Quote Originally Posted by Veronica View Post
Walmart is evil! They are a big part of why there is so little manufacturing in this country anymore. To keep their prices low they force companies to lower their manufacturing costs, hence moving the manufacturing out of the states.

V.
Veronica, I won't shop at Walmart either. I never have and I never will.

I live outside a small town. Thank goodness the Walmart store is in the county seat, about 14 miles away. My little town has a small LBS, and the owner is truly amazing. I get exceptional service from him and I will always buy my bikes directly from him.

I've been in the LBS on numerous occassions over the past year when someone has come in with a Walmart bike. They ask the owner if he will fix it. They always say something like, I just bought the bike, I rode it for a few miles and the chain broke, or the gear shifters broke (or something on it broke.) Every time, the store owner tells the person that sorry, he is unable to fix their bike. He doesn't explain to the person why, he just refuses. They exit the store. The shop owner explained to me the first time I witnessed this situation that he refuses to have Made in China Walmart bikes in his shop, that he won't condone or enable the ownership of such bikes, and that the liability factor for even touching such a bike for repair is huge. He said most bike shops won't accept Walmart bikes for repair either, that it is not just him.

I think my LBS is the greatest!

Darcy