New Walmart Fat Tire Bike coming in a couple weeks

[Jeff54]

read this topic months ago, forgot to add to it.. First my local wally world had a fat tire return 100 bucks clearance.. I rode it around inside store. Then a month later a new one, I played with it too.. they were asking 200 bucks fer the brand new. . Albiet that's the only 2 I've seen. expecting to see them xmas, prob priced 299.. But I bet they get cleared out because those tiers just to spencive for wally world customers.

 

[blown240]

Last time I was in walmart they had 2 beasts, a dolomite, a massif, and a bMax.

 

[virtu]

Hi, I am new here and I bought my Ironhorse Dolomite last Tuesday, but will be delivered only in the end of next week.

The Ironhorse Dolomite is the Canadian version of the Mongoose Dolomite with same specs, but the bike seems the same, but I am going to check that as soon as it arrives

Also, I am planning to plasti dip the rims in flat black, loose and tight the bolts in a proper way, adjust brakes and gears (cable tension normally) and grease or re-grease some parts (headset, hubs--if I have the right tools and the BB).

Now, have just to wait

 

[Jeff54]

"loose and tight the bolts in a proper way"

Highly advise, don't stop there, remove every nut, bolt and screw, open the guts on crank, fork and hubs where possible. carefully inspect and reassemble the hole dam thing with the right torque, grease or oil where needed. Balance the rims, spokes and ready to rebalance them within 10 miles cause they'll stretch out. the metal used in china is crap and soft so it may take 3 times resetting spokes before they'll hold.

Read stories already of people who didn't, only to break in a week.

It's not all poor quality materials albeit crappy metals, but seriously BAD quality in assembly.. word is, if you're nice they'll ship replacement parts right out, however, I don't wait for some ..... to smash into my car and collect insurance,, waste my time and money!

I avoid at all cost, prevention saves.

 

[virtu]

"loose and tight the bolts in a proper way"

Highly advise, don't stop there, remove every nut, bolt and screw, open the guts on crank, fork and hubs where possible. carefully inspect and reassemble the hole dam thing with the right torque, grease or oil where needed. Balance the rims, spokes and ready to rebalance them within 10 miles cause they'll stretch out. the metal used in china is crap and soft so it may take 3 times resetting spokes before they'll hold.

Read stories already of people who didn't, only to break in a week.

It's not all poor quality materials albeit crappy metals, but seriously BAD quality in assembly.. word is, if you're nice they'll ship replacement parts right out, however, I don't wait for some ..... to smash into my car and collect insurance,, waste my time and money!

I avoid at all cost, prevention saves.

Thanks Jeff54,

I am reviewing my tools here and I think that I do not have appropriate tools to remove the bottom bracket and to remove the cassette

So, to avoid spend money in wrong tools I will wait the bike arrive (4 more days) to check which and what kind of tools I need to get borrowed or buy.

 

[Jeff54]

Personally, when I was a kid, walked 100 miles to school, bare foot, in the snow and LIKED it!.


I used to rebuild Schwinn's in my teens, fixed mowers and go-cart/mini bikes, and I had a crescent wrench, plyers, (rarely used cause too much damage from them) a few screw drivers, Bench Vise, a hammer, and I can't remember much more a wrench or two.. Seriously. determination was my best tool. worst I could imagine is having circlips to remove, but ice pick and small screw drivers can get most off.

But I got curious and found this guy who's completely infatuated with wally-worlds fat bike. good spot to find him here, and read cause he's also got a forum.

I took a quick browse. Apparently, the crank arms are pressed on? a guy said he had to use a freaking wheel puller to yank it? Geez.

http://www.youtube.com/user/VeeDubzBugz

Thanks Jeff54,

I am reviewing my tools here and I think that I do not have appropriate tools to remove the bottom bracket and to remove the cassette

So, to avoid spend money in wrong tools I will wait the bike arrive (4 more days) to check which and what kind of tools I need to get borrowed or buy.

 

[virtu]

Received the bike yesterday, and a few pictures, from the moment that I got the box at home to the moment that I was almost finished to assemble it.





First impressions:
01. Headset or something on the stem/headset/nut/fork is making turning the handlebar left or right very tight. I just took off the headset and lube it, but I do not know if is going to work, but that's ok to ride in this condition.

02. Rear hub is not in the best lube, you can feel it when spin the pedals backwards, there are something that can be improved on this part, but, again, it is ok to ride in this condition.

03. Derailleur came already very well adjusted from factory.

04. Seatpost for a 6.2 feet person is ok, but for a better experience and better fit a 400mm will be perfect.

05. The group of components bottom bracket and its bearing, freewheel and its bearing, rear hub and its bearing can be improved too (just like item 02), and probably the bike will ride better after this.

06. Brakes is the bottom part of the whole bike, and every time that I removed the wheel, after I put it back I had to adjust the caliper to avoid rust the disc =/, but, for a $250 bike it is ok.

07. Like Yoda speaking, interest will be to have a 32t or 28t cog in the crankset.

First conclusions:
This is not a user-friendly bike, the user must have some basic bike mechanic skills and the will to learn more.

So, beginners will need help to adjust this bike up to the moment that they will learn how to do by their own, all other riders will be happy with this bike with their expectation are not too high.

Besides that, I really enjoy this bike, and I am sure that after little upgrades or work on actual components (just like every user did here, lube-lube-and-lube all moving parts), this bike is a bargain at $250.

Thanks and sorry for any mistake in my simple english.

 

[virtu]

Another picture and a few more comments:



Components that I already bought but did not arrive yet:
a. 28.6/450mm seatpost (~ $12.00);
b. 670mm carbon handlebar 31.8, but will install only next year (~ $20.00 after paypal coupon).

Total spent of CAD $304.99 (USD 270.82)
Ironhorse Dolomite $272.99 (after tax)
Seatpost $12.00
Carbon Handlebar $20.00

Components that I am willing to buy:
c. New Headset (if needed);
d. New Stem (probably between 90mm to 100mm);
e. New Grips (if the stock ones will not fit on the new handlebar);
f. Fixed Seat clamp 31.8

Also, some tools I will need:
g. Freewheel remover;
h. 17' wrench or adjustable wrench (to use to clean and lube the hubs).

Brake and Brake Levers they are ok to use on regular riding, but definitely they are not good. The brake power I hope that can get better using it, but at this moment there is no power to brake the bike in a fast speed, only to reduce the speed. And the brake levers are made of plastic

 

[virtu]

This seatclamp will fit at Dolomite (31.8mm version)?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ca/en/brand-x-seat-clamp-bolt-2013/rp-prod6256

 

[Jeff54]

Thanks and sorry for any mistake in my simple english.

Whelp all you can do now is break it and learn.

And, not much wrong wit your simple English, except, and I see this inside of Craig's list all the time, mostly inside of cars that were crashed, re-painted as salvage or rebuilt title..

"Conditions" "This conditions" "Excellent conditions" etc. seems to be of Spanish decent, or immigrant ..


Please inform the rest of the immigrant world.
Leave off the friggen S. It's "Condition" not "conditions" (grin)

 

[virtu]

Total spent of C$395.46 (USD 347.36)
Ironhorse Dolomite C$272.99 (after tax)
Generic 28.6 450mm Seatpost C$12.00
Race Face Carbon Handlebar 31.8mm 670mm C$20.00 (after coupom)
Gusset Clench Seat Clamp White, 31.8mm C$10.99*
Clarks Exo Skeletal Hydraulic Disc Brake White, 160mm, Pair - Left Hand Front/Right Hand Rear C$55.99*
Crank Brothers Cobalt 2 Stem Black - Silver, 90mm, 31.8mm, 1.1/8" C$23.49*
*probably I am going to receive 5% cash back, if that happens, the total cost will decrease C$4.52.

Also, I bought a generic shimano freewheel remover (New Cassette Freewheel Remover Removal Repair Tool CY5P for Bike Bicycle Shimano | eBay), and if it works, that would be nice, because it costs only C$2.20

So, for USD 348 a fat bike, with carbon handlebar and hydraulic disc brake, I think that is a nice value for a simple steel fat bike.

Another thing that I was talking with some friends, besides the frame be 18', the ride position for a 6.2 feet (190cm) is very ok for up to 20km ride. Above that, for example 40km, a large seatpost (350mm or 400mm) will become a good investment.

In my honest opinion, the Ironhorse Dolomite and its sister from Mongoose is a very nice fat bike for the value, and with a brake upgrade it can be even better, because the brake that came with the bike is not the best one for 190lbs (+/- 90kg) person.

The brake was the only component that I really did not liked on that bike, probably if changed only the brake levers and lube the cables it can get a little better, but I had a chance to buy a simple set of hydraulic disc brakes and that was a good deal.

One last thing, besides the lack of upgrade on the freewheel, the one that came in stock is good for the kind of terrain that I ride (flat and some little uphills), but with time we can get used with the gear ratio, by the way, we are bikers

 

[virtu]

Hey guys,

Need some help and suggestion to replace the chainring for a smaller one. I'd like something between 24t to 30t on the front, but right now I have no idea what to do.

Bottom bracket, chainrings and crankset I do not have too much experience, so it's a brand new field that I want to learn a little bit more.

So, if you have any suggestion in which chainring to use, be my guest

Tks.

 

[Jeff54]

wally world's stocking em up fer xmas, local has 4 beasts @ 199 currently.
Didn't spend much time looking at em but for the moment I did, besides the cool big rims and tires, looked like the crappest bike I've seen in me miserable life, ever assembled. Seriously!

 

[rickpaulos]

If you think the Beast is the crappiest bike ever, well you haven't seen or worked on very many bikes. I used to think Magna was the worst. Then I got some Roadmasters. Oops then came Vertical and Dynacraft. So many really bad bikes, not one stands out as "the worst". The Beast assembly does rank as one of the worst ever. Most are put together bone dry, ie, no lube on threads and often not any in the bearings either. Assembled with power tools so cross threaded bb cups aren't unheard of. Many of the Beast's 'features' are what made Schwinn famous, frames so heavy they never fail. I've yet to see a Beast frame fail. In fact most chinese made - boxmart sold bikes are quite over built (heavy). That's okay because they go by boat where there are no weight limits, then by train or semi. You do seen bearing wear out really fast, brakes and gears that barely function, drive lines that rust solid in under a year if you leave them out, cables that sieze up. With no gears, brakes or cables, the Beast won't have those problems. One bad item shows up more than any on the low end mountain bikes and that is the welded shock forks. Good shock forks are not welded together. More get recalled all the time. That's probably the single largest category of bicycle recalls. Most of those recalls are for forks made during specific time periods, so many that they put date of mfg stickers on the bikes so they don't have to recall an entire year or month of bikes just because a batch fails. Unfortunately those recalls get issued after a bunch of people get hurt. There is no quality testing before these cheap bikes leave the factories. The Chinese bikes are big on copying the look and style but none of the quality. They use low end materials because they are cheap. We can thank the USA mass marketeers for encouraging this in their quest for to out sell each other with "low prices".

As bad as the Chinese bikes are, I've seen worse. Pretty much any German made ever bike. Low end Italian bikes from the 1970s were un-rideable. I got stuck with Maseratti bicycles where the bb shells were in so crooked, the chain would jump off the chain rings if you tried to pedal. Many mass market USA bikes from the 1960s & 1970s were spot welded together which made them very flexible and weak. Even Trek had entire product lines of bikes fail like their early glued together aluminum bikes and the first year of the 3-carbon tube bikes. The Seattle made Raleigh technium bikes had a very high failure rate too. The Seattle police dept broke their entire fleet of those frames.

 

[Murray-Eliminator]

snapped a picture of this one at our local wally today.

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Nice fork, I don't love the frame, looks a little 'swooshy' for me.....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jeff54]

I'm liking the ergonomic flow sort of but, expect larger tubing in this, ya gotta do somtin with all that aluminum to increase strength, so, why not flex it some, color selection, multiple speed, aluminum frame but not that fork. That wide butt fork looks like it'll break at the neck easy. I just sense with them wheels I'd be wanting more honking strength, a larger front cylinder with the same bigger neck in the fork and housing. Plus there's a low likely hood I'd be too happy with the quality of their parts. hope they's put some stainless spokes in those things.

Regardless as entries in a new market as long as peps can keep em tuned, afford the dam tires, wally's got the xmas fun bike of the season.

@ a low working wage o 10 bucks an hour,, that's 26 hours and ya own it. 20 for the beast, makes for a nice entry price.

A pizza delivery guy could buy one with the gas savings we'll be getting this year while the oil companies fight it out. [grin]

 

[MtnBikinPilot]

I like the hyrdo formed frame and tire pattern better then the Dolomite...

If someone ....... that the components suck they shouldn't buy an inexpensive bike. The better components make the price go up....seems like a lot of people around here ..... and rag on the bike rather then take it for what it is...Low Entry level fat tire bike....if you want a bike that will hold up to the rigors of serious riding open your wallet and buy the bike that will....if not this bike can and should last for years....

 

[Bama Bill]

All of the bearings need grease.The steering on my Dolo was tight also.It was the rubber seal on the lower bearing.It had been crushed between the bearing and crown race.You have to take it for what it is.I like to tinker so I like mine.

 

[DPARTY82]

Here's the start of walmarts roller coaster prices.

As of today....1/23/15 walmart has these priced at $191.99!!

That's a heck of a deal. This is a great base fat bike that is worth a few upgrades. I just got done putting new Devist8er tires, sealed bottom crank bearings, new FSA neck bearings, Avid BB7's, Avid dial 7 levers, mud shovel fenders, metal platform pedals, and soon to come a trigger shifter on mine.