Dammit I hate Walmart.

[iamwhatiseem]

We are 57 and 58 now.
Wanting to add riding bicycles to our exercise habits.. I want to buy a couple of reasonable bicycles to ride around neighborhoods for some exercise.
30 years ago, I can think of 4 mom and pop bike shops I knew that existed. On top of probably another 3 or 4 retail stores that sold them also.
They are all gone.
Now it is Walmart, Dicks sporting and 2 high end specialty bike shops. No one else sells bikes.
Forget the 2 high end local shops. I am not paying $1000 for a bicycle, and that is the cheap option.
Walmart bikes have a well earned notoriously bad reputation for literally having parts fall apart in as little as a few weeks.
The biggest problem is WalMart (same as Dicks and other large retailers) require their bulk purchased bikes to be nearly completely assembled. Then low paid, part time workers at Walmart finish the assembly. And check nothing.
There are 1000s of complaints against WalMart bikes. Many problems that were serious safety defects.

I am looking at bike shops 80 miles away even trying to find a reasonable bike that isn't assembled by morons.
About to give up.

 

[AyeCantSeeYou]

Have you tried amazon?

 

[Gabe Lackmann]

Do you know any black people?

They can usually find you a bike in about an hour.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Have you tried amazon?

I am pretty mechanically inclined, but I know exactly nothing about assembling bicycles properly.
I haven't worked on a bike since probably 1980. And all the bikes I had were pedal brakes.

 

[AyeCantSeeYou]

Amazon delivers them at about 85% assembled.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Amazon delivers them at about 85% assembled.

Hmm... reading about this now.
The general consensus so far does indicate that the quality is less than a bike shop, but better than Walmart as Amazon uses assemblers that are full time and trained.
Hmmm

 

[Ralph Norton]

We are 57 and 58 now.
Wanting to add riding bicycles to our exercise habits.. I want to buy a couple of reasonable bicycles to ride around neighborhoods for some exercise.
30 years ago, I can think of 4 mom and pop bike shops I knew that existed. On top of probably another 3 or 4 retail stores that sold them also.
They are all gone.
Now it is Walmart, Dicks sporting and 2 high end specialty bike shops. No one else sells bikes.
Forget the 2 high end local shops. I am not paying $1000 for a bicycle, and that is the cheap option.
Walmart bikes have a well earned notoriously bad reputation for literally having parts fall apart in as little as a few weeks.
The biggest problem is WalMart (same as Dicks and other large retailers) require their bulk purchased bikes to be nearly completely assembled. Then low paid, part time workers at Walmart finish the assembly. And check nothing.
There are 1000s of complaints against WalMart bikes. Many problems that were serious safety defects.

I am looking at bike shops 80 miles away even trying to find a reasonable bike that isn't assembled by morons.
About to give up.

What is your price range? I am about your age and ordered my mountain bike (@ $500) from a local bike shop using their their web site. It was delivered to, and assembled by, them.

 

[task0778]

Amazon delivers them at about 85% assembled.

And most sporting goods store sell them too. Target. Lowes. Toy stores.

 

[1srelluc]

There's 51K listings for bicycles on eBay.....Just sayin'.

I wanted a late 60s era Schwinn 3-speed Cruiser to use back when I had a place on the Outer Banks (Hatteras Village) and I found exactly what I wanted on eBay at a reasonable price.

Sadly it got washed away with the house......I even rented a skiff so I could out out into the Sound at low tide trying to recover it.....The house ended-up about 600 yards into the Sound.

 

[Disir]

I don't know if you will find this helpful but there is an app called Thumbtack. It's a way to locate people that can do things locally. For example, someone might order something that requires assembly and you can find someone to assemble said item. I love this app.

 

[whitehall]

Walmart sells stuff you need at a reasonable price. What more can you ask? Don't buy a used car at Walmart and don't buy a cheap bicycle that you intend to use as a touring or off road bike.

 

[Concerned American]

We are 57 and 58 now.
Wanting to add riding bicycles to our exercise habits.. I want to buy a couple of reasonable bicycles to ride around neighborhoods for some exercise.
30 years ago, I can think of 4 mom and pop bike shops I knew that existed. On top of probably another 3 or 4 retail stores that sold them also.
They are all gone.
Now it is Walmart, Dicks sporting and 2 high end specialty bike shops. No one else sells bikes.
Forget the 2 high end local shops. I am not paying $1000 for a bicycle, and that is the cheap option.
Walmart bikes have a well earned notoriously bad reputation for literally having parts fall apart in as little as a few weeks.
The biggest problem is WalMart (same as Dicks and other large retailers) require their bulk purchased bikes to be nearly completely assembled. Then low paid, part time workers at Walmart finish the assembly. And check nothing.
There are 1000s of complaints against WalMart bikes. Many problems that were serious safety defects.

I am looking at bike shops 80 miles away even trying to find a reasonable bike that isn't assembled by morons.
About to give up.

Costco usually has some pretty nice, fairly priced bicycles at this time of year. Check out some second hand stores, sometimes they have some good deals.

 

[Winston]

We are 57 and 58 now.
Wanting to add riding bicycles to our exercise habits.. I want to buy a couple of reasonable bicycles to ride around neighborhoods for some exercise.
30 years ago, I can think of 4 mom and pop bike shops I knew that existed. On top of probably another 3 or 4 retail stores that sold them also.
They are all gone.
Now it is Walmart, Dicks sporting and 2 high end specialty bike shops. No one else sells bikes.
Forget the 2 high end local shops. I am not paying $1000 for a bicycle, and that is the cheap option.
Walmart bikes have a well earned notoriously bad reputation for literally having parts fall apart in as little as a few weeks.
The biggest problem is WalMart (same as Dicks and other large retailers) require their bulk purchased bikes to be nearly completely assembled. Then low paid, part time workers at Walmart finish the assembly. And check nothing.
There are 1000s of complaints against WalMart bikes. Many problems that were serious safety defects.

I am looking at bike shops 80 miles away even trying to find a reasonable bike that isn't assembled by morons.
About to give up.

Seems your primary concern with buying a bike at Walmart is assembly. The solution is simple. There are at least half a dozen Supercenters within an hour of my house. The one that is second closest has an older man that assembles all the bikes. He has his own work area, pretty much sets his hours, protects his tools, and does meticulous work. I bought all three of my son's bikes for college there.

So start with the closest one. Visit on a weekday morning and just ask to speak to the person that assembles the bikes. If they don't have a dedicated person, move to the next store. But if they do, honestly, not a bad gig in a 95 million plus a year store. No dealing with customers, not much dealing with management. Just staying in your little area with your store provided tools and putting bikes together. Great for someone semi-retired.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

We are 57 and 58 now.
Wanting to add riding bicycles to our exercise habits.. I want to buy a couple of reasonable bicycles to ride around neighborhoods for some exercise.
30 years ago, I can think of 4 mom and pop bike shops I knew that existed. On top of probably another 3 or 4 retail stores that sold them also.
They are all gone.
Now it is Walmart, Dicks sporting and 2 high end specialty bike shops. No one else sells bikes.
Forget the 2 high end local shops. I am not paying $1000 for a bicycle, and that is the cheap option.
Walmart bikes have a well earned notoriously bad reputation for literally having parts fall apart in as little as a few weeks.
The biggest problem is WalMart (same as Dicks and other large retailers) require their bulk purchased bikes to be nearly completely assembled. Then low paid, part time workers at Walmart finish the assembly. And check nothing.
There are 1000s of complaints against WalMart bikes. Many problems that were serious safety defects.

I am looking at bike shops 80 miles away even trying to find a reasonable bike that isn't assembled by morons.
About to give up.

You can make a WallyWorld bike run okay but they do lack quality components,especially when it comes to brakes.
The brake calipers are far too flimsy to ever work properly so your brakes feel mushy. I used to work in bike shops years back and the quality of the bikes from a name brand bike is vastly superior to WallyWorld bikes. One of the things to look for is the frame material,if the rear stays,where the wheel is bolted to the frame,is smashed flat the frame is cheap steel. A good quality frame will be round at the stays and welded in place.
Me and my buddy Harry used to go around Houston to all of the WallyWorlds,Targets and other box stores and assemble the bikes. We got paid $5 bucks a bike,while we did a far better job than the store employees we still had to take into account how many we could put together in an hour. We averaged three an hour each so it wasnt bad money back in those days.
You can still buy a bike for $500 or less from a bike shop. My low end is around $1K and my high end was around $5K.
What type of bikes are you looking for? I would assume upright bikes like a city bike or a tame mountain bike.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

Walmart sells stuff you need at a reasonable price. What more can you ask? Don't buy a used car at Walmart and don't buy a cheap bicycle that you intend to use as a touring or off road bike.

Wal-Mart is now selling used cars?

God bless you always!!!

Holly

P.S. If bikes are becoming scarce, I am not surprised considering how high the gas prices are continuing to be.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Check on Marketplace, OfferUp, thrift stores and garage sales. Yes they're used, but often you can find a good bike. Also look around for a bike repair shop, that can do any repairs or you can get parts from. They sometimes have bikes for sale as well

 

[fncceo]

I am not paying $1000 for a bicycle

I paid a lot more for mine. While I will admit that bicycles, in general, are over-priced considering the technology they represent but, you do get what you pay for...

 

[deannalw]

We are 57 and 58 now.
Wanting to add riding bicycles to our exercise habits.. I want to buy a couple of reasonable bicycles to ride around neighborhoods for some exercise.
30 years ago, I can think of 4 mom and pop bike shops I knew that existed. On top of probably another 3 or 4 retail stores that sold them also.
They are all gone.
Now it is Walmart, Dicks sporting and 2 high end specialty bike shops. No one else sells bikes.
Forget the 2 high end local shops. I am not paying $1000 for a bicycle, and that is the cheap option.
Walmart bikes have a well earned notoriously bad reputation for literally having parts fall apart in as little as a few weeks.
The biggest problem is WalMart (same as Dicks and other large retailers) require their bulk purchased bikes to be nearly completely assembled. Then low paid, part time workers at Walmart finish the assembly. And check nothing.
There are 1000s of complaints against WalMart bikes. Many problems that were serious safety defects.

I am looking at bike shops 80 miles away even trying to find a reasonable bike that isn't assembled by morons.
About to give up.

I'm not sure what it is... but every bike I ever rode tried to murder me.

I've been driving 45 years and never so much as scratched a vehicle.

Some years ago, James wanted to ride bikes with me for exercise and something to do together. I guess he didn't believe me when I explained how bikes want me dead and I wasn't ready to die.

So joy upon joys, he bought me a bike and I glared at it balefully and with many misgivings. But I'm a sport, and we decided to ride to the lake and back. We hadn't gone a mile before the bike gave a mighty lurch and we both landed in some landscaping bushes. The bike had less damage than I did, but I was ok, so it tried again. This time the chain ate my pantsleg, the neighborhood wolf threatened to bite my face off and the asphalt ate some of my knee skin.

I called one of our sons to pick us up and gave the bike to my daughter.

 

[deannalw]

Hmm... reading about this now.
The general consensus so far does indicate that the quality is less than a bike shop, but better than Walmart as Amazon uses assemblers that are full time and trained.
Hmmm

If James buys me another, you can have it. It will be like it's never been ridden before

 

[task0778]

I'm not sure what it is... but every bike I ever rode tried to murder me.

I've been driving 45 years and never so much as scratched a vehicle.

Some years ago, James wanted to ride bikes with me for exercise and something to do together. I guess he didn't believe me when I explained how bikes want me dead and I wasn't ready to die.

So joy upon joys, he bought me a bike and I glared at it balefully and with many misgivings. But I'm a sport, and we decided to ride to the lake and back. We hadn't gone a mile before the bike gave a mighty lurch and we both landed in some landscaping bushes. The bike had less damage than I did, but I was ok, so it tried again. This time the chain ate my pantsleg, the neighborhood wolf threatened to bite my face off and the asphalt ate some of my knee skin.

I called one of our sons to pick us up and gave the bike to my daughter.

Hey deannalw:

Hint: put a hairband or something to keep your pantlegs from getting caught in the chain.