# Walmart asked not to sell bikes



## Sven (Jan 14, 2022)

__





						Mechanics Ask Walmart, Major Bike Manufacturers to Stop Making and Selling ‘Built-to-Fail’ Bikes - VICE
					





					www.vice.com
				




I GUESS THIS IS THE CORRECT PLACE FOR THIS THREAD.. IF NOT MODERATORS PLEASE REASSIGN.


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## mike j (Jan 14, 2022)

I just saw that today also.


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## catfish (Jan 14, 2022)

People who by bikes at walmart don't care. It is sad.


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## vincev (Jan 14, 2022)

I say let them sell bikes.This is still a free country.If consumer doesnt like the quality they will go to higher end stores.Not everybody who wants to take a leisure ride can afford Trek,Specialized,etc.New riders need to be able to afford the bike to see if they like it or not.Wallmart bikes fit that slot. Mc Donalds sells the worse hambergers of any fast food but we dont stop them from selling burgers.


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## Billythekid (Jan 14, 2022)

But but but where will I get tires and tubes from


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## Archie Sturmer (Jan 14, 2022)

vincev said:


> I say let them sell bikes. This is still a free country.



The article suggests that the problem is capitalism, (ugh).  I might be open to increasing tariffs (with both winners/losers), but then I wonder why prices go up, or what take-off parts or accessories that I used to buy online are now shipped from like Germany.

I don’t believe that confiscating bicycles to redistribute to each according to his needs would be an improvement.


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## tacochris (Jan 14, 2022)

I agree because of two words: plastic stems.


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## WillWork4Parts (Jan 14, 2022)

tacochris said:


> I agree because of two words: plastic stems.



Say what, now? I guess I haven't looked at a Wal-Mart bike in a while...
I do agree that the quality should be better on lots of things, but you're not going to stop people from selling their crap as long as people "think" they want to buy it.


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## TRM (Jan 14, 2022)

I read the article and the writer really showed his hand (and his ignorance) in this quote in the final line:

_“It’s hard to say exactly what the change that we want to happen is,” Bisker said. “The problem here is capitalism, it’s not the bikes.” _

So after all of the bellyaching about cheap big box bikes (btw, you can substitute any number of non-repairable consumer products in place of bicycles and it reads the same), the solution is to change the form of government? No thanks.


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## vincev (Jan 14, 2022)

Keep the free market and let people decide for themselves what they want and how much they can spend.


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## tacochris (Jan 14, 2022)

WillWork4Parts said:


> Say what, now? I guess I haven't looked at a Wal-Mart bike in a while...
> I do agree that the quality should be better on lots of things, but you're not going to stop people from selling their crap as long as people "think" they want to buy it.



I certainly cant stop freedom of enterprise but i can certainly make sure anyone in my life never buys one.  Who puts plastic stems on a bicycle marketed as a bmx bike...


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 14, 2022)

I worked at a large hub department store as a bicycle mechanic in the early eighties, as it also handled catalogue sales that shop could shift over 100 bikes on a sunny summer Saturday. They carried these eastern European bikes as their entry level stuff. We had an outside firm doing assembly leaving me, the in house guy, to handle repairs, tune ups and custom work. While this was long before plastic cranks and levers (ugh!) those eastern block jobs could never be made to run well. The brakes always dragged, wheels went out of true just sitting on the floor... they were, in short, crap.

the bottom of the heap department store bike has been crap for ages and I guess will continue to degrade until it reaches the lowest quality that sells. Its too bad, but some people just don’t care about quality and longevity, just saving a buck. Walmart is catering to that crowd and making tiny margins on a ton of bikes.

once in a while someone would walk into the shop and ask for one of the top line bikes and then have me install better running gear, brakes, gears.... the works... those jobs were always a pleasure, a pleasure that often involved extensive testing. I once crashed one of those jobs heavily enough that it was faster to build another bike up than repair the wreck, that was a scary time.

i remember that working on the mid range Bridgestone bicycles were a pleasure, while not the best bikes they could be made to run beautifully with little effort.


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## nightrider (Jan 14, 2022)

The whole root of the problem is the buy, use, throw mentality. Long ago, when you bought something, you expected it to last for years. When it broke you had it fixed. Because you spent your hard earned money on it. Then came Walmart, and probably a few before them. But Walmart is the main one that brought these junk, cheap products to the mainstream. Brought them to every small town in America. Slowly, we became complacent with this cheap crap. But it, use it till it breaks, then throw it away and start over. Yes it is capitalism. If you sell it ( cheap enough) we'll buy it! But it is also destroying us. Quality, proudly built in the USA, Products used to mean something. Just like Italian or German products. But now it's " oh, it costs too much to make it here, let's go to China". But let's not just get cheaper labor, let's use cheaper materials too. Consumers have been conditioned to buy this crap for decades. I didn't have poop when I grew up, neither did my friends. Some people make up for that now, buying this cheap crap.  Most people want " more". More stuff is good! I say " quality over quantity" Capitalism is good, but it also has its demons.


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## nightrider (Jan 14, 2022)

And I must say. I grew up with Kmart bikes in the 70s. They were way better than the Walmart  or Target bikes today!


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## SirMike1983 (Jan 14, 2022)

The article cites a legitimate problem of low-quality and poorly-assembled bikes breaking down and posing safety risks to consumers. However it offers a non-functional solution (a petition and Wal-Mart, Target, etc. just not selling bikes anymore) and then throws in an unsupported assertion that the real problem behind all of this is "capitalism". 

On the non-functional solution: let's say the big box stores do what is suggested. It does not necessarily follow that consumers looking for budget bicycles will suddenly pony up the higher money for a bike shop bike. They may continue to ride and buy what are essentially junk bikes, just from different sources and Chinese drop-shippers. The big box crowd won't go $250 more upscale, they'll just go online to something like Amazon or Alibaba, or eBay and buy a junker from there. 

The blaming of "capitalism" is a left-wing dog whistle. The author doesn't offer any real, working alternative (communism? barter? bikes assigned by a lottery? invasion by space aliens?). The term "capitalism" originated in Europe before Karl Marx, but it was Marx's Das Kapital that made the word what it is today. "Capitalism" in the usual sense exists mainly to be contrasted with communism or at least a socialist type system. Apparently, without any real evidence of anything related to the ownership of the means of production, stores, whatever, the fault is "capitalism". The author and people asserting these things know no more about economics than the designers of the plastic stem know about safety.


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## Andrew Gorman (Jan 14, 2022)

Huffy and a (brinelled) race to the bottom...


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## Xlobsterman (Jan 15, 2022)

It is a simple supply and demand issue! You get what you pay for!


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## Schwinny (Jan 15, 2022)

The problem has nothing to do with Bikes or Wal-Mart.
Its the idiot writer that doesn't realize their story is non-sequitur, circular nonsense. And then the "editor" that ran it.
This is a fluff story not validated or followed through by anyone, used as filler when there wasn't enough "news" in the 24 hour cycle to discuss. "Human interest" is no longer.
Probably one of those infernal Google-bait stories,

Heres a story;
"Man gets carpel tunnel and sues Craigs List for displaying so many Wal-Mart bikes for sale to sift through"


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Jan 15, 2022)

SirMike1983 said:


> The blaming of "capitalism" is a left-wing dog whistle




We live in a society where everyone wants a singular answer to everything.  "capitalism is the problem" We no longer put blame on the small pieces that make up the whole story. The story should point out that the only  reason we are at a point where we can even choose where and what we buy is because of capitalism. The problem like sir mike said is not with capitalism itself but the unconcerned or uneducated buyer who has no idea what they are buying only that it is a "new" bike. It is a large part of our society that is the problem not capitalism. Education is what we lack in this country mindless idiots who just buy for the sake of buying. I do like the policy in North Korea that you  are only allowed a certain amount of garbage each month and when you exceed that you are charged for it. Maybe this would make consumers think a little more before they buy throw away items. I doubt it. *Wallmart sells cheap poorly assembled bikes because Americans keep buying them. *


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## T. W. Day (Jan 15, 2022)

As far as I am concerned, all bikes built since the early eighties are “junk” bikes. Having restored cars, trucks, Tonka toys, pedal cars, bikes, etc., I have seen the lack of quality control and product design decline since 1980. Tell me this, how many bikes built today will be around 60 or 70 years from now like old Schwinns, Columbia’s, Roadmaster’s and so many more that we work on 
and restore today. How many cars will you be able to restore 70 years from now that are built today. When brought down to the simplest terms even high end bikes quality today can’t match a low end bikes quality of the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s. And I it’s not capitalism that is the problem, it’s inflation that makes bikes and other products cost too much brought on by stupid market policies.


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## hzqw2l (Jan 15, 2022)

Not like this cheap junk bike problem is new.

Article is kinda funny in a way that struck me.

I don't remember ever taking my childhood bikes to a bike mechanic since such skills were learned in the Era before digital zombification.

Having a bike that my parents paid for meant learning how to fix it when necessary.

A bicycle wasn't some toy to play with and toss to the curb.

Apparently those days are long gone.


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 15, 2022)

T. W. Day said:


> As far as I am concerned, all bikes built since the early eighties are “junk” bikes. Having restored cars, trucks, Tonka toys, pedal cars, bikes, etc., I have seen the lack of quality control and product design decline since 1980. Tell me this, how many bikes built today will be around 60 or 70 years from now like old Schwinns, Columbia’s, Roadmaster’s and so many more that we work on
> and restore today. How many cars will you be able to restore 70 years from now that are built today. When brought down to the simplest terms even high end bikes quality today can’t match a low end bikes quality of the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s. And I it’s not capitalism that is the problem, it’s inflation that makes bikes and other products cost too much brought on by stupid market policies.



I spent most of my professional life in plastics making tight tolerance bearing components for the automotive industry. The problem with restoring the new crap in 40 years won’t be the flimsy frame or the cheapo bearings, it’ll be the low grade plastics that are showing up in all manner of inappropriate applications. These degrade over time and exposure to the elements, especially UV light and pollution. It’ll be a lot of fun trying to service a crank set thats literally turning to dust.


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## Tour De Luxe (Jan 15, 2022)

Disposable Walmart/Target/Dicks bikes have their place. Particularly in the 12-20” wheel sizes for kids. Who wants to put $500 into a bike for their 5 yo when they can pick up a bike at Walmart for $79? These bikes only need to last a few years, even with hand-me-down to younger siblings. You can’t even buy a replacement set of tires these days for what the total bike sells for.

I picked up a 26” Huffy “Perfect Frame” step-thru bike off the curb in Charlotte. Owner told me the rear gear was messed up. The gear was held onto the hub with a spring clip, which didn’t have the strength to keep the gear from jumping off the spline (being generous in that description). I bought a replacement gear that had a spring from Amazon for $10 and it fixed the bike. I leave the bike at the beach in Charleston and while it isn’t a great bike, it gets around and I don’t worry about the salt and the sand destroying it.

As far as quality bikes, they are more expensive than a new car was when I was in college. A Specialized Tarmac SL7 top of the line will set you back $12k. Trek, Cannondale and even upstarts like Fezzarri and Salsa all sell bikes costing 5 figures. Crazy.


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## Rusty McNickel (Jan 15, 2022)

These  bicycles are filling a market demand and there's not a darn thing that can be done about it as long as they meet consumer product standards. There are plenty of consumers with limited budgets and/or minimal standards that will either be perfectly happy or learn a lesson with the purchase. 

Consider this; over the last 11 years we've bought 3 good quality bicycles for my stepson that suffered not so much from use abuse but killed by being left out in the weather and then doctored back by yours truly. So whats the point? Should we have just bought throw-away bicycles?


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## razinhellcustomz (Jan 15, 2022)

Billythekid said:


> But but but where will I get tires and tubes from



WALMAFART!!!


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## Huguenot (Jan 15, 2022)

Fritz Katzenjammer said:


> I spent most of my professional life in plastics making tight tolerance bearing components for the automotive industry. The problem with restoring the new crap in 40 years won’t be the flimsy frame or the cheapo bearings, it’ll be the low grade plastics that are showing up in all manner of inappropriate applications. These degrade over time and exposure to the elements, especially UV light and pollution. It’ll be a lot of fun trying to service a crank set thats literally turning to dust.



This is true even of some bikes that were expensive new. The Proflex/Girvin bikes and forks were pretty light and innovative, but try finding suspension elastomers for them after 25 years when they have turned rock-hard. These bikes were otherwise quite nice. We have an 856/Beast (1996) where I replace the elastomers with coil springs but the handling suffers -a lot. The originals started degrading after only a year or two even on a bike kept inside.


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## Coyote (Jan 15, 2022)

Schwinny said:


> This is a fluff story not validated or followed through by anyone




THIS Exactly.

"Mechanics ask Walmart to stop selling "Built-To-Fail" bicycles"
Who cares??
I want Frito-Lay to put more Cheetos in each bag, where is my article?

Another topic that no person is going to do anything about, nor is it news.
What really burns me is when the "journalist" includes quotes by leading experts such as 'BikeFixie2055 on Twitter'.
Modern News is devolving into entirely "opinion pieces", no facts or background research involved.
/rant


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## GTs58 (Jan 15, 2022)

Did anyone catch this part in the article? Poorly written and edited article for sure. 

She started a petition calling on *bike manufacturers* and major bike retailers to “*stop producing* and selling bikes that fall apart after a few months of use…


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## Coyote (Jan 15, 2022)

GTs58 said:


> “*stop producing* and selling bikes that fall apart after a few months"





make bike out of cheap materials and overseas labor for $25.00
sell for $169.88

I am sure manufacturers will stop immediately...... 😧


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 15, 2022)

Coyote said:


> make bike out of cheap materials and overseas labor for $25.00
> sell for $169.88
> 
> I am sure manufacturers will stop immediately...... 😧



during my time as a bike mechanic at a large department store I saw the stock sheets which listed the cost and retail prices of each item we sold. We had a low range ten speed which sold for 149.95 and a higher end ten speed which sold for 199.95. ( this is about 1978 or 80) The low range item was made by CCM and the high end bike by Raleigh. Funny thing was both were purchased by the store for about 148 dollars. When I, the dumb student, questioned the boss about he explained that the bike they only made a dollar on got the customer in the door as it was in the flyer in the local paper pretty much every week. The customer then paid 5 bucks for assembly, another 5 for a kickstand, some more for a lock and some other goodies and then quite a bit over the next few years on tires etcetera keeping the damn thing running, all of which had really good mark ups. So they made the money off all of the stuff that went with the cheaper bike, not the cheap bike itself.

those who wanted a “ quality” bike bought the one made for us by Raleigh for 199 bucks and got basically the same grade of bike with a few better looking components that were worth no more and a nicer looking paint job.

the whole conversation left me a bit disillusioned but was a valuable lesson for my future in the automotive industry where the bullpoop really starts!


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## borgward (Jan 15, 2022)

Billythekid said:


> But but but where will I get tires and tubes from



Not at Walmart!


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 15, 2022)

to further comments made on future restoration of products currently made with plastics. The photo below is of a 50s Sunbeam shaver. It sat unused in my parent's home from some time in the sixties until I discovered it in he late nineties. Interestingly, all off the plastics used to make the body of the shaver have disintegrated leaving only dust, the glass fibre reinforcement which used to be in the plastic and the metal components of the shaver.

 As I was heavily involved in the engineering of plastic bearing components for the automotive industry when I found this I was able to review it with polymer engineering team at DuPont's Detroit office, kind of the mother ship for all things plastic. Their comment was sort of a "yeah, it'll do that sometimes"... we all thought it was funny as hell actually.

So good luck restoring your resin impregnated carbonfibre wonder bikes in 40 years.


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## GTs58 (Jan 15, 2022)

Coyote said:


> make bike out of cheap materials and overseas labor for $25.00
> sell for $169.88
> 
> I am sure manufacturers will stop immediately...... 😧




The safety factor is also a major consideration on these inferior products. So where are the Ralph Naders?  😂


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 15, 2022)

GTs58 said:


> The safety factor is also a major consideration on these inferior products. So where are the Ralph Naders?  😂



Oh don’t worry, the manufacturer is safe from litigation far away from the end user.

or did you mean someone else perhaps?🤔


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## GTs58 (Jan 15, 2022)

These POS are made in China for Schwinn, Huffy and other brands, so those are the ones that need to be accountable for this junk. Not the bozos that are producing them. Or am I missing the boat here?


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 15, 2022)

GTs58 said:


> These POS are made in China for Schwinn, Huffy and other brands, so those are the ones that need to be accountable for this junk. Not the bozos that are producing them. Or am I missing the boat here?



Nope, you are right.

 the Chinese manufacturers can simply hide behind their government, who don’t really give a rat’s ass about our safety.

but I think equally responsible is the north American importer who knowingly brings this poop in. He’s obviously interested in little more than his bottom line, kids safety and the environment be damned.


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## Coyote (Jan 15, 2022)

Fritz Katzenjammer said:


> the Chinese manufacturers can simply hide behind their government, who don’t really give a rat’s ass about our safety.




or theirs really.
I read a book about the North Carolina furniture making industry and how it met a fate similar to Schwinn Chicago.
Outsource all your designs and expertise to another country who can build it for you cheaper.
Surprise!!!
They don't need you anymore because they have the materials and the know-how.

Anyway, what stuck with me is these foreign companies get people from the outbacks to spray aerosols
and work with toxic chemicals without protective equipment (No OSHA).
After three months, they give them $100 which is probably a fortune there and send them home.
The person is "used up" and will probably later develop cancer; no lawyers on TV.

That's why the price of the foreign products are so cheap, just like life there.
I don't buy their products on that principle.


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## T. W. Day (Jan 15, 2022)

GTs58 said:


> These POS are made in China for Schwinn, Huffy and other brands, so those are the ones that need to be accountable for this junk. Not the bozos that are producing them. Or am I missing the boat here?



You are correct. Pacific Cycles needs to be responsible. I think that’s who owns Schwinn and other mfg now.


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 15, 2022)

Coyote said:


> That's why the price of the foreign products are so cheap, just like life there.
> I don't buy their products on that principle.



Try not to buy their products. I defy you to! They make almost all of our electronics, all of our small appliances, critical parts of our automobiles, almost everything we buy has components made in China.

I’ve just retired from a life spent in industry in north America and you can’t do much without involving China.  We handed them complete control of our markets because we were more interested in cheap labour. We complain about human rights violations and environmental pollution when its driven by our own greed and lack of foresight. The last company I worked for, a multinational automotive corporation, is dependant on it’s Chinese divisions to produce its products. The few high volume items they produce outside of China are made in other areas where they are allowed to pollute and exploit the local cheap labour. (Mexico)

its easy to blame the Chinese, but we’ve screwed ourselves here. We’ve given up our own manufacturing base and now that its in the control of people who don’t care about us we whine about it.

do I sound a bit bitter? I spent much of my professional life watching work go overseas while our manufacturing base shrank. I was lucky in that I managed to stay continuously employed during my career but finally took an early retirement because work had become so difficult and stressful due to the eternal tightening of belts at the engineering level in the automotive industry, increasing workloads and the difficulties in getting product to launch because we the engineers worked here and the launch was always in a foreign land who couldn’t care less.


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## T. W. Day (Jan 15, 2022)

Fritz Katzenjammer said:


> Try not to buy their products. I defy you to! They make almost all of our electronics, all of our small appliances, critical parts of our automobiles, almost everything we buy has components made in China.
> 
> I’ve just retired from a life spent in industry in north America and you can’t do much without involving China.  We handed them complete control of our markets because we were more interested in cheap labour. We complain about human rights violations and environmental pollution when its driven by our own greed and lack of foresight. The last company I worked for, a multinational automotive corporation, is dependant on it’s Chinese divisions to produce its products. The few high volume items they produce outside of China are made in other areas where they are allowed to pollute and exploit the local cheap labour. (Mexico)
> 
> ...



You definitely speak the truth. I’ve not been that close into the automotive industry. I sell, repair and restore them for 45 years. But I’ve been close enough to to the industry to know they have themselves hamstrung.


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## GTs58 (Jan 15, 2022)

T. W. Day said:


> You are correct. Pacific Cycles needs to be responsible. I think that’s who owns Schwinn and other mfg now.



The bikes Walmart has on sale for less than $100 are generally not Schwinn, from what I've checked on, but did come across one that Walmart discounted. Kent is one of the biggest and oldest "distributors" in this game and they've been distributing imported junk for as long as I can remember. Huffy is in that lineup with an old established name and have multiple pieces being sold for under $100. I had a Kent department store bike that was a 1961 26" model 3 speed lightweight named the Londoner. I saw it at a local box store and wanted it for Christmas! It was a cool looking 4 bar cantilever bike but I soon found out it was a POS that started giving me problems right away. After two years riding that bike I started saving my money to buy a Schwinn. Today's market is full of junk bikes and at $100 or less, what are the profit margins for the one's engineering, manufacturing, distributing and selling these $100 pieces of junk? It sure the hell can't be much.


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## bloo (Jan 15, 2022)

https://www.1stbikes.org/2014/12/how-wal-mart-destroyed-huffy-bicycle.html

Imagine a 90s Huffy not being cheap enough.


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## Archie Sturmer (Jan 15, 2022)

Sometimes a government will subsidize an industry, when the quasi-free market fails to create the demand, at current prices.

For example, a government might choose to subsidize the local bicycle manufacturing industry, (say to fight “_global_ _warming_”); instead of paying rich people to purchase electric vehicles.


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## T. W. Day (Jan 15, 2022)

This is an interesting discussion and brings to mind the discussion I just had with my wife this morning. We’ve decided to buy a mens and women's Schwinn bikes from the sixties and renovate or restore them for our daily use. As far as I’m concerned todays stuff is just a POS.


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## GTs58 (Jan 15, 2022)

Archie Sturmer said:


> Sometimes the government will subsidize an industry, when the free market fails to create the demand, at current prices.
> 
> For example, the government might choose to subsidize the local bicycle manufacturing industry, (say to fight “global warming”); instead of paying rich people to purchase electric vehicles.




The word is, some of the manufacturers in China are heavily subsidized by the government. Some years back I needed some spring pins for my watch bands and found a plastic box of a 100 that was full of assorted sizes for a buck fifty, shipped free from China. I still can't believe it.


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 15, 2022)

Government subsidizing defined: An associate of mine was visiting China to check the progress on some automotive tooling they had subcontracted to a shop over there. He said when they arrived at the plant they noticed a large number of fairly late model high end machining centers, mills, lathes etc., sitting in a field beside the plant just rotting in the weather. He asked about them and was told the government helped them out by buying them all them all new automated machining centers from Europe and Japan every few years, all the best stuff. The stuff beside the plant was the “old”stuff, he said it was all only about 4 to 6 years old and it was all stuff he would kill for.

He had arrived a day early so they hadn’t fully prepared for his visit. When viewing the tool he noticed they had taken the time to build a duplicate tool for there own use along side his own, they just hadn’t had the time to move it or cover it up. Seems a lot quicker than reverse engineering, since we’re dumb enough to have them build the tools for the products we design they just build duplicate tools.


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 15, 2022)

T. W. Day said:


> This is an interesting discussion and brings to mind the discussion I just had with my wife this morning. We’ve decided to buy a mens and women's Schwinn bikes from the sixties and renovate or restore them for our daily use. As far as I’m concerned todays stuff is just a POS.



I just went out and spent too much money on a Dutch bicycle, a Gazelle Populair with rod operated drum brakes and a three speed hub. Actually made in Holland and covered with quality components, it seems to represent the quality that was once ours here in North America.

I’ve had it out a few times when the weather allows, it is winter here in Canada after all, and found it to be a lovely smooth thing to ride. It promises many years of happy use.


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## J-wagon (Jan 15, 2022)

My mass merchandiser pile. Inventory to practice disassemble down to bare frame.


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## Superman1984 (Jan 15, 2022)

Sometimes it's not the actual Walmart bike but the damn labor who is lazy or doesn't care. Much like the dumb asses who install forks backwards 🙄😒

I mean you take a job only to 1/2 ass it from the start and quality isn't appreciated when you have to pay more for it twice
🤦🏻‍♂️


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## bloo (Jan 15, 2022)

My suspicion is it's worse than that. I have one of them here, and I just remembered I left it outside. Oops. Last week we got 3 feet on snow. It had been parked in my neighborhood with a "free" sign on it for a few days.

Watching bike mechanics rail against them on youtube, you might think the main problem is the assembly. Things like no grease, misadjusted or misassembled bearings, forks on backwards, etc. Maybe at some point I will figure whether it is just terrible assembly or if it is rotten to the core. I have a sample here. It is a 24" full suspension mountain bike. 

I had never heard of the brand, and I can't remember in now. At the time I got it home I looked it up. It turns out to be a Walmart exclusive from around 2008(?), and IIRC some of them were part of a CPSC recall for fork breakage. Mine was not part of the recall, either a little too new or too old.

At first glance it looks OK. I figured I would true the wheels, grease the bearings, etc and see what its like, find out if they are really that bad for myself. One obvious flaw, the saddle is a spandex one in shreds, no big deal. 

When you look closer, some things are a bit off. The front wheel just looks too far back. The rear suspension at first glance did not appear to have a good enough pivot to be stable under weight and in motion. The suspension fork does not look terribly stable either. I think it's bent. Maybe the frame too. If the fork is bent, I wouldn't expect it to still move up and down, but it does. The bike has twist shifters. That's bad enough, but they are crappy ones and I have my doubts they can even be made to work. As I recall, nothing about the gearing was functional. I probably won't find out any more until spring. Maybe I'll get some pictures then. 

Apparently this one was too cheap for Walmart to even put a Huffy badge on, but at least it doesn't have a plastic stem. 🙄


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## Superman1984 (Jan 16, 2022)

bloo said:


> My suspicion is it's worse than that. I have one of them here, and I just remembered I left it outside. Oops. Last week we got 3 feet on snow. It had been parked in my neighborhood with a "free" sign on it for a few days.
> 
> Watching bike mechanics rail against them on youtube, you might think the main problem is the assembly. Things like no grease, misadjusted or misassembled bearings, forks on backwards, etc. Maybe at some point I will figure whether it is just terrible assembly or if it is rotten to the core. I have a sample here. It is a 24" full suspension mountain bike.
> 
> ...



I understand everything you're saying BUT 24" might account for the wonky not quite right dimensions?
I bought an ex 1 which was clearanced out; I think it was a 24" something in a baby blue/teal color. Disc brakes & decent looking bike for like $80 or less on sale. Normal price was probably around $139+. I rode it, I even did light wood trail riding with it, jumped a few downed limbs/trees & it seemed to be decent for a Walmart bike. Only real quirk I found was the gears didn't quite like shifting during motion & they were off some on the twist shifters. Of course then I don't think I was a CABE'r so I didn't check for grease etc. Just jumped on it to ride. Now I bought a Specialized Hot Rock I think it was for $8 in 24". Had the front tire off but it just needed seated / aired to ride. It had the same issues of shifting but rode the same. Not Horrible for a smaller framed MTN bike.

There's a BIG Difference in a Bike Owner, a Bike Mechanic, & of course neglect.

 I mean I see ordinary people selling bikes with the forks turned around backwards (I even tell them on FB Market) so that bike just p!ss poorly buyer assembled vs a bike mechanic (trueing, lubed, greasing & torquing) makes a big difference once it sets outside in the almighty weather. New vs pre-owned as well. I guarantee you can't take 1 of your well loved up but not expensive bikes vintage or not out & they won't succumb to rust or issues.

I don't agree with using plastic for stems etc but he'll I don't even like plastic pedals anymore. I'd be weary of carbon wheels but I never owned something expensive like that new.


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## Superman1984 (Jan 16, 2022)

I know you older guys will remember back when magnesium wheels were a thing for cars & maybe bikes too? They were prone to issues like splitting or cracking ridiculously easy & weren't to be trusted. Some things aren't meant to last forever if they aren't taken care of ..... Even these old steel things we ❤️ & 🤤 for


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## GTs58 (Jan 16, 2022)

Superman1984 said:


> I understand everything you're saying BUT 24" might account for the wonky not quite right dimensions?
> I bought an ex 1 which was clearanced out; I think it was a 24" something in a baby blue/teal color. Disc brakes & decent looking bike for like $80 or less on sale. Normal price was probably around $139+. I rode it, I even did light wood trail riding with it, jumped a few downed limbs/trees & it seemed to be decent for a Walmart bike. Only real quirk I found was the gears didn't quite like shifting during motion & they were off some on the twist shifters. Of course then I don't think I was a CABE'r so I didn't check for grease etc. Just jumped on it to ride. Now I bought a Specialized Hot Rock I think it was for $8 in 24". Had the front tire off but it just needed seated / aired to ride. It had the same issues of shifting but rode the same. Not Horrible for a smaller framed MTN bike.
> 
> There's a BIG Difference in a Bike Owner, a Bike Mechanic, & of course neglect.
> ...




There is a member here that can fill everyone in on these cheap two wheeled pieces of junk. @rickpaulos deals with these daily and posts many of the flaws he finds on the Schwinnbikeforum. I've read his assessments and seen his pictures on quite a few of them and they are shocking and disturbing. Here's an interesting one. Rims intended for lawn equipment used on 16" Huffy juvenile bike.  http://www.schwinnbikeforum.com/index.php?topic=42456.0


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## SKPC (Jan 16, 2022)

Interesting 1895 Salt lake Herald article..


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## phantom (Jan 16, 2022)

I have been to a lot of Wal Marts, K Marts, Targets, Korvettes, Grand Ways, etc: all over the Country. I have yet to be forced into one and have never been forced to buy anything.


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## J-wagon (Jan 16, 2022)

GTs58 said:


> Rims intended for lawn equipment used on 16" Huffy juvenile bike



I've seen this wording stamped into rims. This is on my 1980 huffy scout  with sun metal 26" rims


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## Superman1984 (Jan 16, 2022)

As far as those rims go; what's the big deal about it being on a 16" bike? I mean 1st off if you're on a 16" you're not likely that heavy, not likely using it to do hardcore Evel Knievel stunting, and honestly I have 1 of those wheels in a 24" or 26" somewhere that used to stay aired up as a ready to go spare. Never seemed to have any issues riding with it slapped on anything. Anything is prone to failure if you push it's limits & quality. Like saying Mack, Snap On is The Best tools compared to Craftsmen & Kobalt vs Harbor Freight. Most people ride that name but Will NOT test it's 🦾💪🏻 the same way they wanna throw shade at the generic budget stuff. Besides we all know you 200+ lb guys aren't losing any weight & already close to the normal 250 lb max of most bicycles + if you add being  hard on it .... WTF do you expect?

If you're using them within reason & common sense the HF tools are capable of the same jobs. Jus' example of Price points & Quality. Along with what I said prior about maintenance etc vs out the box 

I think the BS is just people set in their ways, hearsay & opinions are like donut holes Everybody has 1.


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## bloo (Jan 16, 2022)

Superman1984 said:


> I think the BS is just people set in their ways, hearsay & opinions are like donut holes Everybody has 1.




You could be right, or not. There is some of that going around. As I mentioned in my earlier post I intend to find out with the one sample I have whether it can be made into a working bicycle without replacing major parts. I can't even attempt that until spring. As I mentioned, it doesn't look promising, but until I dig in I cannot possibly know.



J-wagon said:


> I've seen this wording stamped into rims. This is on my 1980 huffy scout with sun metal 26" rims




What is a *1980* Huffy Scout like? If love to see a picture. I'm really curious because I thought Huffy Scouts of that era were bike boom tenspeeds until the mountain bike craze hit in the mid 80s, and I wasn't aware Huffy had anything in 1980 with balloon rims like that. Were they using middleweight tires instead of balloon? That may deserve it's own thread because I don't want to derail this one.

Back on topic, I have some Sun rims like that _and they do not have the stamp_. I have seen identical ones on Ebay with the stamp and just assumed the ones with the stamp were newer. My rims are dated 3-81, and have been in my possession since 1981. Are yours dated?



GTs58 said:


> Here's an interesting one. Rims intended for lawn equipment used on 16" Huffy juvenile bike. http://www.schwinnbikeforum.com/index.php?topic=42456.0






J-wagon said:


> I've seen this wording stamped into rims. This is on my 1980 huffy scout with sun metal 26" rims




Are we sure this is the same stamping? In the schwinnbikeforum link you can't tell because it is broken up too much. In J-wagon's link, if you read the lines clear across. you get:



> Warning of danger and improper use. This rim/wheel is intended for use on bicycles, carts, wheelchairs, and lawn-garden equipment only. Any other use could result in personal injuries due to the rim/wheel breaking or crumbling under loads stresses or impacts greater than those arising <rest of text is unreadable>




And if you try to read the halves separately you get:



> Warning of danger and improper use. Bicycles, carts, wheelchairs and use could result in personal or crumbling under loads <etc.>




And:



> This rim/wheel is intended for use on lawn-garden equipment only. Any other injuries due to the rim/wheel breaking <etc.>




None of it makes any grammatical sense when read separately.

As you can see, bicycles are an approved use on J-wagon's rims. My best guess is the ones on the 16 inch sidewalk bike on schwinnbikeforum are also approved for bicycle use, but the pictures don't quite tell us if it is exactly the same stamp.


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## Superman1984 (Jan 16, 2022)

bloo said:


> You could be right, or not. There is some of that going around. As I mentioned in my earlier post I intend to find out with the one sample I have whether it can be made into a working bicycle without replacing major parts. I can't even attempt that until spring. As I mentioned, it doesn't look promising, but until I dig in I cannot possibly know.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Right now I'm without power due to an ice storm in SC but when I have my phone fully charged I'll see if I find more info on those rims.

As far as a single speed goes Maybe I need to toss a box store parts bike together using the parts I don't care for & just simply grease it back together. Take all of my 160 lbs put it through some Hellacious Riding Abuse .... I'm NOT lacing or trueing wheels or anything beyond a common buy it, ride it & abuser could do. 

I think people will chew crow or admit they expect way too much out of a budget Taiwan made bike  Especially when they won't put their more Vintage bikes in those same situations.


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## J-wagon (Jan 16, 2022)

bloo said:


> What is a *1980* Huffy Scout like?



Good catch. My bad, it's 1984. Some discussion here:
Post in thread 'please help identify this bike, or at least the parts on it.' https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/p...-at-least-the-parts-on-it.197757/post-1341695


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## FICHT 150 (Jan 16, 2022)

When I was a kid, my Dad took me along with to buy an adjustable wrench. Maybe 1972 or so. There were two wrench’s available at the Coast to Coast store (Coon Rapids was a little town with a little hardware store). One was a good quality Diamond tool and forge 8”, the other was a Taiwanese product, a bit smaller but less than half the price. Dad told me someday you would only be able to buy the cheap one, and it would cost what the good one did, once the good one was no longer available.
Dad bought the Diamond. It wasn’t long and Diamond was out of business. I still have the wrench.
Draw your own conclusions.

Ted


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## 62typhoon (Jan 17, 2022)

I agree they are not great quality bikes but as another member mentioned they have there place...I would never buy my son the $700 kids bike I see in the bike shops when he is 6years old?...really how many miles  does a 6 year old ride anyway...I see these used bikes sitting in backlanes all the time, they look fine just outgrown and the owner does not want to garbage them. It sucks getting a wally bike when your 10-15 but maybe that's all the parent can afford...you just have to know the gears are going to screw up in a couple years and maybe the kid will get his hands dirty and try fixing it...like we all did or start walking!


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## Superman1984 (Jan 17, 2022)

62typhoon said:


> I agree they are not great quality bikes but as another member mentioned they have there place...I would never buy my son the $700 kids bike I see in the bike shops when he is 6years old?...really how many miles  does a 6 year old ride anyway...I see these used bikes sitting in backlanes all the time, they look fine just outgrown and the owner does not want to garbage them. It sucks getting a wally bike when your 10-15 but maybe that's all the parent can afford...you just have to know the gears are going to screw up in a couple years and maybe the kid will get his hands dirty and try fixing it...like we all did or start walking!



💯% True❗

My 1st bike was like a 10+ speed I could only get on being leaned over on a hill. Dad said if you can ride that you have a bike that has plenty enough gears to go about anywhere.  I hated it but I did learn to lean it over, ride it, and eventually a little about derailleurs systems of bikes. 
Adjustments are usually key every so often just like car maintenance. I took the "I'd  rather do it myself" mentality & sometimes learned the hard way but it stuck with me like dad's lessons over the years.

Some kids are sooo spoiled it's Not Even laughable


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## Boris (Jan 17, 2022)

When I was a kid....aw hell, now I don't remember!


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## vincev (Jan 17, 2022)

Boris said:


> When I was a kid....aw hell, now I don't remember!



you were too busy building your reflector empire !'''''''''''''''When I was young I had to carry my bike to and from school so the tires wouldn't wear out.


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## Axlerod (Jan 17, 2022)

I don’t shop at Walmart and possibly never will but the Walmart bikes serve their purpose. They aren’t for collectors or the Starbucks crowd. They are for the family that makes minimum wage, barely scraping by, trying to buy bikes for their kids or themselves. They probably could not afford a bike shop repair bill anyway so the bikes will continue to be sold there.


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## J-wagon (Jan 17, 2022)

Past Xmas church gift mart for local families in need. I was on hand to help assemble donated bikes. All donated bikes purchased from mass merchandisers. All donors shared with me how they cherish their og Schwinns at home waiting to be restored.


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## J-wagon (Jan 17, 2022)

Axlerod said:


> They are for the family that makes minimum wage, barely scraping by, trying to buy bikes for their kids or themselves. They probably could not afford a bike shop repair bill anyway so the bikes will continue to be sold there.



My 80 year old in-laws never learned how to ride bikes. They couldn't afford bikes in the 1940s. I guess back then $40 was a big deal.


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## Archie Sturmer (Jan 17, 2022)

In the 1940’s, the government experimented in centralized control of bicycle production and distribution, (perhaps collection and recycling too).
The government chose who would build bicycles, how many, what price and kind, (everyone’s favorite— lightweights).
The government also chose who would be considered as essential workers, granted the _privilege_ to buy a bicycle.


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## GTs58 (Jan 17, 2022)

Archie Sturmer said:


> In the 1940’s, the government experimented in centralized control of bicycle production and distribution, (perhaps collection and recycling too).
> The government chose who would build bicycles, how many and what kind, (everyone’s favorite— lightweights).
> The government also chose who would be considered as essential workers, granted the _privilege_ to buy a bicycle.




All during WWII only. Was that actually an experiment?


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## drglinski (Jan 18, 2022)

Big box store bikes like Walmart bikes are the harbor freight of bicycles


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## mrg (Jan 18, 2022)

J-wagon said:


> My 80 year old in-laws never learned how to ride bikes. They couldn't afford bikes in the 1940s. I guess back then $40 was a big deal.



$40 would have got a Deluxe with all the extras, regular bikes were around $20 and a good used bike was $5


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## Andrew Gorman (Jan 18, 2022)

SOME things at Harbor Freight are pretty darn good- you should check out the roll away tool boxes.  I'm a fan.  There is some utter crap, and if I were spinning a wrench for a living most of their stuff would break at an in-opurtune time.  But for One job-rolling out some tubing, slapping a coat of paint on the ancestral homestead in redneckistan they enable me to get the job done myself rather than trying to sub it out.


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## vincev (Jan 18, 2022)

While we are at it can we ask McDonalds to quit making burgers,Little Ceasars to quit making pizzas,Taco Bell to quit making "authentic" Mexican food,Harbor Freight to quit selling tools,Ikea to stop selling furniture ?


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## GTs58 (Jan 18, 2022)

vincev said:


> While we are at it can we ask McDonalds to quit making burgers,Little Ceasars to quit making pizzas,Taco Bell to quit making "authentic" Mexican food,Harbor Freight to quit selling tools,Ikea to stop selling furniture ?




I think you're on the wrong forum, this is a bike forum. Here ya go! 





__





						Food and Drink Forum - cooking, cuisine, meat, vegetables, restaurants, diet, prices, allergies... - City-Data Forum
					

Food and Drink - cooking, cuisine, meat, vegetables, restaurants, diet, prices, allergies...



					www.city-data.com


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## sykerocker (Jan 18, 2022)

As someone who's neighborhood shop spent most of his summer building and fixing Walmart, etc. bikes, I've got no problem with them selling that junk, er, stuff.  In the first place, the truly cheap ones are sold to parents of early grade school kids.  Yes, they're dead in a year and a half to two years.  Kids don't exactly take care of their toys.

I've discovered that the better Walmart bikes ($250.00 and up) aren't really that bad, given the expected market and price.  Adolescents who use them to run around the neighborhood, adults who do leisurely 6-8mph rides around the neighborhood in the evening.  They're heavy and primitive (the ubiquitous 7-speed freewheel), but the quality is respectable for the price.  The Schwinn's are fairly good, the Next's and Rollfast's are garbage.  And compared to some of the stuff I assembled last summer that was bought via Amazon or some other mail order provider, the Walmart product at least has a predictable quality depending on their price.

Besides, if you think Walmart (and Target, and . . . .) bikes are garbage, I wish you could have been around for the last Bike Boom in the early 70's.  The stuff that was coming out of department, big box, and auto supply stores made a Walmart Schwinn look like a Colnago by comparison.  At Adams Cycle we learned to dread anyone coming in with the Murray, Huffy, Roadmaster or (absolute worst of all) Iverson, asking us to make them work properly, and trying to explain to the customer that the best we could do is remove the Shimano Eagle derailleurs from them, and build a whole new bike around those parts.  Iversons were the worst.  It was not uncommon to have a would-be customer bring in the three week old Iverson with the steerer tubes sheared from the rest of the frame due to abysmal welding.


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## sykerocker (Jan 18, 2022)

Billythekid said:


> But but but where will I get tires and tubes from




You and me, both.  Fully 10% of the parts I've got sitting on my shelves for outside jobs comes from my local Walmart.


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## sykerocker (Jan 18, 2022)

WillWork4Parts said:


> Say what, now? I guess I haven't looked at a Wal-Mart bike in a while...
> I do agree that the quality should be better on lots of things, but you're not going to stop people from selling their crap as long as people "think" they want to buy it.




It all depends on what you're willing to pay, and what you're going to use the bike for.  Most of the cyclists in my subdivision are adults who'll pull a bike out after supper and go pedal thru the neighborhood for half an hour.  Given that they've got no idea where to go and look for a 70's Raleigh Sports (my idea of the perfect bike for this kind of use), and even if they did find one would have absolutely no idea how to put it back in to shape to ride, of course they're looking for a new bike, but, to them, a reasonable price for a bicycle is $200-250.00.  And Walmart and Dick's Sporting goods in my neighborhood, have functional decent bikes at that price.  The local bicycle shops don't, because they've been sold out of stock all year.

For all the complaining about Walmart, over the past decade their quality on their high end bicycles has come up quite a bit, to the point that it borders the most inexpensive bicycles you might be able to find at your local bicycle shop.  A lot of this is due to, from my understanding, that some of Sam Walton's kids and grandkids are quite avid cyclists, and have made a point of having their stores (and especially the mail order side) carrying higher quality bicycles.  To the point that you can buy carbon fiber mountain bikes from them now - at well under $1000.00:



			Robot or human?
		

 - Not sure why it's being titled this, but here's the link to the bike.


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## TRM (Jan 18, 2022)

Billythekid said:


> But but but where will I get tires and tubes from



I actually bought this bike new from MalWart just for the tires and tubes! LOL


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

TRM said:


> I actually bought this bike new from MalWart just for the tires and tubes! LOL
> View attachment 1551727



So looking it over and or maybe riding it what's your verdict? I like the frame a little🤏🏻bit is why I ask


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## AndyA (Jan 19, 2022)

I love this quote from the Vice article:
_Bisker says budget bikes violate three central principles for what makes bikes great: That they can be adjusted, overhauled, or have parts replaced whenever something isn’t working. “When those conditions are true,” Bisker said, “bikes are essentially immortal.”_
Cabers, we have achieved immorality.

As far as the identified problem, I have a couple of thoughts. First, it sounds like a significant part of the issue may be in the assembly and adjustment of the bikes. If they were properly assembled, adjusted, and checked for lubrication, that might help. Of course, that would require retailers to hire and train competent people and allow them the time to do a proper job. Second, it seems that many of the failures are at the margins, that is, a weld here and there that is not adequate because of poor quality control or a little bit cheaper component, all to save a few cents and increase profit. Problems like that may be amenable to incentives, either negative or positive. A negative incentive could be requiring some form of warrantee. A positive incentive could be a certification process so that consumers could choose bikes that met minimum standards. Another possible help is non-profit bike exchanges. They repair bikes for sale at reasonable prices or donate them. Have any of you Cabers ever volunteered at such an organization?


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## 49autocycledeluxe (Jan 19, 2022)

I worked at a store called Gemco when I was in high school. we sold crummy bikes in the patio department that made the Wal Mart bikes look like high end bikes. I hated selling those to people and really wanted to tell them to go to a bike shop and spend a little more. I had a crummy 10 speed when I was about 14, it didn't last a year.


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## Boris (Jan 19, 2022)

AndyA said:


> Cabers, we have achieved immorality.



That may be true for some (vincev comes to mind), but I'm sure there are plenty of other members that hold themselves to a higher standard.


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## J-wagon (Jan 19, 2022)

AndyA said:


> Another possible help is non-profit bike exchanges. They repair bikes for sale at reasonable prices or donate them. Have any of you Cabers ever volunteered at such an organization?



I'm a one man operation. Free repairs, donate, sell to cover material expenses. Many mass distributer Walmart Amazon etc bikes. Owners just don't know where to begin, don't have bike tools, or only ride few times per year. Except kids bike, always have signs of good use and abuse but they outgrow. Working on these gives me appreciation for CABE bikes. Here some recent bikes fixed free "from rust to riding" and "from bin to bling". 





Recent batch donated to afghan refugees access center


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## Coyote (Jan 19, 2022)

FICHT 150 said:


> Dad bought the Diamond. It wasn’t long and Diamond was out of business. I still have the wrench.



Good call
I was recently looking for an adjustable wrench and came across some new Diamonds.
Thought to myself, didn't they get out of the business?
Sure enough, further research showed that these new "Diamond"s were made in China.
Another case of manufacturers buying up (or not) established quality brand names (yes, you also Schwi**)
and hoping Americans don't realize the difference.


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## Oilit (Jan 19, 2022)

Boris said:


> That may be true for some (vincev comes to mind), but I'm sure there are plenty of other members that hold themselves to a higher standard.



??? I don't get your point. From what I've seen, he keeps the Cheetos bike immaculate!


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

immoral​
im·mor·al | \ (ˌ)i(m)-ˈmȯr-əl  , -ˈmär- \
Definition of _immoral_​
*: *not moral broadly *: *conflicting with generally or traditionally held moral principles.

Some of us have bikes that will be immortal as long as the next owner takes Good care of them & doesn't destroy them. Unless the apocalypse then eventually they too will rust away long after we do .... Who'd wanna live forever anyways 🤷🏻‍♂️


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## fattyre (Jan 19, 2022)

AndyA said:


> Have any of you Cabers ever volunteered at such an organization?



I have.  Working Bikes Cooperative in Chicago.  Many years ago now.
I’ll also agree that many of these cheap bikes are total junk even in the hands on an experienced wrench.   But I also think that every one should get the chance to ride a bike, no matter what it is or where your starting.   I was doing that a few nights a week after working a full time job and was young and single.   About a year later I got  a different job moved out of the city.  It was really inconvenient getting there and difficult to find the time to keep volunteering as I started “adulting”.  I really did enjoy cobbling bikes back to life and seeing the opportunities we provided people that made a positive change in their life.  Even if they did ride right to the crack house lol.


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## AndyA (Jan 19, 2022)

Boris said:


> That may be true for some (vincev comes to mind), but I'm sure there are plenty of other members that hold themselves to a higher standard.



Immortality. Immorality. What difference does one little letter make?. Dang auto correct!


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

AndyA said:


> Immortality. Immorality. What difference does one little letter make?. Dang auto correct!



Quite a bit you immoral heathen 😜🍻🤣🤣🤣


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## blackhawknj (Jan 19, 2022)

A big change from say 40 years ago when "department store" bikes were either US or say Taiwan made.
I steer new bicyclists to Craigslist, here in Mercer County, NJ there is the Trenton Bike Exchange/


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## ozzie (Jan 19, 2022)

Fritz Katzenjammer said:


> to further comments made on future restoration of products currently made with plastics. The photo below is of a 50s Sunbeam shaver. It sat unused in my parent's home from some time in the sixties until I discovered it in he late nineties. Interestingly, all off the plastics used to make the body of the shaver have disintegrated leaving only dust, the glass fibre reinforcement which used to be in the plastic and the metal components of the shaver.
> 
> As I was heavily involved in the engineering of plastic bearing components for the automotive industry when I found this I was able to review it with polymer engineering team at DuPont's Detroit office, kind of the mother ship for all things plastic. Their comment was sort of a "yeah, it'll do that sometimes"... we all thought it was funny as hell actually.
> 
> ...



A few years ago I came across a cyclist who rode into the back of a car with his carbon fibre road bike. The frame exploded on impact!


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 19, 2022)

ozzie said:


> A few years ago I came across a cyclist who rode into the back of a car with his carbon fibre road bike. The frame exploded on impact!



If you road my Dutch bike into the back of the car you would likely wreck the car.

the bike might need its front wheel trued up a bit.


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

Fritz Katzenjammer said:


> If you road my Dutch bike into the back of the car you would likely wreck the car.
> 
> the bike might need its front wheel trued up a bit.



Yeah I have 1 those I haven't sold or figured out if I wanna project it into a BTR

28" stainless steel Van Schothorst wheels aka Rigida sooo they may ding a little. 🤣 

It's definitely not carbon nor plastic where it Really Counts


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## PCHiggin (Jan 19, 2022)

Crummy or cheapo bikes trom dept. stores are nothing new,just made offshore these days. My 1st 2 bikes, one hand me down, one bought new were American Made in the early-late 60’s and were of poorer quality than anything I know of from wal mart lately. They’re  prized today because they’re  cool looking and scarce. No secret to me why they’re scarce. I’d love to have a copy of my 1st new bike but I wouldnt let my grandchildren near it,they might get hurt….


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

All Boys bikes are Dangerous .... Ever slip off a seat & have your twig n hairy berries hit the top tube.
If there are any women here that has ever done the same thing on a boys bike realistically I bet it hurt too.
No different than hitting your tail bone & that 🤬stupid funny bone that someone ironically named.

I Honestly wanna see some of you take a modem day $89-150 tops Walmart bike & show us jus' hard you were on them as kids Nooo goin' through it jus' ALL Out ride the piss outta it; 1 of 2 things I bet

#1 being you won't because you're full of 💩

#2 you're too unsure if you'd survive 🦾💪🏻wise if it did jus' break etc like sooo many claim here. I think so many have jus' became bike "snobs"


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## PapaPengin (Jan 19, 2022)

Superman1984 said:


> All Boys bikes are Dangerous .... Ever slip off a seat & have your twig n hairy berries hit the top tube.
> If there are any women here that has ever done the same thing on a boys bike realistically I bet it hurt too.
> No different than hitting your tail bone & that 🤬stupid funny bone that someone ironically named.
> 
> ...



I'd try, but I also weigh twice what I did as a teenager...lol.  And, I don't heal nearly as quickly as I did 40 years ago.


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

PapaPengin said:


> I'd try, but I also weigh twice what I did as a teenager...lol.  And, I don't heal nearly as quickly as I did 40 years ago.



Hey at least you admit it my man💪🏻🍻

I say that because now that proves 2 things; You're heavier for better or worse on the bike & common sense has come a long ways with age/accidents.

I say that because as kids some of us didn't give a 2nd thought to "should I be doing this" with our bikes. No what ifs; we jus' went for it or watched it unfold.
Taiwan stuff may not always be pretty welded, may rust so easily etc but fact is those bikes handle a lot more than some credit or would physically Man Up to put'em through.

Now on the other side of spectrum as The World Turns So Do The Days of Our Lives 🤣🤣🤣


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## J-wagon (Jan 19, 2022)

Several YouTube videos on Walmart vs expensive mtb test. Here's one of many:


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

J-wagon said:


> Several YouTube videos on Walmart vs expensive mtb test. Here's one of many:



Previous statement a little redacted in Fairness.


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## Fritz Katzenjammer (Jan 19, 2022)

Superman1984 said:


> All Boys bikes are Dangerous .... Ever slip off a seat & have your twig n hairy berries hit the top tube.



Top bars are bad enough, my first bike was a typical highrise banana-seated early seventies thing.

it had the dreaded Shimano 3 speed “shick shift” on the top bar, i came off it once or twice and landed the family jewels on that damn thing. These days Shimano ( and Sturmey Archer) would have their asses sued off for putting something like that on the market.


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

Fritz Katzenjammer said:


> Top bars are bad enough, my first bike was a typical highrise banana-seated early seventies thing.
> 
> it had the dreaded Shimano 3 speed “shick shift” on the top bar, i came off it once or twice and landed the family jewels on that damn thing. These days Shimano ( and Sturmey Archer) would have their asses sued off for putting something like that on the market.



Old school 70s or early 80s Huffy light weight (like 2 finger light)bmx bike taught me the 1st lesson by 13. I was bunny hopping around at the top of some concrete stairs, doin' standin' wheelies as I called them & low n behold as I'm Einstein the back tire rolls over the step edge🤦🏻‍♂️🙄😒Crunch❗
I'm sure I 🥲 some.

2nd best was a little 24" tired grandpa style bike we were ramping the hell out of over Everything we could Up to Next; Needless to say when you start jumping 70s ford cars 🙄😒 5/16" axles aren't ideal, 3rd time in the bent axle broke, taco's the wheel as I slide forward, Crunch❗& this Superman end overs with the heap following.

Could I still do that stuff?
Ohhh yeah most likely, would I be hesitant as all get out Now days ? Definitely❗
Nooo I wouldn't have Done Any Aluminum framed bikes that way then nor Now


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## Andrew Gorman (Jan 19, 2022)

I volunteered at a bike co-op decades ago and learned a LOT about how bikes worked, how to fix them, then how to fix them right and finally how to fix them right and fast.  Really an excellent experience! If you really want to learn how to spin a bike wrench, work at one.  I keep thinking I should do it again at the co-op a mile away but work, family and entirely too many bike parts and projects (because an assembled bike takes up too much space) are dis-incentives.  And I have no idea how index shifters work... But they can't be harder than a positron FFS, can they? But I do run a Home for Wayward Raleighs.  I take the poor souls in, fix them up and sell them cheap just to keep the on the road.


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

Andrew Gorman said:


> I volunteered at a bike co-op decades ago and learned a LOT about how bikes worked, how to fix them, then how to fix them right and finally how to fix them right and fast.  Really an excellent experience! If you really want to learn how to spin a bike wrench, work at one.  I keep thinking I should do it again at the co-op a mile away but work, family and entirely too many bike parts and projects (because an assembled bike takes up too much space) are dis-incentives.  And I have no idea how index shifters work... But they can't be harder than a positron FFS, can they? But I do run a Home for Wayward Raleighs.  I take the poor souls in, fix them up and sell them cheap just to keep the on the road.



No idea on a positron? 
I hated Raleigh's the 1st I found with uncaged loose bearings 🤦🏻‍♂️turned me off to having interests in fiddling with them as a whole bike.  I had ideas of doing something cool with a beat down $10 pick up but it didn't wanna come apart so it got cut apart into maybe parts


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## Andrew Gorman (Jan 19, 2022)

There's nothing like the sound of a dried out loose ball headset hitting the floor! As to not wanting to deal with them after that, admittedly being unkind, that just sounds like laziness or a lack of curiosity. Minds only work when they are open after all, like parachutes.


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## Andrew Gorman (Jan 19, 2022)

Andrew Gorman said:


> There's nothing like the sound of a dried out loose ball headset hitting the floor! Accept a challenge!


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## Superman1984 (Jan 19, 2022)

Andrew Gorman said:


> There's nothing like the sound of a dried out loose ball headset hitting the floor!



Unbeknownst to me that is exactly what happens & they ran like insects all over the place escaping❗

I used that excuse to say 🤬It as I wasn't chasing them with a magnet stick nor trying to figure the size to convert to caged or sealed & packing them back in. I don't think it would have been as cool as I hoped & still it's a light weight Raleigh 🤷🏻‍♂️🤣🤣🤣


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## SirMike1983 (Jan 20, 2022)

I use a small magnet to pull the bearings out. If the magnet is reasonably strong, the bearing balls will stick to the magnet rather than fall out. I learned this after dropping some. Worst case, replace them all with new bearing balls. I've had a large tray of assorted bearing ball sizes that has lasted me several years.

My wife has gone through various permutations of bicycles trying to find one she likes. She had a Schwinn two speed (Typhoon maybe?) a number of years ago. Well-made bike, but she said it was too heavy. So we bought her a mid-range Target "CoCo" bike. It was not as badly made as I thought it would be. It came in a big box from the website and I assembled it in our apartment at that time. It was not what I would call "well made" but it wasn't a deathtrap either. She eventually found that one didn't fit her as well as she thought, so I sized her and built-up a 1946 Hercules 3-speed for her. She rode that more than the others but again complained it was too heavy. She eventually bought a KHS road bike and that's the one she has now. She hasn't ridden it in four years though. 

The Target CoCo I would say was of "passable" quality, but it certainly was a notch down from the workmanship on the Schwinn, Hercules, or KHS.


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## PCHiggin (Jan 20, 2022)

Fritz Katzenjammer said:


> Top bars are bad enough, my first bike was a typical highrise banana-seated early seventies thing.
> 
> it had the dreaded Shimano 3 speed “shick shift” on the top bar, i came off it once or twice and landed the family jewels on that damn thing. These days Shimano ( and Sturmey Archer) would have their asses sued off for putting something like that on the market.



I was referring to the quality, mine fell apart beneath me.


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## PCHiggin (Jan 20, 2022)

Superman1984 said:


> All Boys bikes are Dangerous .... Ever slip off a seat & have your twig n hairy berries hit the top tube.
> If there are any women here that has ever done the same thing on a boys bike realistically I bet it hurt too.
> No different than hitting your tail bone & that 🤬stupid funny bone that someone ironically named.
> 
> ...



I was referring to the low quality,mine fell apart beneath me


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## J-wagon (Jan 22, 2022)

Dipped into my stash of curbside Walmart bikes. Will use kids 40t sprocket for 1936 Silverking mtb klunker build. Ultimately will gut down to bare frame, give to metal recyclers. Keep some  parts for later. Like chains, seatpost clamps compatible with adult bikes.


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## Superman1984 (Jan 22, 2022)

J-wagon said:


> Dipped into my stash of curbside Walmart bikes. Will use kids 40t sprocket for 1936 Silverking mtb klunker build. Ultimately will gut down to bare frame, give to metal recyclers. Keep some  parts for later. Like chains, seatpost clamps compatible with adult bikes.
> 
> View attachment 1554200
> 
> ...



My headset cups for my Schwinn Modern day Heavy Duty came from somethin' similar; Next BMX in 16-20".

Nice to have spare parts on hand sometimes 😉


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## J-wagon (Jan 22, 2022)

Superman1984 said:


> Nice to have spare parts on hand sometimes 😉



Word. Especially for build a bike. The other day I needed a fork crown race 36.5 mm for the silverking build. Found it. My jar of Walmart saved me alot of time.


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## Superman1984 (Jan 22, 2022)

J-wagon said:


> Word. Especially for build a bike. The other day I needed a fork crown race 36.5 mm for the silverking build. Found it. My jar of Walmart saved me alot of time.
> View attachment 1554203



I have started that same principle; snag cups, crown races, bearings etc down to bare frames. I'd suggest before you recycle the frames save a few BBs & the cups.

Never KNOW there might be that 1 steel frame you wanna save but BB is damaged & you're throwing out a handful of replacements in about 68mm flavor. Don't go full stupid but 3 or 5 store easy enough 😎


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