Bike Stores Endangerd Because of Super Chain Stores?

Badger_South wrote:

It's puzzling to me as a beginning biker who knows better, why there's such
an extreme 'sticker shock' when looking at the high end bikes, even when
I'm telling myself 'hey, you're riding this bike every day. At 1000bucks,
in a little over three months, that's 10 bucks a day - in a year around
three bucks a day.

It's not the purchase price that gets you, it's the ongoing expense.
My trusty accounting program says I've spent this year over $1500 on
parts, maintenance, clothing, and organized ride entry fees. My
newest bike was made in 1998, though many of its original parts have
been replaced (wheels, bar, stem, cassette, brakes, levers).
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/

In article ,
Rick Onanian wrote:

On Sun, 23 May 2004 13:52:20 -0700, Ryan Cousineau
wrote:
Note that as of this week, with gas prices at 99.9 cents/litre locally,
Wal-Mart has started selling a slick-tired "commuter" bike complete with
fenders, saddlebags, and I think lights too. All for $200.

Care to post a link? I can't find it on walmart.com, and I forgot to
look when I was in the store recently.

I saw it in the local flyer. I haven't even been by a Wal-Mart to check.

It may just be local to your walmart.

Maybe. And my local Wal-Mart is in Canada, further complicating things.

--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

On Tue, 25 May 2004 04:43:45 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:
My definition of a "very poor bicycle experience" is that of a bicycle that
doesn't hold its adjustments and has a very loose feel to it. Not a whole
lot of fun to ride, kinda like a car with loose steering. What's worse,
there's no shop standing behind it... no place to take it back for

You forgot fit. Bad fit will definitely make a "very poor bicycle
experience".

wheels. I have yet to weigh a WalMart dual-suspension bike that's under
35lbs.

Their hardtails and rigid bikes weigh that much. FS weigh more like
45 pounds, when I've checked.

Here's some shipping weights from walmart.com:
$80 Huffy cruiser single speed: 41 pounds
$240 FS Schwinn: 42 pounds
$160 Mongoose FS: 42.6 pounds
$132 Schwinn hardtail: 42 pounds
$99 Mongoose FS: 45 pounds
$150 Schwinn cruiser: 47 pounds
$68 Next FS: 51 pounds
$60 Roadmaster hardtail: 53 pounds

That $240 FS Schwinn comes with Shimano trigger shifters, not grip
shifts; RST fork; Altus rear derailer, and a freewheel (not
cassette). While the $60 bikes, and even the $150 bikes, have
nothing to fear for competition from bike shops, this $240 bike is
awful for the price.

For the exact same $240 at a bike shop, you can get the trigger
shifters on a bike with proper fit, slightly better parts, much
better assembly, and post-sale service. I don't know if anybody buys
the $240 bike at Wal Mart, but if they do, it's a mistake.
--
Rick Onanian

On Mon, 24 May 2004 21:04:27 -0700, Bernie
wrote:

Is this the bike that you ride 2 - 3 times a day? If it is, it'd be a
good idea to lay off and wait for your Trek to arrive. It could self
destruct - especially when you are laying some power to the pedals.
Bernie

Well, if it were, I'd be ashamed to say. g

IF one did have this problem, one would be prudent not to ride it. In fact
it might be locked up in the back of, uh, say a wife's car hidden in a
parking garage so the Obsessive/Compulsive rider couldn't get to it.

Mongoose should have it shipped back to them with an angry letter!

-B

In article ,
says...
On Tue, 25 May 2004 04:43:45 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:
My definition of a "very poor bicycle experience" is that of a bicycle that
doesn't hold its adjustments and has a very loose feel to it. Not a whole
lot of fun to ride, kinda like a car with loose steering. What's worse,
there's no shop standing behind it... no place to take it back for

You forgot fit. Bad fit will definitely make a "very poor bicycle
experience".

wheels. I have yet to weigh a WalMart dual-suspension bike that's under
35lbs.

Their hardtails and rigid bikes weigh that much. FS weigh more like
45 pounds, when I've checked.

Here's some shipping weights from walmart.com:

Don't forget that "shipping weight" includes packaging material,
manuals, etc. It's the weight the shipping cost is based on, and is
significantly more than the bike in riding condition would weigh.

....

That $240 FS Schwinn comes with Shimano trigger shifters, not grip
shifts; RST fork; Altus rear derailer, and a freewheel (not
cassette). While the $60 bikes, and even the $150 bikes, have
nothing to fear for competition from bike shops, this $240 bike is
awful for the price.

Yep.


For the exact same $240 at a bike shop, you can get the trigger
shifters on a bike with proper fit, slightly better parts, much
better assembly, and post-sale service. I don't know if anybody buys
the $240 bike at Wal Mart, but if they do, it's a mistake.

For most people, yes. But if you know what you're doing wrt fit and
adjustments, the $240 Schwinn can be a pretty good deal even so.


--
Rick Onanian


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In article ,
says...
"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote

But that need is not to supply people with an adequate bike for their kids;
rather, the need they serve is to sell a BSO (bike shaped object) that
presents a very poor bicycle experience and thus turns away a lot of young
kids from the fun & joys & practicality that a bicycle can offer.

Mike,
Where do you find your Statistics of "turns away a lot of young kids"?
Is this just a feeling of yours? I'm probably older then most in
this group and I can assure you that any of the bikes from WalMart are
miles ahead in performance; safety and general appearance to what was
available when I was a kid. Guess what, I still enjoy biking even
though the bikes of my time were poor compared to now.

I've kind of stayed out of this discussion until now, but I agree with
you. Two or three years ago we bought my daughter a hardtail MTB from
Benny's (a local chain of hardware-style stores). It weighs a ton, but
looked sturdy, and the gears are low enough that the weight doesn't
really matter. It has strong V-Brakes, and the grip shifters work ok
with some occasional tweaking. She rides it all over the neighborhood
(unless she decides to use her scooter), and in the last week has ridden
it 9 miles *each way* to school with her friends on 3 different days.
They stop for breakfast, a snack on the way home, and have a great time.

The fact that I can properly adjust and fit the bike for her does give a
big advantage over many others who might have an *mart bike. People who
don't know how to adjust shifters and brakes, or how to position the
saddle and bars properly might not get such good use out of one.

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In article Jxhsc.575078$Ig.245696@pd7tw2no,
says...


Wonder if there's a short list of guidelines you use, like 'name', or some
telling feature that makes you jump at a garage sale bike or or used bike
that you could share?

-B


Badger: here is my heuristic set for screening potential valuable yard sale
finds. Think of this as a killfile for bikes so that you do not have to
slow down at every sale on your Saturday rides. Cut out and tape to your
bars.

Just keep rolling if you see any of the following:

A kickstand
Suicide levers (aka brake extender levers)
Nutted wheel axles (i.e. no quick releases on wheels)
Shiny steel rims
A cottered crankset
Crankset with riveted rings
Zinc-plated (non stainless) spokes
Steel sidepull brakes
Nylon (plastic) platform pedals
Steel chainrings
Steel hubs

A steel seatpost with those horrid steel seatpost clamps
Stem mounted shifters

Or has the name:

Huffy
Murray
Schwinn

Here's where I part company with you. Schwinn's quality is HIGHLY
dependent on the era of the bicycle. Up through the early (maybe mid?)
80's Schwinn was quite good. My '79 LeTour is still going strong, and
has served me very well. I agree with you that late model Schwinn's
aren't so hot.


Infinity
Motiv
Free Spirit
Supercycle
Dunlop
Pacific
Mongoose
Carerra
Fila

If you see any of the following, lock up you wheels and try to get your
wallet out while coming to a rolling dismount:

Cinelli
Pinarello
Colnago
Litespeed
Merckx
Masi
Pogliaghi
De Rosa

What about the in-between's? Fuji? Trek?


Keep at least $50 in your wallet at all times for a deposit. Know how far
the local ATM's are at full sprint.

LOL!


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On 24 May 2004 20:49:52 -0700, (Eric D)
wrote:

I have a 24 year old road bike that was cutting edge technology in its
day. It weights more then my full suspension mountain bike purchased
from WalMart.

That would be interesting to get actual sizes and weights. I had a
non-cutting edge technology Italvega Superspecialle from 1975 with
double butted Columbus tubing and all Campi Record and Nuevo Record
and it wasn't that heavy. It certainly was much lighter than either of
the non-suspended mountain bikes that I owned over the years and much
lighter than any bike I currently own, other than the Trek 1200.

Double-butted tubing has been around a long time, and only the more
exotic materials shave a lot from those weights (no question that the
better grupos now are lighter than the old Campi). Certainly not many
Walmart mountain bikes in the equivalent sizes.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

On 24 May 2004 20:49:52 -0700, (Eric D) wrote:

I have a 24 year old road bike that was cutting edge technology in its
day. It weights more then my full suspension mountain bike purchased
from WalMart. Point being WalMart is supplying what people want, even
though you feel it's not what they need. I'm not trying to say your
feelings are right or wrong, I'm just stating what I see.

Yeah, but are you still able to ride on that 24 year old bike?

A Wal-bike can be unrideable after 10 months...

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~slj/frameflex1.jpg

-B

On Tue, 25 May 2004 08:29:44 -0400, David Kerber
wrote:

Here's some shipping weights from walmart.com:

Don't forget that "shipping weight" includes packaging material,
manuals, etc. It's the weight the shipping cost is based on, and is
significantly more than the bike in riding condition would weigh.

I thought of that, but we're talking about a cardboard box and a
10-page book. I doubt the packaging weighs 5 pounds.

Anyway, for comparing between walbikes, shipping weight is
reasonable. Strangely, the FS bikes don't weigh more than the
others. There's some correlation of price and weight, but not enough
to make any rule of thumb. Quality is probably uniform within
manufacturer, and probably nearly uniform between manufacturers.
--
Rick Onanian