Huffy EZ Build Bike - Unsafe
07-30-18, 08:25 PM
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Huffy EZ Build Bike - Unsafe
Do NOT buy this bike for your children.
I guess this is sort of a PSA on a dangerous bike model sold at Walmart (and other department stores). I was in need of a 16" bike in a hurry for my 4 yr old daughter who was just making the jump from training wheels to 2 wheels (went from balance bike, to training wheels, to normal bike in 2 weeks!). Evidently everyone was bike shopping that week because there were very few options available around grandma's house. We bought a Huffy EZ Build Rock It (model 51808) at Walmart, pre-assembled at the store by the 'experts'. Before her first ride, the handle bars popped off. I figured out the mechanism and re-attached. During the 3rd or 4th ride, the bottom bracket failed, components fell out, chain fell off, and she had no brakes and panicked. She went in the ditch and hit a trashcan. A bit shaken and bumped up, but thankfully there had been no traffic or otherwise hazardous objects nearby.
I did not expect a bike that would last forever and be handed down to my grandkids. I did expect a bike that would last a few summers under the load of a little girl. A bike that can't safely handle a 40 lb girl for a cumulative 20 minutes on smooth level pavement is not a product worth buying at any price. Especially with the kicker that evidently Walmart does not refund/replace bicycles for any reason. I left it with the manager to throw in their dumpster.
Now that we are back home and have time we will shop around for something more reliable we will get something better. Watch out!
I guess this is sort of a PSA on a dangerous bike model sold at Walmart (and other department stores). I was in need of a 16" bike in a hurry for my 4 yr old daughter who was just making the jump from training wheels to 2 wheels (went from balance bike, to training wheels, to normal bike in 2 weeks!). Evidently everyone was bike shopping that week because there were very few options available around grandma's house. We bought a Huffy EZ Build Rock It (model 51808) at Walmart, pre-assembled at the store by the 'experts'. Before her first ride, the handle bars popped off. I figured out the mechanism and re-attached. During the 3rd or 4th ride, the bottom bracket failed, components fell out, chain fell off, and she had no brakes and panicked. She went in the ditch and hit a trashcan. A bit shaken and bumped up, but thankfully there had been no traffic or otherwise hazardous objects nearby.
I did not expect a bike that would last forever and be handed down to my grandkids. I did expect a bike that would last a few summers under the load of a little girl. A bike that can't safely handle a 40 lb girl for a cumulative 20 minutes on smooth level pavement is not a product worth buying at any price. Especially with the kicker that evidently Walmart does not refund/replace bicycles for any reason. I left it with the manager to throw in their dumpster.
Now that we are back home and have time we will shop around for something more reliable we will get something better. Watch out!
07-30-18, 09:57 PM
#2
Tortoise Wins by a Hare!
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"Especially with the kicker that evidently Walmart does not refund/replace bicycles for any reason."
I thought Walmart had an excellent, no questions asked return policy.
EDIT:
"Walmart's Bicycle Return Policy. Walmart accepts returns on bicycles up to 90-days after the purchase. Just wheel the bike to customer service, hand over the receipt, and they will give you a refund."
I thought Walmart had an excellent, no questions asked return policy.
EDIT:
"Walmart's Bicycle Return Policy. Walmart accepts returns on bicycles up to 90-days after the purchase. Just wheel the bike to customer service, hand over the receipt, and they will give you a refund."
07-31-18, 08:57 AM
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Usually I would not recommend reading youtube comments about anything bicycle, but in THIS case, read the comments.
-mr. bill
-mr. bill
Last edited by mr_bill; 07-31-18 at 09:02 AM.
07-31-18, 09:38 AM
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Even the bikes sold at real bike stores are pretty raw out of the box--a quality shop will take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2+ hours to get a major-brand bike roadworthy. Shop owners are routinely lied to by sales reps about this--no bike is a 30 minute assembly if you care about your customer's experience on it. No department store assembly should EVER be trusted. If someone doesn't want to pay a bike store to do the assembly, internet and print resources exist to make a bike at least close to non-lethal if not well adjusted.
07-31-18, 06:20 PM
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Many of the five star “reviews” were how cute the bike is and my kid loves their first bike.
Just wondering, what percentage of handlebar failures in the first one, two, five rides are acceptable?
-mr. bill
Last edited by mr_bill; 07-31-18 at 07:17 PM.
08-01-18, 04:03 PM
#7
Mostly Harmless
We bought a Huffy EZ Build Rock It (model 51808) at Walmart, pre-assembled at the store by the 'experts'. Before her first ride, the handle bars popped off. I figured out the mechanism and re-attached. During the 3rd or 4th ride, the bottom bracket failed, components fell out, chain fell off,
My own recent Wal-Mart bike story:
An older guy that I see fairly regularly on a MUP recently bought a Schwinn from Wal-Mart. I have reason to think he could not easily afford better, so I kept the LBS bikes are better lecture to myself.
It seemed to be a nice enough bike for the money, but one of the features he showed me was that the front wheel stopped automatically when he lifts the front wheel off the ground.
It didn’t take me too long to see that the Wal-Mart assembler had left the cam lever off the skewer. That allowed the axle freedom (when elevated off the pavement) to drop onto the lawyer lip, which resulted on the brake pads touching the tire.
I let him know that this was not at all safe, and he needed to return the bike for repair right away.
Next time I saw him, it was fixed. He said they didn’t charge him anything. I asked him if they apologized for their mistake, and he said no.
08-01-18, 05:38 PM
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I can't defend the execution, but I love the concept of a bike that snaps together and is ready to go. But of course it has to work. And I suspect it will require some technologies that, while simple, haven't been invented yet. It might also make a bike cost 20 cents more.
08-02-18, 06:36 AM
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"Especially with the kicker that evidently Walmart does not refund/replace bicycles for any reason."
I thought Walmart had an excellent, no questions asked return policy.
EDIT:
"Walmart's Bicycle Return Policy. Walmart accepts returns on bicycles up to 90-days after the purchase. Just wheel the bike to customer service, hand over the receipt, and they will give you a refund."
I thought Walmart had an excellent, no questions asked return policy.
EDIT:
"Walmart's Bicycle Return Policy. Walmart accepts returns on bicycles up to 90-days after the purchase. Just wheel the bike to customer service, hand over the receipt, and they will give you a refund."
08-02-18, 07:03 AM
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"Walmart reserves the right to warn, limit or decline returns or exchanges regardless of whether the customer has a receipt. All Non-Receipt returns are subject to a refund verification process. Customers are encouraged to retain their purchase receipts, online order receipts and e-receipts. All decisions regarding returns are subject to applicable laws. The Store Manager has the authority to make a final decision for all returns."
-mr. bill
-mr. bill
08-07-18, 08:47 PM
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“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Ben Franklin, possibly?
08-09-18, 03:14 PM
#12
Cycleway town
I built all three of the bikes i bought for my daughter (now 7yo). I wouldn't buy a bike built by a shop and just give it to her to ride.
08-15-18, 10:03 AM
#13
Old and in the way.
Theee is a simple answer to this, but lots of people won’t like it: regulations. Require bikes sold to meet a basic industry standard. Require people who assemble bikes to complete some kind of in house training covering a complete safety spec. Require manufacturers to provide detailed instructions for assembly including torque values for all. Components. And also require certified metal parts. I have seen cheap bikes where the brakes broke from cheap metal.
We do do it with cars, we do it with boats, planes, cranes... why not bikes?
We do do it with cars, we do it with boats, planes, cranes... why not bikes?
08-15-18, 10:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Huffy
Insert Handlebar and Fork
NOTES:
NOTES:
- Ensure Collar A is fully loosened.
- Insert Fork UP through frame with Groove B facing FRONT
- Insert Handlebar DOWN into bike frame until Buttons C SNAP into place - Rapid Force is needed at Stem D
- Pull UP on Handlebar to ensure it is locked securely - repeat above steps if needed
- Hand tighten Collar A
- Either is an invalid test to ensure that the handlebar is locked securely (instruction flaw)
- Or correctly indicates that the handlebar is locked, but subsequently the handlebar unlocks during use (design flaw)
Last edited by mr_bill; 08-16-18 at 08:16 AM.
08-15-18, 05:05 PM
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BTW, it’s possible Either/Or are both true, but no matter.
We can always find a way “to blame it on other people,” people like the child, or the parents, or the grandparents, or the great-aunts or the great-uncles, or....
Maybe all of the above? Because....
-mr. bill
We can always find a way “to blame it on other people,” people like the child, or the parents, or the grandparents, or the great-aunts or the great-uncles, or....
Maybe all of the above? Because....
-mr. bill
Last edited by mr_bill; 08-15-18 at 07:28 PM.
