[bluehavana]

It's the starter-kit Walmart hobbyism. I can buy a bike at Walmart for ~$100. The bike will get me to where I want to go with reasonably light usage. Anything outside the first time, light usage model is a ever deepening pool of cost/value.

Walmart is great if I'm poor and my son needs a bike that he can crash (since he's just learning) and he will grow out of in the next 2 years; he probably couldn't put enough miles on the bike to break it within then.

If I want a bike to ride five miles to work everyday, I'm looking at $500 (used) to $1500 for something nice and dependable.

The Walmart model isn't bad as long as everybody understands the metrics involved.