There are decent, acceptable bicycles that will ride well and last a long time that are being sold today at Walmart, Target and other places like Kmart, Academy, Dicks, and on the web for less than $200.
The coaster brake, one piece crank, single speed with steel frame and spring saddle seat and fenders with an old-style traditional northroads/beach cruiser handle bar is
an extremely good value at Wallyworld. Often these are sometimes near the $100 price point on sale and sometimes are seen at $88 about three times per year.
Now, having said that they are decent, durable bicycles.......WHAT are those bicycles negative points, well, the really crummy things are the Horrible Handlebars which will rust or look horrible painted black, and the rise, width and slight curve of those bars is generally not all that comfortable or pleasing to the eye. Very simple solution is to go on Ebay and purchase a clean Used set of SCHWINN made "northRoad" style chrome handlebars FROM any 1965 to 1979 SCHWINN Breeze, Racer, Collegiate, Suburban, Speedster, or any other applicable SCHWINN model from that era. (IF YOU NEED HELP DETERMINING THOSE MODELS, GO SEARCH AND LOOK AT THE SCHWINN CATALOG for every year model from the early sixties to 1980.................just start by picking any year from 1961 to 1980 and GOOGLE that Schwinn catalog and you should see a Waterford link that will have all those catalogs for you to scroll through. I'm not going to make this a technical post with the various minor differences among the different NorthRoad bars, as there are some slight differences, for example some have approx 3 inch rise, and some are about 3 1/2 and some are about 4 1/8 inch rise................width typically is between 22 inches and 23 1/4 inches wide on these, although you can find earlier examples on other older Schwinn bikes that get wider and you also can find a few later ones that are closer to 20 inches wide. I RECOMMEND THESE ANCIENT USED SCHWINN HANDLEBARS BECAUSE THE SHAPE(form) IS EXCELLENT AND COMFORTABLE, and 21 3/4 to 23 1/2 inches WIDE will GIVE THE RIDER GREAT CONTROL AND HANDLING. THE CHROME PLATING ON THOSE ANCIENT SCHWINN BARS IS PERHAPS THE MOST DURABLE THAT HAS EVER BEEN ON ANY HANDLEBAR EVER. THOSE ANCIENT SCHWINN STEEL CHROMED HANDLE BARS WILL FIT EVERY STANDARD 25.4mm CLAMP AND THEY ARE SOLID AND DO NOT FLEX LIKE A SPAGHETTI NOODLE. They will not rust like the low quality steel bars that are seen on low priced Wally world and Target bikes and the low quality steel bars seen on upscale beach cruisers from bike shops.
Now, the other items that are low quality on the Coaster Brake bikes that I mention that Wallyworld and Tar-Jay have in stock, are THE PEDALS.
The Pedals are absolute trash as they are made of cheap plastic. Yes, these pedals are light and functional but they are just too cheap. YOU CAN BUY DECENT NEW PEDALS by searching Ebay or Amazon and search "Krate Pedals", These will be brand new Chinese Reproductions of the old German made BOW pedals seen on some Schwinn Stingray Krate models of the sixties and early seventies and the Schwinn Suburban models of the seventies, and a lot of other bicycles. Those repro NEW pedals are really good and you can find them for about $16 a pair with FREE SHIPPING from several very large USA mega sellers on Ebay.
The fenders and chainguards on those NEW Chinese Wallyworld and Tar-Jay bikes do the job okay but they are of very thin stamped steel and are not as rugged as the older parts on bikes of the seventies and earlier. The fenders on these NEW Chinese bikes will begin to rust immediately if they are Chrome as the chrome quality is poor compared to anything made before 1980, but crappy chrome and easily dented fenders, will not impair the operational quality of these bikes. It will just contribute to a crappy appearance in a very short time if exposed to rain. These Wallyworld and Tar-Jay bicycles have pretty good wheels and the welds and frame design is very very good. The paint quality is good, although you have limited color choices and some of the nice colors come with oddly painted wheels where the colors don't compliment each other, and another bike in a drab color is available with nice non painted wheels.....................perhaps they do that by design, to make the least expensive bicycles less appealing to the eye, in order to get the buyer to a more doo-dad equipped model..................just like the dog-dish hubcaps on some cars sixty years ago and the dull colored bicycles without Tanks and rear racks of sixty years ago.
The point is that Wal-Mart and Target have some good bicycles. They tend to be the basic bicycles, but they are durable and represent good value for the dollar spent.
Target and Wal-Mart, both have a few , derailleur equipped MULTI-SPEED bicycles which are EXCELLENT.
Now, you will not find something LIGHT and SUPER-FAST, but you will get a Quality Bicycle that is capable of several thousands of miles of riding without anything more than Tires, Tubes, and Brake Pads being replaced during that time, IF THE ASSEMBLY OF SAID BICYCLE IS DONE PROPERLY WHEN REMOVED FROM THE CARTON(box).
Now, it is true that many times, you will encounter Bicycles in Target/Wal-mart/Academy/K-mart/Kohls/Dicks and everybody like that, which have been poorly assembled.
Bicycle assembly and adjustment IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE, and even the 7 speeds, and 21 speed models sold in those stores are not terribly complicated.
In fact, they are extremely simple for any competant, intelligent person with mechanical skills, who has owned, ridden and maintained his/her bicycle.
Yes, it is true that, you might encounter missing parts, or the wrong parts, or dented, dinged, bent items when you OPEN the BICYCLE CARTON(box).
You will still get the replacement part or the needed missing part for free by contacting the manufacturer's 800 number. You can also return and exchange it
at the store if you bought it from the store, assuming that they have another one in stock, or get a refund, etc.
The GMC Denali bikes are very good. The Gateway and Wayfarer bicycles are very good. Those are just a few of the derailleur equipped bicycles that are good.
Sure, they are in the 30 to 36 pound range, but that isn't gonna matter one damn bit for those that aren't looking to average 17mph speed or compete in Triathlons.
I have a friend that won the Clemson Triathlon in July 2019 in Clemson SC, USA, in her age division, riding a GMC Denali 21 speed. Yes, she's a heck of swimmer and great runner, and a good rider too. It is basically a stock, circa 2012 model GMC Denali that she bought new in 2012. There are slight minor tweaks and upgrades but she is running the factory wheels. Yeah, part of the thing is that she knows that she can jump aboard another bike and be slightly faster and have a quicker time, but part of the appeal for her is beating others while riding the GMC which she likes, even though she does have other much more upscale bikes.
Bicycles are bicycles. This BS about bicycle shaped objects (BSO) is just nonsense that those that want to distance their lower end bike shop offerings from the offerings of the mass marketers/big box stores. Sure, you get expert assembly and attention to detail from your LOCAL BIKE SHOP, but you do not necessarily get a better bicycle for the type of cycling that you wish to do. You definitely will get a better bicycle for speed and fast road riding at your local bicycle shop, because just like buying clothes off the rack or purchasing bespoke and having your suits custom tailored......................IF YOU FIT GREAT INTO CERTAIN OFF THE RACK CLOTHING, and/or Can GET THE LOCAL SEAMSTRESS/Dry Cleaner TO ADJUST/TAILOR THE SLEEVES, CHEST, HEM for a reasonable price, YOU WILL LOOK FINE, almost as if you went totally custom bespoke. *****IT CAN BE THE SAME WAY WITH BICYCLES IF YOUR NEEDS ARE FAIRLY BASIC, YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY FROM YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP******
YOU MAY WISH TO BUY FROM YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP AND THAT IS CERTAINLY OKAY, BUT JUST LIKE PERHAPS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A KIA/HYUNDAI and a MERCEDES-BENZ, you may be perfectly happy with the excellent reliability and low cost of the Kia or Hyundai VERSUS the super-nice,
upscale luxurious Mercedes-Benz which is not low cost and requires expensive service work more often than the more reliable, more economical Kia / Hyundai.
What you have be extremely careful of is buying an inexpensive POS like in the case of automobiles might be something with a Detroit nameplate, or an Italian nameplate.
You at least have Consumer Reports that you can refer to in the case of NEW cars.
There is much BS in what many would have you believe about the differences in general bikes from Local Bike Shops and the bicycles from Target/wal-mart and the web.
The more specific and purpose built bicycles for racing and speed for fast road riding, obviously will be dominated by the Local Bike Shops. You will get advice on what to select and custom tailoring to fit your need for maximum speed. But if you really could care less about going as fast as you can ride, and if you don't give a hoot, one way or another what the lettering (badge) is on your bicycle, then YOU CAN FIND A PERFECTLY ADEQUATE BICYCLE AT WAL-MART or TARGET.
I'm not saying that you should avoid shopping and buying from Local Bike Shops.
I'm simply saying that Wal-mart and Target bicycles are in most cases, adequate, decent and durable, if cared for, that are not the terrible BSO that the annointed would have you believe. Why even use the term "Bicycle Shaped Objects" (BSO)??? It is much like the ol' stereotypical stuffy Rolls-Royce dealership salesperson telling you that your 1999 Nissan Altima is not a proper motorcar and can you please remove such rubbish from the grounds immediately!
A bicycle has two wheels and is powered by a human turning the pedals. Bicycles are sold in big box discount stores as well as "proper Bike shops"!