Comment by tritosomal | Hacker News Reader

Comment by tritosomal | Hacker News Reader

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I bought a bike from Target over the summer for $100.

It has:

  broken one chain

  suffered multiple rear brake failures 

  unfastened the handle bars so they dangle from the fork

All of these things happened while miles from home, and required tools for repair.

When one thing was fixed, another thing broke. The brakes failed repeatedly, and warranted full replacement.

The handle bars are especially treacherous, because putting weight on them risks failure, and then steering becomes impossible.

Accessories and repairs now outweigh the original cost of the bike, meaning I'm looking at over $300 all-in. Meanwhile, this thing feels like it will eventually cost me some teeth.

Anything from Walmart/Target or anything that is not a real bike shop is going to be incredibly low quality.

Best off going on Craigslist and buying something (probably japanese) from the mid to late 1980s that was at one point a good quality bike. Get something with chromoly steel. It will be a lot more reliable and bike mechanics and you will be better able to fix it. It'll have all ISO standard parts.

Go get something cheap (but a real brand) off Craigslist. Watch some YouTube videos on how to tune it up. Buy some lube for the chain ($4).

Target and WalMart know that the average American rides a bike no more than 10 miles a year. Their bikes can do just about that.

If you plan on more than going around the block, the lesson is buy a real bike, from a bike shop.

Wow, you know, this is probably the most accurate conclusion. I've probably put about 20 or 30 ten mile trips on it, and the frequency of failure cropped up maybe every 5 trips.

I chalked it up to poor assembly by a new guy on a Monday morning.

Considering this model of assessment, I realize that department store bikes aren't measured with the same sort of warranty ratings as perhaps cars. Too bad bikes don't use the same sort of 100,000 mile power train warranty as a mark of quality or durability.

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