All you need to know about Walmart Bikes

[Painkiller]

Just a little story about a guy who bought a Schwinn from Walmart. He bought the Schwinn because they have been around forever and he knew they were quality. ( it even says so on the head badge )
As American as apple pie.
He called me up says he would like an overall safety inspection, tune-up, and a child carrier installed. I am one of those guys that advertise and include " no dept. store bikes". Not to be mean or an ass but in this sue happy world if I am the last one to touch it and they get hurt because of a failure, i would be the first one named in the lawsuit, and so as a rule i just do not get involved.
Beauty is only skin deep ! in the following pictures you see a beauty of a bike, you will see cables strung like a tennis racket, you will see an 8speed shifter, you will see a rear cluster that has 7 cogs and one cog that was never even there from day one, you will see cable slack so bad because the v-brake springs are that junk. and thats just the quick visual inspection. this was one of walmarts more expensive models. and put a child carrier on it ? really?
Now I really do not care about how long this bike was owned, it has only been touched by walmart people and whom ever shipped to them. I think walmart owes him a replacement bicycle. what do you guys think?
I heard somewhere that bicycle assemblers at walmart are expected to assemble 30 or so bicycles a day, now I know how they do it. Everytime I find it in my heart to help someone with a dept. store bike it is about the same thing.No thanks, they should be outlawed or held to some standard any standard.

[FredS]

That not only looks bad on Walmart but also on Schwinn. What ever happened to the quality check before they box and ship the bikes. If they just got it yes they should take it back for a refund and put it to a quality bike.

[Painkiller]

(05-02-2013, 07:54 PM)FredS Wrote:  That not only looks bad on Walmart but also on Schwinn. What ever happened to the quality check before they box and ship the bikes. If they just got it yes they should take it back for a refund and put it to a quality bike.

Crazy is it not, I used to sell Mongoose back in the early 90's and when they made the move to sell fake gooses at Walmart it was a death sentence for Mongoose in the shop. The general public does not know the difference only the price. I do not even look for gooses for resale because of the stigma or schwinn.
The sad part is the guy who bought did not know anymore about bikes than the person who assembled it. he has been riding this bike for six years before he could not take it anymore and wanted a professional to look at it. ( but he picked me anyway ) . I may have refused to repair it however, I told him I will do what I can to help him get a replacement and will post the outcome. we shall see

[FredS]

[undefined=undefined] and wanted a professional to look at it. ( but he picked me anyway ) Smile

WHAT, your not a Professional!!! I think he when to the person he thought to be that best to work on his bike.

As the old saying goes "You get what you pay for".

[nfmisso]

Unfortunately, Schwinn and a number of other formally good companies went bankrupt, and their brand names were picked up by an importer who doesn't care. Raleigh is another of those brands in the same situation.

[Painkiller]

Update on the guys bike, It seems he did not want to pursue gratification from Walmart about the fine specimen he purchased at an out of town store. so with the end result I hooked him up with a new set of brakes front and rear, a sunrace freewheel chrome that I must say Thanks to Nigel, It is a very nice freewheel and shifts well for a $25 price, a new seatpost,and cable/housing. One other problem the bike had from day one I caught once given the go ahead was the proper stem spacer stack was not high enough and the headset was never ever even tight. I installed the child seat, took care of the problems and around $120 bucks later he now has a bike that is safe. he said it does not even feel like the same bike ! I think I have a customer for life but more important a new friend.

[nfmisso]

(05-21-2013, 10:04 PM)painkiller Wrote:  ........ he now has a bike that is safe. he said it does not even feel like the same bike ! I think I have a customer for life but more important a new friend.

[car5car]

I bought Chinese bike "Roadmaster" from Walmart about 7 years ago for $40 and still ride it.
If you buy one, grease and adjust everything before riding.
That is it!
I replaced pedals, paid about $10 and gear switches $6.
As far as I know any bike has to be taken apart and greased once a year.
I am pretty happy with my bike, rides good!

[CharleyFarley]

(05-02-2013, 07:32 PM)painkiller Wrote:  Just a little story about a guy who bought a Schwinn from Walmart. He bought the Schwinn because they have been around forever and he knew they were quality. ( it even says so on the head badge )
As American as apple pie.

Two years ago I bought a Schwinn, online, from a dealer on Amazon. The reviews were great, but I know not to judge anything by the reviews. I also knew that I would have to do some work on it, despite it being brand new. $199 isn't going to buy much quality.

Out of the box it looked good but the tires were something from hell. I tried to inflate the tires, anyway, but they wouldn't take it. The tubes were skinny things made for skinny tires, and trying to make them expand to three times their size, tore them open. Patching wouldn't work because of whatever the tubes were made from. They had a gritty feel to them. So out they went, along with the tires, and I bought all new from the LBS.

Apart from that, the bike rode well, but I still did a bit of upgrading. I added fenders, swapped the cup and cone BB for a cartridge, and swapped the twist shifters for levers. It had a triple chain ring but the largest ring had three consecutive teeth that were just nubs, and the chain crunched each time it went over them. I replaced the Schwinn crankset with Shimano and dumped the Schwinn. Had to true the front wheel, too. Replaced the rim brakes with the replaceable pad type, changed the handlebars for something more swept back (I don't like straight bars), changed the freewheel, and a better chain.

Since then I've put 3,600 miles on it without a problem. It's actually a very good bike, but for a homeowner with no mechanical experience, and who was expecting to just get on and ride it, it would be a disaster, totally unrideable. At least Walmart's bikes are rideable, even if they will require some mechanical attention soon.

The amount of money I spent on it might have bought a better quality bike from a LBS, but I bought three from a bike shop, over a 2-year period. Five botched mechanical jobs later, I no longer deal with that business, and now do all my own wrenching.

So, a warning about reviews. If most of them are bright and sparkling, they're posted by shills.

[Painkiller]

Very nice Charley

[bikeracer]

That's corporate American mentality. Quality is not even considered in the equation.