Reason: they are DIRT cheap?

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Where would you want to swim ?

The overwhelming majority of bike store out there don't carry a bike under $150 like these stores do.

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Striving to have sex more than 66 times per year

They don't know any better, they don't care, and like Greg said, the bikes are cheap.

You know, I get the cheap part. But still what happens when something goes wrong, do these people even think about this or is just about the idea that this is disposable purchase.

>>no one either of those stores could help these people other than to say it is blah blah size and it is made out of blah blah material and oh yeah it has blah blah number of gears

what more help do these people really need?

these are two different markets. we're cyclists, they're people who ride bikes.

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http://www.theninjadon.blogspot.com

"The bicycle riders drank much wine, and were burned and browned by the sun. They did not take the race seriously except among themselves." -- Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises

Why do people buy DIRT cheap appliances, stereos, TVs, etc.?

I think ultimately price wins out over long haul ownership. And we do live in highly "disposable" society where repairing things is often not super practical...

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Where would you want to swim ?

Have you seen how kids abuse bikes? Those cheap bikes are built like a brick sh!t house. They are unbreakable. If Felt, Cervelo, and the like built kids bikes with just a bit of their design philosophy, they wouldn't last from Christmas to the New Year! I finally moved my 11 yo daughter from those bikes to a nice Trek aluminum bike. IMO, there's nothing wrong buying those bikes for the kids early years. They usually have paint jobs the kids love and they're also painless to pass along to that kid down the street who doesn't have a bike when your kid has outgrown it in a year or two.

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

I absolutely get it for the very young child. But what I witnessed today was adults buying bikes for other adults or young adults based on the sizes that I saw roll out of the stores.

You have a very valid point, one I really did not think about. I seem to always think of these things from a cyclist point of view.

Yikes! Clueless. But, then again, there's no advertising for bikes except in bike magazines - to enthusiasts. In their casual walks through Target and K-Mart, they notice bike prices. They may go to a bike shop and become aghast at the price of a real bike (real bike to us). So it's back to Target to pick up (if it won't break their back) that iron monster.

The last bike ad I saw was for some 'space-age miracle bike' that's destined to change the future of bike riding. Everything was adjustable via quick-releases. The seat was a two-piece with each half articulated to rock independently with each butt cheek. And, then, then best part... an electric assist motor!

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

The people buying those bikes aren't asking the questions that the salespersons can't answer so it's irrelevant. What was your second point? All bikes are good, and the more people on them the better. Think of them as volksbikes.

My second point was really why aren't these people supporting the local bike shop? I guess I am looking at it like would you by anything that you have to have serviced at any kind of super store. For example, I would never buy a John Deere riding mower at Home Depot.

I do agree that the more poeple on bikes the better.

Totally agreee.

I was at a UPS store this afternoon, in line in front of us was a woman with a bike from a big retail store. She wanted to ship it UPS, it was literally going to cost her more to ship it than what she paid for it.

I would bet the most important technical issue driving bike purchases at this time of year is whether or not any assembly is required.