Maybe you\u2019ve never been tempted to buy a bike at Walmart or from another department store, but you almost walmartprotection com certainly know someone who did\u2014or might. So-called \u201cbig-box\u201d<\/strong> or mass-merchant stores, like Sam\u2019s Club or Costco, sell 75<\/strong> percent of all bikes in the US, according to the National Bicycle Dealers Association.<\/p>\n

People are drawn to department store bike deals by convenience<\/strong><\/a> and price\u2014particularly for children\u2019s bike, which are quickly outgrown and replaced. But there are several very good reasons to buy bikes from one of the approximately 4,000<\/strong> specialty bike stores in the country instead. As holiday season\u2014a prime bike-buying time\u2014approaches, here\u2019s what to know about big-box bikes that could save you, or a friend or family member, some trouble.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re sometimes sloppily assembled.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The people building bikes in the warehouse area of your local Walmart are often the same employees who are unboxing floor-sample items and assembling flat-pack furniture walmartprotection com for display. There\u2019s nothing wrong with those jobs, or with the people who do them. But bike assembly should be done by a trained specialist with proper tools, and it\u2019s rare to find a qualified bike mechanic at a big-box store.<\/p>\n

All bikes, whether destined for Walmart or an independent bike dealer, are shipped to the dealer partially assembled: Even bikes from mainstream cycling brands sometimes aren\u2019t properly built at the factory and need to be thoroughly checked during assembly. A trained bike mechanic knows what to look for and can spot factory-assembly problems that need to be fixed, as well as ensure proper final assembly.<\/p>\n

Last winter, a reporter for Orlando\u2019s News6 bought four bikes at area mass-merchant retailers and took them to a local bike shop for a safety check. Three of the four failed the inspection due to assembly errors. The stem wasn\u2019t tightened on one; another had a rear brake cable so loose the brake never contacted the rim. On the third, the bike shop mechanic inspecting the assembly quality was able to loosen a front wheel axle nut with a single tap of a wrench handle. If you buy a bike online and have it shipped directly to you, you\u2019ll get the bike in a box and have to assemble it yourself. You can argue that assembling a bike is no more complex than building a dining room set from Ikea, but an unstable table likely won\u2019t lead to serious injury.<\/p>\n

Even if there aren\u2019t outright safety issues, poor assembly can mean mis-shifting drivetrains, underinflated tires, loose headsets, wheels that are improperly tensioned and prone to damage, and other problems that will shorten a bike\u2019s lifespan.<\/p>\n

No knowledgeable bike salespeople.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As with the assemblers, the floor employees at most department stores are generalists who have to do everything from price-checking items to cleaning up the pile of shirts in boys\u2019 clothing to putting walmartprotection com<\/strong><\/a> together an aisle endcap display. Most don\u2019t really know about bikes. Much of the time, they won\u2019t be able to help a buyer select the right bike for their needs or answer questions about bikes.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not that much cheaper.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, you can still get a department store bike for not much more than $100<\/strong>, and adult bikes for $200<\/strong> abound. You can even buy a fat bike . But Consumer Reports, not historically a fan of expensive cycling equipment, points out that cheap bikes are heavy and often made with inferior parts. Why spend $200<\/strong> on junk?<\/p>\n

You might also notice that prices for mass-merchant models are starting to approach those of bikes you\u2019ll find at a local bike shop. Target sells a Titan Dark Knight men\u2019s hardtail mountain bike for $380. That\u2019s the same price as Trek\u2019s 820 model or Giant\u2019s Revel 2, both of which are sold at specialty bike shops only. They have better parts and benefit from professional assembly. You\u2019d even be better off buying a used bike.<\/p>\n

One size does not fit all.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every bike we\u2019ve seen for sale in a department store comes in one size only, and some size in a way that makes us cringe. (Target\u2019s idea of how to size bikes: by wheel diameter.) That Trek 820<\/strong>? It comes in five sizes, down to a 13-inch model that\u2019s perfect for shorter riders. The idea that bikes should come in rider-specific frame sizes is not a controversial notion\u2014at least, not any more than the idea that, oh, televisions should come in various sizes to fit your entertainment space.<\/p>\n

Forget about getting service.<\/strong><\/p>\n

All bikes break in slightly with initial use, or need a quick drivetrain or brake tune-up. Pretty much all bike shops offer at least one free adjustment for new bikes sold there (some offer longer service plans, for free or for a premium payment). But no department store has a service department for its bikes, so you\u2019ll end up taking it to a shop for repair anyway, where you\u2019ll pay market rate for labor to fix anything that slipped or was misadjusted to begin with.<\/p>\n

The warranty sucks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even big-box bike brands sometimes offer warranties, but they\u2019re often much less comprehensive than those of brands available in bike shops; typically, warranties are a year on the frame and less, if any, on the parts. Schwinn, which formerly sold bikes in independent stores and now sells in big-box stores, has a separate warranty for bikes sold at mass retail than those sold at bike stores. The mass-retailer warranty is generous, but includes two significant drawbacks not found in a bike store\u2019s version of the warranty walmartprotection com. All warranty claims must be shipped pre-paid to Schwinn\u2019s parent company, Pacific Cycle, which will cost you almost as much as one of those cheap bikes to begin with. And the mass retailer warranty doesn\u2019t cover items broken accidentally, which leads us to wonder what exactly is covered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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