Box store bikes, any experiance?

[Mike]

Used bikes are pricey here in Vancouver. I noticed that Walmart.com has the Huffy Cranbrook cruiser For $80. Anyone have any experiance with this, or a similar bike? As far ad modifications go, I'd eventually put a springer fork and ape hangers on it.



mike

 

[Hooch]

at that price its a great place to start
the quality isnt what an older one is but will still be a fun project and if you want at a later date you can use the parts on a vintage frame

 

[TexasXXX]

I've been trying to put some scratch together to snag a couple of these:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=4231522

For the price you absolutely cannot beat it......just price out a set of wheels,ww tires, and the other parts and it's a friggin' deal......not to mention you don't have to worry about carving up some really cool old bike.

I plan to get one of those to build for my wife.....with a bent springer fork, and a few other changes.

These also aren't such a bad deal at all...and it's GREEN...lol

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=3985034

 

[NorthSideKustoms]

walmart etc...

ok, heres the skinny, the frames arent bad, they have good tires and some neat parts for the price. The problem is the chrome, it rust fast so buy a can of clear coat while your there, Huffy has a tendency to use cheap bearings and not LUBE them to save money, so just open everything up and make sure it's packed in grease, cranks, headset etc.
Sometimes the long cruiser bars they use will bend fairly easy if standing cause there thin walled to save weight- wich is fine but in a long cruiser bar theres enough leverage to tweak em.
so that saying. usually the wheels will cost more than the price of the bike so buy it, repack all the bearings, swap the bars, stem and seatpost, and slap on a coat of paint and clear coat the chrome and ride it like it's stolen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[aka_locojoe]

These 3 bikes of ours all started with new bikes bought at either Target or Kmart
http://locojoe.com/bikeblog/pages/flamed_chopper.html
http://locojoe.com/bikeblog/pages/green_goblin.html
http://locojoe.com/bikeblog/pages/high_roller.html

Speaking of new bikes... Where I work has an incintive program where you earn points and the points can be used to purchase stuff out of a special catalog. I hardly ever do what it takes to earn these points and never check them. The other day a fellow employee ordered a camera with his and that got me curious if I might have enough for a new camera. I checked and didn't but what do I see in the catalog? A cruiser bike and I had just enough points. Should be arriving soon.

 

[-=RaTb0y=-]

Ditto what NSK said about greasing everything.
I only ride cheep crap, and beat it pretty good, too...
The only annoyance that I think is a real problem
with them that cant be fixed with grease and flat black
is that all the nuts are soft. If you adjust your chain a few
times the threads on the axle bolts are gonne be ready
to strip. Handlebar nuts etc....all real soft. Anything
that gets modded I would hit the hardware store for
some aircraft grade stuff.

 

[NorthSideKustoms]

soft threading

Right on, I forgoy that one- to try to fight this i use lock washers behind all nuts and also stack as many nuts as i can aon a bolt to both protect the threads from damage from stumps, walls etc but to also spread out the stress a lil bit prolonging the life of the soft axles and nuts, if you try to cheat by using better nuts use aluminum locknut ones with the plasticy lining. Too hard a nut will strip yer axle super fast!!!!! and it's easier to replace nuts than axles!!!!!!!

 

[Rat Rod]

This is a good topic for dicussion.

I too have often wondered about these bikes from the department stores. Like everyone else has said...the wheels and tires alone cost this much.

With the cruiser style bikes, seems like they should be able to hold up under normal occasional riding conditions (not ricky riding :wink: ). I can understand why someone would stear clear of a cheap mountain bike for offroading, etc. but it seems like the cruisers would do okay. I'm usually just tooling around my neighborhood or the local area on mine and they don't take much of a beating....I'm too tired...ha ha!

I think the other comments about what to change out or lube is great too. Randy has obviously shown that they can make for a great starting point for building a really sweet ride.

 

[basscadetz]

Re: walmart etc...

Huffy has a tendency to use cheap bearings and not LUBE them to save money, so just open everything up and make sure it's packed in grease, cranks, headset etc.

this is actually an issue with the in store assembly person. blame them!

 

[NorthSideKustoms]

grease..

not putting in greasw saves the factory lots of money, thats ads up after a few hundred bikes!!!, you wouldnt sell a new car or motorbike bike without any grease , oil, or bad lo quality bearings would you? the frame are great, i even used t ofreeride on a cheap vietnamese made supercycle. just take a few steps and there wicked fun!

 

[NorthSideKustoms]

grease

and your right, when there assembled they should put that grease in at the store, but these places also sell bike with flat tires, backwards forks, upside down bars, need i say more. I usually do my self a big favor, buy it in the box, save the assembly fee, and put it together right yourself!! you wont have to dismantle the whole thing or deal with cross threaded pedals!
last time i bought one I took a bus to Walmart with a screwdriver , vice grips and a large adjustable along with a lil rag and some grease and put the bike together in 15 minutes in the lot then rode home,

 

[TexasXXX]

I used to be an assembler for "Toys R Us" back in '98-'99 .....and ALL bikes came with the bearings and such already pre installed. Nothing ever had to be packed by an assembler....unless it came in for a repair by chance.

All I had to do to build the bicycle was install the handlebars,pedals,seat and seatpost, and front wheels.....then adjust the brakes,air the tires...and done.

The managers ALWAYS rushed me to get these things thrown together....but *I* made certain that the bikes were built the RIGHT way.


So honestly, the lack of greese in the bearings has nothing to do with the assemblers at whatever department store you mention.....that's left up to the individual bicycle company.....be it Pacific,Huffy, or etc.

 

[Jetro]

Whats wrong with this pic?

Look hard..............

 

[Mike]

Two brake levers, one brake line. :lol:

 

[-=RaTb0y=-]

^^^He he he ....pretty obvious ! YIKES !!! Id hate be heading into an
intersection and find that out !!! :shock:


Really though.......a few things if you can bear with a pre -coffee
ramble. I applied for a job (yes, the job scene is THAT BAD in VT !)
at a service that travels around to different non-WAL*MART stores
and puts cheepo bikes and furniture together. They hire anyone to do
it. Bike experience made no difference at all. You could also be
putting together some entertainment centers on the same work
period. WAL*MART has anyone putting them together. Whatever
male is on that shift usually determines who builds them. If a
person even knew how to grease them, they would be reprimanded
for wasting time in either of those places.
The reality is, most of those bikes will probably be ridden about 10
times a years at the most by people who wouldnt care if they
sounded like the ghost of Christmas PAst clanking down the hallway !
Also, liability is a factor in the standards they build them to.....
Since sooooo many of these cheepos are bought on a whim by
people who statistcally might be more prone to frivilous suing
moreso than perhaps a guy who buys a LiteSpeed Ti frame, I think
X-MArt cheepos are waaay overbuilt to lessen the chances of class
action lawsuits against the manufacturer. Good for us, bad for
people who might be training for the TdF
:mrgreen:
I love cheepos....I think alot more people would be riding if
there wasnt the attitude that you need a 'real' and 'good' ($$$$$)
bike to ride safely.

Ok, edit....::EDIT::. Not done ranting yet....
If your new bike has steel rims you might want to pop the beads
and fill the tire with baby powder(I like spring fresh Violet, Bouquet
style) because moisture gets in there and creates these sharp
rust flakes that can puncture a tube from the backside.

 

[OSchopper]

Re: walmart etc...

Huffy has a tendency to use cheap bearings and not LUBE them to save money, so just open everything up and make sure it's packed in grease, cranks, headset etc.

this is actually an issue with the in store assembly person. blame them!

No its not. all parts with bearings are put togeather, we just have to install the front wheel, pedals etc... i do agree that they arent lubed correctly but no store manager (at least mine) would let us pull the whole thing apart to re lube it.

 

[basscadetz]

really? i totally remember getting a bike from walmart and the crank wasn't put in, although this was many years ago.

 

[Bicyclerick]

The old saying still holds true. ( You Get What You Pay For ) Being in the bike business I here this all the time, I can get a bike at Wal mart for half the price of yours. That is true but your getting half the bike to. The department store bikes are mass produced. that being said it means that you dont get a proper fit, and they have cheaper parts on them. The department stores around here hire a company to come in and assemble their bikes. they get paid 4 or 5 bucks a bike so they slap them together as fast as they can to make their money. so you dont get a properly assembled bike. And if you buy chance get a good mass market bike and there are some good models out there, what kind of warrenty do you get with it? All the bikes you buy from my shop come fully assembled by a certified tec. Myself. All my bikes come with a first time ajustment at no charge, and have either a no time limit warrenty on the frame or five year on aluminium frames and one year on the parts. With all that being said it goes back to the saying ( YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR ) Just my opinion.

 

[aka_locojoe]

Speaking of new bikes... Where I work has an incintive program where you earn points and the points can be used to purchase stuff out of a special catalog. I hardly ever do what it takes to earn these points and never check them. The other day a fellow employee ordered a camera with his and that got me curious if I might have enough for a new camera. I checked and didn't but what do I see in the catalog? A cruiser bike and I had just enough points. Should be arriving soon.

This is what I'm supposed to be getting...

 

[gravediggerjason]

( YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR )

this i totally agree with ... but if i am just going to chop it up and build my own junk to ride then i only want to pay for junk.... so off to wally world i will go...



.. i know where to go for quality...i just PM you ...