Just wondering if any of you guys have any experience with this in California...our local store has quite a few but it just seems to be kinda quiet there.

Thanks in advance

I am guessing you are talking about bikes sold through department stores? The quality is lower, the build may be iffy, and no assistance is typically offered for fitting or selection. Frame materials in bikes that cost $100 are not the same, nor are the production quality standards, which is how they can sell the bikes at those prices.
If you want a cheap bike, go for it.

Nah, I bet he's talking about these bikes.

I've never had any experience with department store bikes, well at least not since I was a little kid. But I've heard some horror stories about the way they're assembled. These things aren't put together by bike mechanics, but by some kid in the stock room.

No but thanks for making me aware of them...Target is a retail store we have in this part of the USA.

When you consider that ALL Target & **mart bikes sell for
often less than $70 ask yourself how much quality can you
build in a bike like that and still make a profit for the
store. You simply can't.

For the same money a **mart or other big box store sells bikes
for you can buy a high quality used name brand bike with
just a bit of patients and looking. Viewed from that point
it's plain silly to even consider a **mart bike for ANY
reason. You'd do better with **mart bike money to buy good
walking shoe as they would at least be worth the money.

When talking to non-biking folk they'd always be amazed that I'd spend $100 for a bike seat or $200 for pedals. Most people are used to buying a whole bike for $100.

does Target even sell road bikes?

My son works at a bike shop and they often get Target, K-Mart and Wal-Mart bikes in for repairs. The bikes are generally so cheap they're hard to fix, poor quality, and aren't worth the trouble. Do yourself a favor and go to a real bike shop. You'll be supporting a small business person and you'll get the right bike for your needs. Plus the bike will come with a year's free maintenance.

Having ridden a kmart bike for a lot of miles.

If you are planning on using a bike for say 2 miles every other week. they are great.

If you are planning on regular riding go to an LBS.

What sort of bike where you looking for and why?

Tell me about it. My friends are always telling me I'm crazy for buying a $90 Brooks saddle. "I got my bike for $120 and my seat for $8." ... I'm like, "I ride my bike every day.. when was the last time you rode yours?" As they sit there counting back the months, I usualy make my point.

Vincent

You know... to be honest. I'll bet you the "PT Cruiser" single-speed line they sell at Target isn't so bad. But I'd run away from the multigear dual-suspension bikes they have there. That said, I've seen single-speed cruisers and comfort bikes for not much more (and some were even less) money at LBSes around here. As for the dual-suspension bikes, I could go on for pages about why it's a bad idea to buy one of the Jeep branded bikes.

Yeah, but I woudn't buy a bike named for a car, just out of principle.

I like my Jeep but I like it as a Jeep. It's a good offroad machine. I don't own the Jeep boombox, the Jeep juggage, the Jeep bike, etc for a reason. They're crappily built. Jeep just pimps out the name and it gets stuck on the most low-quality overpriced pieces of garbage imaginable. Jeep should be ashamed of themselves.

I'll tell you what - for kids bikes, you can get a pretty decent bike for $80-$100 at Toys R Us et al. I've bought several over the years for my kids to run around the neighborhood. Have not had one problem with any of them, and the get tossed to the ground, left in the rain occassionally, etc. Cracks me up to see folks stroll into the LBS and buy junior a $300-$400 Trek that is just going to get abused anyways.

For that matter, I compared the frame on the Toys R Us special to a bike that I saw at LBS with the Trek label on it, and I swear it was the identical frame. Hmmmm ....

Just wondering, I've noticed some Schwinn bikes at my target now. Are these the same Schwinns quality wise but with cheaper components than at an LBS. Or is Schwinn just putting their name on cheap bikes?

Anyway, if you want a cheap bike, I would get a used bike from a quality bike maker than a new one from a department store any day. I'd say you'll have much more fun riding it as quality makes a difference.

But I do agree that kids bikes are best from a department store. When I was little I beat the hell out of my bike and never maintained it. It was some bike from toys r us too. That thing kept on going through winters, summers, potholes, ramps, etc...all with no maintenance.

It might be... at certain pricepoints and types of bikes, the ones at the dept. stores are pretty much the same as the ones at the LBS. For really simple bikes, I don't think buying from a dept. store is that much an issue. However, what you do give up is the service you'd get from the LBS. For anything other than a kid's BMX style or single-speed cruisers, I would advise going to an LBS on the technical points. But again, that said, I've seen LBS bikes be pretty price-competitive to the dept. store bikes for those bikes that are worthy of consideration.

There are three major problems with Target bikes:

1. one size fits all. Think about it can a person 6'5" fit in the same pants a 5'9" person does? They can, but it ain't going to be comfortable and you'll hate it and quit riding. So that's a wasted $100.

2. Assembly is haphazard at best. Many of these are not assembled properly and are unsafe as soon as you roll them out of the store. Even if they are assembled correctly (by some miracle) all bikes need a tune up within 30 days to shift and brake properly. Target doesn't do repairs so you take it to a bike shop where you are charged $40 - $50 for a tune up, half the cost of the bike. Don't tune it up, it runs like crap, riding is no fun, you quit, wasted $100.

3. Target bikes are throw-aways after one year. Stuff gets broken, tires wear out, things need to be fixed. Just to replace both tires will typically cost $50 - $60 with el cheapo tires, add in a tune up and your at $100. Go to Target and start the waste money cycle again.

Schwinn (which is now owned by Pacific) is putting their name on cheap POS bikes.

biker1052: Now you've got me thinking. If an experienced cyclist needed a disposable bike for, let's say urban commuting where it has to be locked up in a weather-exposed, high-crime area, a Target bike may not be a bad choice. If you knew how to fit yourself and how to reassemble and tune the bike to make it safe and rideable.

But unless you've got the tools and know-how, you're just going to fall into the pit you've outlined.

Oh... another thing I have noticed about dept. store bikes vs. LBS bikes. Direct Customer Facing Quality Control. Every wrench on this forum so far has recounted stories about how they've rejected bikes they thought were unsafe. I'm also pretty good friends with the people at several LBSes and I've seen them do the same thing. They look out for their customers. When the mechanic at my FBS was building up my roadbike, he sent the stem back and requested a new one because he found too much metal flashing in the handlebar clamp area. And yes, he could have taken a file to it. He felt that it wasn't right and that I deserved a stem that was correct from the factory. I think he said there were other issues with the shape of the forging not being correct too. For the most part, the higher prices you see at the LBS is reflective of the overall professionalism there.

I don't get that same warm-fuzzy feeling when perusing through Target, Wal-Mart, K-mart, Costco, etc and seeing what ends up on shelves selling $109.99 bikes. As a matter of fact, while buying toilet paper (the most common thing I pick up at Target), I have stopped people and pointed out assembly and build problems on bikes that they were rolling up to the checkout line and ready to pay for.

My wife bought a department store Schwinn. It was what she wanted. She wanted a traditional looking women’s step through frame. It had OK parts. Shimano drivetrain, Kenda tires, Mozo fork, SRAM shifters, etc… The assembly sucked. I had to redo the assembly and tune it up. She likes the bike better than what she had to choose from in any of the bike shops. I guess she really doesn't want to step over a top tube.

Schwinn still makes a good bike. I like the Fastback Comp. My boy has an OK Schwinn Mountain bike. It came from a bike store though. A local sporting goods store at the Mall carries the Fastback Sport. Just don't expect them to ever service the thing.

I generally agree with you, but has Target banned you from the store yet?

Heh. Not yet but I don't make a huge deal of it. It's sort of like standing in the checkout line and noticing the person in front of you is about to pay for milk that has expired. I simply just say something like, "the fork on that bike is installed backwards... you might want to have the people in the sporting dept. look at that before you checkout." I wonder though if sometimes they think I'm pulling a ruse to get them out of line ahead of me.

Oh my...no offence to Target, KMart, or Wal*Mart shoppers, but that's where I buy toothpaste, not bicycles. I would go to your LBS. Bottom line is you get what you pay for, and if you pay $200 for a bike you can't complain when it falls apart. In fact, I have one sitting in my garage. We can't decide if we are going to fix it or let it collect dust. There may be some fine bicycles sold there, but I will stick to purchasing toiletries and the like.

See? another happy Target toilet-paper shopper. Actually, I don't buy the Target branded TP. I go for the name brand stuff which just happens to be cheaper at Target than anywhere else.


Sorry... couldn't resist.