Life in the Bike Lane

Deal Chatter Sports & Outdoors
21

Most people buy “beater” bikes that look a bit more beaten up thus the name!

You can usually find beater bikes at your local bike shop (some but not all sell used bikes), Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc.

If you are in a large city that has a bicycle coalition they are usually a good source for shops that have beater bikes… there are even some non-profit bicycle shops who do great community work and sell re-conditioned bikes at great prices.

22

I have no issue with the government protecting me from others. On the other hand, I do take issue with the government trying to protect me from myself. If someone wants to ride helmet less, well, to misquote D*ckens, then they should be allowed to, and thus decrease the surplus population.

23

To ride a bike with no helmet is better than not riding a bike at all. Probability is strongly in your favor, same can not be said for lazy fat people. But to ride with a helmet is better than riding without.

We’ve no problem if you die in a bike accident, what troubles us is if you live and end up with a permanent brain injury.

However, I agree with you, government should stay out of this.

24

Sooo sick of people whining that the government should not tell them what to do.

If you get a brain injury from hitting your head on pavement, after falling off your bike, I will end up paying higher insurance fees to support you and and self absorbed people like you. Then, after the hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical care goes beyond your insurance coverage, I will have to support your idiocy with MY tax dollars.

I’m an ER nurse and I see this all the time. Shut the &%#$ up and wear a helmet.

25

I like bikes!

26

does anyone know the size of this bike? i didn;t see nay options for it or any information on it.

27

Aaahhhhh it’s all falling into place now! Thanks for clarifying!

Why doesn’t Woot ever put frame size on their bike sales? I’d love to buy the Grid, but I just ain’t gonna buy a bike (especially from a site with a no-returns policy) if they don’t even tell me enough to know if it’s the right size. Where’s ThunderThighs on this one?

28

what is the frame size then?

even if its just a M or an L we need some details

29

This may be an obvious question, but do these bikes come unassembled?

30

Obviously unassembled enough to fit into a box.

Being a poor mechanical cyclist myself I would be nervous about getting the braking correct.

In any case, for me, I would have to bring to a local bike shop for a tune up as there are wheel tension and other things to check up on - not just the “put together parts”!

31

Yes, it makes sense. If the gov’t is going to make cyclists wear helmets, they should make guys the ride motorcycles wear them as well.

However, helmets save lives. It’s simple. Cars, accidents, dogs, whatever it is, when you’re topping out at 60 mph on a downhill and you bite it, you’ll be glad.

Also, wrecks are more prominent on bicycles than motorcycles. I mean, when you’ve got a 1 inch wheel diameter, the smallest crack in the road can catch your tire wrong and you can biff it. Another reason helmets are required on the open road.

On a side note, you shouldn’t get this deal. These bikes are mediocre deals, however, you’ll have to pay your local bike shop to assemble them and that gets pricey. Go down there, it’s the beginning of the season and get one on clearance from last year. Or better yet, check out Craig’s List and get one for super cheap. Then take it to your LBS (local bike shop) and have them do a tune up. Most run start of season sales so you could get it tuned for ~50$

32

Buyer Beware! Bought two of the Mongoose bikes and both had major problems. The bikes were promptly shipped and arrived with the packaging in good condition-not crushed or broken in any way-but when we opened the packaging, the bikes had warped wheels, the gears wouldn’t go into first, & the brakes weren’t working properly. When contacted, Pacific Cycle didn’t offer to replace the bikes, saying that we should find a bike shop to repair them. After numerous phone calls attempting to find a repair shop, we finally found one in the next county. The bill for each bike was $65. Pacific Cycle sent us a check for $60 for the wheel repair only. Said everything else wasn’t warranted! Do yourself a favor & purchase your bikes locally where they are assembled & immediately ready to ride. Our bikes were pretty & shiny, but totally useless, & we’re out an additional $100 - could have spent that money on better bikes!

33

I would contact the BBB as well as whatever government safety organization would be involved. Might start with your basic state consumer org which will probably refer you to the proper federal group. This usually gets the corp begging you to take a check/new product whatever it takes to make you happy. They really hate having a Federal negative mark on their name at take it pretty serious!

34

Or save some effort and don’t connect the BBB, since that’s what you already did when you contacted the seller. My understanding is the BBB is financed solely by the sellers and for their own benefit.

35

Response on bike size from Woot customer service. Not going to help anyone though:

“The bike is a size 26 wheel, and should be comfortable for most adults.”

36

From witnessing two events, I will always wear a helmet.

  1. Me, a coworker, and his wife went to a conference in San Francisco. During our break we decided to rent bikes. They weren’t going to wear a helmet, but I commented the front visor is very useful for keep the sun out of your eyes. After biking across the bridge we went along the water. We were on some sidewalk and we were watching the sailboats in the bay. Beth got distracted by the boats, and when the sidewalk met the parking lot, it had a dropoff of about 8 inches. She rode over it and fell back. The back of her head hit the pavement and the helmet split like a watermellon at a Gallagher show. She was fine. If she was not wearing that, she would be a vegetable if she had survived.
  2. a van in front of me stopped to allow a car from the opposite direction make a left turn into a parking lot. A biker went up along side of us attempting to pass on the right (riding in a turn lane). His head punched the side passenger glass of the car that cut across and he flipped over the car. His leg split open but his head was fine. The window his head hit was smashed considerably.
37

You said it, not helpful. Not taking a gamble on information as meager as that. Sorry Woot, you’re missing some good business on this one. Next time, maybe give us the basic information about the product. :frowning:

38

Thanks for your input on my & other responses I read. I intend to do just that. After reading Pacific Cycle’s/Mongoose’s self-serving FAQ responses that take the position that the buyer “broke” their brand new bicycles, I am amazed. Our bicycles could not be ridden right out of the box. I also was surprised to find that what I thought of as a USA-made product was not. It or parts of it were made/assembled in China. When I was young(many years ago), Schwinn was the best you could buy. What a shame this U.S.A. company cares so little for its customers.

39

You’re right, but I gotta try. I have written two letters with little company response, & this is just SO WRONG. Buy new products & it is your responsibility to make them whole??? No! Woot should take notice!

40

You are welcome! It really is a safety issue and if no one speaks up they are endangering many others. I had a leaking espresso machine, did like you and got nowhere with the corp! Contacted the feds and WoW… that corporation really tried to kiss my *ss to make things right! The feds know that if one person complains there are many more out there with the same issue.

The BBB may not do much but it does appear on the corps BBB record corp site! The fed safety record most def gets things rolling! If you need any assistance after this item ends dont worry about messaging me here. It might take me a bit to notice a new message but…