Bikes (kids & adult= 43.93 & 264.93)

Thanks! Looking for a way to get my fat ass back into shape this summer. Too much red flag sweet deals. I'm looking at you m&m and Nutella.

Anyone know how this compares to the Northrock Costco bikes? 60% off seems like a pretty good deal!

Jimclark wrote: ↑ Thanks! Looking for a way to get my fat ass back into shape this summer. Too much red flag sweet deals. I'm looking at you m&m and Nutella.

Good luck getting in shape in that StarWars bike.

Jimclark wrote: ↑ Thanks! Looking for a way to get my fat ass back into shape this summer. Too much red flag sweet deals. I'm looking at you m&m and Nutella.

Only them? I was looking at all the SKIP THE DISHES coupons and discounts that was available all winter..

williamsauga wrote: ↑ Good luck getting in shape in that StarWars bike.

Haha, I love it when I hear people spending thousands to shave a few pounds from their bikes, so they can go faster....and burn less cal per km......lol. the best bike to get in shape is any bike you have. Pedal your ass and you'll lose weight

LOL! RIGHT?

One thing to check on is when they assemble the bikes to make sure the headset is properly tight.

After the bike is assembled ask them to double check the headset with thier tools.

The headset holds your handle bar and brakes. If the headset is loose or loosens quickly by not having it tightened up right (sometimes the guys just give a quick snug up on the assembling to save time as IIRC they are paid by unit assembled) means you can lose control of your steering. Not to mention it is rather difficult to use the brakes when they are rotated down while you panic if you are going downhill if that happens to you. Never happened to me .. *knock on wood, knock knock* but I know that happened to some people.

You can do a quick rough 'true' (straighten wheel/rim) check by holding the handle bars and spinning the wheel while applying slight pressure to the brakes but not pressing the brakes on the rim to stop it. You want to float the brakes on top of the rims. If there is any qraping (untruing) of the wheel you can see that quickly. You could also flip the bike upside down and look in the middle of the wheel while spinning it to check as well.

I am no expert in this field but I have been riding for a couple decades and got more into biking the last decade and a half.

Some advise I can give is if you buy a bike to use also buy a helmet. If you are only riding to the grocery store twice a week then pick any helmet that is cheapest and design. If you plan on using the bike daily to get to school/work/transportation then you may want to spend a little more time looking at different helmet designs and styles and spend a bit.more money as it is something you will be using daily and for a while.

I highly recommend getting bike lights if you will be riding at night or get caught out at night or riding during the day time. The lights catch the drivers eyes quickly and sometimes a driver my be tired or distracted with stuff in the car or environmental haze outside or colors blending into the background and your lights can set you apart and draw attention to where you are.

Understand that reflectors require the light to shine at the right angle for them to work at thier best which is why you SHOULD NOT rely on reflectors. Bike lights have dropped a lot in pricing over the years. I remember lighting many decades ago with dynamos and I dabbled in DIY bike lighting in the mid 2000's. We have products now that have the brightness of some of the cutting edge LEDs back in 2005 for only a few dollars. Hell......dollarama a few years ago sold the same set of USB recharagable Bell brand front/rear combo bike light for $4 when Walmart was selling it for around $25ish or in the $20's as I bought mine at Wally's then, then found out later Dollarama sold them.

Heck if you even want to save more money then buy it off www dot dealextreme dot com (I don't work for them or get kicks backs but bought for a few years LEDs and pre made flashlight circiuts for quick and easy DIY builds) for your own DIY or premade lighting.

Also understand when it comes to lighting it is in two categories: 'BE SEEN' and 'TO SEE'.

What that means is BE SEEN lighting is designed to give a 180 degree bright lighting so cars/bikes/people can see you from all the front or back angles. It is not lighting to ride at speed with to see the ground in front of you.

Now TO SEE lighting is just as it means. It is a headlight that throws light downrange to allowing you to see (pending how bright a light you buy and fast you are biking) and react to things in the way in 2-5seconds. Headlights can be as simple and rubber banding a maglight to the helmet or get flashlight mounts for the bike or go dedicated headlights. Can cost $5.00 to $800 (like Lupine LEDs or aka the ferreri of bike lights to crazy DIY's like some guy in IIRC Toronto with a dual HID with custom lipo battery pumping out over 6000+ raw lumens or pretty much turning night into day or to the normal folk a freight train)

Lastly so ething g to consider when buying a bike lock. Think about how much you like the bike and value it but understand nothing is undefeatable. Any determined thief or pro thief will get your bike. Your lock will only slow them down and buy you detection time by any passersby or you seeing them.

There is an old saying for long time riders and it goes:

"A bike and the lock should should equal 40lbs"

What that means is if your bike is 20lbs then make sure your lock is 20lbs for protection. Lighter the bike heavier the lock if you really love your bike. Also two different bike locks. Ulock for your main lock and a cable lock as your secondary. The thief will need to different attack methods to defeat both locks. The more difficult you make it for a thief the more likely a casual thief will pass your bike for easier bikes to steal as they want tonbe in and out quickly.

Google up the 'Sheldon Brown lock method'.

Also for anyone wanting to learn to fix thier bikes I recommend looking on Sheldon Browns webpage. He was the legendary bike guru that put everything on the web that but sadly passed away years ago. His site is still on the web to help others.

TIL about bikes

Wicked deal on the kids bike, I would highly recommend a used bike/ Costco Northrock XC 27 since it is well worth the extra $100-200 in the long and short term.
Few things i can point out:
1. The strut/shocks are bad in the CT bike, no adjustment, no preload. for a cheap buy, get the bike with SR Suntour shocks - used or costco northrock
2. The handlebar stem - looks heavy and less sturdy on the CT bike
3. CT bike frame seems to be steel and if you are a newbie biker, will feel the weight compared to a 6061 aluminum frame
4. The saddle looks terrible and the shaft looks like heavy steel too
5. the gear mechanisms seem like paper thin steel.

The only good components on the CT bike are probably the Shimano v brakes i guess.
If you get a good bike, you will enjoy biking, get a bad bike and you'll never use it again.
Not discrediting OP's post, but just throwing in my 2 cents as a year around biker (i personally have the XC29 and love it $1000 bike features for $400ish lol)

Bottom of the barrel shifters and derailleurs are going to cause a lot more pain than worth.

If you are looking for kids bikes, TRU are clearing thier assembled/floor model bikes right now as well...I seen in the $40-70 range 12" up to size 20". I'm not sure if clearance pricing (yellow tag) are store specific or nation wide. I saw them at Dufferin Mall.
Would have bought but I got bikes from last year's $40 Walmart clearances.

Fightguard wrote: ↑ If you are looking for kids bikes, TRU are clearing thier assembled/floor model bikes right now as well...I seen in the $40-70 range 12" up to size 20". I'm not sure if clearance pricing (yellow tag) are store specific or nation wide. I saw them at Dufferin Mall.
Would have bought but I got bikes from last year's $40 Walmart clearances.

When do these walmart clearances happen?

pardesi_bhai wrote: ↑ When do these walmart clearances happen?

The $40 bikes were last year in March,
https://forums.redflagdeals.com/walmart ... #p30639042
They had quite a selection too

I paid $20 for the Lucasfilm Star Wars BB-8 Kids' Bike last Oct or Nov...LOL

Fightguard wrote: ↑ The $40 bikes were last year in March,
walmart-kids-12-bike-40-59-off-2269438/#p30639042
They had quite a selection too

Thanks, ill keep an eye out around that time since I need one for my 8 year old