Correct. Cleverly concieved continuing cycling comments Carlton. Cool. Continue comentary if you choose.

You guys are such wusses. Color scheme is about as ridiculous as every other pre assembled fixie out there ridden by a seventh grader. Make sure everything is fastened down and greased, and it will probably work fine. Like every walmart bike out there. Even those steel calipers.

Naww, I've got a bike with some crappy steel calipers like that and they only pretend to slow you down a little bit no matter what kinda brake adjustment kung-fu you got. The other crappy parts on my mart bike are pedals, derailers and saddle. I ditched the derailers and swapped pedals and saddle and it's a pretty sweet ride now.

I used to think like that. Then I tried those crappy steel calipers on my Raleigh Twenty. They work fine. Probably better than the crappy Weinmanns that came with the bike. I even have a crappy walmart pseudo mountain bike practically new from my alley. I've been riding it pretty hard all summer, curious to see how it would hold up. I don't think it has a sliver of aluminum anywhere. Poor thing needed some grease, and some bolts tightened. It's a lumbering hulk of steel, rides OK, that works just fine and will likely last a pretty long time with a modicum of regular maintenance. Like any bike.

hey your from monterey too!! where do you ride?!

z0Mg sCrOd: sHouLd i PuT kINlinZ on dIZ to gET uNDeR tWenT-T PouNDS?

y'all be postin in a troll thread. OP only has one post and never replied.

More accurately, y'all be postin in a walmart market research session thread...

I'm guessing that if it were a Wal-Mart rep, he would have gotten the name right. It's a Thruster, not a Truster.

Dang, you got lucky. These here stamped calipers are poo!

Sorry to bring up a dead thread but the bike is actually a good starting point if you're not a brand snob and also know how to do a little work. It is a solid frame and the rear flip hub is actually well worth the $100. That leaves you around $200 to invest and stay at entry level and IMO be better than entry level if you can do your own work. So far I adjusted the bottom bracket, Repacked the hubs, replaced the chain. I'm $130 in which leaves $170 for new bars front brake system and saddle. I think for the price it is beyond worth it.

Or instead of buying a $100 bike and investing $200 you could buy a $300 bike

kilott

Yes, that was an option not saying you can't just a little more room for personalization. Thats all.

I agree with sherblock, on the TT or something comparable even if there is speculation around here that there is nothing worth comparing. Especially for what sounds like your first bike. For the same price in the end the stock Kilo would still be nicer than the upgraded wal-mart. And to be honest it sounds like you've spent $130 on routine maintenance work.

If you're talking about having to do work as soon as you buy a bike why buy new in the first place? The hubs are not worth $100 as you say either. Nor is anything else on the bike. There are plenty of options for less to the same price range, and include better quality. A vintage conversion is a better option imo. An older bike with a reputable name at or around the same price will still have been better engineered and have better components than the wal-mart, slap 'em together, make a quick buck single speed will. Plus you get the wrench time you talk about and can spend the same amount of money doing upgrades to something you might want to keep. Not to put you down but man...

My advice is now that you have it, ride it around a bit but don't throw money into it. Save it, learn a little more about what you want in a bicycle, and find something better.

Ohh, you're not putting me down at all. This is my first fixie I just happened to like the cheesy red and yellow look. I have an old Sanwa I could convert or an old cannondale r600. I just after doing the debating decided to go with this I couldn't bring myself to take either bike apart. I'm sure I could have found an old Schwinn or trek on CL but this was more convenient.

My suspicions are finally confirmed. I KNEW you worked for Walmart.

Chalk one up for Walmart. That's exactly what they want.

Hey all my components are bought from LBS, so a little less evil

Oh man, you actually bought one?



Good luck, wear a helmet.

I'm not a brand snob. I ride a frame from a company most people hate. I still wouldn't buy this piece of crap. The only things it's good for are getting kids into riding (a 11 year old kid isn't gonna do much damage to a bike), and flipping it. I saw one on CL for $300.

As I kid I rode Magnas [without helment!] that were bought from Toys R' Us for $100 and they were Awesome. Has the quality of the $100, bix-box-store bicycle gone down THAT much? You guys are the experts on these bikes, thank you for your input in advance!

ALSO: Do I understand it right: Wal-Mart is pre-assembling these fixies? If so: Why!? My dad would have to put my Magna together himself, great way to make sure things are secure.

Hell naw, dude. Go the other way - dual Aerospokes.

Dual Hed 3's wouldn't look too bad either.

If I lived in New York and locked outside, I would buy this bike and put a pair of decent flat-proof tires on it. Then, when it got stolen, I would be very sad about losing the tires.

I'm guessing this bike will be fine for a couple years. I've ridden crappy Walmart bikes before, and as long as you don't mind lousy shifting and braking, they are fine. And in a fixie, these are null issues (at least the shifting). Of course, it will be heavy and the frame will be springy, but that's ok if you're not racing.

Those big tires are on it for a reason, however, and the reason is the wheels can't withstand additional shock. And if you put a fixed cog on it, you will probably need a new chain for $10 and who knows if the crank will hold up.

"Red and yellow, red and yellow, red and yello, ah...yellow and red - let's mix things up a bit!" - Walmart wheel/tire color designer

I'm not sure if it was in this one or one of the other threads about this hunk of crap, but someone tried a skid stop and both cranks ended up facing the same direction.