Sounds like a decent amount of knowledge on the boards today. Would love to hear people’s recommendations for “value” buys in different price ranges. Say:
- < $500 (maybe none)
- $500 to $800
- $800 to $1,500
- $1,500 and up
Thanks!
Bikes direct dot com has some good rides on the cheap.
'Round these parts, we refer to those as Bike-Shaped Objects.
Good Post.
Gee, I still own a Walmart beach cruiser that I bought about 20 years ago after minor knee surgery. Basic $89 bike. 1 speed, pedal brakes, balloon tires soft seat, just what I needed and wanted, Now, I could have afforded any bike I wanted as I expect my net worth exceeds 99.9% percent of the posters but I bought what I needed. And guess what? I still have that bike. It still has the same tires, new tubes, perfect paint and nothing else. Now I ,must admit it lives an easy life in Florida with very light use and doesn’t get usage it wasn’t intended for. But all you snobs that love to spout about your overpriced $5k bikes make me vomit. My son started on the same inexpensive bikes and now is a very competitive ironman competitor and marathoner. He upgraded his equipment as he exceeded it’s abilities, not the other way around like most bike rider poseurs. You snobs forget that some people have “lives” over than polishing their knobs on their bikes and posing in their shorts and batman glasses. So quit knocking what Walmart sells. If Walmart decided to buy that company that makes your $5K bike, the next day the price would drop 40% the quality would be the same and the support system would improve. Also love the caste system of Cannondale owners also.
It was nice for me to read. I have two boys (11 & 13) and was considering this bike until I read this post. Now I will definitely go the extra mile and get them “real” bikes that are going to last and not have constant issues. The advice was helpful. I appreciate the amount of time it took to put it together.
Because serious cyclists are almost uniformly snobs about bikes. If a bike can’t stand up to the hardest duty they can imagine, it is crap and the world must know.
Most of the failure modes listed in this thread aren’t going to occur for most riders. I am huge, and I abuse the hell out of drivetrains, and the only parts I have routinely destroyed are tubes, tires, and multi-part bottom brackets.
Me, too. And if you buy a cheap bike, you can replace the parts that do break with good ones, and end up with a bike that will last for at most the price you would have paid if you’d gone with those parts in the first place; but you got to pay in installments. This will probably end up being a 350 dollar bike for anyone who intends to continue riding it.
Maybe a bike like this isn’t for downhill riding; but I’ve ridden worse over animal trails and jagged rocks on level ground.
Disclaimer: This is a review of a very similar bike made ~10 years ago by diamondback for the same price.
The bike had multiple problems right out the door: brakes were misaligned, shocks were not very effective. I tried to get these fixed but the mechanics didn’t fix the problems. This could be blamed on the mechanics, but understand when you give a mechanic a Diamondback, they will put less effort into fixing your bike. Find a really good mechanic when you buy this bike. Over the years, I have spent hundreds of dollars on maintenance. Not just brakes wearing out, not just tires wearing out. Most recently the bottom bracket wore out. When my bicycle seat was stolen, I wasn’t able to find a replacement for months because the seat post hole was a different size than any other bike seat post. When I complained about the shocks to a mechanic 6 years ago, they said it’d be cheaper to replace the bike than the fork. I haven’t gotten a replacement bike and I’ve dealt with a bad set of shocks for ~4 years.
That said, this bike has survived quite a lot of riding, thousands of miles uphill and downhill commuting over the past 10 years. Treat it well and replace tons of parts and you will have it for a decade maybe.
One of the very interesting pros of this bike is the weight. One would expect a mountain bike to be very heavy. Mine is 35 pounds and is a 19" (one of the larger bikes). Getting a bike that is significantly lighter costs a lot more than $250 and comes with a lot of tradeoffs (strength, material, shocks).
Bottom line: know what you’re getting into when you buy a bike. Buying a used bike might be a better option.
If you have a small local bike shop near you, or even one a few miles away it *should be the greatest experience ever for your families biking.
My small family owned (husband and wife) bicycle shop is really amazing! It is Trek but they do sell other brands. I could go on and on about how the owner has gone above and beyond normal biz… Trek has the rep for being crazy expensive but I was actually shocked to find that they do have bikes in this price range (maybe a little higher - but with sales???) AND with lifetime guarantees and full service mechanics etc.
performancebike is also a great place to buy bikes at. They have a lot of choices… Get a membership with them for the first year and watch for price changes - they have many guarantees *price match, etc! Mail order accessories etc.
Sizing bikes is so important. Especially for kids. performancebike has a program to help with growing kids… I don’t have kids so can’t really vouch for that but read up on it… These places are usually located in mall type areas so have a test area for riding but also will take back bikes if you change your mind. ***please check on this all as things may have changed since I read up on them!
I am passionate about cycling. Never drove. if I found a bike in my size thrown out on the curb I would take it but then I know what I am looking for. I am no mechanic - I can do some things to keep up the bike but have to go to the shop for repairs and such… I am not a bike snob! Once one knows what they want in a bike going to Goodwill or the Salvation Army is a great place to find bikes.
There is an ongoing *Customer Discussions > Cycling forum at Amazon… but sometimes too much info can be overwhelming! and just getting to a local bike shop (lbs) is the best remedy.
hope this helps… lastly, many local city halls have free programs and give-aways of kids helmets. Check with your city/county.
You’d buy it because your commute is filled with potholes, curbs, broken sidewalks, and stripped streets.
I’ve had a sorrento since 2001, and with a rack and basket it’s made an excellent, DURABLE commuter.
The only front fender that my LBS was able to install was a mud fender for BMX style bike, but it fit and it keeps the ra in off fairly well.
In the back we had clearance issues with my rack so no rear fender, but the rack catches most of the stuff anyway.
Well, why don’t you run a search on e.g. the mothership before you post then?
Front can be a bit of a hassle because of the brake: with a disk pretty much any front fender will fit, with clamp brake you might have to go for an $20 topeak. Rear ones usually clamp on to the seat post, any $5 plasticky mudflap will work just fine.
As this is bike to work week - thesweethome just updated the review of The Best Hybrid Bike… That site and the main site - thewirecutter are the best sites for reviews of most things! Plus anyone can add comments at the bottom.
Trek is the winner for them in this cat. again, if you have a local shop… btw, forgot to mention above, do sign up for email notices for special coupons and secret sales at your local shops.
Well I for one appreciate your input! I never buy ANYTHING online without reading the reviews. Thank you for taking the time. Your review did actually stop me from buying this. Have a great day. 
Unless your boys are done growing, that would be a mistake. Get a bike they can grow out of, and pay accordingly.
You’re right, and so are the Cannondale owners. You bought a beach cruiser and you’re riding it as a beach cruiser and it’s fine. The hard-core mountain bikers bought a “real” mountain bike and ride the hell out of them on off-road trails. And the hard-core commuters bought a fixie with no brakes and no suspension and they hipster themselves through all the traffic and bypass all the standard traffic laws while wearing their hemmed-up jean shorts and yelling at you for not noticing them blasting in front of you from out of your blind spot.
If you truly want a moutain bike for mountain bike riding, this probably is not your deal unless you weigh 150-175lbs and don’t beat the crap out of it.
As for getting a commuter bike with a suspension, I would spend more on something where the firmness of the suspension is adjustable to where normal pedaling won’t compress it a bunch, but everyday obstacles like storm grates and potholes or whatever comes your way don’t jar the helmet off of your head or taco a rim. I also tend to encounter plenty of curbs.
Personally, I have no problem with bikers on the road if they follow the rules that apply to everyone. I can’t stand people who ride super-thin tires and then complain that there is gravel in the bike lane, which is why they’re riding in the car lane… If you aren’t on a road-worthy contraption, get off the road.
I spent $1350 on a Cannondale mountain bike about 15 years ago. It has disc brakes (really freakin’ nice) and a front suspension that can be locked out in case you’re really cranking and don’t want all the energy of your pedaling getting sucked into the suspension. It was meant as a lightweight cross-country deal and I immediately broke lots of parts, bent rims, flatted the paper-thin tires, stripped the freewheel, etc. Once I replaced all that with stuff worthy of my riding style, including rims made with tandem bicycle spokes (not quite re-bar), it’s still together and working well 15 years later. But I put lots of money into it to do so, at least compared to this $250 special.
So, again, you get what you pay for.
There is a pretty decent argument for 7 vs. 8 or 9… namely, as the number of speeds go up, chains get thinner and shifters/derailleurs more complex. Of the 27 speeds I have, I think I probably use about 7 of them on a regular basis.
However, as another user points out, this is apparently on some sort of rear spacing that is the same for an 8 or 9-speed, so maybe kinda dumb.
I used to be an mountain biker. You need to spend. around $4,000 on a bike if you want it to last and get the best out of the trails. The bike here is fine for entry level riding around the local park but this thing won’t last one dirt jump if you can even get this monster in the air.
Maybe 20 years ago Walmart sold decent bikes but they are total crap today. I bought a $120 Huffy cruiser bike for my wife there couple of years ago and it was complete and total Junk. It was stored inside and yet was rusting within 6 months. (and I live in Arizona) She got a flat every other time she rode it. I upgraded the tubes from the kiddy ballon thickness ones it came with and she still got flats because the tires were crap too. Wheels started to wobble after 4-5 rides and assorted noises started which made it torture to ride. I gave the rusty piece of crap away before she rode it 10 times.
Bike snobs are annoying. I have a lot of experience with bikes and the best advice I can give people is spend some time looking on craigslist. There are tons of good name brand used bikes that original sold for $600-$800 that you can pick up for half that. Lots of people buy them with good intention but don’t use them and they are essentially brand new. (95% of the riders out there don’t need to spend thousands on a bike)
Don’t listen to this. The entry level on a decent beginner hardtail bike is about $700-800, new. Nobody needs to start with a $4,000 bike; it’s not even a good idea, because bikes of that level are specialized into different categories and a new rider won’t yet know what category they want.
It probably won’t last one serious dirt jump, but 95% of mountain bikers (at least!) won’t ever do even a single large jump. Some categories of bike (cross-country, notably) won’t survive that even at the high end, because most riders don’t do that and it’s not what they’re for.