Wal-Mart sells cool bikes????

[ZygoteLittle]

I believe that if a person thinks Walmart sells cool bikes they need makeup to tone down their neck...

this was a wal-mart bike. . .

and this one too.

so is this...

and this...

The basic bike is just a diamond in the rough. Like I always say "It ain't what you got, it's what you do with what you got." 8)

True that!!!

This too is a Wal-Mart bike!

2007 BFK :mrgreen:

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Oh, but that being said, Walmart does have some potential. Right now they are selling DK BMX bikes, soon that name brand will be worth nothing, but as of now I'd get one at the prices they have. They are also selling a BMX with a sidehack for $229, I'd have trouble building one for that price, and if you watch videos on youtube, they seem to be holding up well.

Many have built cool rats from brand new cheap Walmart bikes,

Yes, Walmart sells cool bikes, as long as you think they are. :wink:

I've never seen those in any wal-mart here but the sidehacks are the ones that Rob Derdek and dave Nivra or somebody designed and built. They had planned walmart to sell them.

 

[axsepul]

I have to admit it. That huffy panama jack is calling my name every time I go to walmart. There is something about that rear rack be in part of the frame. Of course I will have to modify it a bit. I would loose all the panama jack decals, throw away the huffy head badge, remove the fenders and I would put away the complete handlebar set up. Maybe go with a bmx handle bar. Spray painted military green! But leaving the chrome bottle opener on the fork!

 

[gcrank1]

You BAD! :wink:

 

[oddified]

I have to admit it. That huffy panama jack is calling my name every time I go to walmart. There is something about that rear rack be in part of the frame. Of course I will have to modify it a bit. I would loose all the panama jack decals, throw away the huffy head badge, remove the fenders and I would put away the complete handlebar set up. Maybe go with a bmx handle bar. Spray painted military green! But leaving the chrome bottle opener on the fork!

...I got the girlie one for my lady...in the process of taking off the fake "wood" accents and replacing it w/ the real thing...I may bite the bullet on a 2nd....the extendable rack is kinda cool

 

[bart savage]

I saw a PJ the other day at my local Walmart that had big 2.35 cream tires on it...looked real nice!!

 

[JaxRhapsody]

I wish i could pull that off.

 

[roadmaster]

Never ceases to amaze me what we can all do with these wal-mart cruisers. I have a 07' next lajolla, last few years of stock huffy cranbrooks, but haden't gotten anything lately. Saw a fixie and two twenty niners the other day at my local wal mart. Great cheap, generic build bikes. :mrgreen:

 

[TheHumongous]

I work for a bike-shop. Because of this, my official statement has to be as follows,

*Robotic Voice* "Wal-mart sells TOYS, not bikes. You should buy a bike from an independent bicycle store because..."

But seeing as how I'm on the internet under an assumed identity...
I'd be a liar if I said I don't amble through their bike section from time to time just to see what's up. It's cool that they're seeming pretty cruiser-heavy these days the panama jack and the 29er thing they have are friggin awesome.
Call me snooty, but I'd be terrified to ride anything assembled by a nameless person in a back storeroom somewhere using God-knows-what for tools. That said, I think Wal-Mart bikes are a great starting point for any project requiring a cantilevered frame (seeing as how they seem to be en-vogue at my local Wal-Mart right now). If I were to buy a bike from Wal-Mart I'd really be buying a wheelset, frame, maybe some bars, tires, etc. Not, in my mind, a bicycle.

Although I've yet to buy one, one of my bikes is a wallyworld repro Schwinn someone brought into my store and told me to throw away for them, If you've seen my intro post you've heard the story. And although I may lose street-cred for saying this, it's my favorite rider.

Wal-Mart does make cool bikes, even from a guy who works for the big evil bike shop, you just have to know exactly what you're looking to get out of it. Those sweet pics you guys have posted on here are the proof. Nice bikes!

 

[gcrank1]

Ah,....... an honest man can be hard to find!; we all have biases, its human nature, but its one thing to see a daisy and call it a rose, or call it a t--d. Im a pragmatist/realist enough to know that W-Mrt bike might be better called a 'pre-assembled' kit, but I started adding up the parts I could use off one of their $89 & change cruisers, not including the frame, and I came out well ahead. Figuring I could give it a pre-flight and actually test out the parts (or ride it a good long time), and if something is wrong the return policy is way easy, it is an 'affordable' way to play.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I have had quite a few Walmart bikes as well as lots of vintage Schwinns. Walmart bikes are great if you take them apart, every nut and bolt, and grease things like wheel bearings, crank bearings, headset bearings, and make sure things like brakes and forks are tight. They make an okay bike that looks just like anyone else's walmart bike.

With owning a vintage Schwinn I am subject to the occasional "Hey nice bike" and the all too often "Hey you wanna sell that bike?" But to me it's cool to ride a bike that no one else in town has, a bike that is "BUILT NOT BOUGHT", and a bike that in 50 years will still look better than a 5 year old Walmart bike.

 

[dragnusa]

Call me snooty, but I'd be terrified to ride anything assembled by a nameless person in a back storeroom somewhere using God-knows-what for tools.

I bought a mongoose full suspension mountain bike at walmart a few months ago other then having to adjust the derailer and put air in the tires its a rather sweet ride, but have to say the bikes at our walmart are put together off site by a guy that worked at a bike shop for years. the only down side is the decals I think my 6 year old could put them on straighter

 

[yoothgeye]

Call me snooty, but I'd be terrified to ride anything assembled by a nameless person in a back storeroom somewhere using God-knows-what for tools.

I bought a mongoose full suspension mountain bike at walmart a few months ago other then having to adjust the derailer and put air in the tires its a rather sweet ride, but have to say the bikes at our walmart are put together off site by a guy that worked at a bike shop for years. the only down side is the decals I think my 6 year old could put them on straighter

Most Walmarts now contract bike builders, they have their own tools and work stands, they move from store to store assembling bikes and that's all they do, most do know what they are doing, but some stores still use just any employee who says he/she can assemble a bike.

They do not install decals, all the bikes sent to Walmart come almost fully assembled in the box. The assembler has to install the front wheel and adjust the front brake (if applicable), install the pedals, slide in the stem (handlebars already attached) and tighten. Sometimes they have to put the seat on too. No decal work, no chains, no cranks. Your best bet is to buy a bike from the website and have it shipped to store (that's free) and assemble it yourself.

 

[dragnusa]

Call me snooty, but I'd be terrified to ride anything assembled by a nameless person in a back storeroom somewhere using God-knows-what for tools.

I bought a mongoose full suspension mountain bike at walmart a few months ago other then having to adjust the derailer and put air in the tires its a rather sweet ride, but have to say the bikes at our walmart are put together off site by a guy that worked at a bike shop for years. the only down side is the decals I think my 6 year old could put them on straighter

Most Walmarts now contract bike builders, they have their own tools and work stands, they move from store to store assembling bikes and that's all they do, most do know what they are doing, but some stores still use just any employee who says he/she can assemble a bike.

They do not install decals, all the bikes sent to Walmart come almost fully assembled in the box. The assembler has to install the front wheel and adjust the front brake (if applicable), install the pedals, slide in the stem (handlebars already attached) and tighten. Sometimes they have to put the seat on too. No decal work, no chains, no cranks. Your best bet is to buy a bike from the website and have it shipped to store (that's free) and assemble it yourself.

Yeah I know that the decals are put on at the factory, I would say it was just low end bike companies that just slap the decals on and dont care how their logos look but have seen a few more high end bikes that the logos are messed up on too. What happened to bike companies being proud of the brand name like on all the older bikes that we all love

 

[yoothgeye]

Yeah I know that the decals are put on at the factory, I would say it was just low end bike companies that just slap the decals on and dont care how their logos look but have seen a few more high end bikes that the logos are messed up on too. What happened to bike companies being proud of the brand name like on all the older bikes that we all love

Something much lower than our jobless rate is people's pride in the jobs they have.

 

[kngtmat]

The only bike shop bikes I have ever had is my 65 & 68 Stingray frame as well as my 65 & my Raleigh 20 Folder but every bike I have ever had came from Sears or Kmart because I have never lived in a town that had a Walmart or even a Target until 2000 even though I saw Walmart on Christmas Vacation and none of them have ever been bad, only when I rode them harshly after a few years then left them behind when I had to move away.

They are also very nice & cool to ride at good prices not outragous ones, there is no reason to spend over $400 on a bike and even that is above what I could ever afford but i got to the bike shop to get my parts.

Being by the toy section doesn't mean they are toys, they are by the sports section too and I am kind of tired when guys on Yahoo Answers & a few other places online call them bicycle shaped objects because what is it that makes a bicycle a bicycle and i can tell you it's not the price of it.

Also I saw a bike with the handle bars backwards then when the guy that puts the bike together saw it took it into the back then fixed it because he was off for a few days when it was put on the rack.

I like those Panama bikes too and I also like the Genesis 29'er, the new La Jolla Frame which i have a pic of, the Huffy's, the Schwinn's and that Thruster Fixie bike.

 

[M.Martian]

I saw a PJ the other day at my local Walmart that had big 2.35 cream tires on it...looked real nice!!

The one with the cream tires is the Nel Lusso. I actually like that one better than the Panama Jack. Better coloring (no woodgrain) IMHO and it's also cheaper. It just doesn't have that tank plate and bottle opener.

 

[TheHumongous]

I stand corrected in the case of your respective privately contracted Wally-world bike builders. However, I'm pretty sure if there is a guy in my area who specifically builds bikes, he's a heavy drinker lol. Or lost his hands in a bizzare gardening accident...etc, etc.. But yea I know I wrote a novel there, but don't take anything I said as a negative. There's nothing wrong with owning one of these bikes at all. I do like the idea of re-assembling it like one of you guys mentioned though, call me paranoid I guess. Times are tough, lots of shops can be real elitist jerks (mine luckily isn't, in fact if someone wants a kids bike we send them to wally world because it just isnt worth your 300 bucks for something to say "TREK" or "SCOTT" and only last a year and a half til the kid grows out of it anyway). Riding any bicycle is better than not riding a bicycle at all, let that big-w-flag fly if that's what it takes to get ya on a bike!

 

[sojudave]

So what is your take on those of us who but junked out wallyworld bikes on craigslist for $25.00 and customize them?

 

[outskirtscustoms]

So what is your take on those of us who but junked out wallyworld bikes on craigslist for $25.00 and customize them?

No problem with that they are great bikes to build on. I've done more than a few Walmart bike builds.