Robert C

It is a shame that we can't mod posts up; because this is right on.

Maelochs

^+1

I actively look for yard-sale bikes---I don't browse CL because there aren't enough things I want that don't require a long drive to investigate (and someone with no car needing a cheap bike for transport isn't going to drive around looking at CL offerings.)

Yard-sale finds ... I have found Two exactly in three decades.

Yeah, I have gotten decent bikes at yard sales ... for parts ... but as for ride-ready (or nearly) bikes in my size, that were actually a decent value? hard to find, and it takes luck.

The guy who needs a bike by Friday probably can't even get to the nearest CL offering ... he has no transport. But he can probably take a bus to Wal-mart and ride home.

If a person had $275 or $325 and a week to wait, I would recommend the Nashbar flat-bar road bike----I have done so many many times here. if a person had $150 max and needed a working bike by the end of the weekend ...

Hey, if the Wal-mart bike lasts six months, the person can save up for a better bike. No Wal-mart bike, no paycheck, nothing.

jefnvk

Valuable point too. That month it took me to find my first one involved considerable amounts of time wasted driving around, and the one I wound up with was about 35 miles away. I did miss out on a couple finds BF members pointed out to me during that time, simply because I couldn't get to them in time.

There's generally a WalMart/Target/Meijer/KMart/your favorite big box store close to most, which stock a fairly consistent stock of bikes.

up on two

The big box store bikes have a limited market for the occasional rider, beginner or someone low on funds. Better to ride a cheap bike than no bike at all.

Besides, riding a Walmart bike will allow you to get stronger faster than a modern CF bike, teach you bike repair skills and give you time to decide if cycling is the right sport for you.

mrv 

The OP asked for opinions. mine: Wal-Mart bikes are junk and the teens putting them together don't know what they are doing, making them unsafe (suspension forks reversed, for example)
- so , no don't buy one.
The OP never said he was in a big hurry for immediate cheap transportation. I think he gave up on this thread a while ago....

jefnvk

True, but my point was simply that because you once got a great deal on a bike, does not mean that it is a realistic option for most looking for one. If I do a search for $150 and under on CL within 25 or so miles of me right now, I'm left with a pile of big box shop bikes, about three old Trek MTBs in desperate need of a full going over, and a couple old Ross/Schwinn hi-ten road bikes in similar condition to the Treks. There are some others that MAY be OK, but blurry pics and no info can drive a person crazy. Only thing grabbing my attention as something I'd possibly go ride with nothing but topping off the air in the tires is a nice looking Shogun for $125, and as it is my size, I may go look at that one myself

If you extrapolate your logic that Wal-Mart bikes are unsafe as-is and should be excluded, so are most $150 CL finds. If one is unable to spot Wal-Mart assembly problems, one is probably not going to be overhauling their CL find. That was my point, not that the Trek/Ross/Schwinn options was a worse choice than the Wal-Mart options.

Lively or Not

Somebody said that the best bike is the bike that you ride. If a bike from Walmart is the bike you'll actually ride, then get it. Maybe one day it'll stop being the bike you want to ride. Maybe not.

Cyclist0084

Well said!!

Maelochs

Great point, and often overlooked. The Wal-mart bike would need a complete inspection and probably some adjustment (possibly constant adjustment)---but if the buyer couldn't handle that, the buyer is not going to be able to handle a CL bike which needs the same.

If the buyer can't tell if the forks are backwards, how could s/he tell which CL bike was a hazard?

If a person knows Nothing about bikes Wal-Mart is probably the safest source, because if nothing else one could threaten a lawsuit, or get an exchange or a refund. Buy a bad bike on CL and then what?

NYMXer

MY son just got out of a rehab and wanted to try bike riding with me. I bought a pair of cheap Walmart low end front suspension only mountain bikes. We have been riding them about 200 miles, no issues and 2 KOM's!

scott967

I never see these hot deals on CL myself, at least for road bikes. About the cheapest ever is $300. Looked just now, and the only exception is a GMC Denali asking $175.

I suspect most of the Walmart bikes never see more than 100 miles and do just fine for that.

scott s..

mrodgers

My Walmart mountain bike never got a lick of maintenance. It was purchased in 2006 to ride with my 6 year old daughter as she learned to ride a bike. Obviously it wasn't ridden for many miles and was never ridden all that fast.

It was shoved in the back of a garage until 2012 when she asked if she could ride it. I adjusted the shifting as best I could. She could and she rode it all around the yard and out on the dead end road we lived on.

In the spring of 2013 with the 4 feet of snow in the yard finally melted, I found the bike. The chain was completely rusted frozen around the gears and through the derailleurs. I broke it all free with PB Blaster and she rode it around the yard all summer.

At the end of summer I had decided to use it to try to get a little exercise in. I rode that Walmart mountain bike 580 miles during August, September, and October. It was put away after October as the snow started flying again. I bought the Giant Escape in the spring of 2014.

That junk Walmart mountain bike allowed me to ride 60 mile rides just about every weekend this summer with a great group of friends because without it, I probably never would have gone out and bought a "good" bike and started riding.

Lively or Not

Yes. This. What a great way to begin riding.

highrpm

My boys have the Walmart mountain bikes. These bikes are great for them. They can beat them up, park them wherever they like, and basically treat them like kids treat their bikes. I don't worry because they aren't expensive to replace.


I look on the local CL every once in a while although I will admit it's not very often. I have never really found any super deals on used bikes. I do see quite a few lightly used, almost new bikes that are going for close to new bike prices though.

ramzilla

Used bike prices have gone up the last couple years or so. The Fujis & Univegas I used to see for $100 - $150 are now $200 - $250. Oh well. Whatever. You can always try to talk them down on price. It's easier to get a reduced price after it sits on CL for a month.

Gymschu

10 years ago when money was tight, I bough 2 Schwinn Avenue hybrid bikes from Walmart. The frames were aluminum which was a great selling point. I didn't expect much but thought that for the price, about $225 a piece, they would be decent trail bikes for my wife and I. They were nothing flashy. My kids rode them and often left them out in the weather. They rusted a bit, but in those 10 years of abuse, rarely did those bikes fail me. I'm guessing that each bike had about 4 or 5,000 miles on them when it was all said and done. I got my money's worth.

cycleheimer

Actually, they are not that bad. Definitely more than just a bike shaped object, and fairly well regarded amongst bikes in their price range. I have an Insight and was actually surprised how well it rides. I have ridden hundreds of miles on mine, and haven't had any problems. Hope you have as good of luck with yours.

saint mucus

Yeah I believe it's going to be a good bike for me, I have over 200 miles on it so far and now that I have everything dialed in and tuned up it's crazy smooth. Being a newb it took me a couple tries to get the sifter cable tension just right and the wheels perfectly true but now everything is spot on.

EthanSpokesEtc

as somebody who built bikes at walmart for 3 years before getting hired to work at a bikeshop. just stay far far away from any bike sold at walmart, Target, Dicks sporting goods, toys r us, or any other store like it.

ZenForest

I just purchased this bike from WallMart for $199

https://www.walmart.com/ip/29-Kent-M...-Blue/40572011

Been DECADES since I have ridden a bike.

Just want to get the body moving again. No serious off roading, no jumps or stunts. 80% street / 20% well graded dirt roads/paths is my plan.

Just got it delivered, and setting up as we speak.

So far just a couple quick rides around the neighborhood as I have been adjusting the breaks and derailleurs before attempting a longer ride. So far so good.

Plan to keep the forum updated with MY PROGRESS, but also the Bikes.

yadder

In Ukraine them called "Aushan-bike" on named store where they saled. Very cheap china bikes make it from trash parts, which out of order almost imediatelly. Following their bad quality- weight. they very hard. and number 3 bad quality- they are not safe

genec

I suspect most of the folks in the "bicycling population" that are happy with their Walmart $100 bikes are not the sort of folks that give a hoot about bike lanes, or VC, nor do they commute 30 miles a day on a bike.

For the crowd that rides less than 500 miles a year, anything with handlebars and two semi-inflated tires is probably good enough.

I-Like-To-Bike

True Walmart bikes might not be "good enough" for the BF bicycling cognoscenti; also probably true is that most of the entire bicyclist population couldn't give a hoot about Vehicular Cycling (if they even heard of it). If you doubt that, take a look around when not riding with the bike club peloton and note how and where people ride their bicycles.

Even less likely is that there is anything but an infinitesimally small percentage of the entire bicyclist population that commutes 30 miles a day on a bike or needs a bike set up for such enthusiastic riding, and they all seem to post on the BF Commuting Forum.

I-Like-To-Bike

Your bike store employer has taught you well, make sure your employer sees your loyal post on BF.

jefnvk

Meh. My Scott was purchased from Dicks for Christmas for me in 1997. Other than the front wheel needing spokes replaced and trued when I decided to hit a tree north of 20MPH, and the shifters and front brake needing replaced when it was in my trunk when someone rear-ended me, it has served my needs well over 19 years.

Still my beater/muddy trail condition bike.