Low-End Bike Soap Box: A Mechanic's Perspective
Some credentials: I trained as an apprentice mechanic under the one (good) eye of a master craftsman named Peter Kerezman in Kingsville, TX from 1983-89. I have managed two repair-oriented neighborhood stores for a total of about three years, and worked in several others. My favorite bike shop tool is the electric grinder, second favorite, a head-tube "finisher" which makes pressed cups right and headsets last. Third favorite, the old blue Wheelsmith repair manual, with 2- and 3-speed hub breakdowns and lucid wheel-building instructions and theory.
Yes, I own a two-thousand dollar road bike (with twelve-year-old Dura-Ace/Ultegra), and I'm biased towards repair stands vs. home repair when available.
My opinion: Wal-mart bikes are just fine if they are properly dis- and re-assembled. And I respect the Chinese sweat that went into them just like I do the well-paid welding or carbon-fiber work of an American craftsperson. I respect even more the people who pedal them around town, and I always defer to their grace while spinning effortlessly up a hill on my sub-20 pounder.
Shamefully, Wal-mart bikes are, or are strongly perceived to be, THE most affordable ready-to-ride geared bikes for the working poor, bar none. What they need is our help selecting them and putting them together if they insist on buying one.
Recommendation Uno: no suspension, especially soft-tails. It's heavy and it's cheap and it breaks. People think it looks cool, convince them otherwise. If you can't argue for the elegance and weight-savings of a full-hard, just ask someone the dessert island question: would you rather be stuck with a cane pole or the latest tackle gadgetry?
Numero Dos: Explain to folk that they should buy it in the box and take it to you and help put it together with love. Wal-mart/Etc. don't pay their employees enough to grease your cables and all the metal-to-metal contacts, to properly torque the crankarm bolts, to tweak and (typically as needed) tighten the spokes and true the wheels, to remove the wheels and adjust the cones, or even to properly center the stem and inflate the tires. We need some non-commercial version of the Pete Kerezman special (ca. 1985): bring us the box and we'll build it right for cheap.
Some other things you can do if you are more ambitious: unpack and regrease the bottom bracket. The quality of grease is typically low from the factory. I only recommend this for high-precipitation environments. Also, you can usually trim the cable housing to a more reasonable length for better braking and derailleur performance.
I think the bias here is largely from (ahem . . . commercial mechanic's soapbox) those who have assembled very few boxed bikes, or from those commercial mechanics who aspire to work in the rare PRO shop. It is ironic that most older pro mechanics I know will cuss and steam, but then confess that low-end is fine if assemble d properly and suspension avoided.
The point is don't be a Surly-Campy-Orbea gear-head, dance with the folk, and think of the worst bikes as One Less Car.
Solidarity,
James Thompson