RStewart

Hey all, I'm new to the forum. Hope this is the right place for this question. Here's my situation, I have a Genesis mountain bike from Wal-Mart & my wife has a Mongoose mountain from Wal-Mart. Took them to the bike shop to have the wheels trued & have the derailers adjusted. I was told because they are department store bikes the derailers weren't that good & they wouldn't stay in adjustment for very long. He told me we would be better off buying a Giant Sedona for me & the girls version for my wife. My Genesis has Shimano Tourney trigger shifters & rear derailer. The Mongoose has Shram twist shifters & a Shimano SIS rear derailer. The Giants have Shimano tourney derailers & the Shram twist shifters. My question, is there a difference in the Shimano parts Giant uses vs the ones on our current bikes?

Thanks for any help

FBinNY 

The same component is the same component regardless of what bike it's on.

I don't know enough about the specifics, the condition and specs of your existing bike, and what a repair would cost to make a judgement whether the dealer is trying to move you to something that would be better in the long haul or trying to make a sale.

If there's a bike Co-op near you, (search for bicycle Co-op, community bike shop, or bike kitchen) that will be your best bet. Co-ops are about keeping bikes like yours going at reasonable cost. Programs vary, with some specializing in education, others renting space and tools so folks can DIY, and others simply doing low cost repairs.

If there is a co-op and they help you, please return the favor by volnteeering some of your time, so the next guy can get help too.

Continuity

Shimano Tourney dérailleurs are, whilst definitely bottom-shelf, perfectly capable of staying in adjustment if properly setup - it's really not that hard to do this - there are plenty of tutorials and YouTube videos showing how to do this and how to check/change cables etc...

As for the wheels, well - on bikes like those, I'd just ride them until there's definitely a problem, and then see what your options are. Maybe just make sure that they're tensioned half-reasonably so that they will at least last as long as they are able to.

Kimmo

The issue with such cheap bikes is that when you pay for any work done to them, it can start to look pretty silly next to the purchase price.

FB's co-op suggestion is on the money; check the links in my tag.

Department store bikes more often than not are poorly assembled, and your bikes would likely benefit a great deal from a good going-over... for instance, the bearing adjustment in the hubs is almost certainly too tight.

As for spoke tension, the wheels on even bikes this cheap seem to be surprisingly well-built in recent years, in general.

RStewart

I appreciate all the replies. Yes, the bill to true the wheels ($40/bike) & to tune brakes/derailers ($70/bike) was as much add the cost of them new. One benefit from buying the new bikes is free lifetime maintenance. But I'm starting to think the guy was just trying to sell me a couple bikes based on b.s. His main point was the quality of the parts & they are the same on our cheap bikes & these $330 bikes.