Bicycles at Costco (*** seeking advice ***)

bbaka, You are way off base here. In fact many of the trash bikes are being
recalled do to faulty mfging. The components on most of these bikes are
trash and will fail in no time. My sister ignored my pleas to save up a
little more. She bought one of these bikes and now is very sorry.

Occasionally, Costco will get name brands. They had some Cannondales a while
back. Cannondale would not recognize the bike warranties and classified them
as factory failures.

Human,

Get a decent hybrid as recommended. You will be glad. If you go very the
wholesaler/retail trash, make sure the components are at the very minimum
Shimano Sora. If you do not recognize the component names, DO NOT BUY IT.
You will never find parts and no one will give you the time if you need
service. When I worked in a bike shop, we would send these people away
because we knew they would relate us to their bad experience.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello all,

This is my first posting to this newsgroup. Let me also mention that I
like bikes, but I am not a pro... I ride my bike for fun (work schedule
permitting, of course).

Since it's the time that I replace my 12-year bike, I stopped at Costco
in Dallas and checked out the mountain bikes. I liked a dual suspension
Cephas Fever 7.7 TG mountain bike with 21-speed Shimano gears,
thumb-shift, RST front suspension, FormulaAero spoke wheels, etc. for
$199.99.

I know that this is not the coolest and the lightest bike out there,
but I feel that it would be sufficient to satisfy my needs.

Does anybody out there know anything about this bike? I can not find
anything related to it on the Web.

Heh heh---first of all, "Cephas Fever" roughly translates to "head fever".
Must mean the bike is "sick". :-) Seriously, I guess it depends on what kind
of riding you want to do. If you are going to do some actual mountain
biking, you would be better served to find a used quality MTB. I think you
can even find low end MTBs at your local bike shop for not much more than
that. I bought a flat bar road bike from Ibex Bikes for cheap, and it's been
great. They're at http://www.ibexbikes.com. I know they have affordable
MTBs. That being said, if you are going to ride mostly on pavement, I would
look at a hybrid or even a Nexus hub equipped town bike/cruiser. Less
weight, and better suited to the job.

On Sun, 20 Mar 2005 14:29:37 -0600, Tom Sherman
wrote:

wrote:

Thank you, Bill, for replying. Well, I buy brand name skis because I am
a ski instructor. However, I really can not justify (to myself)
spending a bundle on a bike. If I were Lance Armstrong, I would. I
guess, I would not, because I would get a free bike in that case. :-)

I believe that dual suspended bike for $200 is not a bad deal. If I use
it lot and if I see that I need a better bike, I will buy a brand name
bike... maybe even from a local shop.

If you are planning on riding on the street or even non-technical
off-road, suspension is not needed.

True. But what's interesting to me is how this post illustrates how
deptstore bike lure people into a purchase.

They put one (1) 'name' component on a bike - as soon as you see Shimano,
you go 'wow, Shimano components - this is a steal'. However it's not 'full
Shimano' components - usually it's just the rear der. The pedals and front
chainring and bottom bracket and the brakes are 'no-name', and they're
bottom of the line, not upgradeable. It's easy to see why the layperson
gets fooled.

They name the bike a technical name - Cephas Fever 7.7 TG mountain bike. If
this is a formerly decent bike manufacturer (like Mongoose), all the
better.

They name the wheels or the fork suspension something that -sounds- like a
well-known high quality component - 'FormulaAero spoke wheels'.

Finally they put as much technical jargon on the 'sales card' as possible,
much of it meaningless. You don't see the true specs, such as weight or the
inches of play in the shocks. You essentially have a 'look-alike' to some
$2,000 - $4000 bikes you see on TV; and, of course the layman isn't aware
of why these bikes cost so much - they have to be light and strong and have
superior materials in the shocks - often you're paying for R&D to get
cutting edge stuff, who knows. Still 10 years ago you couldn't -buy- a bike
that does what these babies do.

They realize the average person isn't going to ride this bike that much so
the lack of true functionality in the frame and they won't discover that
the joint where the rear suspension has the most stress is weak, or that
the chain comes off easily on some bikes (often they're not set up right).

In addition, many cross-country
racers still ride hardtail mountain bikes due to their lighter weight
and lack of "pogo" from pedaling forces. The suspension components on a
$200 bicycle are not going to be of high enough quality for the
conditions that require full suspension, so they are best avoided.

I think even for casual riding, you would be better off getting an
entry-level hybrid from a competent bike shop that can assemble and
service it properly, and even more importantly obtain proper fit for
you. If you can stretch your budget to $300, you should be able to find
something. And $300 is less than 10% of the cost of the high end Trek
bicycles that Lance Armstrong races.

People just don't realize you can get a good bike in an LBS, and it's
partly the LBS's fault. I had to visit three or four LBS and scan past all
the loaded, flashy MTBs to find a Trek 7200FX for $325 bucks with all
Shimano components (though bottom of the line they include pedals, breaks,
BB, and rear and front der). They don't realize it's almost twenty (20)
pounds lighter. Yep that's no typo. Typical Dept Store Double susp. bike -
45lbs. Trek 7200FX non-suspended - 26lbs.

IMO, if LBS are going to load up on heavy mid-priced full-susp. bikes, they
should also offer the alternative - a lighter, no-susp. bike, and explain
the whole paradox of 'flash' vs 'utility'. They should ask the buyer 'what
kind of riding are you really going to do?' It may be they feel there needs
to be some kind of 'buyer's flashy hypnosis' and they don't want to break
the spell? g It's bizarre, because, imo, bikes today are so much bang for
the buck that the bike almost sells itself if the salesperson explains it
right.

Finally I think the typical layperson thinks there's some kind of
'built-in' fun on a bike with weird pneumatic tubes and giant springs and a
'pogo effect' as you say. There may be...But...they also have no idea that
the 'pogo slightly dampens the forward motion component when pedalling'.

I won't even go into the silly giant knobby tires (which makes you think of
a monster truck), and the low-spoke count wheels on some (which make them
too fragile for a true double-suspended bike's normal use) and so on. ;-)

Good point on the depreciation.

jj

Brian Wax wrote:
bbaka, You are way off base here. In fact many of the trash bikes are being
recalled do to faulty mfging. The components on most of these bikes are
trash and will fail in no time. My sister ignored my pleas to save up a
little more. She bought one of these bikes and now is very sorry.

Occasionally, Costco will get name brands. They had some Cannondales a while
back. Cannondale would not recognize the bike warranties and classified them
as factory failures.

Brian,
There are some really obvious signs of bikes to stay away from, like one
piece cranks, riveted one piece chain rings, detail stuff that does not
take long to spot. The Chinese bikes are really crap and I will not
argue that point. Both my Huffy and Mongoose have the good cranks and
neither is of Chinese origin, mainland that is. Taiwan is actually
pretty good quality. I have beat the crud out of both my 'junk' bikes
and have only managed to wear out tires, bottom brackets, wheel bearing
races and maintenance items. Never has either one caused me a crash due
to a blatant failure. I would be out on one today except that it is
raining like a good Midwestern storm today, highly unusual for California.

Human,

Get a decent hybrid as recommended. You will be glad. If you go very the
wholesaler/retail trash, make sure the components are at the very minimum
Shimano Sora. If you do not recognize the component names, DO NOT BUY IT.
You will never find parts and no one will give you the time if you need
service. When I worked in a bike shop, we would send these people away
because we knew they would relate us to their bad experience.


Aha, work related prejudice. You are totally correct about the Shimano
or other brand name thing though. There has been some really bad stuff
coming out of mainland China lately. If it says "Made in China" I walk
away, and that goes for a lot more than just bikes. My wife was just
given a $9.00 coffee maker as a gift (kind of a joke) and it is leaking
after 3 days. I looked at it and what do I see? "Made in China.".

Bill Baka

On Sun, 20 Mar 2005 21:48:09 GMT, "Brian Wax" wrote:

bbaka, You are way off base here. In fact many of the trash bikes are being
recalled do to faulty mfging. The components on most of these bikes are
trash and will fail in no time. My sister ignored my pleas to save up a
little more. She bought one of these bikes and now is very sorry.

Occasionally, Costco will get name brands. They had some Cannondales a while
back. Cannondale would not recognize the bike warranties and classified them
as factory failures.

The OP should also be aware that some brands have been sold off to other
companies and the 'brandname' is no longer the high quality you'd normally
expect.

Human,

Get a decent hybrid as recommended. You will be glad. If you go very the
wholesaler/retail trash, make sure the components are at the very minimum
Shimano Sora. If you do not recognize the component names, DO NOT BUY IT.
You will never find parts and no one will give you the time if you need
service. When I worked in a bike shop, we would send these people away
because we knew they would relate us to their bad experience.

Some bike shops refuse on principle to try and repair dept store bikes -
and for good reason.

If you're going to be riding downhill at 30mph at times, do you really want
to put your life into the hands of a $150 dollar el-cheapo bike? ;-)

jj

Hi Bill,

Many of the name brand frames including Trek, Felt, Fischer, Lemond, Raleigh
etc. are made in Taiwan. The brand name only provides the specs. and some
mfgturer fabricates the frame. This is almost always the case with aluminum
frames. It is only when you get into the high end frames that you will find
the made in USA and Italy.

You are right about the durability of these frames. With the right
components, you could have a very reliable and sturdy ride.

At this point I am not posting to any one person but the group as a
whole regarding the fixation on the fabled LBS. I have 2 on the same
street and both of them sell mostly the junkers with one piece cranks
that are made in China. Even the LBS's have given in to price pressure
because most of their sales profit comes from many cheap bikes and not
the occasional $3,000 jackpot sale. I did some testing by seeking out
identical work and parts at both shops. The ex-Schwinn dealer went for
the money both times, and the long time independent gave me the part
free gratis (a bracket nut), and the cassette change went the same way.
You can be had at the LBS too.

Bill Baka

jj wrote:
If you're going to be riding downhill at 30mph at times, do you really want
to put your life into the hands of a $150 dollar el-cheapo bike? ;-)

jj

You are actually scared of 30 MPH?
Snicker, giggle, snort, hah.
I needed that.
The new guy is in NASCAR territory.
30 MPH should be a good laugh for him too.
I've gone down on a motorcycle at over 80 MPH with nary a scratch.
Either I am fearless or you guys are....you figure it out.

Bill Baka

Brian Wax wrote:
Hi Bill,

Many of the name brand frames including Trek, Felt, Fischer, Lemond, Raleigh
etc. are made in Taiwan. The brand name only provides the specs. and some
mfgturer fabricates the frame.

Brian,
You are 100% on the mark there since it is only the CEO and various
suits that have the rights to the name and the profits, and they will
just find the low bidder to make the bikes.

This is almost always the case with aluminum
frames. It is only when you get into the high end frames that you will find
the made in USA and Italy.

You are right about the durability of these frames. With the right
components, you could have a very reliable and sturdy ride.

I am glad somebody here has some sense. Avoid China at all costs, and
put on some good parts where they are needed. Both my Huffy and Mongoose
have been upgraded by me with my own tools and neither has killed me
yet. The cheap parts have been killed off and the frames are rock solid
so I have no complaints about my return on investment. Some people grab
a beer to relax, but I grab a wrench and start playing with my E-bay
parts. Some people pay others to get dirt under their fingernails, and
some take pride in what they have built on their own. Guess where I stand?
Bill Baka

Brian Wax wrote:
Hi Bill,

Many of the name brand frames including Trek, Felt, Fischer, Lemond, Raleigh
etc. are made in Taiwan. The brand name only provides the specs. and some
mfgturer fabricates the frame. This is almost always the case with aluminum
frames. It is only when you get into the high end frames that you will find
the made in USA and Italy....

I understand Colnago is having frames made in Taiwan.

--
Tom Sherman - Earth (Downstate Illinois, North of Forgottonia)