The new Wal*Mart Brand. Options

[CWracer]

walmart = the devil.

Walmart is what people want. WE keep them in business.

if it gets newbies on the track, thats great. but with everything else, you get what you pay for. sure, walmart will sell em a low end complete. but then when it comes time to upgrade lil jimmy's bike, with a longer stem, better wheelset, hell... even tubes or tires, or even a tuneup. they'll go back to walmart. nope sorry, cant help ya. that is, if they're lucky enough to get decent service, or someone that actually knows somethinb about anything. most lbs here wont even touch anything purchased at walmart/big box stores, and rightfully so.

so they go to their lbs. new wheelset is how much? thats 2~3X what i paid for the bike. replace the bike for a better one for 4~5 bills? why so much when i bought the bike at welfare mart of half the price?

These are gateway bikes. They get the kid on the track for cheap. There isn't a parent (or a kid) that races for any length of time and doesn't know what the other riders are on and about how much they paid. So when it comes time for an upgrade they'll hit the LBS. If the LBS won't serve them that's their loss. Any bike shop dealing in BMX racing cannot afford to turn away business.
I've seen so many kids get there start on stock bikes and once they've won a couple of races (before they're even out of Novice) the dads already have them on bikes costing 2-3x what my son is riding on.

People know soon enough whether or not this sport is for them. If they get hooked, they'll spend the money. More often than not, it's either a lack of interest from the kid or over-zealous 'coaching' from the father that cuts the BMX racing short. It's got nothing to do with the bike.

Walmart is here to stay, and BMX might as well benefit from it.

[d0ubledown]

(IMG:http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41RCnp1R89L.png)

taken from the DK store website.

now im not a hater of DK or anything like that. never ran their stuff, and have heard of the brand mostly in park stuff. but i just found it ironic and somewhat counter productive to display it on their site...

i guess welfare mart is now one of your better bike shops...?

[omartcruisers]

Does anyone remember BITD when BMXA and Plus would do shootouts involving a GT Interceptor, Diamondback Viper, Haro's entry model, RL's bargain basement offering and then a Huffy and a Murray? Remember how they would give a parts replacement breakdown to show cost of ownership? In the long run the Murray and Huffy would end up costing more than the other low end bikes. Keep in mind most of the general public is completely ignorant when it comes to bikes. I have had friends and neighbors scoff when they have heard the cost of parts, not realizing that in many cases those parts will never need replacement.

I have mixed feelings about DK being sold at Walmart. I understand it is a great way to get brand recognition but at the same time, the consumer who thinks they know something will assume they are buying the same quality as they would for a $299.99+ complete from an LBS. Of course, the average WalMart employee will not have the knowledge to educate their customer either. I have been at my LBS when someone has come in wanting to know if they can do a similar price for a low end RL, GT or Haro as WalMart wants for a 'Goose? I have seen some sales people laugh and take a snooty attitude, which will always turn off a customer. I have seen savy sales people explain the difference in what they are selling v. WalMart, plus mention how they (the LBS) will provide yearly maintenance. There are some people who will still pay for service.

[bystickel]

WE associate 'DK' with good stuff, so it appeals to US. If you don't know DK, it means nothing more than any other 2 letters...

'VD Bikes' has nice logo possibilities.

Many brands pick a name with a 'cool' outside association. That's what I meant.

?? DK is a very cool name the logo looks cool too, I can think of PLENTY of uncool sounding names that are popular right now.

[Jason F.]

WE associate 'DK' with good stuff, so it appeals to US. If you don't know DK, it means nothing more than any other 2 letters...

'VD Bikes' has nice logo possibilities.

Many brands pick a name with a 'cool' outside association. That's what I meant.

......not sure I would buy a VD bike, all I think of is a bit of a drip when I see VD (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

[MeredithJL]

My point wasn't about the choice of bike the new kid shows up on. I'm talking about looking out for kids who show up on a beaten down 'gateway' bike, and helping them if their bike doesn't look ready for the track.

Walmart is what people want. WE keep them in business.



These are gateway bikes. They get the kid on the track for cheap. There isn't a parent (or a kid) that races for any length of time and doesn't know what the other riders are on and about how much they paid. So when it comes time for an upgrade they'll hit the LBS. If the LBS won't serve them that's their loss. Any bike shop dealing in BMX racing cannot afford to turn away business.
I've seen so many kids get there start on stock bikes and once they've won a couple of races (before they're even out of Novice) the dads already have them on bikes costing 2-3x what my son is riding on.

People know soon enough whether or not this sport is for them. If they get hooked, they'll spend the money. More often than not, it's either a lack of interest from the kid or over-zealous 'coaching' from the father that cuts the BMX racing short. It's got nothing to do with the bike.

Walmart is here to stay, and BMX might as well benefit from it.

[bmxundergrounddo...]

Interesting statements about your local bike shops, mine love walmart bikes because of the crappy build quality and poor assembly, they make bank off the labor and always tell the customer up front what its going to run to fix their $79 bike, and sell them upgrades...... sounds like your locals might need some sales training of some sorts. Most bike shops are ran by reasonable people who get stuck in a rut sometimes, never turn away a customer with money who needs work done.

No training necessary. The bikes are a liability. We've seen it too many times where people blow up when the eighty dollars bike needs a fifty dollar reassembly and fifty in parts. We just explain that it's not in their best interest and if they insist then they pay.

[amplive]

When I was younger in the early-mid 90s I would of gotten laughed at for having a bike from Walmart. I remember Huffy and Murray were the crap bikes back then.

[yammadog]

When I was younger in the early-mid 90s I would of gotten laughed at for having a bike from Walmart. I remember Huffy and Murray were the crap bikes back then.

I remember being able to jump much further on my no name bike than my buddy on his dg...and then another buddy later on his mongoose blue max and me on my huffy double clamp goose neck(that would slip on landing)...bmx is not about the bike, it's about the ride, no matter the price. when you get down to serious race performance, no question the new carbon fiber redline( or whoever) will kill the hyper dr....but out in the playground at the grass roots of bmx when your 10 years old...it's the rider. And a decend low dollar dk from walmart is going to make a difference for that kid....

[CWracer]

(IMG:http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41RCnp1R89L.png)

taken from the DK store website.

now im not a hater of DK or anything like that. never ran their stuff, and have heard of the brand mostly in park stuff. but i just found it ironic and somewhat counter productive to display it on their site...

i guess welfare mart is now one of your better bike shops...?

Walmart probably sold most of the bikes on the road so I guess in a way they are the bike shop. When someone at work tells me they want to buy a bike I refer them to the LBS. Most of them never make it that far. They find something they like at Walmart that gets the job done and at the price they are willing to pay.

Okay maybe it does cost them more over the long run, as someone mentioned, but that's not the initial outlay. It's money spent over time.

Bikes shops are specialty shops now. People who buy bikes from them pretty much know what they want and what they're getting. People who just want a bike to ride around on go to Walmart. I think ultimately it's turns into a service opportunity for the LBS. Last night at my local there was a Next on the stand getting some work done. That's money in the owners pocket.

People who start getting into bikes seriously don't spend their money at Walmart. That's what I meant earlier by 'gateway bike'. They get their Hyper or DK at Walmart. If they get hooked on BMX I'll bet their next bike will come from a shop.

I don't understand why people are upset over this. Everyone seems to want more riders in the sport. You are not going to attract more riders by dangling $700 bikes in front of them. They want something cheap to start out on and then go from there. Les Paul's first guitar came from Sears!