colonel77

i have bought bikes from canadian tire, and have never had serious problems, i modified them my self, and other than the usual wear and tear, i think they are well made, and agreat value, i am currently riding a supercycle thrill[only bought it 2 weeks ago] so i'll see how it goes , within the next few months[provided it don't get stolen], i had a 1800 previously[$99 special], i modified it with front shocks , good saddle, and a good chain, and i never had a problem with it, it was recently stolen, and i sure was happy with it, it went everywhere without a problem. So what about you do you think the supercycle brand sucks, or is a good buy.

colonel77

i have always bought my bikes at department stores like, wallmart, canadian tire, i have never had a problem with them , except the usual wear and tear, they are good bikes-supercycle, next brand- if you know how to do basic repairs you won't have a problem, and they are at bargain prices, i laugh when i see others with expensive bikes always in the shop paying big bucks for simple repairs/tune ups. People these bikes are great for comuters , you can always modify the bike the way you want, and buy reliable parts, as a former bike mechanic let me tell you that you are getting ripped big time, brands like, giant,trek, kona[are just over priced steel bars] i see you guys pay 7-900 $, and always come in the shop with the same wear/tear as the cheap bikes[at least the cheap bikes can take the pounding of everyday comutes urban living], and the expensive brands can't, save your dough and buy a repair book, or look at repairs on youtube, or anywhere on the net free of charge.Theres nothing worse than having an expensive bike you don't know how to fix, invest in some basic tools, so you can get the job done fast and cheap., you'll thank yourself in the end, trust me.

East Hill

Hmm, you'll want to check out CigTech's thread here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=237231

Enjoy, and Welcome to BF!

East Hill

AndrewP

I always thought them adequate low end bikes. However you have to learn how to do the maintenance and adjustment, because you wont get any support from the store.

East Hill

Well, you seem to like them, so why get something else if you are satisified?

East Hill

colonel77

yes you will need to know the basics of maintenence, you can find books in the library or on line , or even get to see some basics on youtube, once you know how to fix a flat, change/fix chain/tires, forks , brakes, derailer, etc.. you won't have any problems. I t must suck to be riding around on a 900 dollar bike and your chain busts, flat tire, brakes fail, and you have know idea how to fix it, and waste the day driving down to the shop and having them tell you it will be ready in a few days, and get a bill tha's almost as much as what you paid for the damn thing[believe me i have witnessed this many a time.].

-=(8)=-

I am the king of RaT BiKe$ 1

I revel in my own cheepness !
If its considered trash, I ride it with pride !
I laff at all of the threads where people wonder "can I commute on a _ _ _ _ _ ?"
When you were a kid and riding was magic, did you ever worry about all the stuff
we worry about as 'experienced'(?) riders ?
There all good ! Only peoples outlook on them can be bad.

chipcom 

I commuted on wally-world bikes for years. If they're all you can get and you can maintain them, they give you a pretty good bang for your buck. That said, I wouldn't trade 4 of my 5 current bikes for anything from wally-world. None of those wally-world frames are near the quality of my old 80's Bianchi road or xcross frames, nor would I find anything even close to the 853 touring frame on my Fuji World. The Raleigh single-speed - maybe. The snow/bad-weather beater, yeah, who cares. If those frames are what you want, great, but there isn't anything wrong with wanting something better that is more suited to a specific purpose.

Welcome to BF...you'll have fun trying to talk up cheap xmart bikes, many are pretty strongly against them.

kemmer

For what you spend on a Next, you can get a good quality used bike. Name brand bike frames are generally made of stronger, lighter materials and the parts are of better quality as well. Sure, you can keep an x-mart bike going for years and years but it'll be heavier, uglier, require more maintenance, and perform poorly compared to a 10 year old bike shop bike. I'm all for being a cheapskate, but I'll take my old Trek (13 years old), Miyata (14 years old) and Maruishi (29 years old) over some brand new department store boat anchor any day of the week.

Edit: The Trek I bought new, but the other two were purchased for less than any Wal Mart bike. Other than tires, brake pads, and a couple of chains, the Trek has never required any maintenence. The other two bikes have needed nothing beyond the items I replaced when I purchased them.

dmschuler

Someone once said that the most expensive bike is the one that just sits in the garage. As long as you're happy with it and it does what you want, whats wrong with that? I have a 2003 Diamondback (the commuter) that I bought for $200. Still rolling!

On the other hand, my road bike is an 18year old Cannondale - you couldn't get me to give that up for any wallyworld road bike!

GaryA

Have you ridden a more expensive bike?

I know for a fact that if I rode a Wallyworld bike as hard as I ride my current bikes there would be nothing left of it. Perhaps if I start trading out pieces like the handlebars, rims, derailluers etc but by the time I do all that why not just the higher quality bike.

I still ride the first high quality bike I bought in 1991 a Trek 8700 composite mountain bike and it still has all the original equipment on it.

koine2002

Holy troll bait batman!

Oh, and welcome to BF.

colonel77

p-lease, i have rode 3 winters with my supercycle, it's bin through all four seasons and went through everything i could put it through, i havse not washed it ever, and still purrs sweet through all thats kicked at it, canadian winters are tough and this baby takes it all, a brand name is just that a branded name!

colonel77

yes and you will get all the used spare parts that came from a host of other bikes-take the rust off, paint black enamel over all these parts to disguise the rust decay, and inherit all the headaches the original owner had and be left with a rusting piece of ........ pay extra for the name., haha, i know all the tricks i was a mech for 10 years and all shops do the same thing dude.

colonel77

well said .

gnigamica

I agree with you. Cheap bikes are great for commuting. You can leave them locked up wherever you like without worrying. Get stolen? Who cares, it only cost $99. The Canadian Tire SC1800 has to be the most popular bike in Canada. I see them everywhere, and I ride one myself for commuting. If those cyclists could do repairs and maintenance, they'd get a lot of use out of those bikes. On the other hand, if they don't know how to fix a wheel or overhaul a hub or bottom bracket, they could run into problems. Buying one of those cheap bikes is a great way to learn how to do bike maintenance and repair. It's much more fun to ride a bike you're maintaining and repairing yourself.

Bikepacker67

So cheap in fact, that you won't buy another vowel!

Bikepacker67

I want to see close up pics of your drivetrain.
Never washed it? Still purrs sweet?

I call bullshyt.

flipflop563

i've been commuting this summer on a wal-mart special...it's a good little bike but i can already see it's taking a strain from the commute...the frame and rims/spokes are getting a little creaky...once I lose confidence in whethr it will hold together, then that's it...I'll strip it down, save the parts, but look at maybe upgrading my ride... even if it's ok...if there's a perception of it not being safe, i'd rather get somethign new.... just some thoughts...

gnigamica

I share FlipFlop's experience. I've used my Canadian Tire SuperCycle SC1800 to commute for a year and a half now, up to almost 4,000 Km. I like riding the bike, but it needs a ongoing attention... regular drivetrain cleaning, a few replaced spokes. I even replaced the rear wheel and tires after a couple of thousand Km. But I keep riding it. The frame looks good and it's a comfortable geometry for me and, best of all, it looks so cheap and crappy I know nobody will steal it. I do have a replacement bike ready to go, a Giant Boulder, the lowest-end, entry level Giant from a few years back, very basic. It's a much higher quality bike (cost more than twice as much as the SC1800), but it's not as comfortable, so I'm hoping to make the SuperCycle last... even if I have to keep repairing it.

On the plus side, the ongoing repairs have resulted in a good box of bike tools, and increased my bike repair skills... I now do all the repairs on my good bikes, too. Haven't been to a bike-shop for repairs in two years.

Robert Foster

One of the reasons some of us go to a LBS is for service and peace of mind. We might by a name brand because we have faith in it or because we like the quality of parts. For me it was the free service. The day I rode the bike home it was smooth, nothing squealed or squeaked and the tires had the right pressure. Now I know full well I could have taken the time to service the bike before I went on my first ride but I don’t think I ever got everything dialed in first time out like the LBS did. Free service for life was a drawing card for me.

I have nothing against department store bikes except maybe the quality of some of the components might not be quite as high as what I can get at the Bike Shop. But I agree with one of the posters that said with a department store bike you might be a bit less fearful about it being stolen. Not because it was less likely but because it wouldn’t sting as much.

Longfemur

You should see those nice dollar store bikes they have.

Seriously, go to a bike shop and buy a real bike. They have very nice, very solid bikes there that won't cost too much more than the department store crap. You will get service, plus the frame and fork will be straight, and the wheels won't go out of true after an hour's ride.

I'm glad you can service it yourselves, because I'm sure you have to do it often.

trekteck08

they are good bikes for what they are. most people think these bikes are trash. i have a 20 inch camo (kids bike which you can search up to know what i mean) i got this bike when i was 8. im now 12, and i do all sorts of things with it. i take it in the snow, on rough trails, on soccer fields, and it still works perfectly fine. sure, the stuff will rust overtime and they will wear, but the only thing that i changed on that bike was the back tire. there are some spots on it that are rusted but i might fix that soon. however, these can make a problem in between the cranks where it make a ticking noise but thats just what you get. that noise goes away anyway. so for the money, these are ok.

kissTheApex

Whoa! Great necrobump! And an even better first post!

Kedosto

Wow. Musta needed Peabody and the Wayback Machine to get that far back into the archives.


-Kedosto