big box bikes
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29 cruiser I used the same bb that was on there just replaced the crank arms and sprocket. I found a Shimano set in the trash that looked similar to this
I sawed off the small sprocket and sanded down the arms to bare aluminum so it looks like this
My crank arms were striped pretty bad (from assembly at Walmart)to the point were i couldn't use d crank remover tool so it took some time, a lot of wd40, a hammer and a lot of elbow grease to remove them.
I sawed off the small sprocket and sanded down the arms to bare aluminum so it looks like this
My crank arms were striped pretty bad (from assembly at Walmart)to the point were i couldn't use d crank remover tool so it took some time, a lot of wd40, a hammer and a lot of elbow grease to remove them.
ive been eyeing up a cheap 700c hybrid at the big box store. i never owned a hybrid, at 175$ its pretty tempting. right now i have a couple electra cruisers and a couple old muscle bikes. sold my mtn bikes and wouldn't mind having something other than a big heavy cruiser to ride.
Jamesdart I know what you mean, I own an electra boney finger and even though it's an aluminum frame it's heavy when riding and a few old steel framed cruisers that's the reason I bought the skinny tire bike from Walmart just to ride around. I've put about about 60 miles on it and it's holding up alright.
As long as the main Frame is straight and welded correctly, all the other components can be serviced, adjusted or replaced as necessary with better quality components by any bike enthusiast.
It's not rocket science...
It's not rocket science...
I've ridden several thousand miles on department store bikes and I think that for the most part they get a bum rap. Yes, they tend to be heavy, yes, they tend to have been assembled in a quick, dirty and incomplete manner and yes the components tend to be low end parts, however if you assemble them properly and maintain them properly the vast majority are perfectly serviceable bikes that will last for thousands of miles. I've actually experienced about the same rate of part failure with "quality" parts as I have with the cut rate ones on box store bikes. Not that the high end parts aren't better, it just seems to me that they are often designed more for lightness than ruggedness.
The real reason department store bikes have such a bad reputation is because more often than not they were not assembled correctly to begin with and then they were purchased by people who left them out in the rain and did not maintain them. If your LBS just slapped together a Cannondale or Specialized without doing things right and you proceeded to leave it outdoors and never oiled the chain, adjusted the brakes or did any of the other normal maintenance then your Cannondale or Specialized would have a similar reliability record.
The real reason department store bikes have such a bad reputation is because more often than not they were not assembled correctly to begin with and then they were purchased by people who left them out in the rain and did not maintain them. If your LBS just slapped together a Cannondale or Specialized without doing things right and you proceeded to leave it outdoors and never oiled the chain, adjusted the brakes or did any of the other normal maintenance then your Cannondale or Specialized would have a similar reliability record.
I buy these things often. I see them as a cheap jumping off point for my projects. Since, these projects usually involve me stripping them down and repainting them, I regrease them anyway. I mean, it's a single speed coaster bike. Most of us can tear these things down blindfolded.
But hey, I'm cheap.
JaxRhapsody
Rhapsodic Laviathan
when I run accross them, they end up stripped for parts or built up fir my friends. Granted, there are walmart bikes I do want, it's more fir the frame or tyoe of bike. I'll treat it like a beat up fox body and throw parts at it. I was looking at bikes for my 4year old. I decided I want to build him an old sting ray tyoe bike. The only thing about big bix bikes isn't always what they are, but that they don't get a KBS build.
I think the biggest negative the big box bikes have for bike enthusiasts is that at best they're just mediocre bikes. They're kind of the bicycle equivalent of a used Kia Rio or Nissan Sentra. Not that either of those are bad cars, but if you already had a half dozen performance, luxury and classic cars, what are the chances that you would want a Kia Rio? If you're a bike guy, chances are you're got a few cool bikes. They might be rat rods, classics, vintage road bikes or whatever, but in any event, when you want to go for a bike ride the last thing you want to do is go hop on the Magna or Next. Also, I'm guessing that most of you have the same problem I do, namely space to store your bikes. I'll find room for something cool, but anything marginal is just going to be stripped for parts.
