Wal-Mart sells cool bikes????

[ozzmonaut]

I just found it at walmart.com. The Impakt. Not a bad looking setup.

 

[yoothgeye]

I just found it at walmart.com. The Impakt. Not a bad looking setup.

They actually have 2 at my store right now, I haven't gone and jumped on them yet. Site to store is the best way to order anyway since you don't have to worry about their contract bike monkey putting it together, and you get a HUGE box out of the deal.

 

[Toeslider]

I think Trek and a few others are truely made in the US.

From the Trek website:

"We continue to produce many of our bicycles in the US with a focus on our higher-end OCLV carbon fiber offerings. All of our bikes are designed and engineered at our headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin though select road, ATB, comfort, hybrid, urban and kids' bikes are produced by Trek-specific overseas vendors. Bicycles produced overseas follow the same stringent quality standards as our domestically built bikes. No matter where your bike is produced quality is stock on every Trek built."

Basically, unless you spend a lot of money on a Trek, it's not manufactured in the US. It is a US company though.

 

[yoothgeye]

I recently bought an "off-brand" bike shop quality bicycle online, and this is from their website:

Q. Where are your bikes made?
A. There is a simple truth about how most high grade road and mountain bikes are built. However, dealers and brands try to hide this from customers. Most Road Bikes sold in the USA are made in Taiwan or China by ‘factories’ which you have probably never heard of. The big 3 Asian Bike Tigers build for names such as Specialized, Fuji, Trek, Motobecane, Windsor, Dawes, Bottecchia, Terry,Jamis, Mercier, Felt, Bianchi and Gravity. They buy everything on the bike from subcontractors who make assorted parts of the bike. Then the ‘factory’ just applies decals, assembles, and boxes the bike.

In the case of the frame, several frame shops in Taiwan and China build frames for many high end brands. Frame builders like Kinesis, A-Pro, ADK, Sunrise, and Astro build frames for brands like Fuji, Trek, Motobecane, Specialized, Felt, Dawes, Bottecchia, Bianchi, LiteSpeed, Gravity and dozens of others. In fact, several ‘Italian’ brands buy frames in Taiwan or China and ship them unpainted to Italy; then paint and decal them – mark them ‘Made in Italy’ and sell them for rather high prices. The other important components on the bike are the same from brand to brand. That is Shimano pieces and so forth. And many times the ‘branded’ parts such as stems, bars, and even wheels are all made in the same factories in Taiwan. For example, Ritchey, VeloMax, Bontrager, American Classic, and many other have wheels built in Taiwan or China (including the rims and hubs and final assembly).

Rebranding is common in the bicycle industry (just like in most other consumer products – think of DVD players, TVs, and even shoes). So a smart consumer can get the best value by not paying much attention to the decal on the downtube – and focus on the bike, the fit, and the price (and the discount).

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I just found it at walmart.com. The Impakt. Not a bad looking setup.

They actually have 2 at my store right now, I haven't gone and jumped on them yet. Site to store is the best way to order anyway since you don't have to worry about their contract bike monkey putting it together, and you get a HUGE box out of the deal.

I looked at them on the site and it looks as though the sidehack is NOT removable. I haven't seen one in person to confirm that though. What did you see youthguy?

 

[yoothgeye]

I looked at them on the site and it looks as though the sidehack is NOT removable. I haven't seen one in person to confirm that though. What did you see youthguy?

Not removable, but I wouldn't want it to be, a bolt on point would be a weak spot, and I don't see the need to be removable since I already have a few nice BMX bikes to ride without the hack. From the videos of guys beating on these things, they are pretty tough.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I was only thinking from a storage standpoint it would be nice to have it be removable. I mean Harley side cars are bolt on and they don't seem to have any problems. Also I would try to put it on other bikes.

 

[schertztx]

I was only thinking from a storage standpoint it would be nice to have it be removable. I mean Harley side cars are bolt on and they don't seem to have any problems. Also I would try to put it on other bikes.

They don't jump Harley's with sidecars though.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

:lol: I wouldn't be jumping it anyway. I just think a sidecar would look awesome on my Schwinn cruiser. And buying one would be easier and probably cheaper than making one myself. Then I'd just have to make the tub.

 

[StepChld]

Okay, I lied about that. I never jumped a Harley with a sidecar. I just wanted to sound cool.

Now I am ashamed.

Okay, I lied about that too. I'm not really ashamed.

But again, I lie...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Jimmy the Gent]

I looked at them on the site and it looks as though the sidehack is NOT removable. I haven't seen one in person to confirm that though. What did you see youthguy?

Not removable, but I wouldn't want it to be, a bolt on point would be a weak spot, and I don't see the need to be removable since I already have a few nice BMX bikes to ride without the hack. From the videos of guys beating on these things, they are pretty tough.

I was only thinking from a storage standpoint it would be nice to have it be removable.

Surprised no one has said this yet....
Anything is removable with the right tools, but I'm sure you guys know that. 8)

 

[deorman]

Weld on a few flange joints. Only for storage? Paint it USN colors and use hinges. :mrgreen:

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Surprised no one has said this yet....
Anything is removable with the right tools, but I'm sure you guys know that. 8)

Very true. The reason I brought this up is like many other people I only have a small shed so my space is limited. Even lots of people with garages have way to much junk in them. A few flanges and quick pins would make it ideal. I'm really surprised they chose not to make it that way due to the extra cost of shipping and the tenancy of a bike manufacture to "Cheap out" on such things. (Especially if they are being sold at Walmart) Not to mention it would make the bike appeal to more people who wanted it only for the side hack. Also for transporting the bike I imagine it would be very difficult with the sidecar attached.

Man I should be an engineer. Seems it would make sense to make it detachable for practicality.

 

[deorman]

Detach-ability would probably increase production cost per unit more than the difference in shipping cost. :|

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Detach-ability would probably increase production cost per unit more than the difference in shipping cost. :|

Probably true but I would think that would be outweighed by selling more of them due to the convenience of being able to detach it. There's many pros and cons to it. Personally I'd introduce this model then make it detachable for the next production year.

 

[gcrank1]

Who's got JUNK in their garage!!!!.............if I throw something away a week later I need it!

 

[wimpy]

Who's got JUNK in their garage!!!!.............if I throw something away a week later I need it!

+1

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Who's got JUNK in their garage!!!!.............if I throw something away a week later I need it!

Exactly that's the reasoning behind me having too much junk in my shed.

 

[old school 64]

Too funny..when me and the better half were "house hunting" we ended up buying one with a 2 car garage..a large shed in the back yard AND rv parking..and still running out of space..the Cranbrook i bought the other night is parked in the "Cabana" room in back..it is a hardy addiction !!

Who's got JUNK in their garage!!!!.............if I throw something away a week later I need it!

Exactly that's the reasoning behind me having too much junk in my shed.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Too funny..when me and the better half were "house hunting" we ended up buying one with a 2 car garage..a large shed in the back yard AND rv parking..and still running out of space..the Cranbrook i bought the other night is parked in the "Cabana" room in back..it is a hardy addiction !!

Who's got JUNK in their garage!!!!.............if I throw something away a week later I need it!

Exactly that's the reasoning behind me having too much junk in my shed.

Yeah try only having a small shed. I miss my old box truck, It doubled my storage.