BikeBerkshires

This must be THE question everyone who has little knowledge of bikes wonder about.

This forum seems to break down into two camps: the absolutely disdainful, elitist, condescending anti-department store people and those who claim that department store bikes are as good as LBS bikes.

I have a lot of experience with bike repair and the answer is actually: it depends.

Target sells some bikes that are junk. Wal-Mart is an even worse offender. The Next and similar brands are not good at all. The components are cheap. Yes, no one disputes that many department store bikes are terrible.

However, let's remember that value is a function of cost divided by benefit. In that sense, Target probably offers more bike at a given price than you can get at an LBS. I know that some people will go crazy about how you don't get personal service or repairs from Target. I don't dispute that. But this is also why they can offer a less expensive bike than an LBS.

I am an economist who has done several studies into durability versus cost of products (mostly in car parts). The reality is that the price of an item is not always reflective of its quality. A Nissan and a BMW are pretty close in reliability despite their price difference. A major reason that BMWs and Treks can command such a high price is something we call "Snob Appeal." Trek advertises, has spent money to build up a reputation, and sells through small quantity retailers whose status as experts further enhance their image of excellence. All of this builds up extreme brand loyalty and the belief (often mistaken) that the price difference ($3000 in some cases) is directly related to the quality of the product. The reason that boutique bikes are so expensive is that they are purposely produced and sold in small quantities by a highly segregated marketing structure (dealers) with targeted advertising. Their scarcity (small quantities/high price) and general demand (built through advertising) results in high prices. Trek can sell an expensive bike not just because it is better (no one can really quantify how much "better"), but because people assume that it is better. Let me put it this way: is the $3000 Precision I own really 30 times better than the $99 bike at Target? No. The added value for me is in the fact that I know the dealer and we have been friends for years and a VERY slight relative increase in quality. The truth is that many people on here would never buy a $99 no-name bike even if it was better than a $500 brand name bike. That 500% premium is what economists decribe as "irrational apportionment." It's totally baseless is reality, but it makes perfect psychological sense. If everyone can afford it, how good can it really be?

My three sports are tennis, skiing, and biking. All are expensive sports and I'm not afraid to spend money on good equiptment. But I could really care less if some stuck-up elitist cares is my bike is up to their standards.

A $60 bike is probably not too good, but a $100 model is expotentially better. The thing is that bikes suffer from the same law of diminishing returns as everything else. Step up to a $500 bike and you'll see a good quality increase, but upgrading to a $1000 model will give less of an improvement. Any doubling above that may in fact be almost purely cosmetic. As a bike gets more expensive, your noticable improvement quotient will drop with each marginal price increase. Deny it all you want, but is a $3000 bike really any better than a $2000 one if you're not on the Tour de France?

Another thing is that department store bikes are commodities. Wal-Mart's blue 26" full suspension bike must compete with Target's blue 26" full suspension bike on price, quality, and features. The result is that both companies buy huge quantities of each (they place orders for millions of bikes in multi-year supplier contracts). That drives down the price of components to a fraction of what an LBS can get them for. The quality stays the same but the price drops. It's the old story of markets of scale. Another dirtly little secret is that "high end" bike companies often farm out manufacturing to the exact same factories that make the cheapo bikes. The same workers in Asian factories build them. The Pacific Rim is where almost all bikes eminate.

I added a Schwinn S-40 to my fleet last year. It came from Target for $230. It's a great little bike for trails and the build quality is superb. Pacific put good parts into it (which they often do not). I was actually shocked that it gave me a better ride (except for the seat) than expensive bikes I've bought in the past. The assembly was weak on the floor model, so I got one in the box and put it together myself. This is a MUST unless you happen to find a well-assembled bike on the floor (probably a return). Good thing that I kept my tools from my old bike mechanic job.

On another occassion, I was vacationing in Hawaii for two weeks and was looking at renting a bike for $18 a day. So I figured to try the local department store and picked up a $100 front-suspension "Triax" by Duratech with a no-name disc brake. It was not exactly my Precision, but it took a beating on a beach. Water, wind, sand, and salt couldn't stop this thing. Would it last me for 5 years, maybe. Maybe not. But it looked sharp and I sold it for $20 to a friend on the Big Island.

To answer your question, look very hard at the bike you are getting from Target. Push it around a little. Try to steal a couple rides down the cosmetic aisle to get a feel for it. Feel the parts (do they feel loose, cheap, or thin?). Try to pull some things apart. If you can break something without a tool, move on. There's a lot of crap out there to avoid, especially the bikes that look prettier than they do sturdy. Test the brakes and seperate assembly issues that you can correct from structural deficiencies. The negative reputation of department store bikes isn't unearned. When I used to fix bikes, the dept store bikes were ten times worse then they are today (the quality is definately moving up). But I suspect that you will be able to find a bike that meets your needs if you shop around. The functionality of the bike is what matters most. Those Shimano Tourney shifters are pretty good. I've never seen a broken one that wasn't abused.

Do avoid Mongooses, that has become Pacific's cheapo brand. A lot of shiny paint covering a lot of junk. And have an LBS or someone you trust put it together, not the staff at the store! Or get a tune up before riding it, if you can only get an assembled one. Most bikes that will fail break in the first month, so you can probably return it if that happens. Target offers a 90-day return policy.

Get whatever makes you happy and get the most you can afford. Don't let some smug cycling elitist like me keep you from getting something that works for you. Department store bikes are a good start and some like the Schwinn I have, may last a lifetime with proper care and regular inspection.

Turbo11

BikeBerkshires,

I just want to thank you very much for taking the time to write that post. I am new here and have never posted.

This post was immensely helpful to me in my decision about what my first bike should be.

Thanks again!

EDIT: I apologize for bumping such an old thread, I am new and was searching for info and found this thread - I just noticed it was pretty old

MShaughnessy

Just wanted to add my .02. I suddenly had the urge to buy a bicycle and go for a ride with my dog because she needs the exercise and so do I. I started on craigslist and found several suitable options but any thing that was reasonably priced seemed to have been fairly weathered. I live across the street from a bike shop but they were closed when the urge struck and I really didn't want to invest too much into a bike I just plan to walk my dog with for the most part so I didn't end up looking at the higher end models.
I ended up going to target and getting a schwinn solara, 28" wheels 14 speed. I inspected it best I could in the store and right off the bat I knew I was in for some brake adjustments, the pads didn't line up with the rim for jack and the pads were way off centered from the rim.
I get it in the parking lot and decided i'd go ahead and give it a spin. I thought it was weird that my foot hit the front tire when I turned a bit but chalked it up to the thought that they were 28" wheels on more of a road bike when I have always ridden a 26" wheel mountain bike and I just needed to get used to it, It also felt a bit weird turning but i thought it was just me needing to get comfortable with thin tires. I was able to run through the gears though and everything seemed smooth there.
Once I get home i start adjusting the brakes, that's when I noticed the front tire wasn't centered in the forks, easy enough I popped the quick release and adjusted the tire to the proper position. Back to adjusting the front brake, (I still haven't noticed the brakes are under the frame instead of infront) once I get them to my liking I move on to the rear, then I start hearing a rubbing sound, I look back to the front brakes, no nothing rubbing there, return to the rear, there's the squeak again... Hey why is the tire rubbing the frame and hitting these cables down here?!? Ahh the handlebars were put backwards and the forks are indeed facing the wrong way. Pulled out a 5 mm allen key and flipped them around.
I took it out for another spin and the turning was way better and it seems like it will be able to do its job so far but i guess only time will tell. When I searched for that model online it was listed at 199.99 but in the store it was marked at 139.00 and it had a $10.00 off coupon so 129.99 plus tax. I don't plan to do any 15 mile rides or anything like that so I think it will last just fine. I can certainly see upgrading the seat to something more ass friendly but it seems like a good value now that the Target employee assembly has been corrected.

Rollfast

I wouldn't recommend riding one where rebel armies lurk.

sced

Finally I found a bit of truth! I'd thought it was totally gonzo.

Rollfast

There is a lot of truth in Gonzo, if not all the Muppets.