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I inspected one of those Wal Mart 32-inchers and you know what? For 200 bucks they are pretty nice bikes. Some observations:
Weight: I estimate about 28-30 pounds. Definitely lighter than my Hammerschmidt/Specialized Enduro.
Frame: Aluminum. Welds are big but do not appear sloppy and the frame feels very light and solid. I've seen similar welds on bikes ten times as much. Makes me wonder what we're paying for on an eight-hundred-dollar frame. Good standover clearance.
Stem: Looks like a quill-type. Nothing inherently wrong with that but old-school.
Handlebars: Beach cruiser-type. Don't know the clamp size but has to be the smaller size.
Seat: Adjustable seat tube with a quick release. Saddle is comfy. Sprung. Lazy-boy type.
Wheels: Good Lord. 32 inches of madness. About a hundred spokes per wheel. Wheel was true, felt very solid, and all the spokes felt equally tensioned. Only rode in the store but they feel like they want to roll once you get 'em going.
Chain: Shimano type roller chain. Looks good, maybe not the best chain in the world but does not look cheap.
Brakes: Coaster-type..pity
All-in-all not bad. If I was an out-of-shape couch potato and wanted to get on a bike to ride local paved trails and gravel this would be an ideal starter bike. It is very comfortable. the saddle is like a sofa and the handlebars put you in a comfortable upright position.
Would also do good service as a errand runner or cruiser which I think is the whole point.
I'd replace the handlebars to get a little more of an aggressive posture (not too much) and the pedals for some nice flats. Too bad it doesn't have a free-hub. Don't care for the coaster brakes but again, if you're just tooling along on a flat paved trail...
Anything other than that? It feels very solid. I'd probably take it out very gingerly on flowing, smooth singletrack but our typical rootapalooza trails here would probably eat it's lunch.
Weight: I estimate about 28-30 pounds. Definitely lighter than my Hammerschmidt/Specialized Enduro.
Frame: Aluminum. Welds are big but do not appear sloppy and the frame feels very light and solid. I've seen similar welds on bikes ten times as much. Makes me wonder what we're paying for on an eight-hundred-dollar frame. Good standover clearance.
Stem: Looks like a quill-type. Nothing inherently wrong with that but old-school.
Handlebars: Beach cruiser-type. Don't know the clamp size but has to be the smaller size.
Seat: Adjustable seat tube with a quick release. Saddle is comfy. Sprung. Lazy-boy type.
Wheels: Good Lord. 32 inches of madness. About a hundred spokes per wheel. Wheel was true, felt very solid, and all the spokes felt equally tensioned. Only rode in the store but they feel like they want to roll once you get 'em going.
Chain: Shimano type roller chain. Looks good, maybe not the best chain in the world but does not look cheap.
Brakes: Coaster-type..pity
All-in-all not bad. If I was an out-of-shape couch potato and wanted to get on a bike to ride local paved trails and gravel this would be an ideal starter bike. It is very comfortable. the saddle is like a sofa and the handlebars put you in a comfortable upright position.
Would also do good service as a errand runner or cruiser which I think is the whole point.
I'd replace the handlebars to get a little more of an aggressive posture (not too much) and the pedals for some nice flats. Too bad it doesn't have a free-hub. Don't care for the coaster brakes but again, if you're just tooling along on a flat paved trail...
Anything other than that? It feels very solid. I'd probably take it out very gingerly on flowing, smooth singletrack but our typical rootapalooza trails here would probably eat it's lunch.
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