Mongoose Bicycles

Lots of horror stories
regarding Walmart bikes. It’s the assembly, not the bike. Still, the bike you got is not a high quality piece and will not last nearly as long as a higher quality bike. Find a bike shop and buy yourself a Trek 7100. As mentioned it should cost less than $300. It is perfectly suited for the tasked you’ve mentioned and will last you for years. It is money well spent. If that’s too much for the budget find a used Trek, Cannondale, Fuli, Specialized, or other top brand. Buy from a bike shop. Take the present back to Walmart for a refund.

Trek 7100
I bought a Trek 7100 at my local bike shop last year. It was a little over $300 and worth every penny. And I can take it in for free maintenance twice a year as long as I own it. Customer service is great; this is my third bike from the LBS. I wouldn’t consider buying one from a big box store.

The Trek 7100 is a terrific little road bike for a casual cyclist like me—I ride about 1500 miles a year.

DiamondBack
I’ve been very happy with their bikes. I think they deliver more value than Trek. Of course, I use a bike shop and have never had a problem.



Enjoy…Lou

“Elite”? for $275? Was that used?
I can’t believe it’s much better in quality for that price from a bike shop than one of the wally-world specials. The difference you’re feeling is more likely the skill with which it was put together. I used to deal w/ a guy that managed a bike shop a few years ago, and he told me his guys spend about 4 hours putting together and adjusting a bike out of the box. His techs made pretty good money/hour so there’s a pretty good cost. Subtract that and any profit from the cost of the bike and there’s less cost in material than a wally-world special. And some of their bikes cost nearly that as well.

New 7100…

– Last Updated: Jun-18-07 9:57 PM EST –

I have a BBS bike that cost half as much and is junk. Everything on the Trek is better, great brakes and is the fastest bike I have ever ridden. I know there are better components but it's a great neighborhood/bike path/commuter bike, especially for the price.

If there is an Elite Trek model this is not it.. just making fun of Wildys "Elite Rec kayaks"

Just checked there IS an Elite Trek... This is NOT what I have... sorry for any confusion..

Free maintenance?
That’s a great shop. I clicked on your profile hoping you lived close to me. The shops around here charge an arm and a leg for tune ups.



Fortunately, I bought a GT Outpost several years ago for around $400+, I think. Had the first tune up before my year was up (free) and haven’t felt the need since. A good bike really doesn’t need them that often. A little cable adjustment is easy to figure out or find info on. But that doesn’t work on a cheap bike.



All frames are created equally (from the standpoint of average usage, not hard riding) but the shifters, brakes, cables, cable guides and other hardware are where a bike earns it’s price and reputation. I bought my son a department store bike for his first one several years ago (kids outgrow them too fast to justify a $175 bike, imho) and the brake handles broke the first time he spilled it. Easy to replace but finding small brake handles is not easy.



Find an honest bike shop that has a good rep and competitive pricing and you’ll never regret the purchase.

Just didn’t catch the tongue in cheek.
You’re not one of those that always tries crapping on those of us with plastic rec kayaks are you? If so, then I guess you don’t practice what you preach with kayaks when it comes to bikes. :wink:



Trek is a good name, and I’m not familiar with the 7100. I haven’t shopped for a bike in about 6 years, but I remember not being able to find a Trek for less than $4-500 back then. Mountain, trail or road didn’t matter. That’s why I thought $275 sounded a little like a sell-out Trek. My GT Outpost has a front shock and is well built for trails, but since I’m no longer in shape for trails and it’s not very efficient on the road (a little heavy) maybe I should take a looksie at the Trek.



But not until I upgrade to a new kayak of course. . . .





:wink:

Trek Hybrid
Not fast enough to be a road bike and not rugged enough to be a mountain bike.



From what I’ve seen I can’t afford to be both a kayak elitist and a bike elitist. :slight_smile:

I can’t afford either . . .
. . . so at least you’ve got one down.



But keep that in mind the next time you preach to someone the evils of buying plastic or criticizing all recreational kayakers. Or maybe that was grayak. I get the names confused. No offense intended.

Must be Greyak… L

– Last Updated: Jun-18-07 10:56 PM EST –

Just priorities...

I probably paddle six days a week so I ended up with a boat I can really appreciate, and it's cheaper than the gym.

If I rode a bike that much I'm sure I'd find a way to have a much better bike.


assembly
i actually got a mongoose from walmart but looked at several of the same models to see which one was put together the best. then when i took it home i just tweeked it a little to make sure that everything was working the way it should. i have had no problems with the bike at all, a friend of mine has a similar bike that cost him $200 more and when we bike together there is no difference, in terms of what we are able to do with out bikes or the effort we need. if you know a little about bikes you should be able to just make sure it’s assembles right and not have to spend more money than you want, especially if you’re only going to be on sidewalks and such.

Moved by this thread to change

– Last Updated: Jun-20-07 12:53 AM EST –

I have been watching this thread and have really enjoyed the exchanges. I was waiting for it to fall apart and head to B&B, but to my surprise, it was good. It made me think my own bike circumstance. In 1991 I bought a Pacific 21 spd from a big box store and paid about $300. It has been a great bike and I am still riding it regularly today. But reading this thread indicates that there is a huge difference between LBS and Wally World today. So, this morning I played hooky from work for an hour and had the best time at a LBS. It was incredible the difference between GOOD bikes today and my old bike (that I love but am seriously considering cheating on her).

I have decided to buy a new bike and now my only decision is whether to go with a pure mtn bike or a hybrid. I will probably spend 90% of my time on roads and bike trails, but would like the ability to take off road from time to time.

I am like most on this board, I have spent all my mad money on boats so am wanting to be a little frugal here. I found a Kona Mtn bike that fit great for just under $500. As said in earlier post, I was able to find bikes for as low as $370 that had a lot of bang for the buck. Also, and I think this important, the LBS was fantastic. However much money you have is how much you can spend, but when I explained what I was looking for, they pointed me to choices in my range and never pressured me to move up.

Very fun experience.

Jay

If assembly is the issue, try this
Bother the managers at your local big box store to see if you can find out who is assembling their bikes. I don’t know who assembles the bikes at the local Wal-Mart, but I do know the guy who assembles the bikes for the local K-Mart. He runs a bicycle repair business out of his garage, and he is better at repair than the owner of the local Trek dealership. So I would assume the bikes he assembles for K-Mart are at least properly assembled.

yeah
Yeah but you cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear…

Did it at LBS
Ok, pulling this post out of the ditch for one last run. Maybe it will be of interest to the cyclist on this board.



After a few weeks of research, I spent the last couple of hours this afternoon going to three different LBS and a couple of those twice, and finally made a decision. I had narrowed it down to a Kona Cynder Cone or a Giant Ranier. I finally went with the Giant Ranier as it was in stock and the other was going to be a week or so.



In light of this thread, it is worth mentioning that the service I received was light years away from what you would get at a big box. I had them change the tires out to a differnt style and pressure as well as I changed the seat. All of this was done at no extra charge. After a couple of months I will be taking it back in for and extensive re-tune at no charge as well.



Picking it up tomorrow at 10a.m. :slight_smile: Very Jazzed :slight_smile:



Jay