BirdsBikeBinocs

Oh boy, the things people say....

I bought a Schwinn GTX-3 at Dick's Sporting goods for $250. I used and abused that bike for 5 years. The bike was problem free for the first 4 years I rode it. First thing to go was the free wheel. Then, next thing to go was the cables. Break cables only. Then I rode it for another year. Problem free. IMO, great bike. Especially when I consider where it took me. Just incredible. Woods trails.

I still have the bike but I bought a Specialized Diverge that is a blast to ride.

A couple months back the local Walmart had a Schwinn with full suspension. $298. I almost bought it. It brings me to a question to you all..... How many of you have bought a bike at Walmart.?? Or Dick's.?? Ya, that's what I thought. Here's the Schwinn at just under 1,500 miles.

alcjphil

So, you had a good experience. There may not be many others who have done what you did with so few problems. Anecdotal evidence only works with a large enough sample. Go out and buy that Walmart bike for $298. Ride it for a year and check back on this thread. A data point of one isn't very useful

katsup

First few bikes in my lifetime were from Walmart / Amazon. I only remember the latest Kent from Amazon ~9 years ago. Horrible experiencing, the threaded stem kept coming loose, squeaked like crazy and the shifting brakes never worked great. It mostly sat in the garage for the 5 years of ownership.

Went quality used bike a little over 3 years ago and now I am very much into bikes.

alcjphil

So, a second viewpoint, negative. So far 50% for and 50% against along with the OP's negative experience. In a sample size of 3, only 25% has had a good bike