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May See More Walmart Schwinns On Trails...


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I have to admit my first bike I bought was a Wal-Mart bike. I didn't want to spend all that much in case I didn't enjoy biking again. I hit a few trails at Cameron Park or Mineral Wells. I know my experience level was near zero so I stayed away from anything difficult at first. I did work my way up to a few green trails like Act of Faith. Once I got hooked I went and bought my first Liv bike. I immediately noticed a big difference in performance and riding. Trails were a lot easier and I had more confidence that the bike wouldn't fall apart on me doing downhill.

 

As long as people know their limits and the bikes limits, which I know will probably hardly happen, I don't have an issue with people riding them to start out.

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I've worked on tons of Mongoose XR-75 and the like. Other than the horrible v-brake springs, the main thing holding these bikes back from being a functional form of transportation is the setup. Hubs are always too tight, bottom bracket lockrings come loose, spoke tension all over the place, derailleurs out of alignment, no grease in assemblies. Give a decent home mechanic an hour or two with one and they at least stand a fighting chance.

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2 hours ago, Taco Man said:

I debated discussing the merits of riding a hybrid on ledgy trails, but thought better and that at least they are out on trails.

This is how people get into mountain biking: ride a fun trail on the "wrong bike" while watching someone on the "right bike" crush it. Then go home and buy a more appropriate bike.

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On 2/10/2020 at 11:39 AM, mack_turtle said:

This is how people get into mountain biking: ride a fun trail on the "wrong bike" while watching someone on the "right bike" crush it. Then go home and buy a more appropriate bike.

That's me. I started on my wife's 10 year old FS mongoose. Rode it for a few months, liked riding enough that I got my first real bike. I think it's an excellent strategy for first timers. I always laugh at the CL ads with a brand new 5K bike with an obvious 2-3 rides on it and figured out they hate MTB riding. 

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