Box store bikes, any experiance?

[socal_jack]

It's all a matter of perspective. The now vintage Schwinns were probably the most mass produced bikes of their time. Those old forged forks bent easy and the skinny front axles bent even easier, did it to my Schwinns in the 60s and have a 48 DX in the garage that probably hasn't been ridden in 40 years , both are bent on that puppy also. All of the vintage bikes I've torn down have had a too small amount of crappy grease on what I would today consider low quality bearings and races/cups all of which have been trashed, but hey that could be due to an owner somewhere along the line or it may be factory never know on that one. The original mountain bikers from Marin repeatedly mention re-welding frames that broke and they were just doing mostly fire roads. Those frames probably wouldn't last long at all in todays mtn biking (the pre-war welds are especially suspect from what I've seen).

 

[2ndChildhood]

I can't speak for all areas of the country, but where I grew up 90% of the kids rode Canadian Tire Supercycles, and although they weren't the lightest or fastest, they always seemed durable enough. 'Serious' cyclists will always vut down any mass-market product, but if you're just going to use it a cheap source of new parts, why the heck not?

Speaking of which, instead of ordering something from th U.S. online and dealing with shipping, customs etc, why don't you just go by your local CT and pick up the Scwhwinn 5-star cruiser that's on sale for CAD $149.00 this week? If that's too much to spend for a starting point, the Supercycle cruiser is frequently on sale for $119.00 or so.

 

[southp]

Speaking of which, instead of ordering something from th U.S. online and dealing with shipping, customs etc, why don't you just go by your local CT and pick up the Scwhwinn 5-star cruiser that's on sale for CAD $149.00 this week? If that's too much to spend for a starting point, the Supercycle cruiser is frequently on sale for $119.00 or so.

Now if only CT would sell a 3-speed!

 

[fattroy]

I have to put my 2 cents in here. As some may know I run a bike shop and DO NOT step foot into Walmart for ANYTHING. The main thing is keeping the local guy going for when you do need parts and service that good ol Wally World cant give you even if you have to pay a little more. I am with bicyclerick on this you do get what you pay for. I actually charge more labor to work on the department store stuff cause none of it adjusts out good at all. So the moral of my story is WALMART is the DEVIL and don't shop there. LOL Troy

 

[user 135]

So the moral of my story is WALMART is the DEVIL and don't shop there. LOL Troy

Many times it is cheaper to buy a new Wallyworld bike, but you get what you pay for. Developing a relationship with LBS is great for the service and for ordering special parts. One thing that might help if LBS's would stock items such as coaster brake wheels and inexpensive parts for customizers/ Ratrodders.

The LBS mainly caterer to the MTB and road bikers in Boise, so finding parts can sometimes be hard. But I use two different shops depending on what I am looking for. My rule about Walmart- only beer and ammunition.

 

[RatFink]

Speaking of which, instead of ordering something from th U.S. online and dealing with shipping, customs etc, why don't you just go by your local CT and pick up the Scwhwinn 5-star cruiser that's on sale for CAD $149.00 this week? If that's too much to spend for a starting point, the Supercycle cruiser is frequently on sale for $119.00 or so.

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! you had to point that out! (I was doin' the same to =RaTb0y= with the deals on Schwinn repo 'rays on E-bay!!!) Now it's in my head. Need one, no...want one, yes! :wink:

Hummmm they are GIVIN' them away!

See I have these 26X3" Kendas...that rub on my old Marin, bought them for $15 each at the LBS on sale. I was kinda pissed they didn't fit and I wasted money on tires that fit nothing I own. Well they fit my NORCO A-Line, but it REALLY does not need slicks. I was at CDN trash looking at that bike and am darn sure the big PHAT kendas will fit. Better make a 'template' to measure this time

Phat Kendas + 5-star = Insta-hot rod.

Is that what they mean when they say 'Good money after bad'?

That was an aside...

You get what you pay for 100%...bought the Norco A-line and the Electra at the LBS. They are the real deal. The Cadillacs, the snap-on tools, the Harley D's of the bike world. I'm lucky I can afford these luxuries. I know that and am thankful.

But you can have just as much fun with a Box-store bike...and fun is what bikes are about. RIGHT! Mind you...I would not be Downhillin' a Wal-mart mountian bike, right? That might not end up too fun...(*Cough* 280 lbs)

As for Wal-mart, I buy socks and underware there (fruit of the loom is fruit of the loom...and no beer at wally-world in Canada )

But I'm not above buying a PC Schwinn at Canadian tire, thats our national store...hopefully they will be sold out :mrgreen: and I will get it out of my mind. I could call this one my 'camp ground' bike...EVERYONE has a mountian bike out at the camp ground. PHAT campground cruzer...sweet.

Now where did I see those little chinese engine conversions designed spec' for the 5-star :idea: ??? :mrgreen:

So back to the original question...MIKE, GO SCHWINN 5-star, take back your beer bottles if you have to!

 

[Mike]

I don't really like to looks of the 5-star, plus i want a SS.

And troy I do shop at my LBS, where do you like I got my fully Sainted RM7 from?



-mike-

 

[fattroy]

Yeah I like that RM7. Just a matter of opinion on my part and I'm glad you support your LBS. Troy

 

[coach j]

When I first started working on stuff, my lbs just kind of rolled his eyes and said "dude, why don't you just get one of my surly single speeds and save yourself the time". After getting some parts and letting him see some of the creations, he's starting to find me good deals or closeouts on cranksets, wheels, and other stuff. He's the one who is scoring me a sweet deal on a schwinn deluxe 7. support your local guy! They most likely will do anything they can for you if you develop the relationship.

 

[Clothespin n]

When I first started working on stuff, my lbs just kind of rolled his eyes and said "dude, why don't you just get one of my surly single speeds and save yourself the time". After getting some parts and letting him see some of the creations, he's starting to find me good deals or closeouts on cranksets, wheels, and other stuff. He's the one who is scoring me a sweet deal on a schwinn deluxe 7. support your local guy! They most likely will do anything they can for you if you develop the relationship.

I couldn't agree more!

Kev.

 

[ratdaddy]

I work at Target and have been sending folks that are too big for our bikes over to new shop that is close to my house. I've sent @ 6-8 folk over and 4 of them have bought bikes. He is not a high end bike dude, hence the name "Aurora Family Cycles". He does a lot of tune ups and carries some decent mountain bikes and has quite a few cruisers. He switched out a Nirve triple tree fork for a springer and I got the fork, stem and bars for 35 bucks. So yeah, it works.

jeff

 

[wahoonc]

I am not a fan of Wal Mart at all for a variety of reasons. I only have 3 LBS within a 35 mile radius of my house. Two are upper end and pretty limited at that. They will only order stuff from certain catalogs. One I have dealt with for years and are good folks (better be I have probably bought 10 bikes there over the years) the other one won't order anything, if they don't have it in stock, oh well. The third is in the same town my wife's shop is in. I haven't tried to special order anything with them yet but I am about to. They only carry Schwinn and Huffy. Most of the pieces and parts are the Pyramid brand. What I can't get past is the fact the Wally Mart is selling a complete, more or less ready to ride Nexus 3 speed cruiser bike for $120. I would have to pay almost that much just for the hub and shifter! Parts is Parts and most of mine come out of the dumpster. FWIW I don't know of too many LBS's that pull down a bike right out of the box and completely repack all the bearings and I have gotten a couple of dry ones in my day, I guess that is what the 30-90 day check up is for... :wink: Face it most of the bikes we are rat rodding were low end to start with.

Aaron 8)

 

[krazi]

Re: walmart etc...

as a former assembler for walfart, I would absolutely agree. instead of using the cheap falcon wheels that come with the huffy cranbrook, upgrade to a better wheelset. the frame is set up so it can be converted to a 5 or 6 speed, and it's also drilled for caliper brakes. the falcon rearend uses a soft material for the hub, and the drive collar will dig splines in the tapered bore and cause the wheel to growl when coasting

krazi

ok, heres the skinny, the frames arent bad, they have good tires and some neat parts for the price. The problem is the chrome, it rust fast so buy a can of clear coat while your there, Huffy has a tendency to use cheap bearings and not LUBE them to save money, so just open everything up and make sure it's packed in grease, cranks, headset etc.
Sometimes the long cruiser bars they use will bend fairly easy if standing cause there thin walled to save weight- wich is fine but in a long cruiser bar theres enough leverage to tweak em.
so that saying. usually the wheels will cost more than the price of the bike so buy it, repack all the bearings, swap the bars, stem and seatpost, and slap on a coat of paint and clear coat the chrome and ride it like it's stolen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[aka_locojoe]

These 3 bikes of ours all started with new bikes bought at either Target or Kmart
http://locojoe.com/bikeblog/pages/flamed_chopper.html
http://locojoe.com/bikeblog/pages/green_goblin.html
http://locojoe.com/bikeblog/pages/high_roller.html

Speaking of new bikes... Where I work has an incintive program where you earn points and the points can be used to purchase stuff out of a special catalog. I hardly ever do what it takes to earn these points and never check them. The other day a fellow employee ordered a camera with his and that got me curious if I might have enough for a new camera. I checked and didn't but what do I see in the catalog? A cruiser bike and I had just enough points. Should be arriving soon.

Finally got the bike. I guess it was returned at some point because of damage so they had to send another. Not for sure what I'll do with it.

 

[JIMBO420]

I just got done rattin out a 26" wallyworld cruiser.Aside from both wheelbearings being loose and really really crappy cranks, pedals, the frame -other parts were decent.

Like was mentioned earlier, I wouldnt but a mtb there and definatly wouldnt even consider a bmx bike(i'd kill that in about 30 secs), but for just cruisin around they are "decent"(barely)

 

[Misfit43]

I am also rat roddin a cheapo wally world bike, it was only 85 bucks, had an aluminum frame that I liked the shape of - same one as the "Illmatic" bike posted on the buildoff. The crank is pretty crappy though. The cool part is, after the springer, bars, etc - the whole thing is gonna come in under $160 or so.........so far :wink:

 

[giggles13]

Whats wrong with this pic?

Look hard..............

I see two brake lines going to the back wheel. One to the axel area on bottom of frame and one to the brake at the top.