I don’t remember if I mentioned it previously or not and I’m too lazy to go back and look it up, but one of the recurring major interests in my life is cycling. Which I have been particularly interested in lately, after a bit of a hiatus.
Which brings me to the latest controversy, which I am wading into a year or so late. I don’t care, it may not be new but it’s new to me.
At some point Walmart dropped a gravel-specific bike (actually, two of them) at an amazingly attractive price point, particularly in comparison to the offerings at any local bike shop. Here it is:
The controversy lies in whether this represents yet another bicycle-shaped object, or whether this represents a radical new entry point for beginner cyclists, intermediate riders on a budget, and the bike-curious (Gratuitous. Had to anyway.).
My curiosity was piqued and I have been spending a fair bit of time going down that particular rabbit-hole and exploring the various forum posts, comments, and — best of all — YouTube videos about it.
Full disclosure: I am something of a recovering Fred/roadie-wannabe. I have tens of thousands of miles under my belt, a few centuries, and a glorious week of RAGBRAI to brag about, as well as too many decades of experience wrenching on my own equipment, often for purposes of wringing barely-adequate performance out of subpar parts that don’t quite fit.
Here’s my short assessment: The bike is highly functional as a bike, if it’s set up correctly. Like virtually any bike, it’s going to require a little bit of tender loving care during assembly, to be able to get the best out of it that it offers. This is going to take a couple hours of labor if you take it to a bike shop, and probably an afternoon or so (say 2-4 hours, depending on your tools, setup, skills, etc.) if you try to do it in your own garage. The average user isn’t going to do this, or isn’t going to have the skill or patience to do it well, and both they and the machine are going to suffer because of that when it comes time to ride it.
For absolute best results the wheel will need to be trued and the spokes tensioned. You probably don’t have a truing stand. I don’t even have one…yet. This job can be done without one, although it’s a bit more difficult. You can also build a perfectly good one for yourself out of plywood, which is probably a good way to go but it adds to the time & cost commitment. I wouldn’t bother with this unless you plan to do wheels somewhat regularly.
The rest of the tuneup work is pretty straightforward and DIY-accessible, especially if you have a few tools and a repair stand.
This is part of what you pay for when you purchase a bike from a bike shop. It adds easily $200 to the overall sticker price, which is very little when you are talking about a $5-10,000 high tech racing machine but it is going to nearly double the price of something like this that lives on the bottom end of the market.
Do the work well, and the bike will reward you. The components are basic, and inexpensive. They do not perform nearly as crisply as high-end ones would (that’s why they are high end…). But they are perfectly functional and reasonably durable. It would be nice to upgrade some or all of them, but it is by no means necessary. If you do wish to upgrade, everything is compatible with standard parts so you can go nuts. Very DIY-approachable for this.
And here is where the paths diverge. Whether or not I would recommend this bicycle depends on who you are and what your goals are, for yourself and for the bike.
Are you a serious rider who’s down on his luck and needs a low-cost entry point? This bike may be for you…but it may not. You can get a much better bike, with much better components, on the used market and you probably know what to look for. If time is on your side I’d say go used. Go on Craigslist, sometimes you can find a Giant or a Trek for $50-100. Much more bike, much less moolah, and the odds are pretty good that someone had a shop tune it up already so it should only need minor adjustment, not a full setup.
Are you a casual or curious rider looking for a good entry point? This bike may or may not be for you, depending on your mechanical aptitude. If you can DIY, or if you have a friend who can help you, absolutely. If not, it might be okay but by the time you purchase one of these and pay a bike mechanic to go over it you could have bought something with much better components on the used market. But it would help a lot to do research or enlist the help of someone who knows what they are looking at, if you go that route. This is a known quantity, which has some advantages over anything on the used market (let the buyer beware!).
Are you planning to buy it, strip the components, and then build up something racy? It’s a great platform for tinkering but if your goal is to save money I don’t think this will do much for you. The components it comes with have essentially zero resale value (Dura-Ace they are not), so you can’t really defray costs that way. By the time you buy all the upgraded components you want (pretty much everything on the frame is serviceable but would benefit from an upgrade…including the fork) you’ve pretty much bought yourself a high-end bike and then some. If your goal is to space these purchases out in time and ride it until something wears out or breaks or until some wiggle room appears in the budget, this would be a fantastic bike for that.
Overall I would say that the value for money on this thing is virtually impossible to beat, but don’t let the low price tag fool you. It’s amazingly good for the price, it’s good for what it is, it’s the best deal out there when it comes to new bikes, but if you aren’t careful it could cost you way more than it may appear at first glance.
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