Walmart Goes Carbon

[Starfish]

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.

Kind of too bad he won't explain why? He could do some educating.

[Zen]

I thought you meant you were going to rev up the Huffy. hey, nothing wrong with a Huffy, its still a bike. I've owned two in my lifetime.And at least he's still riding.

$58 dollars is an odd price though.

[Zen]

Kind of too bad he won't explain why? He could do some educating.

yeah, and it probably doesn't help with the stereotype of 'bike snobs' either.

[HillSlugger]

I thought you meant you were going to rev up the Huffy. hey, nothing wrong with a Huffy, its still a bike. I've owned two in my lifetime.And at least he's still riding.

$58 dollars is an odd price though.

Walmart has a bike listed for $147.77. Maybe I misheard him.

[KSH]

Trek, I disagree. My LBS said that it is a huge liability issue, and that is why he and other shops won't touch a bike from Walmart. The small shops should not endanger their livelihood and their ability to keep their businesses profitable because of these type of Walmart bikes. If they do a repair, and the Walmart bike breaks down again in a short time, which it will, or the bicyclist is injured or killed, the small shops do not have the funds to pay to defend themselves against the frivolous lawsuits. It is that simple. My LBS is merely a smart and wise businessman.

Darcy

It's a WalMart bike with Shimano 105 on it. So, I'm not really seeing where there would be an issue with working on the derailer, etc. Sure, fixing the framewould be a no-no, but the components are just as nice or nicer than what a lot of us have on our bikes (my Trek 1000 had Tiara and Soroto, my Specialized has Ultegra, but my Cerevelo has 105's.)

And... you know what... my Specialized has "made in Tawain" stamped on it. So I'm not about to get all snooty about a bike that doesn't have "made in the USA" on it.

Honestly though, it's not a good deal the WalMart bike. You can find a full carbon with 105's on it at any LBS for around that price.

[Grog]

It's a WalMart bike with Shimano 105 on it. So, I'm not really seeing where there would be an issue with working on the derailer, etc. Sure, fixing the framewould be a no-no, but the components are just as nice or nicer than what a lot of us have on our bikes (my Trek 1000 had Tiara and Soroto, my Specialized has Ultegra, but my Cerevelo has 105's.)

I think the major problem is not so much that the components are "nice" as how the bike is assembled. High-end parts work well because they are installed properly. I doubt that the staff at Wal-Mart has what it takes in terms of mechanics skills to assemble bikes properly...

And... you know what... my Specialized has "made in Tawain" stamped on it. So I'm not about to get all snooty about a bike that doesn't have "made in the USA" on it.

Taiwan is almost the only place where carbon frames are made. North American factories seldom (if ever) have the equipment to mold them.

I must say that, liability or not, I understand any bike shop's concerns. Last week my sweet partner took his winter bike - a nice Miyata from the 80s, formerly 6-speed turned 8-speed with Durace components - to the bike shop for an overhaul. The poor guys at the shop worked for HOURS on it and could not get the derailer to work quite properly (something we knew from the start would never happen). They felt they had to TRY to make it work. I think the primary impulse in a bike shop mechanics that starts fixing a bike is to do it well. When you start working on a cheap bike, you realize that it's poorly assembled, but by that time it's too late, you've opened the can of worms.... and you feel like you have to do the job.

I agree they should explain why they won't do it, though, but I can be empathic with any shop owner/mechanics who takes the hard decision of saying no to someone's genuine need to get their bike fixed.

[batsheva]

i see the walmart carbon bike is under the 'toys' seection rather than 'sporting goods'....