mercl8

So that makes it racist because they don't like Ayn Rand? And here I thought racism happenend because you don't like an entire "race". Now that I know it's racist to dislike an individual, I guess I'm a racist after all. ( sorry, couldn't help myself)

KrisPistofferson

The funny thing is, after all the irrelevant strawmen and ad hominem attacks, the bike'll still be a POS.

KrisPistofferson

Ever thought of using the "Reply w/quote" function?

mercl8

I'll definetly be purchasing a higher quality bike in the near future since I plan to ride at least 5 or 6 charity rides in the next year. And I'm actually excited to own a bike again.

I haven't had any luck with finding a used bike. Part of the problem is I'm on such a tight time frame, I had to have a bike to train on this week. We only have one LBS here in Hernando, fl. and he's a big recumbant fan.

jet sanchEz

Hehehe, this is very very funny, sorry

Tom2slow

Actually if you stop and think about it, the 150 bike from wally is not a bad deal. I got one for my 14 year old, he is at that stage where everything is too small in a matter of months.
It seems to me that the "super biker" thinking and superior attitudes expressed by some around here are likely to be adolesents who have a very limited real world experience. Similar to the hot shots who have to run pace lines around city parks and now we have cops giving speeding tickets.

No regards,

Tom

JuanIsTheMan

The GMC Denali kicks arse! My first bike was a Team Murray X20R bmx bike and the thing was nice. The frame was kinda on the heavy side, but it had good parts and was put together well. Its still im my parents garage. Still ridable after all these years...

Nessism

I just waded my way though most of this thread and frankly I'm shocked by most peoples presumption that any bike this cheap MUST be a piece of junk. Sure, it's not going to be as nice as a $400 bike but what do you expect for $150? The frame and fork look perfectly serviceable to me, in fact, it looks perferable to some of those old gas pipe steel frames sold in days of old, and the components are Shimano so I'm sure they will shift pefectly well after they are adjusted properly. Adjustment and fit are the only things that would sour this deal in my mind. 57cm is a fairly large frame, and the top tube is not sloping so stand over clearance will be an issue for many. And most low end buyers are not capable of keeping air in their tires no less adjusting the derailleurs.

Lastly, the shipping weight is 29 lbs which includes the box and packing materials - about 5 lbs. Also, the wheels are 700c dispite the description on Wallmart listing the bike as 26". Looks like a good deal to me assuming you fit it and can tweak the setup a little to make sure it fits.

Ed

Bizurke

As I've said before.. I bought this bike. I knew I was going to be getting a cheap POS but I wanted to give riding a road bike a chance. I needed to make sure sitting like that is something I can do. After a while I tossed it and went on with my MTB. Recently after coming back from RAGBRAI I decided to buy a new road bike. I don't have the money so until then I figured I should ride the one I have and get used to the feel again.

I had to replace the reare derailer ($30) to keep it from constantly shifting for no reason when I put pressure on the pedals.

I've taken off all of the stickers and put things I like myself on it.

The wheels have needed to be true'd twice.

Other than that the only thing that is a real issue with me is the grip shift, but it is still functional. If you want to start riding a road bike and get a feel give it a shot. Just expect to put some work in to it.

oh and the Tubes are 700x28c Shrader

Granny

In a free market, you get what yoou pay for.

stea1thviper

no. in a free market you get what you want to pay for. if someone feels $150 for a walmart bike is a good deal, then that is what they will pay for. If someone else thinks a nicer bike (but used) on ebay or wherever else for $150 is a better deal, then that is what they will pay for. I personally don't like the walmart bike because I've seen too many of my friends walk away from cycling, blowing it off as something too uncomfortable and not fun after riding these. An incorrectly fitted poor quality bike I feel is the worst thing someone new to the sport could start off with. These days whenever a friend asks me about cycling and tells me they want a bike at a very very low price, I steer them towards older used bikes.

(btw i didnt bother reading through this entire thread, so my appologies if all this has been stated already)

JuanIsTheMan

Wow, the Hawkeye has kinda tweaked that bike. The frame looks alright. Put an upgraded groupo and some lighter wheels on it, and would be great. Although, you can probably get a nice no name aluminum road frame for less then 200 dollars.

Bizurke

I have no complaints about the frame at all. It's pretty light and hasn't given me any problems. The only thing that still bothers me is the grip shift and the wicked noises that come from the bottom bracket. I'm no longer going to add to or fix this bike other than tubes/tires. I plan to use it for going to school and back this year so I don't have one of my better bikes stolen or vandalized.

This bike has actually been stolen, then ditched 1 block later. It was found leaning against a building around the corner. I thought that was pretty funny.

godspiral

Thanks for the pictures, biz... this is definitely not overpriced at $150
The shifters look pretty convenient. Aero rims are a cute touch.

mcoine

I think I am going to put gripshifters on my roadbike, that is sweet.

Ritterview

At $149, the bike could be used while travelling, in lieu of renting a bike or transporting. Just go to WalMart at your destination, use the bike for several days, and donate it to Salvation Army on departure and get a receipt for a tax write-off.

HillMut

First I haven't read this whole thread...

Just want to add I saw one of these in person last week,... wow.
So the person paid ~$150 to buy it new, assembled by walmart employee's. I saw it at my lbs, getting a ~$80 tune up (it was still brand new), new bar tape (came with the worst wrap job ever, maybe a blind employee...you know walmart), and probably ended up with a new rear derailluer. The stickers were pealing off, and the wheels had multiple loose spokes. The bikes a POS, if you spend 3 weeks searching your local craigs list you can find a much better bike in your size. Please don't buy these .

dagna

Hey, if you mean Hernando County, FL, go one county south to Pasco and try Action Wheel Sports (something like that) on Seven Springs...they've got Fuji roadbikes in the $400 range that would probably last you many times longer than this Walmart baby.

Good luck,
Dagna

worker4youth

Hahaha. That's classic!

dagna

By the way, as I was checking my tire pressure before starting my ride on the local bike path, I overheard an older gentleman (60s, maybe?) next to me talking with some friends as he was putting his bike back on his car rack. He said he'd gotten the bike for exercise, planning on riding five or six miles at a time. But, he discovered he really enjoyed riding, so he'd kept going longer and longer distances, with today's ride being thirty-two miles. Then he started pointing out the things on his bike that he didn't like, that he said probably would never have bothered him if he'd stuck at the five-mile rides, but that were driving him crazy now that he was doing longer rides. Just as I was heading out I heard him wind up with, "I think I'll take it back to Walmart."

So, one more data point for staying away from Walmart bikes (at least if you're planning to ride distance). On the other hand, if the statistic is true that says most Walmart bikes only get ridden an average of 75 miles in their lifetimes, this gentleman may have singlehandedly upped that average .

Dagna

kyledr

You're mostly paying for stickers. No way in hell this could outlast or outperform what I can buy used for $150. I doubt it's a bad price since used stuff of quality is usually like 10x cheaper than new factoring inflation.

banerjek

Look is the operative term. The problem with cheapo dept store bikes is that they look normal at a glance, but they aren't. The metallurgy is often terrible, and the quality of anything you can't see is often really bad.

I think these bikes can be OK if you don't actually ride them much, but anyone who wants to put any serious miles down would be much better served with a used bike. Bizurke didn't say how far he rides, but he mentions needing to true the wheels twice and replace the rear derailleur. That's more than I do for my commuter in a year and it gets ridden about 9,000 miles a year in all kinds of slop with 15-20 lbs of gear strapped to the sides.

For $150, you can get a get a pretty good used bike. Although I can afford whatever I like, my most recent acquisition (tadpole trike) was picked up used even though I could have bought a new one of a different make for the same price. The reason I did this is simple -- I got a great trike for the price of a piece of junk.

TechJunkie

This was my first road bike. Didn't know what I was getting into. Spent $40 on ST 3300 shifters on EBAY (STI), and it lasted about 1000 miles until the bottom bracket bent. I took the stickers off first thing, and most people have never questioned it. Weighed in at 19.5 lb. without the , water bottle/cage and with the STI shifters, blowout bag. Comes w/ 700x25 tires, tubes have schraeder valve.

Pros: inexpensive, decent weight, quill stem(I like them), handles ok-did I say inexpensive?

Cons: Cheap component group (below Sora), no quick release on wheels, poorly adjusted out of the box, hanlebars are 2 piece and undersized, Revotwist grip shifters, 135 mm hub on rear, chainstays are bowed so wide only MTB cranks will fit the frame, harsh ride, saddle feels a bit wide after 40-50 miles.

I had about $220 in the bike itself and it went about a year/100mi before I purchased a steel frame recently. It got me into cycling with the budget that my wife imposed. Draw your own conclusions from that.

moxfyre

Sounds pretty good! The lack of quick release and bowed chain stays are a big negative though... what do you mean about 2 piece handlebars? I've never seen such a thing.

Everybody loves their first real bike! Mine was a crummy high-ten steel Raleigh MTB. I rode it all through college and loved it to death. Thank goodness for cheap bikes

kyledr

I know why it doesn't have quick release. It's cause it's such a ****ty bike that the QRs are likely to fail and when it does people might die. death=lawsuit. Looks like the forks wrap around the axle too. Same reason.