Originally Posted by
frogman
If we aren't capable of doing a basic safety check on a bicycle from Walmart before using it then it's our problem not Walmart. We they are not high quality bikes but you get what you pay for.
As someone who sees these kinds of bikes often at my local co-op (where Mac Liman) works, I can tell you that not all of the issues are something that shows up in a simple “safety check”. For example, the crank spindle below isn’t the only one I’ve seen in that kind of condition. I’ve seen one that was actually twisted inside the bottom bracket like some wrought iron finial.
That is a single spindle that is cracked on
both sides of the spindle.
I’ve also seen bottom brackets where the bearings were ground down to hemispheres and had bottom bracket cups pull apart inside the frame making them to nearly difficult to remove. I’ve seen “steel” cranks have eroded the square taper to a round hole and pedal threads that are complete gone to the point where a slight tug will pull them out of the crank.
The problem isn’t with the assembly but with the materials of construction. Walmart has pushed the price point down so much that the manufacturers are cutting more than just corners.