I wanted to get some opinions of what people think the absolute worst bikes to purchase are. I used to think that mongoose was good but had a distrust of any bike walmart sold but then they started selling mongoose there, mine was ok but kind of heavy. Anyhow I wouldn't buy a huffy.... that's my vote.
Official Crappiest Bike Thread
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pretty much anything sold at a department store is trash. Schwinn and mongoose used to be good but they sold out to walmart of whoever and took a major dive. Go pick up a Next brand full suspension and see if it doesn't feel like a gaint lead piece of trash.
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179 Posts
Unfortunately, it would appear so.
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4 Posts
Sweet, my bike isn't the absolute worst.
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27 Posts
Anything sold at Walmart, ToysRUs, and any other big box store that sells POSs labeled as Mountain Bikes. The irony is that all the crap MTBs they do sell I believe now come with a warning label that says not made for off road use.
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164 Posts
I bought a mongoose mountain bike from wal mart back when I was first getting into cycling, that thing weighed a ton, had the worst shifting I have ever seen, and not a single bolt on it was tightened properly.
And my sister wanted a roadmaster bike from wal mart for her birthday last year, she refused to listen to me when I offered to pay the extra and get her a bike from the local bike shop. I bought it for her eventually and spend the next several days trying to get the damned thing to shift and even brake properly. That thing was not at all safe to ride until I gave the brakes a major overhaul, cables were way too loose, pads were rubbing against the tires and were not at all toed in, and they were not even remotely centered.
And my sister wanted a roadmaster bike from wal mart for her birthday last year, she refused to listen to me when I offered to pay the extra and get her a bike from the local bike shop. I bought it for her eventually and spend the next several days trying to get the damned thing to shift and even brake properly. That thing was not at all safe to ride until I gave the brakes a major overhaul, cables were way too loose, pads were rubbing against the tires and were not at all toed in, and they were not even remotely centered.
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109 Posts
Ross,Royal Enfield,and last but not least,Miyata.these all suck and i'm not even sure they even make any of them anymore!ride on
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793 Posts
OK, folks, you hit me where I live. It's my job to try and make that garbage remotely rideable for the ignorant masses....
Here it is, from the INSIDE:
Huffy, Roadmaster, Murray, Next, Magna, etc -- they're all basically the same, being mass-produced in China. We make dark jokes about the workers not getting their daily bowl of rice if they don't make quota, that's why there are so many issues out of the box.
These nuts can't even source a consistent coaster-brake hub for a training-wheel bike! Last year, Huffy had a 50% failure rate on coaster-brake hubs in our store! You think I could get ANYONE to address the issue?
Roadmaster's brakes are so crappy, they defy description; last winter, my buddy at work discovered an issue -- he fast-spun the rear wheel, and grabbed some brake lever...wrinkled his nose at the burnt-rubber smell, and stared wide-eyed at the spray of debris coming off the braking surface of the wheel, FROM THE BRAKE PADS! A later test showed that the brake pads could easily -- EASILY! -- be worn to nothing in less than 10 minutes! And their wheels are so flimsy, you can true the wheels, inflate the tires, and have to RE-true the wheels AGAIN!
It's been almost five years since ANYthing from a dept. store has been anything but a step below marginal. Right now, Schwinn is suitable only for the soft yuppies who think they can stave off heart disease by riding a MUP @ 8mph for an hour 2x a week. And that's the best you'll see from a big-box shop.
Here it is, from the INSIDE:
Huffy, Roadmaster, Murray, Next, Magna, etc -- they're all basically the same, being mass-produced in China. We make dark jokes about the workers not getting their daily bowl of rice if they don't make quota, that's why there are so many issues out of the box.
These nuts can't even source a consistent coaster-brake hub for a training-wheel bike! Last year, Huffy had a 50% failure rate on coaster-brake hubs in our store! You think I could get ANYONE to address the issue?
Roadmaster's brakes are so crappy, they defy description; last winter, my buddy at work discovered an issue -- he fast-spun the rear wheel, and grabbed some brake lever...wrinkled his nose at the burnt-rubber smell, and stared wide-eyed at the spray of debris coming off the braking surface of the wheel, FROM THE BRAKE PADS! A later test showed that the brake pads could easily -- EASILY! -- be worn to nothing in less than 10 minutes! And their wheels are so flimsy, you can true the wheels, inflate the tires, and have to RE-true the wheels AGAIN!
It's been almost five years since ANYthing from a dept. store has been anything but a step below marginal. Right now, Schwinn is suitable only for the soft yuppies who think they can stave off heart disease by riding a MUP @ 8mph for an hour 2x a week. And that's the best you'll see from a big-box shop.
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746 Posts
My daughter worked at Wallyworld and my wife saw the schwinn there. She loved it. Started looking online at it and the reviews. Finally she talked me into looking at it. I won't shop at wally world but she wanted me to see what kind of bike she wanted. I drug the schwinn off the rack it weighed almost as much as my 1979 ford f-250 3/4 4x4 pickup. If I took the toolbox off my truck the bike would have it beat. I couldn't figure out how it could be so heavy yet the metal on the rack and fenders would bend in my hand. The balloon tires were misshapen. I thought it was the rim but the rim was rather straight but not a circle it was more of a small oval. I figured out that inn order to make it last long enough to get it out of the store and down the street the frame is made of solid steel rod, not tubing but solid chunk of steel with big chunks of steel welded to it to make it look like a bike.
Yep when she gets a bike it will not be a wallyworld schwinn. It will be an Electra, maybe a towny but she is not yet sure on the type yet. It won't be a schwinn. I am thinking of buying a few schwinns to use the steel rod for some rock rails on my jeep. Cheaper to buy the bikes than buying the required steel at a supplier.
But as Dean said, they are a bike for the price it is something to ride. They are a good option and can be ridden while you save fro a new better bike.
Yep when she gets a bike it will not be a wallyworld schwinn. It will be an Electra, maybe a towny but she is not yet sure on the type yet. It won't be a schwinn. I am thinking of buying a few schwinns to use the steel rod for some rock rails on my jeep. Cheaper to buy the bikes than buying the required steel at a supplier.
But as Dean said, they are a bike for the price it is something to ride. They are a good option and can be ridden while you save fro a new better bike.
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30 Posts
Did the same thing, and aside from noticing its ridiculous heft, I didn't know enough back then to even be aware of just how bad it was. Fortunately for me, I didn't have it long enough to experience any major problems—it got left behind when we moved from Florida to Maryland and is probably sitting in that same garage, collecting rust.
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