primuspaul

walmart.com/ip/Kent-700C-Men-s-Ridgeland-Hybrid-Bike-Blue-Green/887192234

Yes I know Kent is bottom of the barrel. My question is: can it work as a commuter bike on asphalt roads and last a while? Or are the bearings going to fail within a few weeks?

SkinGriz

It will be fine.
Probably geared to tall for a beginner commuter, but you’ll figure it out.
I’d remove crank arm bolts and make sure threads are clean, locktite, reinstall.
If it’s going to be a commuter, maybe remove the valve stems, pour some sealant in and reinstall.
Check spoke tension, headset, handlebar, pedal tightness.

Then ride it into the ground. Use it as an experience to think about what you want in your next bike.

TejanoTrackie 

Those Wallymart bikes are total garbage, and not worth buying at even half the price. You'll spend more fixing all the problems than it will cost to buy something better. For just $50 more you can get something from bikesdirect that is a lot better >>>> https://www.bikesdirect.com/products...eetfighter.htm

primuspaul

Are their Mongooses crap, too?
walmart.com/ip/seort/569505331

SkinGriz

^ This is good.

They also have 2 3 speed bikes that will probably work for you. You said somewhere else there was one steep hill.

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products...ruisers_al.htm

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products...r-hybrid-3.htm

SkinGriz

I think they’re all pacific cycles bikes.

Crap is stating it a bit strongly IMO.

The problem with Walmart bikes is this.

You will need to perform some maintenance on them very quickly after buying them. Maybe the crank arms fall off, pedals fall off, etc. So you spend $100-$200 on a bike you still need to work on.

So you don’t get the rock bottom price of a $25-$50 used beach cruiser. And you don’t get the greater quality of a bikes direct bike even after you fiddle with it.

So Wally World bikes are kind of in a no man’s land.

I really think for just 2 miles you might seriously think about a used beach cruiser. Then go to a local co-op or local bike store and ask to look through their take off bin for mtb riser bars and a different saddle.

Especially a co-op, or a neighbor who is into bikes can help you put front brakes on.

RCMoeur 

The good news is that on a singlespeed, it'll be harder to knock the gears out of adjustment.

The bearings will probably not fail in a few weeks if they are properly adjusted (which tends to be a crapshoot with these bikes). Too tight can create slightly annoying drag. Too loose can lead to early failure.

A big issue with big box bikes for adults from Wal* and similar places is that the frames and components are sized for an "average person" - generally around the 50th percentile male or female. If you are around that size, you may agree with the fit. If you aren't (raises hand), the bike will be a lot less enjoyable as it will probably be too big or too small for you.

If you have a bike co-op or used bicycle seller in your area, try to look there first prior to committing to the Kent, as you may find something that fits or rides better and may be more durable at a similar price point.

veganbikes

Wally Mart "bikes" are made with the lowest grade components put together by the lowest grade labor. The bearings may not fail in a week but I have seen more than enough pedals cranks and other parts fall off quickly and plenty of backwards forks and things like that. If they were $25 then maybe yeah not as terrible a deal but spending even $100 on something you basically should overhaul from brand new is silly. Single Speeds are simple bikes but that doesn't change much on anything as quality can still be absolutely terrible and not worth the cheap price. If you are going to be commuting then get a reliable bike with quality parts. If you are worried about price then buy the best bike you can or increase your budget a bit till you can get something that is well above a wally-mart "bike". Generally the less you spend at the start the more you spend overall throughout the life of the bike.

If you are a bargain bin dweller then Bikes Direct sells bikes that are OK enough with old brand names they bought to give some prestige to their generic products. However they are going to be miles ahead of wally-mart not totally quality but not scraping the underside of the barrel. The KiloTT has always been a long time favorite of theirs that many people ride and enjoy. Nothing great but certainly a solid and serviceable bike that you can have some good fun on.

SkinGriz

https://www.citygrounds.com/products...oaAgskEALw_wcB

Maybe someone here has some experience with this one.

Russ Roth

Hard to say but the dawes that was posted will be a better option. You're going to want to adjust your gearing, to what only you can say after you've tried it out. The kent does not have a removable chainring, while the dawes does. I received an motobecane uno this year, same site but an 300.00 upscale version of the dawes, the bike is incredibly heavy and came geared all wrong. It was way to high for its first trip which was too and from the airport outside St. Louis which was very hilly and even a little too tall for Manhattan. I changed the gearing and it became my go to bike for commuting and trips to the city, its definitely heavy but smooth and comfortable. Being able to change the chainring and cog at the same time meant not needing a chain. By buying a combo that used close to the same number of teeth between the old gearing and the new gearing I had drastically different climbing ability while still using the same chain length. My pedals did fail completely at 5 miles but everything else has held up great.

Yes. If general the brand was crap when Dick's was selling the 20 years ago, the intervening decades have not been kind to the general quality of the brand.

mrv 

State Bikes is having a sale, if you can find one in your size. Maybe getting more spendy than originally intended....
https://www.statebicycle.com/collect...clan-core-line

I'm taking a different route.... taking a cheap frame, investing hours and hours refurbing, so I can build it up and sell on Craigs List for .... $50 ? ... i hope... https://www.bikeforums.net/g/album/30495164

suncruiser

I'm with the other guys. It's a crap shoot. I have heard all kinds of horror stories about WM BSOs, but my experience with their singlespeed bikes is a tad different. Yes, I rode it home and immediately disassembled and regreased everything, set the bearings and such, but I had really only ever intended the thing as a winter beater. It functioned well in that respect. I can't even really remember the name of it, it was yellow and came with blue tires.

AFAIK its still running around fairbanks, I get occasional messages from a group out there I rode with. Ill ask them for a picture of it next i hear from them. Mine seem to have poofed

ron521

I bought a Takara Kabuto (a Kent product, I believe) at a thrift store a couple of weeks ago. The black paint had some scuffs, and the yellow Kenda tires had faded almost to white, but it was straight, except for a ding in the alloy front rim. I installed a pair of wheels from a Sole single-speed, adjusted the brakes and lubed the chain.

I rode it twice this past weekend, for a total of 45 miles. It's not that bad. I think a lot of the problems that people write about on Amazon, etc are due to assembly errors. The Takara frame is high-tensile steel, but the tig-welds are really excellent. One feature I like very much is the longer chainstays, which allow the wheel to be further away from the seatpost, making this less like a track bike and more like a relaxed touring bike. The crankset, seatpost, stem and handlebars are steel, so not lightweight, but durable, and easy to upgrade as time and funds allow. The wheel rims that came with it were decent alloy on nice alloy hubs. I'll likely relace them with new rims so I can have the option of wider tires. Stock tires are Kenda 700 x 35 with a sort of universal tread, max pressure 85 psi. The wheels I installed from the Sole also have Kenda tires, but they are a different model, a semi-slick 700 x 25 that can take 110 psi. Pumped up to a conservative 90 psi, the bike still rolls very well, gliding along with almost no effort.
The sidepull brakes are alloy and work ok, but the pads could be grippier (maybe they were grippier when the bike was new, but the rubber seems to have hardened). The brake levers are alloy in plastic hoods, with cables routed under the bar tape. I didn't find them uncomfortable. This is the first drop bars I've owned in a long time, and I'd forgotten how nice it is to be able to change hand position.

The stock saddle surprised me by being reasonably comfortable, although you'll never mistake it for a Brooks. I rode for an hour before stopping for water, and it wasn't bothering me. Really, the worst aspect of the bike was the original heavy tires, and those could even be appropriate if you were going to ride on gravel. For pavement, I'd recommend replacing them with something slicker and narrower, a 28mm width would probably work with the stock rims and be a nice compromise between speed and comfort.

I read some of the reviews on Amazon before I bought it (it was at the thrift store for a couple of weeks, not many people buying bicycles in January) so I didn't have great expectations going in. However the Takara surprised me by being quite a bit better than I expected. If the front rim hadn't been dinged, I might not have even changed the tires. But changing the tires did make a very noticeable improvement, so I'd recommend that as your first upgrade. The advertised weight is 29.5 lbs, and if you replaced all the steel components with alloy, you could probably get it down to 25 lbs.

plumberroy

Another issue with Walmart bikes, it may be some old retired guy assembling it that actually knows how to use tools or it could be an 17 year old that doesn't know metric from sae wrenches.
I have bought a couple of bikes from bikesdirect and I am happy with them. I'm an old man but the dawes would work if you want new I would change it to a 20 tooth cog on the back. If I am on a budget I would watch market place and Craigslist. It been a few years back but I bought a like new Surly Steamroller for $300 lots of good bikes for less than that.
If I didn't already have 8 bikes there is a old steel Raleigh C-30 in great shape on marketplace now that I like (I'm trying to ignore it) it's not a single speed but would be a good commuter