saddle, it's also about the QUALITY of the time. Riding a Walmart Schwinn cannot compare to a premium bike -- having done both, I KNOW THIS.

Between commutes (every day, winter and summer, rain or shine OR SNOW), utility rides, fun rides alone, family rides with the kids, I am over 5K miles per year. I ride MORE than 300 days per year. 2 years is average for tire life on my bike. Do the math. Roadies are riding little skinny 700x23 tires, I ride knobbies -- the knobby TREAD is thicker than an entire 23mm tire!

Now I need to tell you about the market? Yes, the shop does well; in fact, they have upgraded their location annually. "Most of the market", the people who buy big-box bikes, would just as soon RETURN the bike for an exchange or refund as get an adjustment done. Those that do keep them are people who know a friend with some skills. My biggest issues at work are the returns for FLAT TIRES -- people run over something, get a flat, and return the bike! And the store TAKES them! I'LL FIX THE THINGS FOR THEM, ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS BUY THE TUBE, $5!!! Doesn't happen, they think the bike has 'cooties', or something.

The LBS does NOT stock spare parts for these bikes, nor does Walmart; we have to ORDER them -- and we seldom GET the parts we order! 2 out of every 3 bikes that I order parts for, wind up getting DONATED because the parts never show up.

Like I said, ONE LAST TIME -- if you get yours by riding big-box crap, go ahead, JUST DON'T TRY TO PRETEND THAT THAT CRAP IS AS GOOD QUALITY AS (for example) MY KONA COILER!! YOU WILL BE A FOOL AND A LIAR FOR IT. Ride what you ride, brag on how it works for you, but GET. REAL.

RPK79

You're saying that 2/3 of the parts you order in for repair work never show up? Are you mailing your order in to some Hong Kong back alley distributor?

MEversbergII

You know, I've been riding a $250 Schwinn from Target for a year now. It's done me well, though it's got some of the problems mentioned above about fit, adjustment etc. I still find it enjoyable. If higher priced bikes really are better, I can't wait to try my first $500 or $1000 bike.

M.

dpeters11

Covered under a part of the policy I left out. They hold a bike for a certain amount of time, attempt to make contact. After that point, they reserve the right for the bike to go away. I don't think they actually throw them out, they go to a thrift store.

Colville

DX-MAN

Fax, straight to the manufacturer. Since they CAN arrive as soon as the next day, two months later (or NEVER) is just unacceptable. Nor is a detailed request resulting in a fraction of the needed assemblies (example: needing, and asking for, complete V-brake set for one wheel, and receiving two brake pads.)

RPK79

Why not order parts from a reliable after market source and pass any additional costs on to the customer?

wahoonc

Remember this is WM we are talking about... home of the disposable everything.

Aaron