Comments on: Retailer VS. Shop Bikes

By: Grant Marshall

Grant Marshall — Mon, 21 May 2007 13:48:27 +0000

I Agree with all the comments above. I am 13 and have been mountain biking for 4 years now. I started with an ’05 Specialized Hardrock then moved up to a ’07 Specialized Rockhopper Disk. I wanted to see department store bikes off-road, so i bought one and went to wakefield Park in Springfield, Virginia. in 30 minutes, I dented the frame and rim, broke the brake and poped both tires. I live near a bike shop and becaue I spend 3/4 of my summer there, wheneveri come in, they say “Hi Grant” and help me with any problebs i may have.

By: Speed

Speed — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 23:06:03 +0000

My son claimed he could not afford a $500 bicycle, working part time and going to community college. I pointed out to him hat he spent more than that on the stereo system in his car. I also showed him that he spent enough money on take-out food, computer upgrades, and gasoline to buy a new bike about every three months. What it comes down to is that people consider bicycles “toys” in their minds. If you can re-frame that thinking into buying a tool that can be used for the rest of your life, you may be able to find a way to spend the money. My “poor” son pays a gym membership each month so that he can get enough exercise. Just that money would pay for a $600 bicycle in a year, and he then wouldn’t ever again need to pay someone to get enough exercise…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 23:29:23 +0000

well, 200-400 dollars for a new bike is still a lot of money to a lot of people, and they can’t afford to shell that out all at one time. it was all I could do to pay what I did for my used 80s univega (sold by my local shop). I love it, though!

By: HH

HH — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 21:37:12 +0000

I worked with a bike shop owner recently. He tells me that, sometimes, he doesn’t mind too much of the big-box retailers selling bikes because he knows soon enough people will come to his shop for tune ups for repairs. Some of the repairs run equal or more than the bike itself! It’s interesting that people would pay so much for repairs when they should have just bought a new quality bike.

By: charinko

charinko — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:34:36 +0000

Wally bike often has a small sticker says “do not use off road” Just like RL said, they looks cool to average comsumer. I have 10years old Giant ATB, it might be a bit heavy and not so cool compare to newer MTB. But this old horse still serves me very well and, I must say, I am attached to it

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 13:15:23 +0000

Several years ago when my wife and I first started getting into cycling we went with another couple for our first experience mountain biking. We dug out our old Huffy bikes from college we thought were considered mountain bikes. Our freinds rode us into the ground as our bikes were not fit properly to our tall frames, they didn’t shift well and we pretty much tore them up in one 10 mile ride. We were hooked on biking so we went to the local bike shop and dropped $800 for two entry level Trek mountain bikes. I weigh 240lbs and have beaten the tar out of my bike over the last 4 years and have had nothing but normal maintenance issues. We’ve had way more fun with those bikes for the amount spent than any other purchase.

By: Moe

Moe — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 16:57:13 +0000

Indeed, my buddy’s bike only lasted 3 off-road trips. The rims and derailleurs were not able to handle the terrain.

By: RL Policar

RL Policar — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 14:26:33 +0000

I think what draws people’s attention to these Wally World bikes are the flashy paint, weird frame and dual suspension.
To the average consumer, they see that and say, “looks just like the ones in the bike shop and its cheaper!”

I remember a while ago, Moe had a co-worker that would ride with us on a Wally World bike. Sure enough, that thing would break down so often that it wasn’t even funny.

By: JohnW

JohnW — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 21:45:18 +0000

One more point about service is that most bike shops include at least one tune up after purchase. Every bike has a break in period and needs adjustments after being ridden for a month or two. Getting a free tune up/adjustment is a big savings. And many shops include free basic adjustments for a year or even more.