Beware When Buying Bikes at Target

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Sports & Recreation

Home > Sports & Recreation > Topics: Bicycles

Beware When Buying Bikes at Target

Submitted by: sherri 07/30/2009 5:14 PM

I just bought a bicycle a Target for my 12 year old son. They have a bunch on models on the floor that are preassembled that you can buy and take out. We bought a Magna mountain bike for $99.99. You can't really test ride them inthe store, but it was the right size and price. So we bought it.

My son complained that he couldn't get the bike into any of the 15 gears. I thought he must just have not been doing it right, so I tried out the bike and had the same problem. I also noted that the front tire was not aligned right and that the brakes hardly worked.

Now I am sure that most serious bikers buy a bike and can tune it up to get it working perfectly, but that is not my area of expertise and I wasn't going to spend $40 for a tune up on a brand new $100 bike.

My guess is that the in-store bike assembly at a store like target is not that good, hence why there were so many problems with the bike. I would recommend spending a little extra and getting a bike at a store that specializes in bikes.

as a side note, when I brought this bike it to return it, the clerk asked her manager if they should have the bike fix (after I explained the numerous problems with the bike) the manager said "NO, just put it back on the floor." so someone else can buy a bike that doesn't work properly!!! so beware when buying bikes at target. ask if you can test it out in the parking lot first!!

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Comments:

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Sounds like it's better to get a used bike or one from a bike store or Costco instead.

Posted by anonymous on August 01, 2009 4:59 PM

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Has anyone purchased a bike from costco?? do they come assembled?

Posted by anonymous on August 03, 2009 6:50 PM

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I work at Wal-Mart and we pre assemble bikes for our customers as well. Myself and the other assemblers make sure that the bikes are in operational order. Make sure you check the bike over well and shift the bike (while your pedaling!) before buying the bike, if its not quite right ask an associate to tune it up for you. At our store we always tune up bike that were bought from any Wal-Mart that is not older than 90 days and even then we still tune them up for the sake of customer service. I am sure Target will do the same if you ask.

Posted by anonymous on August 10, 2009 4:10 PM

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Target used to have a professional assembly company assemble their bikes. I used to do it. I was very meticulous and took pride in every bike I put out on the floor. In a years time, I would have maybe 10 or so bikes out of 1000 come back for a repair, and it was usually flat tires. I did this for 9 years.

In April of 2009, Target switched to assembling the bikes themselves, using stockers and floor sales people with little to no training on how to assemble a bike safely. I lost my job with my assembly company because Target chose to save a few dollars and put their customers safety below the profit margin.

I saw some of the bikes the employees assembled while the transition was occurring and it scared me. I advise everyone to not buy their bikes at Target.

Posted by anonymous on August 26, 2009 5:08 PM

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When I managed a bicycle shop, we had a standing offer of a free safety inspection and adjustment of any newly purchased bicycle from a big box store.

Low cost bicycles from these stores seem to have very little quality control in production and use the cheapest materials and stamped components.

I have seen spokes assembled with sharp raised points on the nipples that will flatten a tire every time it is ridden. Bikes assembled with handlebar stems installed backward, brakes engaging the tire instead of the rim, derailleurs that won't engage, stripped screws, and missing parts.

While these represent worst case sales, most of the bikes from the box stores work o.k. but they will never be quite in tune and work well.

There is a reason better bikes cost more and when you're ready to step up see your local bike shop. They are professionally trained and make their living primarily selling and working on bicycles and not as a secondary task.

Posted by anonymous on August 29, 2009 5:44 PM

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Buyer beware. I too lament the steep decline in Target pre-assembled bicycle quality. That's my job at Target, among other things.It makes me look bad when other stores don't contribute. There is a new push on my end to crap out as many bikes as possible in the shortest amount of time. I have had the good fortune to be a bike tech in a pro shop elsewhere and bring my skills with me. Doing a good job requires at least 30min per assembly.A Target bicycle may only get 10 or 15min each.Payroll constraints and a woeful lack of training is to blame.The intellectually pedigreed decision makers at Target need to realize that if it has wheels and can travel faster than a person can walk it needs to be built with SAFETY in mind first,even before tweaking the bike to the riders needs. I worry about the experience each rider will have when they buy one of "my" bikes. Too many people give up on the fun and good exercise they could get just because their bicycle wasn't built and tuned right off the rack. I have no illusions about how long I will remain as a Target bike builder. Caring takes time. Time is money. I will go bankrupt before Target does.

Posted by Jack on November 05, 2009 7:06 PM

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I went to Target today and could not find the bike I wanted with workable brakes. I complained to the manager but he really didn't seem to care.

Posted by anonymous on November 19, 2009 7:42 PM

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Oh geez, I had three of these Magna Great Divide bikes, and now that I can afford better, I'll never go back to Target. I rode them about 30 miles a week, just on roads/sidewalks.

First bike: Wouldn't shift. Manually put it into the best gear, and left it there. Brakes also screeched horribly. This was stolen.

Second bike: Brakes screeched, and after about a month, the pedals fell apart while I was riding it. I brought it to the store and exchanged it for...

Third bike: Brakes screeched, and the rear brakes (the little rubber bit that actually stops the tire) fell off while riding. Now I've just got the front brake. But that's okay, because the handlebars are now loose and I had to walk my bike home 3 miles because I was afraid of losing complete control if/when they fell apart while riding.

I'm going to try to fix the handlebars, but if I can't, or when they give out again, I'm biting the bullet and spending the ~300+ for a "decent" bike at a bicycle shop.

@Jack, I worked at Target, and our bike guy hated it, and managed to get a job at a real bike store somewhere too. Such is life.

Posted by anonymous on January 09, 2010 12:05 AM

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you just got a bad assembly, these bikes are made to be self assembled, so if they gave you the instructions that came w/ the bike you should have been able to fix it yourself. If (in general) you expect any other department store like costco or walmart to be better you are crazy. A bike shop bike will be assembled and fit to the rider, but you'll be 300 - 500 bucks minimum.

Posted by anonymous on February 25, 2010 11:35 PM

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Better off to save some money and go to a bike shop. You will save money in the long run.

Posted by anonymous on May 18, 2010 10:29 AM

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FYI. Target is a retail store, not a specialty biking store. Don't be cheap and buy a $70 bike when looking for a quality ride. We get what we pay for.

Posted by anonymous on June 05, 2010 2:49 PM

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I just fixed up an old bike from a box-store, and I have some advice for you:
Check lubrication. Most likely, there isn't any.
Take off anything with a thread and put a dab of grease on it. (pedals, brakes, cable-tension-adjusters, steer, the works)
pour a few drops of oil in the cable-hose. You can do it without dismantling, if you take your time.
Take the seat-stem out, grease it, reinsert it.
Take the steer-stem out, grease it, reinsert it.

Once this is done, the bike will last three times as long - maybe as much as a year.

Posted by William Bendsen on June 12, 2010 11:59 AM

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William, what kind of lubrication? Like WD 40?

Posted by anonymous on July 09, 2010 7:13 PM

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WD-40 is not a lubricant. I recommend going to a bike shop and buying a small tube of park tools bike grease and a bottle of chain oil. this may cost around $15. WD-40 will remove lubricant never use it on a bike.

Posted by anonymous on July 23, 2010 11:22 AM

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Bought a Schwinn from Target preassembled for my girlfriend this week. We liked the model and it fit her well, but both tires were flat, so we did not ride it in-store. Finally today, after the hurricane cleared, put on the bell, basket and blinker and took it out. Very misassebled.

(1) Breaks misaligned on front and back, barely stop bike.
(2) Reflectors all pointing straight down.
(3) Rear bearing defective.

Due to the defective rear bearing you must keep peddling to ride it. The rear tire cannot freewheel, and so if you coast the derailer tries to shift in reverse and all the parts/chains become mangled. There are metal pieces of a spring sticking out of said bearing.

Just returned it and will take my money elsewhere. If anyone had ridden it after assembly in store this would have been an obvious defect. No wonder tires were flat.

Posted by Joe4 on August 28, 2011 4:48 PM

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