Walmart asked not to sell bikes

[hzqw2l]

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.

 

[Fritz Katzenjammer]

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.

 

[Tour De Luxe]

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.

 

[Rusty McNickel]

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?

 

[razinhellcustomz]

But but but where will I get tires and tubes from

WALMAFART!!!

 

[Huguenot]

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.

 

[Coyote]

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

 

[GTs58]

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…

 

[Coyote]

“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......

 

[Fritz Katzenjammer]

• 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!