debunking myths about walmart bikes

I quit reading this after page three. The thread is nonsense. If all you want are positive comments and kudos on Walmart bikes, how does that debunk anything? What's the point?
SB
 
I think that is the point, to prove that Wally World bikes are just as good as any other bike.

I dunno, to each one his own. I'd rather spend the same money on a used more BA bike.
 
Your "average" bicycle is built to be human-propelled by an "average" sized person over an "average" terrain. If your use fits that definition, then most of the bikes sold by Walmart will work. Add a motor, rougher than "average" terrain, and/or weigh more than "average" and your chances of a Walmart (or other "average" vendor's) bike surviving is "maybe". Yes, the overall quality of the "average" bike has gone down over the past decade or two. Yes, the average guy who builds bikes at Walmart knows less than nothing about bicycle mechanics. But face it, most bikes are not made for what we want to do with them, nor should we expect them to. Doesn't mean they're crap, it just means that they may perform poorly when subjected to conditions they weren't designed for.
 
i've seen ads in the "jobs" section on craigslist for "bike assemblers" for stores like walmart.

their ads are posted in the "skilled trade" section, and go so far as to say that the reason it's posted there is because they want skilled people, and not just some guy who may or may not know how a bike functions.

it's a subcontractor position by an outside company, paid by the bike, not the hour. the more you build, the more you make. this may account for the numerous bikes i've seen with loose axle nuts and other potentially dangerous problems with assembly.

they also don't pay very well (i checked) so only the most desperate "qualified" bicycle mechanic would apply.

just wanted to post that info. i don't really care what kind of bike anyone builds anymore.
 
The "bike assemblers" at the Walmart here are Walmart employees (I asked while chatting with one). Many of their employees are recruited through a temp agency and so aren't really Walmart employees at all, but rather temps working full time without benefits (I know the agency who recruited them). I suspect who and how Walmart employs varies from region to region.
 
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ferball said:
Most of my bikes I get for free from craigslist and freecycle, 90% of them are trashed Walmart Bikes.<snip>. So my conclusion is that the compenants and frame of a walmart bike work just fine for our hobby, but the wheels are less than inspiring.
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The thing that helped my Cranbrook is I had them ship it to me (free) I made sure i assembled the bike correctly. The bike and motor has served me well for a year and I have two other bikes in the works.

But nothing excerpt the HUFFY rear wheel has been replaced with one of sounder manufacture and with a better coaster brake.

More has failed me in connection with the motor - kit than has with the Cranbroook.

Though I will comment, my riding is hard on rear tires and I have had a flat every several weeks or so, so I have got a teflon lined rear tire.

Yopar
 
WalMart is just a retailer, granted a big one but in the end pretty much like any other. Lots of negativity about WalMart out there but one thing I've learned. Most people have an agenda, they can range from benign (I just want to have fun) to very dark and sinister. I don't mind agendas so long as people are open about them, trouble is, the darker the agenda the less that person wants it known. It's called, of all things, a "hidden agenda".

To put it another way, "Don't believe everything you hear".
 
DuctTapedGoat said:
But what about when people don't listen to what experience says?
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That's called personal choice. Listening to someone's "experience" is fine but that someone may not have the answers that's in the listeners best interest. If one says that a certain bike is no good, I would suggest that the listener do a little investigating on their own and arm themselves with some personal knowledge. The world is full of self proclaimed "experts" that may or may not be as knowledgeable as they proclaim, let alone having a personal agenda.
 
Ok....my target specials rear rim couldn't take the motorized stress...it did not relieve me of the burden of my teeth...but could have been bad.
It's ok to build a "crappy" motorized bicycle...if you are diligent and are PLANNING..on upgrading MANY parts.
pray you don't need surgery when the cheap parts fail..they will...it's science.
But I WILL SAY...the crappy bike has given me the MB bug..and i'm thankful i was able to get in the game for a low cost start up fee....
but i AM spending alot more on quality parts.... rims, bolts, fenders ,kickstands, lights, seats...on and on.....
 
Wm Holden said:
Ok....my target specials rear rim couldn't take the motorized stress...it did not relieve me of the burden of my teeth...but could have been bad.
It's ok to build a "crappy" motorized bicycle...if you are diligent and are PLANNING..on upgrading MANY parts.
pray you don't need surgery when the cheap parts fail..they will...it's science.
But I WILL SAY...the crappy bike has given me the MB bug..and i'm thankful i was able to get in the game for a low cost start up fee....
but i AM spending alot more on quality parts.... rims, bolts, fenders ,kickstands, lights, seats...on and on.....
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Several years ago my daughter gave me a Diamondback that she had bought for about $500. Built my first MB on that platform, a friction drive and promptly started breaking rear spokes. After that, all bike wheels are replaced with 12 ga. wheels and I haven't had problems since except with my Staton rear wheel that's 14ga. It's a 48 spoke Sun Rhyno Lite double wall rim and it still occasionally breaks spokes. I've been riding with as many as three broken spokes and never even felt it.

My chain drive bike uses a freewheel threaded on the hub, you "Chinese kit" guys, with the rag joint are asking for disaster with 14 ga spokes, on any bike.
 
kerf said:
Several years ago my daughter gave me a Diamondback that she had bought for about $500. Built my first MB on that platform, a friction drive and promptly started breaking rear spokes. After that, all bike wheels are replaced with 12 ga. wheels and I haven't had problems since except with my Staton rear wheel that's 14ga. It's a 48 spoke Sun Rhyno Lite double wall rim and it still occasionally breaks spokes. I've been riding with as many as three broken spokes and never even felt it.

My chain drive bike uses a freewheel threaded on the hub, you "Chinese kit" guys, with the rag joint are asking for disaster with 14 ga spokes, on any bike.
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agreed..I just moved to a 12ga coaster...still rag joint...but looking for the aluminum hubstyle mount.
 
I was a competitive cyclist (road racing) and coach for 12 years. I can tell you that cheap bikes do not handle well, especially at speed. They tend to be misaligned and heavy. Steel rims are cheap, hard to true, have cheap and rough hubs and I doubt they are stronger.

It is better to look for a reasonable quality used mountain bike on craigslist (univega, diamond back, among many others) that were sold at better bike shops than at department stores.
 
douglasseattle said:
I was a competitive cyclist (road racing) and coach for 12 years. I can tell you that cheap bikes do not handle well, especially at speed. They tend to be misaligned and heavy. Steel rims are cheap, hard to true, have cheap and rough hubs and I doubt they are stronger.

It is better to look for a reasonable quality used mountain bike on craigslist (univega, diamond back, among many others) that were sold at better bike shops than at department stores.
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High quality is always better, still there are many members here using inexpensive department store bicycles and moving down the road just the same. Some of these folks have been through several engines on the same inexpensive bicycle.
 
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any myths debunked yet?

besides the pages and pages of political rhetoric and opinions, we've heard about cracked frames, twisted coaster brake arms, broken spokes and bent wheels, bad tires, cosmetic damage, and improper assembly at walmart.

i might be forgetting something, i skimmed over a lot of the posts.

it also seems like most everyone who's built one is upgrading or will be upgrading numerous parts.

without bashing anything or anyone, and only looking at the facts and experiences posted by actual owners of walmart bikes, this thread has shown the numerous problems, and potential problems with a dept. store bike.

where there any actual "myths" to debunk in the first place?
 
oh. well... that myth's about as believable as elvis working at a burger king in kalamazoo and stealing burgers to feed to his pet bigfoot.
 
I wasn't even aware that there was a myth that inexpensive bikes were as good as expensive ones. Shows my ignorance. Fact is Wally keeps right on selling them and somebody keeps right on buying them. You can make your opinion known but no need to get mad if someone chooses not to follow your advice. I kinda like personal choice, sometimes you make a not so good choice but it's still your choice. Kinda fits in with that whole Independence Day, freedom thing.
 
@bairdco : That surely wasn't the original posters idea of walmart bike myths, but that's the only myth I've seen in this thread.
 
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