carleton

...plus darn near EVERY company in the world wants Walmart as a customer. So they will bend over backwards to sell to Walmart. This means taking less profit just to be in business with them.

I guarantee you that if Walmart approaced Chrome Bags, Surly, or any other small brand and said we would like to place an order for 500,000 units...for this year maybe more next..., they would say "HELL FREAKIN' YEAH. FORGET STREET CREDIBILITY. I can buy all kinds of street cred now that I own a multi-million dollar company!"

Mos6502

I dunno about that. Huffy was killed by Wal Mart through their deal with them, I feel like a lot of companies are more than a little wary of doing business with them.

carleton

Huffy bit off more than it could chew by agreeing to supply 900,000 bikes when they were only capable of producing 450,000. Even Mariotti (the former president of Huffy) says that.

https://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/...tml?page=1%2C3

F4UX3/2

get over it hipsters, you bastardized someone elses scene and now thanks to you, and only you, walmart is bastardizing (although you really didn't leave much further for them to go) yours. I'm just counting the days until they carry matching messenger bags, risers and aerospokes right in between the fishing reels and pellet guns in the sporting good section.

Mos6502

Which means that most companies would of course not be interested. Since they can't afford sell everything they make to walmart in exchange for nearly nil profit. I don't think Chrome or Surly would be even remotely interested.

LupinIII

coz a bike with a fixed cog constitutes a scene

oh wait no apparently mess bags, risers, and spoks are a scene.

Syscrush

Here in Canada we have Canadian Tire stores selling vast untold quantities of the SC-1800 - a $99 mountain bike - you see a lot of them on every university campus, and you can't walk 2 blocks in Toronto without seeing 3 of 'em: 1 brand new with stickers still on it, 1 beat to **** with a rusty chain and a broken shifter dangling from the bars, and 1 locked up and abandoned with 2 taco'd rims from when it got buried by a passing snowplow in the winter of '03.

There used to be a guy keeping a blog called "Bike of Doom" about his experiences with one of these bikes, where he bought one, did his best to tune & maintain it, and used it as his every day all-weather commuter in the west somewhere - Winnipeg or Calgary, I think. He also did some research and found that they're made by Raleigh and are the best-selling bike in Canada.

I have long been fascinated by these machines and helped my wife pick one up when she was a grad student and suggested one when my bro-in-law said his wife (my sister) had expressed interest in riding but they were on a tight budget and he wasn't sure how much she'd actually get out and ride.

My wife rode hers for the subset of 1 year when it's nice to ride in Kingston, ON and then it was stolen about 2 weeks before she finished school. It was a ****ty bike but she never went more than 5k at a time and she had a fair bit of affection for it. At that point, she didn't care about speed and didn't really do fancy stuff like changing gears. At that time I was kind of into cycling but had never had a genuinely good bike and it seemed OK to me as incredibly cheap transportation.

A few years later my bro-in-law picked one up and my sister does ride it a bit. I was there when he gave it to her, and I took it for a bit of a spin to see if the brakes & shifters were set up OK, and that the wheels were true. I rode that thing maybe 50 feet before it was impressed upon me that n $800 bike really is at least 10x better than a $100 bike. I had been riding only my Sputnik for about 4 months, (and riding it quite a bit) at the time I got on that blue monstrosity. Heavy, slow, loud, crap shifters, so-so brakes, just nasty.

And it'll go anywhere you choose to pedal it, and the whole damn thing cost less than either of the last 2 sets of tires I bought for my nice bike.



I'm very curious about this Walmart machine. With a single speed there's less to feel like ****, but my money's on something heavy and slow at best. I'm not knocking cheap bikes - for someone who just wants to get around faster than walking and cheaper than a bus pass, they can be fine.

redfb

i am opened minded enough to accept the fact that like someone said earlier they got a good deal on half way decent parts to sell it for a fair price. I love walmart, but then again i do agree their current bike line up is less than stellar.

KrautFed

Anyone else read the ratings comments? LOL @ the number of people that found the review helpful.

MaxSta

Walmart is clearly marketing towards hipsters, ie this edgy ironic shirt.

saladbar

A couple of my friends and I are thinking about buying these and using them for bike polo. We'll be the mongoose crew!

gman26

What frame sizes? I didn't see any frame sizes.

TejanoTrackie 

One size fits all.

LupinIII

one size fits all, isn't that how all bikes are?


I don't mind heavy bikes, I really like my hi-ten 10speed raleigh that weighs at least 30 lbs. I don't like the super cheap components used on most of these bikes that make the whole thing feel numb, loose, and dangerous.

gman26

no... seriously??

BassNotBass

I just added one to my cart and there weren't any size options so I'd have to assume it is indeed "one size fits all". But hey, isn't that how motorcycles and cars are sold?

TejanoTrackie 

Why do you think their bikes are so cheap? Go there sometime, and ask one of their "associates" about the frame size. You'll probably get an answer like "It's 26 inches, but we also have them in 24 inches". Of course they meant wheel size but don't know any better. Fact is, most if not all of their bikes come in one frame size. I mean, it's so ****in stupid to buy something like a bicycle from them. Better to get something used on C-list or a co-op. Many local shops have closeouts of slow-selling models at comparable prices. End rant/

HoudiniSplicer

Looks like a standard Wal-Mart bike, except it has one gear and it looks sort of "urban". Considering it only has one gear it's probably a better (read: more reliable/less maintanance) choice for most people who would buy a bike at Wal-Mart than one of their 21 speed mountain bikes or 7 speed cruisers. Best case scenario some people buy them and decide they like single speed/fixed gear riding and then upgrade to a better bike. Worst case scenario they end up rusty in a garage or for sale for $50 on craigslist.

Also, "LOL" at the people who think this is somehow disgracing their "scene"... let me guess, you got into this "scene" a year and a half ago... and you'll probably quit it and move on to the next thing by the time you turn 19.

ph4nt0mf1ng3rs

Wow! A post about other posts!

I don't understand what the big deal is. If you think that you'd not like to see other people post their OPINIONS on the bike, dont read! muahahah!
sorry im being stupid. But honestly, we are all just voicing our opnions. frankly, none of us care whether or not someone buys the bike. Its just the fact that Walmart is selling these kinds of bikes etc.Its all opnion.

oldfolksmashers

Still waiting anxiously for mine to come in..

MaxSta

I'd bet this bike is made for kids, so the size adjustments would be strictly with the seat height

F4UX3/2

yes and yes

Although I hastily forgot to note that walmart risers will most likely be pre-cut and I would imagine they would come in two models. The "Spinner" will be a bar optimized for bar spinz by being cut down to the point of only being able to get half a hand on each side. The "Street Shredder" on the other hand will put the rider into a very upright position, despite the bikes track geometry, giving them the aerodynamics of a kite.

their line of disk wheels will be named "bottomless V's"

Scrodzilla

Does the BMX crowd care this much that WalMart sells crappy BMX bikes?

HoudiniSplicer

I'd like to think some of the disdain comes from genuine concern for the potential buyer... not wanting them to get a bad first impression of single speed 700c bikes because of a crappy WalMart bike.

However, I actually think it has more to do with the fact that they're afraid they won't be the only kid on their block with a track-esque bike anymore... OR that they'll be seen as "less cool" because you can get a bike similar to the one they ride at WalMart.

Personally, I couldn't give a **** less about what kind of bike WalMart sells, or who buys it, or what people think when they see me riding down the road and wonder if I got my bike at Wally World.

I just hope that WalMart starts selling 700c tires and tubes so if I ever get a flat at 2AM on sunday I can get a spare.

Greyryder

Mostly, we just laugh at those bikes. However, I do get ticked off at a wal-goose that came out a few years ago, that ripped off the old Supercross "sub stay" rear end. It probably wouldn't bother me, if I didn't own one of those old Supercrosses.

But, I probably take things too seriously.