Target is actually an upscale Kmart. Unfortunately, the bikes are assembled just as bad. A Target just opened up in my town and the bikes are put together just as bad as Kmart but you're paying about 20% more!

Can you spell 'junk'?

If you are thinking about getting a Target bike, because they are cheap, You would be better off finding a LBS that sells used bikes. For the same amount you can get a better bike.

It depends. How good is your aim? (duck and cover).

if you want a better bike for the same (or much less) money than a target bike, why not hit up the thrift stores in your area? i've seen some reallllllly nice bikes (older specialized allez carbon, bianchis, treks, etc). So you have to take it to your LBS to get it tuned up if you don't have the tools/knowhow? no big deal. they need (and deserve, in most cases) the business that you would otherwise have given to target. And when you are done you will have a better bike (not a 1-year throwaway POS) that will last you longer and do right by you.

Not to mention that if you ride a junk bike you just ride a junk bike. Ride an old used bike nicely fixed up your a classic restorer and collector....

Okay, here's my experience with Target:

I had hardly any money. I needed a bike and ended up with a hardtail ATB - normally $100+, on clearance sale for $20.00. No one there knew anything else about the bike. Busted the lame-ass bike tool I got with it trying to take off the front wheel to fit it into the trunk - some heavy-handed ape tightened it so that not even light could escape. A sticker on the frame indicated that this bike was not intended for serious off-road use!

The frame was a little small, and there were many cheap parts, yet I messengered with this bike thru the winter here in the city. On my second day I got nailed by a cab, hard. I went down, but the only thing wrong with the bike was that the handlebars were twisted around. I straightened them out, adrenaline did the rest and got me outta there. I had a lot of lousy riding days, but this bike always carried me home.

One windy day, a Hefty™ brand trashbag blew into the back wheel and bent everything back there to hell, and well, that was that. Now it sits in my studio.
Looking back, I'm surprised this Iron Dog fought the fight so well, and for such a small investment...I rode hard, and still felt like an ace out there on the streets. I'm wondering now if I can fit it with a suspension fork and convert it to a single-speed for the winter days ahead.

Ask not what is wrong with a Target bike, but what is right? Nothing!

The average cost of a bike imported from mainland China is . . . $29, and yes that includes shipping costs all the way from China!
Anybody can do it cheaper, but is that better?

Also need to add in cost of stocking and local assembly labour. Margins aren't that high. I'll bet they're much higher for toilet-paper which is probably why Target has respecitvely better quality butt-rags than they do bikes.

I made this mistake about five years ago when I was getting back into cycling after cycling a ton as a young pup. Bought a decent looking MTN bike at Target figuring I could nurse it along until I could save up for a decent roadie. To make a long story short, one night the front tire flatted for the fifth ride out in a row. I was so fed up, I threw the bike down the street for a block before leaving it on somebody's front lawn.

Fast forward a couple months, saved my money and got a classic steel Bianchi roadie. Built it up with Campy components. I've since upgraded to a new Bianchi EV3 and got a Volpe for commuting and touring. My mileage has increased exponentially over that last few months. Looking to do some racing and touring next season. I'm in love with my bikes. Good frames, components, and assembly make a huge difference.

Target bikes are made with Steel, except they are tomato can steel, not 4130 Chromoly or anything better.

Those garbage can steel frame bikes have components that are about the same quality as a 99 cent umbrella, once they break you're bike won't be rideable anymore. Plus they look like circus clown garbage.

Go for a nicer steed. Don't be a cheapo, you'll regret it.

Walk into target, take 10 minutes to look around at the store employees. They are the ones who will be assembling your bike. Feel comfortable now?

I'm Dutch, and Target sucks

Another Department Store Thread

It may be worth your while to also see this thread.

Parents with three or four kids who want bikes have a problem. The stuff from Wal-Mart is $40 or $70, and requires re-assembly at home or at a bike shop. And, the bearings and other key parts are made to last for maybe six months of hard riding. At a bike shop, a kids bike may be $200 or $300 each, in large part because they have 21 speeds, two hand brakes, suspension, and other expensive stuff.

What many parents would like is a "bullet proof" one speed bike with coaster brakes, assembled at a first rate bike shop, for around $100. The industry could probably build such a bike, by using essentially the same hub, rim, tires, and brake units on millions of bikes. Instead, bikes for seven year olds look like minature copies of the bikes a twenty-seven year old professional is riding. The added cost and complexity drives parents into Wal-Mart. A real shame.

The closest thing I could find to the "bullet proof" bike was a BMX bike marked down from $300 to $200. It is strong enough to take at least five years of extremely hard riding, and simple to service. But, the hand brakes fit my hands better than the hands of a seven year old. Has the industry not noticed children's hands are smaller than adult hands? And, most folks who are not REAL into bikes are not going to spend $200 on a bike for a seven year old. And folks with three or four kids...that is $600 to $800... a lot of money.

LOL......I actually bought one of their bikes when I was on a extended vacation for a month. I bought a mtn-hybrid type bike...I think it was called "Glacier point". It was 15 speed and the frame was small.

.....But for $54.00 I just donated it to salvation army at the end of the month. Incidentally It ran well everyday for the entire month! I don't consider their bikes "keepers" though.

Well at least our local store does...maybe they're kinda regional then.

The overriding issue is assembly. A $5000 Trek or Colnago improperly assembled is a bad riding bike.

If dead set on a dep't store bike check with a shop to see what they'll charge for assembly and take the bike out of the store in its box.

By this time you may be looking at enough money to buy a decent new or nice used bike at the shop but it's your $, your choice.

No kidding- the bike is cheaper than a decent LOCK.

Colnago Ferrari?



I'd totally sport one.

I agree that single speed suspensionless x-mart bikes can be decent cheap rides for the verry casual rider. My old k-mart BMX I had as a kid (chrome "team" murray) lasted me nearly 5 years with only some brake pad replacments, and a new chain once.

Given you want to give it a full once ocer and insire everything is tight, but after that it's going to be decent.

If it has a deraileur, or a suspension...steerr clear though. Even teh bottom end suspension forks with frame cost as much as some of these bikes whole. The deraileurs are so cheap that shimano doesnt even talk about them on their website is scary enough....let alone the no-name 1950's tech clones you find on these bikes.

Oh, and even if I bought a bottom end bike and planned on using it more than a few miles a month...I would get the brake calipers swapped out for a better pair. I used an x-mart bike last year and managed to destroy both calipers in under a month under "regular" use. Those calipers are strong enough for a 100lb child...but nowhere near strong enough for me when I weighed 260lbs....and i doubt it can handle me at 220 now either. case in point...the brakes are soft steel, you can bend them with your hands while they are attatched to the frame.

Hmm. Well, under the right circumstances, exceptions could be made.

Ahh yes... I'm now being haunted by flashbacks of my Huffy from my childhood with the stamped steel calipers pressing hard rubber block pads against chromed-over steel rims. It's a wonder I didn't kill myself as I actually took that thing offroad.

I wished I would've had a Huffy! Mine came from JC Penney's and probably weighed more than me. Lucky that it came with foam pads for the top tube and stem as I was always crashing it into ditches and trees.