walmart schwinn cheap

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metalliatic

metalliatic

New Member
Mar 14, 2010
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Louisville Ky
the walmart by my house just got a shipment of thier cheap schwinns in. they are $89. all the walmarts get these at the begining of the summer. you can buy one of these and stick a motor on it and sell it on craigslist. i did it last year. i bought the brand new bike from walmart and a brand new motor kit off ebay and had less then $200 in it and sold it for $425 on craigslist. this is a good way to fund your shift kit project or what ever your working on. you will sell it to someone that has no mechanical skills. people dont want to buy a used bike with a motor on it. take a pic of it with the cardbaord advertisment still in the front wheel and people will love it. with summer coming up now is the time to sell.
 
Retmachinist

Retmachinist

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Oct 21, 2008
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Urbandale Ia
Trouble is when putting an engine on a Wallmart bike you are going to be cruising around 30 m.p.h. on $3 tires. Those tires are probably rated about 20 m.p.h. max!

John
 
C

cnodie1

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Jan 27, 2010
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Baton Rouge, Louisiana
so my question is what do these non mechanically inclined people do when something falls apart on the bike. do they call you? do they call a bike shop? Im just worried about liability but it would be a great way to make some cash
 
hambro

hambro

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Dec 22, 2009
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Alabama
When I do sell a bike I have a dislcaimer that I make the buyer sign that relieves me of all liability from anything that may happen to them while on the bike. You can't depend on wal-mart cheapo bike bearings and wheels so it's not a matter of "if" something will go wrong with the bike it's a matter of "when" it happens.
 
metalliatic

metalliatic

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Mar 14, 2010
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Louisville Ky
Retmachinist said:
Trouble is when putting an engine on a Wallmart bike you are going to be cruising around 30 m.p.h. on $3 tires. Those tires are probably rated about 20 m.p.h. max!

John
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you guys worry to much. i rode the crap out of mine for the whole summer before selling it. does price make quality? they are all made in the same factory by the same chinese people. if your running 60mph then buy some good tires but its not uncommon for someone to peddle 30mph. the guy at my local bike shop says he can do 40mph peddleing.
 
Venice Motor Bikes

Venice Motor Bikes

Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
Mar 20, 2008
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Los Angeles, CA.
metalliatic said:
your welcome. its not good if you dont waste alot of money on it right? or buy from you.
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No... It's not good when people put engines on the CHEAPEST bikes they can find just to sell for a quick buck!! :rolleyes:

I feel it gives quality MB builders a bad rep & could put your buyers in danger! (think about that.) :crash:
 
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dag_29307

dag_29307

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Jul 1, 2009
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Enoree, Sc.
I for one agree with Venice. How can you rest easy knowing you could have very well sold a death trap to someone? I mean no offense but realistically that is what you are doing. You are selling someone a car to travel to Calif. from New York in when you KNOW it's gonna blow up after they get 150 miles from home. You are not only putting your name at risk but the whole MB community. The hardest thing to get rid of is a bad reputation.

Please use some discretion. Thank You.
 
metalliatic

metalliatic

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Mar 14, 2010
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Louisville Ky
dag_29307 said:
I for one agree with Venice. How can you rest easy knowing you could have very well sold a death trap to someone? I mean no offense but realistically that is what you are doing. You are selling someone a car to travel to Calif. from New York in when you KNOW it's gonna blow up after they get 150 miles from home. You are not only putting your name at risk but the whole MB community. The hardest thing to get rid of is a bad reputation.

Please use some discretion. Thank You.
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I think you are wrong about the quality of the bike. like i said i ran the crap out of my cheap bike all summer and never had any problems. the only thing i did to my $89 walmart bike was add a front break. it had a coaster when i bought it new. i dont think that it will "blow up" after so many miles. i never heard any complants from the buyer, he had my phone # from the craigslist ad. i would rather put someone on a new walmart bike then an used yardsale bike that you know nothing about. the only thing that could go wrong with the bike is the bearings and they will start making noise and getting tight way before the go compleatly out. they give you lots of warning frist. what else makes a bike better quality? the frame welds all look the same.
 
Retmachinist

Retmachinist

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Oct 21, 2008
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Urbandale Ia
I can tell you don't even have a clue about bicycle components. I don't even like to build a bike to sell unless it is a good quality bike with good components, not Wallmart Junk. I even hate building the OCC bikes when someone want's one because I consider them junk.
This is just my opinion though, go ahead and ride 30 m.p.h. on the $3 tires, my self I like the Michelin belted tires, with good tubes and good wheels!

John
 
BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

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Jul 21, 2009
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Maine
There have been some reports of bearing troubles... but honestly that coulda been neglect as easily as any thing else.

The BIG problem, where the danger is in making a wallyworld bike into a motorized bicycle is in the really cheesy rims. The frame welds tend to be fine as metalliatic mentioned, tires can ofc be upgraded and the shifters and whatnot don't really matter even if it's got 'em. I've got a walmart MB, I'd not even consider letting someone ride it w/o warning them about the rims. The bearings have gotten a lil runout despite maintenance, but it's also got a lot of miles on it now lol

It's those bdanged junk marshmallow rims - compounded by the obvious truth that anyone willing to only spend $80 on a bike isn't about to have them trued, let alone replace them with quality. Add in the kit "rag joint" sprocket mount... erg...


I only mention this because of the potential danger, I do actually recommend that people not rush out to buy the best bike they can find for their first MB - it's a learning process and the first is best viewed as a test platform. Yet I'd still not be comfortable selling such to others, without the build process to learn from and ignorant of the weaknesses of a motorized bike... well... it might work out ok but I have my doubts.

If I were inclined to sell bikes, I'd be forced to hike the price a lil and get some double walls laced on there jus' so I could sleep easy ;)
 
C

Cogswelln

New Member
Dec 6, 2009
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Maine
Wal mart nikes are not all junk ive had my walmart mb and it pulls trailer loaded with wood. i havent had any issues with the stock rims. the tires wear out quickly tho, ive replaced my back tire once already, and am going to be replacing it again soon. Now selling a walmart bike with a motor, i have mixed fealins about this as well. yes it is a quick easy way to turn a quick profit, but just remember with bikes you get what you pay for. the cheap bikes though they work are not the best quality and should be treated with care. I cant complain about my walmart motorbike, but every time i go for a ride, i check the spokes to see if they are loose, i check the air pressure not as often as i should, but i do check it.
Now the people who buy them should know exactly what they are getting into as well, and should hopefully have at least a little mechanical skill. There can be a lot of maintanace with these things and should be treated with care. People who know nothing of these things should not just jump on and ride either. If they dont know anything about them and something goes wrong where is the liability going to go unless you have liability wavers. Im not trying to knock your idea of making an easy profit, easy profits are always nice, just be carefull and make sure they know that the walmart bike is a yugo while a well built bike with the double wall rims and quality parts is more of the cadilac
 
BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

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Jul 21, 2009
7,194
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Maine
While you can get double wall rims as cheap as $20 or so, add in building them and tires and whatnot you can count on about $100ish for a complete wheelset - it's very well spent money tho.

Rims

If I were attempting to sell bikes as inexpensively as possible, I'd have them as at least an option - pointing out the inherent dangers of the stock rims. Have a few tacoed front rims around and they'd prolly sell themselves ;)
 
metalliatic

metalliatic

New Member
Mar 14, 2010
96
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Louisville Ky
Bill in Oregon said:
Metalliatic: Thanks for your original post. As to building these to sell, how much does it cost to fit a good wheel/rim and tire set?
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like i said i never had any problems out of my walmart bike and cogswelln said he never had any problems out of his. maybe you guys are alot harder on your bikes then i am. i ride mine on the street. i dont use a criuser as a mountain bike so i think the rims will be fine. if i was rock jumping with it i would think of replacing the rims. but for ridding on black top i dont think thats its a problem. i didnt mean to go out and swiddle somebody like your a used car salemen (no offence to used cars salemen) i just wanted to give you something to think about to finace your project. i belive that the kind of person that would buy a bike like this would have no concerns. and if you want you could always have them sign a liabilty waver.
 
skipsmith

skipsmith

New Member
Apr 14, 2010
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simi valley ca
come on guys.....you have internet sites selling go fast motors and performance gear to anyone who clicks the buy it now button! Whats the difference?
Anyway I would much rather I built the bike then some 15 yo kid with a hobby tool kit.....now that sounds like trouble to me!!
 
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