Submitted by
superbox
a Cross Country Rider
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2009
Strengths: It was free (abandoned by previous tenant in a condo complex)
Weaknesses: The frame with no components or wheels on it weighs as much as two modern bikes combined, with wheels: BOAT ANCHOR! So I decided to strip the parts off and put them on a better frame I had lying around. Long story short, the v-brake bolts are so cheezy and soft, I stripped the bolt head off with just a millimeter of bolt sticking out. It was such a pain to get the bolt out, I've given up and have thrown the frame away, along with this Roadmaster POS!
Bottom Line:
Not only did this bike suck, but it ruined another one of my bikes by association! Massive fail! Resin brake levers, not steel! Awful!
For the price, it could be a funky looking boat anchor.
Similar Products Used: Lots of cheap bikes, mostly Specialized steel rides which never let me down
Bike Setup: V-brakes, full suspension, 18-speed (!), no-name shifters and Tektro-replica brakes with plastic brake levers
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
thedude
a Cross Country Rider
from gainesville, FL
Date Reviewed: December 6, 2008
Strengths: cheaper than a good UST tire
Weaknesses: everything on this bike is crap
Bottom Line:
i flew up to chapel hill recently and not being able to get a used bike for less than 300 bucks to commute on, i bought one of these turds from my local wal-mart. it moves forward. that's about it. shifting sucks and there's nothing you can do to fix that. braking is downright terrifying and there's not much to do to fix that aside from buying a set of brakes that cost more than the bike (and that's just the front). the stem and wheel weren't aligned, when i readjusted the quill stem, it went back out of alignment after the first bump. the wheels are evil, twisted things that make weird angles with the seatstays and that noodle up front that is posing as a fork (how can a fork so heavy be so wobbly?). the saddle was so painful i found a decent used BG specialized saddle so i wouldn't have to ride it standing up. i took the bike off of a curb and the right pedal snapped clean off. i never locked it up. someone eventually stole the saddle. this monstrosity of a 'bike' weighs more than my longhaul trucker and cove singlespeed PUT TOGETHER. i tried to abandon it, but then a campus cop saw me and said i'd get charged for littering if i didn't take it away.
Similar Products Used: some kind of huffy i had when i was 10
Bike Setup: BG saddle that was stolen, the bike sadly wasn't
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike R
a Weekend Warrior
from d-town PA USA
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2008
Strengths: Fun to ride a little or around the neighborhood.
Weaknesses: ALOT. Seat hurts, gears dont change, wheels get out of shape, pedals fall of while riding, its dissapointing
Bottom Line:
I got this for my birthday. It was great for riding around until I actually tried something. The pedals fell off, the gears don't change, had to buy a new seat, the wheels are all bent and messed up,handles strip, brakes work sometimes, but don't speed down hills.......u won't stop.... its ok for riding around. ...
Submitted by
tim larson
a Weekend Warrior
from freeport
Date Reviewed: March 23, 2008
Strengths: cheap....cheap
Weaknesses: the entire bike
Bottom Line:
Its a $ 70 dollar bike from walmart, I got the chance to meet the guy (lucky me)that put all the walmart bikes at this store together, well sort of together. The bottom line is the bike is from walmart, you cant be serious if your mad about the quality or want to mountain bike with it.....its from walmart. Also even though it says mountain bike does not mean that it is mountain ready or there is anything you can do to make it mountain ready. Great, go to go to the store bike or kids bike.
Strengths: It's cheap, real cheap. Strong Frame. Good for commuting on a college campus, but that's about it.
Weaknesses: It's cheap. The seat is unbearable, the brakes don't really stop, the derailers and gears are horrible, the wheels wont true at all. Must I go on.
Bottom Line:
This bike is super inexpensive. I bought it to see if riding was something I wanted to do again. I ride it about every day. I changed the seat because I just couldn't stand it. The stock seat couldn't be worse if it were made of rusty razor blades.
I have fooled with the derailers for over a year and they still suck. The brakes will slow you down some. If you need a panic stop you will know true panic. The wheels are so cheap that I often wonder how they have the nerve to sell them. I have played with them and am sure that they are as straight as possible, but that aint very straight.
With all of this said I am not afraid to jump curbs and generally ride this bike hard. It takes a pretty good beating and is no worse junk for it. The frame is as heavy as an anvil, but it is strong. When I have broken something on it, anything, I'm gonna trash it and get a better bicycle.
I wouldn't buy this bike again and I cant figure why I cant get someone to steal it. I left it out in front of the night shelter with five bucks on the seat and someone only took the five bucks. Yes, I ride it a bunch. But, every time I think it sucks. The most frustrating thing is that it doesn't settle into any gear except high without lots of chatter. So, I ride in high gear 80% of the time.
I have a nice road bike so, I know that I could replace most of the stuff on the frame and have a decent bike, but for the total cost of that I could get a bike shop bicycle. So, I will continue to ride the Roadisaster till it breaks good and then I'm gonna get a good bike.
Submitted by
James Howery
a Downhiller
from Prescott, AZ
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2004
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: It exists.
Bottom Line:
I worked on one of these today. No matter what we did, we couldn't get it to shift right. I wanted to go run it over with a truck, but we were fixing it up for a consignment sale. Really though, someone should run it over with a truck.
It's only good for riding to and from school and stuff. I would NOT buy this pice of c**p again. Want a mountain bike? Save your money to get a real one. The only reason it gets 2 flamin' chilis is 'cause it's so cheap. Not a good bike.
Bike Setup: Stock with water bottle and trip computer.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Agustin Lopez
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Angeles, CA
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2004
Strengths: What's strength?
Weaknesses: Where do I start? Cheap, cheap, cheap and did I mention the components are made of cheapo plastic?
Bottom Line:
This bike was thrown in for free with a purchase of an old Nishiki mountian bike I purchased. I was always curious about Kmart bikes so I decided to give a try. When I go the bike it was in need of all new cables so I after replacing them all myslef I took it for a ride.
I can only say that i'm glad I don't suffer from motion sickness. This thing bounced around like a five year old on a sugar rush. Suspension is a joke and I swear I bottomed out the rear shock just by sitting on it (5 '10 @ 260lbs doesn't help).
The bike feels cheap, is cheap, the componentry is crap and I can't believe that stores are allowed to sell this crap here in the U.S. If you only have a few dollars to spend on a bike and you need it to last then buy a quality used bike or continue saving up. I think I've seen these things sell for around $150 at K-Mart so for a little more you can get a real mountain bike.
BTW......This is the "full suspension" model that I reviewed.
Submitted by
Peter
a Weekend Warrior
from League City
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2004
Strengths: Well it's damn cheap
Weaknesses: Pretty much everything except the frame, which is somewhat solid and stiff.
Bottom Line:
I bought it for commuting around campus when it rains, but it only lasted for abut 3 months before someone stole (why, still don't know why anone would steal a bike like this). The bike was OK for commuting over smooth surface but make sure you get a different set of brake because that POS cantilevel brake it has on it can't stop crap. Oh yeah, shifting..haha, good for about 4 days before the cable starts to stretch and rust...
Similar Products Used: Nothing similar to this POS
Bike Setup: it think it haD shimano sis RD and sram grip shift...and one piece crank.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Justin Kanfield
a Weekend Warrior
from Podunk, IA
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2002
Strengths: Very educational. I learned how to fix most everything.But it looks cool, at least.
Weaknesses: Oh Roadmaster, how dost thee suck? Let me count the ways... Seat's bent, over $100 worth of new wheels(hitting curbs at 25 mph shouldn't hurt that badly, should it? I mean the bike, not my groin), tubes, and tires(mostly because of the wheels), new brakes(Wish I'd saved the package so I could write a review on my new cheap POS's), sport bottle holder snapped off first thing, the grips slide off constantly, doesn't go into high gear at all anymore(I think i'll kick it. Maybe that'll work.) The nut that keeps the thingy that holds the pedals and the front gears(bike lingo is not my thing) together had to be GLUED on after 3 months because it was completely stripped, two brake pads won't come off the wheel, and that's one for each wheel. And that's just what's wrong with it NOW.
Bottom Line:
I've already dumped more into repairing this thing than I bought it for. And I do all my own labor, mostly because I never remember to pick up my bike. I hope I save up enough for a new bike soon. Think I'll go with a Trek like someone else mentioned. I give it 3 hot trotters for value because it's a decent bike to ride when your good one's in the shop. But as it is I'm too poor to afford another bike. Pity me. Or give me money. Preferably both.
Thanks to the other reviewer of this thing for making me realize how much this thing sucks. I thought it was just me banging the crap out of it every day on curbs and ditches and junk.
This bike will fall apart on you pretty fast if you ride on pretty rough terrain. When I had it the wheel was so warped it could barly do a full spin without the brakes rubbing against it. I could only get into 12 of the 18 gears cause my derailer was so jacked up. The brakes were of vary poor quality. The chain would always make an annoying noise. If your going to get a mountain bike, don't go with any of the wal-mart bikes, go to a real mountain biking shop where they sell Trek's, Schwinn's, etc. and spend your money there. I now have a Trek 6500 and it is 100 times better then the Roadmaster.
