Those bikes that they sell at malls

maxbuwaya

Hey guys do you know those bikes that are being sold at the mall? (or "wal-mart" bike to some bike forum as they call it)

Its swarming here in our country, the Philippines. They have shimano parts full suspension and everything. But the catch is, I think those shimano they are selling are fake, They even put sticker of ROCKSHOX to cheap spring forks. And most of the frame are made of steel its so damn heavy! Do you guys have these kind bike in your local mall?

Frustrating thing about is that they are selling at such an expensive price! And they they always sales talk unsuspected buyers of the word "Its a shimano!"

Geeezzz!

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Desolas

I've not come across that around my area (Pacific Northwest, USA) we have pleanty of cheap bikes, but a lot of them are reasonable quality. You can find heavy steel to aluminum frames that while aren't top notch, they will do the job. They usually skimp and use cheap wheels/hubs, and barely decent running gear.

In my experience if it is made by Shimano it will have Shimano cast somewhere on the metal portion of the part. On the cranks, etc. All metal parts will have it as part of the casting so that is something to look for. Also, just because it is Shimano does not mean it is going to be great - Shimano makes a lot of plastic bodied cheap parts for cheap bikes. Usually marked with nothing but Shimano or "SIS" on them. I would avoid the cheap bikes in places like that myself, since like you said it is probably fake. Cheap bike companies in the USA usually give their bikes "cool" sounding names that are not direct rip offs of real companies, like the ROCKSHOX one you mentioned. They usually call them "Vertical" or "Next" .. cool sounding words like "Aftershock" and "Rebound" for the front forks. Stuff that would make a 10 year old kid think his mom bought him a really cool bike. The majority of these bikes are also manufactured for a company called Dynacraft in my area, which I would think is pretty much nation wide. I'm noticing they make some pretty cheap bikes, but also some pretty decent ones..I think it has a lot to do with their volume, they are shipping out okay bikes at a good price.

maxbuwaya

It just remind me of a friend 10 years ago who owns a HUFFY bcycle he bought on some duty free here. My ride was a chromoly frame with mix shimano and suntour parts. and he kept yakking that hes bike is better bec of all those fancy sticker and plastic covers.

Oh well , I just hope the bike dealers at the mall wont damage the image of the sport. By sellling cool sounding bike.

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ireman_1

There are tons of those kinds of bikes out here! Now that the same company that owns Huffy owns GT and Schwin the "fake" MTBs are spreading all over the place. Companys ARE licensing the Rock Shox name and putting stickers on (literally) $40 forks for use on $250 department store bikes. These bikes are crap and not assembled by professionals. My wife put herself through college at one of these "mega" stores and the idiot who was in charge of assembling the bikes (true story) regularly had shifters on backwards or upside down, headsets loose, cranks/pedals loose, etc! I love that there are cheap bikes available so that any socio-economic class can get out and ride, but it pains me that the folks that buy those bikes are getting ripped off and cheated with crap service and parts.
I can't tell you how many of these I have seen come in with the parent or owner asking me to "fix" it. They buy crap from Wal-Mart and then want a real bike person to fix it, cheap! Whatever.
Desolas-
Maxbuwaya is talking about Wal-mart and Freddies type bikes, not the inexpensive bikes at the LBS. Rock shox has sold it's soul lately. Hopefully now that SRAM has control they will bring the name some of its lost honor (not that I would ride a Rock shox, but a pioneer should have some dignity). It just goes to show there's two or three born every minute and they all buy bikes at Wal-Mart.

K.

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Disciples Of Dirt

Desolas

ireman, I know exactly what your saying. I bought a cheap bike, that I still use and has actually been a good bike .. I bought it from Fred Meyer; but before I rode it I basically had to take it apart and reassemble it. Everything was loose, just like you mentioned. I had to go through and retighten EVERYTHING, plus tune it.

I can't imagine someone buying a bike like that who knows nothing, gets it home and find it won't shift into several gears or the brakes barely grab. But that's what happens when you pay monkeys to do things

bjoanne2000

Hi
I live in oregon, and while Shimano is a very respected name in bicycling and even fishing, they do make low end items, they want a piece of that market also, I have a schwinn ranger while it is a ridable bike, I do not trust it when I am going to ride hard, I still ride my 20 year old rockhopper, also have a specialized crossroards A1, 2002, it has one of the cheapest derailleurs I have seen on a 300.00 + bike, 12 to 15 dollars, it does the job but again I havent any faith in really putting torque to it. But Shimano does make some crap just like everyone else, I believe that even poor people should be able to have and afford a reliable fun bicycle
Jo Anne

ireman_1

True story Jo Anne, "poor people" should be able to have and afford a reliable fun bike. That's the crux of the the argument: they are not getting a fun and reliable bike much of the time. How much fun can it be if you can't count on it such as in your examples? How reliable can it be if the best it can do is limp to the corner 7-11 or Dairy Mart? And you are right, Shimano wants a (big) piece of that market's pie. We (as knowledgeable bike people) know you can make a truly reliable derailleur for less than $20, retail, yet the ones on the mega store bikes rarely perform as they should or were intended to. These folks, poor or not, are getting screwed out of a good portion of their money and that is what angers me. If they don't have a lot, I wish what they could spend would be spent well. That's all I wish, well for that and my two front teeth! ;-)
Ride well and keep the rubber side down.

K.

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bjoanne2000

I have a friend that just bought a "NEXT"
from wal-mart, she paid 45 dollars in "as is" condition....
She should have taken me with her, but she thought she got a good deal. I went to visit her the day she bought it, I tried to ride it, the derailleur was so out of whack there were zero gears out of 18. I got my book out and adjusted the derailleur from scratch, the tires were on backwards, the brakes were non existant. I told her I would try to fix it, she said if I couldnt she would take it to the bike shop.....I said bad idea, the bike is not worth what they will charge you....5 hours later I had her a working bike, with 18 gears, tires mounted properly, and brakes that work. I would not own that bike, nor will I ride it again. It retails for 68.95 at wal-mart, and it should sell for not more that 19.95. it has full suspension and all the goods, but in my humble opinion "that" bike is a piece of....well it should be flushed!! Wal-mart, if they keep assembling bicycles the way that one was assembled, is going to get someone killed. The bike was dangerous, to anyone unsuspecting of how to ride a bike, and I know how to ride and it was still dangerous! Had I pulled out in front of someone there would have been no way to get out of the way. couldn't stop and couldn't pedal..... yep she got a good deal alright....if she wants to die... the bike is awesome to look at, and that is where any physical activity should stop!

Jo Anne

The Joker

I doubt it's fake shimano. the fact that you've got a 50lb 'downhill' bike with 1" front and rear springs [that's springs rather than suspension] means they're very silly. i guess they look kinda nice to people who don't know much about bikes...

ireman_1

Jo Anne,

Maybe "we" (cyclists) should swear off Wallyworld(?). I feel bad for your friend, but it's very cool she had a friend like you to help out! Have fun.

K.

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bjoanne2000

SWEAR OFF WALLYWORLD??!! Gads where would I shop for clothes, make-up and and and well other stuff? I dont buy bikes there, think I said my schwinn came from wal-mart, but actually I got it at Target. The other two came from bike shops...but naww
I cant quit wallyworld!!!