Should You Buy A Bike From a Big-Box Store or the Local Bike Shop?
With a Lean Wallet, Which Is The Best Value?
Budgets are tight in these economic times and when shopping for a new bicycle for you or your child, it can be very tempting to buy the cheapest bike you can find. But is it really the best value to buy an inexpensive bike at a “Big Box” store?
Our friend Josh, who manages a bike store in our town, told us about a woman who brought in a bike she had just purchased two hours earlier at a Wal-Mart for $150 that was so damaged from her first ride that it would cost another $150 to fix. The bike, it turned out, had not been built correctly with the front derailleur put on backwards. So as she put the bike through the normal shifting, it caused a literal “chain reaction” that resulted in significant damage.
Alternatively, she could have purchased an entry-level Trek mountain bike for the $300 she ended up paying. It would have been lighter, with a higher quality frame, better welding, etc. and put together by someone who knows what they are doing.
If you have children, inevitably the happy day will come, when they will want to own and ride a bicycle. With kids, it can be very tempting to go to a place like Toys R Us and buy a sparkly pink $80 bike for our young daughter or a cool looking “mountain” bike with a fake front shock for our son. After all, they will just grow out of them, right? Well, you hope so. How about another true story?
A Problem that is Hard to Fix
My husband Paul fixes a lot of the neighborhood children’s bikes for free. One young boy brought his bike over for repair. It should have been an easy fix with two flat tires. The bike was from a “Big Box” store though, and it had a unique 18-inch wheel size. My husband went to about five different places searching for tubes that would fit and came home empty-handed. Instead, he patched the tubes with 8 patches. He also tried to adjust the seat for the young man—but the seat had an adjustment span of maybe an inch. What was even more discouraging was this small bike was deceptively heavy; it weighed more than half the boy’s weight!
What's the real cost of a "Big Box Store" bike?
A Better Story
Alternatively, we bought our oldest son for his first bike a Giant brand bike from a Seattle bike store. He rode it, and then passed it down to his younger brother when he grew out of it. Our second son is notoriously hard on stuff, but the bike was not the worse for wear. When our first daughter was ready for it, my husband gave the red bike a more feminine look by switching out the black seat, tires, and handle grips for white ones. She passed it down to her little sister, and a few years later, the bike went to another family who continued to pass it on down the line. Somewhere, I think some child is still riding that bike. I just love happy endings, don’t you? Bicycles are meant to be ridden by children and not end in trash bins on garbage pick-up day.
When you compare quality, the value of a bike store bicycle comes shining through!
Lets Compare & Contrast
Big Box Chain
Bike Shop Chain
Big Box Store Bike:
- Heavier—may weigh up to 25% more than its brand-name equivalent
- May not have been put together correctly which can be a safety issue
- The place you bought it from will not offer servicing for your bike
- May not be able to replace parts
- Might not have any re-sale value
- Some kids’ bikes are such poor quality; they ultimately end up in a landfill, not being passed down to other kids.
- Shifting and braking will not be as smooth
- Seat may not adjust very much or as smoothly (esp. with kids’ bikes)
- A lower quality bike may give a novice such a negative experience with cycling; they may never want to use the bicycle again.
What is wrong with this "Big Box" bicycle? The fork is on backwards! This would affect steering and braking and would be a safety issue.
Bike Shop Bike (Equivalent Entry-Level Bike)
- Lighter bike overall
- Reliable shifting, better quality brakes
- Replacement parts are readily available
- Reliability—the bike shop will stand behind its work and the bike should last for years
- Better warranty—typically lifetime frame warranty
- It will have some re-sale value, if you should want to up-grade to another bike one day
(A big thank-you to the experts who helped me with this article: my husband Paul and Josh Dennis of Guthrie Bikes!)
If you are shopping for your first road bike, here is an article, you might want to read. If you want some tips for finding a female-friendly bike shop and more tips on buying your first bike, look here.
Nice post. I think there’s definitely a lot of truth to this. However, first-time buyers should also be aware that not all local bike shops are a great place to buy low end bikes. Most local bike shops here in MPLS don’t stock the $300 entry-level trek you mention. They’re more than happy to order one, but if the buyer doesn’t know it exists, they aren’t going to go out of their way to suggest it, either. Even my favorite LBS here that understands the needs of commuter & entry-level cyclists better than most shops stocks entry-level bikes mostly in the $500+ range.
QUESTION: when you mention big-box stores, are you including big-box sporting goods stores in there as well? I think they are entirely a third animal than local bike shops and general big box stores.
Thanks, Reuben!
You are right, not all local bike stores have many low-end bikes, and it pays to shop around.
In answer to your question, by “big-box stores” I mean Wal-Mart or Toys R Us and the like. Sporting goods stores are altogether different. The one closest to our house offers a nice stock of Fuji bikes. So the bikes aren’t bad at all–but you’d have to ask for the employee(s) who know their way around bicycles for help.
For the opposite approach to the “they’ll just outgrow it” strategy, check out the second person profiled here: http://clevercycles.com/2009/10/29/who-rides-a-brompton/ If you can get a top quality bike that won’t be outgrown, do it.
I completely agree! I love private bike shops, even though they may be a bit more expensive, the people who run the store are so much more able to help. When Tyler and I lived in Corvallis, OR it was our Saturday activity to go browse all the bike shops in town (as there were about four or more in the small town of Corvallis). I really enjoyed the article!
If you want to see what people really think of these bikes by brands such as Huffy just go onto Amazon.com and read some reviews. You will want to save your money for another month and buy a bike from your Local Bike Shop as one of the customers noted.
I love my LBS. Once you find a shop you like, they will become your best friends. I get good discounts, free tune-ups, and lots of good advice. I would definitely recommend shopping around and finding a shop you are comfortable with…not all LBS are created equal!
Without question… Local Bike Shops all the way. Not only is it crucial for the local economy and the folks to whom you’re going to turn when your bike needs repairs and maintenance, but non-bike shop bikes are significantly harder to repair and maintain. They use non-standard parts that are a hassle to get.
Anyone new to bicycles should buy their first bike from a local bike shop. You pay a bit more because of the store’s overhead and lower volume, but in return you get to ask questions of a real person working there and you can get your bike turned if you don’t know how yet. If you find a good LBS, you will learn from the staff what you need about tuning up the bike yourself.