Should I buy this walmart bike?

ferball said:
The intended use of a mountain bike is to go off road and to get beat on a little bit.
Click to expand...

Generally true, but not necessarily applicable to the bicycles you buy at Walmart. If you REALLY want to rough it and go off road, buy a bike shop mountain bike...but don't put a motor in it. I'd not assume that a department store mountain bike is more rugged then a department store cruiser, however.
 
New Bike Shop bikes for around $250.00? The Sun Atlas and Fuji cruiser line. Of course these are single speed cruisers. MTB frames are often cramped for engine install. Many on the sites are very pleased to buy used on Craigslist. Japanese and many Taiwanese as well as older USA made bikes use good metal throughout. Good Luck with whatever you decide. Don't rule out a Friction Drive system like BMP or Staton. I like 'em w/ 4 strokes. Easy and good quality.
 
If you are patient good used bikes come up on craigslist. Today one came up that would be perfect. It is a 90's Specialized Rockhopper. It is a chromoly frame and for its age is in really good condition. This bike is rock solid and would be perfect to put an engine on and it is only 100.00! It took 3 weeks of watching craigslist to find this so be patient and you will save money and have a better bike. That is just my opinion.
 
AslansMonkey said:
Generally true, but not necessarily applicable to the bicycles you buy at Walmart. If you REALLY want to rough it and go off road, buy a bike shop mountain bike...but don't put a motor in it. I'd not assume that a department store mountain bike is more rugged then a department store cruiser, however.
Click to expand...

Very true, I forgot we were dealing with wally world, and I did put a motor on my nice bike store mt bike because I got fat and lazy and lack the physical stamina to take it off road like it was meant. So I put a motor on it and boy is it fun....(I did try to take it off road once with the motor, I need a larger sprocket because those trees were coming at me a little to fast when I was trying to stay in the power band with the 44t sprocket).crt.
 
if you read between the lines of sarcasm i typed, i think i was being pretty darn helpful.

i see tons of those same types of bikes (maybe not the same exact model, but the same quality) all over town. they're usually sitting outside of bars with bent wheels, broken brakes, and are being used as disposable thrashers by drunks. most of them were probably picked up from thrift stores, yard sales, or found at other bars and "recycled."
 
how's this for a coincidence?

craigslist, san diego, $360

gas powered mountain bikes. all with pull start. one pull and you are riding.760-xxx-xxxx denny. building many years.the right price for wheels that last up to 200 mpg and 35 mph. no license required over 16 with helmet.no more popping the clutch.that is sooo hard on everything. 949-xxx-xxxx wayne.call or e-mail any questions.....hi-perfomance,slant head w/all the updates.
 

Attachments

  • POS.jpg
    POS.jpg
    11.1 KB · Views: 188
The bike is what it is......I'm not a huge fan of Wal-Mart bikes but this one seems to have fairly decent specs for what it costs.

Some of the specs are a little non specific like "front suspension fork"....these can vary wildly in quality....not that much of a safety concern but sometimes you're better off spending the same amount of money on a bike without front suspension as you'll get better components elsewhere on the bike.

My only safety advice......swap out the aluminum handlebars for steel handlebars, I've been riding bikes for a long time and I've snapped more then one set of handlebars....steel will give you a little bit of a warning before it lets go....aluminum-not so much.

Before you install the motor.....completely go over the entire bike to make sure the person that assembled it didn't miss anything. I've seen all kinds of weird things done to Wal-Mart bikes by assemblers like the front fork being installed backwards, brakes not adjusted correctly, etc.
 
ferball said:
Very true, I forgot we were dealing with wally world, and I did put a motor on my nice bike store mt bike because I got fat and lazy and lack the physical stamina to take it off road like it was meant. So I put a motor on it and boy is it fun....(I did try to take it off road once with the motor, I need a larger sprocket because those trees were coming at me a little to fast when I was trying to stay in the power band with the 44t sprocket).crt.
Click to expand...

Am I missing something.....please enlighten me. If you have a 10 tooth drive sprocket and a 44 tooth rear would this not produce a higher top end speed than with a 36 tooth rear sprocket??? thanks in advance for the info.
 
karryhunt said:
Am I missing something.....please enlighten me. If you have a 10 tooth drive sprocket and a 44 tooth rear would this not produce a higher top end speed than with a 36 tooth rear sprocket??? thanks in advance for the info.
Click to expand...

Less teeth on rear sprocket = more top end, less power. More teeth = less top speed, more power.
 
A 36 tooth sprocket is about 7 miles an hour faster than a 44. The 44 will be more low end torque for driving slower. If he runs a bigger rear sprocket he gets to go slower with more torque.
 
Iam thinking about a 48 tooth for the front sprocket of my shift kit. Do you think that would be enough to get me up my hills?
 
Last edited:
I live against the Sandia Mountains 40 teeth was my favorite but I was not really in the mountains or with it off road . Major hill had some strain. Stock 44 tooth is a pretty good starting point for these. Provided the motor is running right its pretty good on pavement.

You did mean 48 on the rear right.;)
 
Goat Herder said:
I live against the Sandia Mountains 40 teeth was my favorite but I was not really in the mountains or with it off road . Major hill had some strain. Stock 44 tooth is a pretty good starting point for these. Provided the motor is running right its pretty good on pavement.

You did mean 48 on the rear right.;)
Click to expand...

I have a shift kit so I was told by SBP to use there 48t front sprocket but when I check it out this is what I find (I dont think this is what I need to get me up my hills?)

For owners of a Shift Kit, this sprocket used in conjunction with your current 44 tooth sprocket and a 9 tooth jackshaft sprocket would keep your overall gearing virtually the same yet allow for better pedal assist for those who like to pedal.
 

Attachments

  • 48t.jpg
    48t.jpg
    39.5 KB · Views: 152
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top