Another reason NOT to buy a Wal Mart bike..

[Running Mommy]

So lastnight running hubby and I decided to take a field trip to the local Wal Mart to check out what our "big box competition" looks like.
I had about 5 people come by the store looking for bikes yesterday- despite the fact that I'm not even OPEN- and a couple of them mentioned having been to wal mart and target.
So I figured that to be able to counter the wal mart low price point I really needed to KNOW what they had.
HOLY MOLY do they have some poorly built bikes. First of all the wheels looked like they were about as strong as tin cans on the cruisers. And then Tony noticed that some of the brake cables were not installed correctly on some of the mtn bikes with disc brakes. But the kicker was the comfort bike that had it's suspension fork mounted BACKWARDS!!! Yes, completely backwards!!
That just shows you that the people putting those things together have NO CLUE what they are doing.
Tony's mechanic eye also noted some other potential safety issues. It was actually kinda scary. I mean people that don't know better are going to be purchasing these bikes- and often times for their kids- and they are putting themselves/children at risk. Part of me wanted to grab the manager and show him the glaring safety issues, but in the end I just walked out of there totally disgusted.
I already kind of had my spiel down to combat the "but wal mart is 200-300 cheaper", but now I REALLY have it down! And really, they aren't THAT much cheaper! Our low end Jamis mtn bike is only 100.00 more. I think the cruisers are the ones that are much cheaper. They were 89.00, ours are around 300.

But what I explained to the guy yesterday is this.
When you buy a bike from a big box retailer, once it's home- you are on your own. There is no one to take it to there when the cables stretch and it needs adjusting, or you have questions about it, or problems.
When you buy a bike from a bike shop you are not only getting a bike that's mechanically superior, but when you need to come in for adjustments, we take care of you. We offer free adjustments for life when you buy the bike from us. Yes you will have to pay for things such as new chains, or parts that wear out. But when you just need the brakes or derralliuers adjusted, we will take care of it for you. Yes, we will work on the wal mart bikes, but it will cost you. So in the end you may actually end up spending MORE than you would if you had bought from a bike shop.
Also a bike from a bike shop has been assembled by a professional mechanic. Most big box retailers hire people to build their bikes who have no prefessional bike mechanic experience. If they DID they would be working in a bike shop. So there can be big safety issues with the build of these bikes. I used to work for wal mart, and I remember our manager paying a few medical bills for folks who ended up in the emergency room because of the shoddy build on their bikes (yes this is a true story.).
And lastly, you really do get what you pay for price wise. These bikes shift better, are generally much lighter, and will be much more fun to ride. If I put you on a wal mart bike, and then on one of these Felts you would instantly know what I'm talking about.

So yeah, that was my spiel. And the guy agreed. In fact he was ready to buy a Felt Z100.... But I'm not OPEN yet because the landlord didn't do all the things the fire dept. asked him to do! Arrggghhhh!!

[Wahine]

Wow RM. That's a great spiel. And I hope the landlord gets things taken care of soon so you can open and start selling bikes!! Yipppeeeee

[smilingcat]

sounds like you already have eager customers wating in line.

Tis the problem with big box stores. Yes I've seen incorrectly assembled bike. Cheap cheap stammped out components. Like I don't know where they get the people to assemble the bikes. It's scary.

I used to get "Why does your mug cost $10-$20.00 when I can go to Von's (AP, Safeway, Albertson...) and get it for $2.00? you're over priced and out of your mind.". This at craft shows with emphesis on HAND MADE. I had my polite comeback "Its hand made and decorated by me. And each is diffrent". I gave up on pottery years ago. Still have have my "toys" and my supplies 1/2 ton of procelain. Another reason was, "can I get a discount?" sometimes I REALLY wanted to say something like, " Would you take a 50% paycut?"

Sorry for derailing but the best thing is to inform the customer on what they are getting from you versus big box stores.

smilingcat

[7rider]

But the kicker was the comfort bike that had it's suspension fork mounted BACKWARDS!!! Yes, completely backwards!!

Tony's mechanic eye also noted some other potential safety issues. It was actually kinda scary.

Yes, we will work on the wal mart bikes, but it will cost you. So in the end you may actually end up spending MORE than you would if you had bought from a bike shop.

You should take pix (on the sly?) of these shoddy bikes as photographic evidence for folks who come in and say "Why should I buy a $300 bike from you, when I can walk into Wal-mart and get one for $89?" Also, show the difference b/t junk components and plastic bits, vs. the better components of "real" bikes. Better yet, BUY one of them and display it in the shop with a sign on it: "Do you really want to RIDE this bike??? Ask me about it." And tell them point-for-point the difference b/t "their" bike and "your" bike.

Also, can you work on box store bikes? Our LBS recently said "no" because of the liability issues associated with those clunkers. They will sell you the parts, but they're not allowed to touch them.

[Trek420]

You could post some articles on your window while waiting to open ie: why you should wait to buy your bike here rather than Big Box Store

[Fredwina]

I'll agree with Regina - some type of presentation that show the differnce could come in handy

[alpinerabbit]

I second (third) the undercover report plus pictures. Just don't mention names I guess.

[mimitabby]

I wish you luck combatting the walmart shoppers. For christmas at my office we buy gifts for children. Someone bought a kid's bike from walmart. It sat next to my desk for a week and all the bike guys came around and looked at it.
The most disturbing thing about it was that the brakes didn't work. They couldn't. they were mounted crooked so the pads were just floating in air.
Then my neighbor's kid got a walmart bike too. It broke the first day. He brought it over to my husband to fix. What could he do? it was a piece of junk.

I am sure you will carve a nice niche with people that like customer service and want bikes that last for more than a week.

[Wahine]

I am often in the position of trying to encourage people to become more active for their health's sake. One of the things I always tell them is to find something you like to do, if you don't like it there is no way you're going to stick to the program. If you choose an activity, like cycling, get decent equipment. It will make the activity enjoyable and you're more likely to stick to it. If the equipment sucks, you'll quit because using it won't be fun. I also point out that if the better quality equipment doesn't do the trick of getting them to continue with exercise, at least they'll get some money back when they sell it, as opposed to a POS which has no resale value.

[teigyr]

While I think that we all know logically why the LBS is better and why a $200 bike from Wal-Mart isn't as good as a $400-$500 bike from the LBS, many people don't think that way.

I took a friend bike shopping a while ago. He's a heavier person and was told that riding a bike would be good for him because walking (or running) puts a lot of strain on his feet and legs. He had concerns as to whether a bike could handle his weight.

We went around to the local shops and found one that would sell him a bike for $400. They would rebuild the rear wheel to handle additional strain due to weight and that would be around $80. They were willing to swap out some parts that he didn't like and they were going to upgrade some other things. The bike and frame would have a 10 year warranty (I believe), the wheel build would be a lifetime warranty. They would handle all the initial tune-ups, etc., at no cost. The total price was under $500.

He didn't go for it. Instead, he lamented about how "when we were kids, bikes were cheap and we rode them everywhere". He also was put off by the whole array of clothes, gloves, and helmets because "when we were kids, we didn't wear any of that stuff". After all of it and even though he had concerns about a bike being able to handle his weight, he decided he really didn't want to spend that much money even though he had the money and his doctor really urged him to do this.

I went over everything with him, about how the first few months the bike'll go out of adjustment, about how you need someone to help you build it up if you don't know what you're doing, and about how warranty (and lifetime warranty of that wheel build...the warranty included truing) were nothing compared to what he'd pay for by buying a Wal-Mart type bike.

So I guess I'm saying it makes sense to us. We can list it out and from experience, we know what it's like and what to expect. There are people, however, that have the "when I was a kid" mentality and think a bike is just a bike and quality (or lack thereof) is just an excuse to raise the price. I think it's wise to have examples though for those people who are open to discussion. Pictures or a cost comparison might appeal to some.

Shopping with that guy made me want to bang my head on the wall.

[Flybye]

Let me start out by saying that I agree with posts #1-17.

Also, let me add that I have purchased 9 bikes from Wal-Mart for my kids. They have literally ridden these bikes until there is no tread left on the tires. First, I purchased three bikes with training wheels, one for each of my kids, then I purchased three bikes, again one for each kid, that were a size up, and then again, three bikes, one for each kid that were one more step up in size. No problems with assembly, brakes, bike function, etc.

Also, in college, both my DH and I rode Huffy Mountain Bikes EVERYWHERE- including the mountains. I am baffled when I think of the trails that we had these bikes on.

Of those 11 bikes, I only had to make repairs to one of them (other than fixing a flat) and that is because my DH backed over it with the truck. We called the MFG of the bike (Next) and they sent us, completely free, a new wheel and two new tubes for this bike.

Let me state again that I agree with the posts prior to this. However - there's the kicker- not all Wal-Mart bikes are put together wrong, and not all riders need a bike from the LBS.

Now that my kids are older (10 and 11) I will most likely not purchase a Wal-Bike. I think they will be on their next bikes longer because they aren't growing quite as fast as they used to and so I can appreciate spending a little more money on a bike that will be rode for more than 2 summers.

I do think that it would be a great idea as others have mentioned, to take some shots of poorly assembled bikes and have them in a binder for customers to look at.

Oh, and for whatever it is worth, I know the LBS has made a (ahem) mistake or two themselves on an assembled bike in the showroom..................

We have one place to shop here for anything other than groceries - Wal-Mart. (Unless you want ranch and farm supplies) As much as I hate to admit it, they do get a large portion of our monthly wages, along with the rest of the towns wages. Sad, but true.

[SandyLS]

My teenage granddaughter's uncle purchased a Wal-Mart bike for her last summer. The bike's brakes were not installed properly and she crashed into the side of a car in a driveway going down a steep hill as she was on her way to work. Luckily she only ended up with some road rash and bruises. If you must buy a bike from a big box store make sure to look it over or have it looked over by someone who knows about bikes before you ride . Probably good advice where ever you buy a bike!
Hubby and I each own bike shop bikes and enjoy them (Bianchi Veloce for me, EZ Racer Goldrush recumbent for hubby.) But, last year we spent several weeks in Hawaii and bought Wal-Mart mountian bikes to use while we were there. These worked for our needs there mostly because hubby is a pretty good wrench and was able to make adjustments which were needed often. We were very glad to get back on our 'good' bikes when we got home from vacation.

[Mr. Bloom]

RM: I'm hoping I can meet ya'll next time I'm in Phoenix.

I encourage you to stay focused on YOUR value proposition and what YOU offer.

My experience is that when someone gets too empassioned in their criticism of the competition, I get suspicious of them and delay my decision. The trick is 'being right' but not having them think bad about you.

To some, price will be THE issue...they often won't tell you that they can't afford anything better and you don't want them feeling bad about themselves.

[missymaya]

Now, I believe (don't have back up informartion) that there was a lawsuit towards one of the big box stores because a little girl was riding her bike and the quill stem was not properly tightened, it dropped and she went head over the handle bars, cutting her face pretty bad and had to get stiches. Now, this is what I was told by one of the guys I work with at the LBS, I could be wrong and please correct me if so.
Now that it's after January, we've gotten a ton of bikes that need to be fixed and unfortunately, most of them coming from big box stores. It saddens me because these people are buying the bikes and then putting more $$ into them just so they can run.

[Melalvai]

I have purchased 9 bikes from Wal-Mart for my kids...
Now that my kids are older (10 and 11) I will most likely not purchase a Wal-Bike.

I believe Walmart bikes have gotten a lot worse in the past couple years. Walmart in general has deteriorated since Sam died.