sha90

I am thinking of getting an electric bike for my short commute. The ones on Walmart's website are pretty reasonable. I know people say Walmart-assembled bikes are not reliable. What if I had it shipped to our local bike repair shop to be assembled and checked out?

Doc_Wui

Many of the ebikes sold on Walmarts website are sold/assembled by third parties.I suspect most were assmbled in China, boxed there, and may leave a few components like pedals, seat. and possibly the handllebar stem as a customer function

2old

Depending on how much your LBS charges, you might consider putting it together yourself especially since YouTube can be a lot of help for most operations (and as DW mentions, probably not much to assemble). Many bikes at Walmart (and Amazon) seem to average about "4" (of "5") in customer satisfaction so you'll probably be satisfied with your purchase.IMO.

chas58

Depends on the attitude of your local shop, but most of them will be/should be happy to help you and have a set rate for this. I'd get it, ride it for a month, and then have them do an extensive tune up (as things tend to break in after a few weeks).

Don't know where you live, but this time of year they are looking for business. In the summer they are going to be a lot more rushed and delayed. I tend to take my bikes in this time of year and find they put a lot of extra time into things that they just can't do in the summer when there is a backlog.

Pop N Wood

Just wondering if this is still true in the days of the covid?

sha90

thank you all for the advice. i might go and try one out at a local bike shop first just to see how it feels.

2old

Doubt your LBS will have anything resembling a Wally bike.

veganbikes

You go to your local shop you will likely find something of quality (or at least way better quality than Wallymart), you won't want to downgrade to a Wallymart bike which is a good thing. You will be much happier on something from an actual bike shop. I don't go to the hardware store for dinner and I don't go to the restaurant for nuts and bolts.

sha90

thank you for all the advice. duly noted!

Matthew913

Lectric has comparatively inexpensive ebikes for about 899,00. They are a lot of fun and the reviews are pretty good.

sha90

thank you. i will bear lectric in mind. i hope one day the prices will come down even more.

Matthew913

Ebikes are pretty expensive, and when they start costing as much as a used car - wow. After a bit of research there are some that are less expensive but they likely come from overseas and you may have some trouble getting service etc... There are many quality ebikes out there and the price point seems to be 1300-1500. Still a bit too high for me. You could do some research on ebikes, find a quality one and buy it used. I've seen some barely used bikes at a discount.

alloo

Use a mobile bike repair business if you can't find a LBS. Mobile bike repairs are usually cheaper and come to your house or business.