Hyper Cam Zink Edition Bikes Available at Walmart
Last February, Cam Zink, the 2010 FMB World Tour champion known for his massive backflips and hard charging riding style, announced that he had signed on with Hyper Bicycles. Now, bikes bearing his name are available at Walmart, the world’s largest retailer. The hardtail bikes, which sell for $199.97 USD, have 26" wheels, mechanical disc brakes, front suspension and a 1x7 drivetrain with a basic chainguide system.
![photo]()
In an interview with Pinkbike last year, Eric Carter, Hyper’s brand manager, said, “We do a lot of business with Walmart, and we’re proud of that. One of Hyper’s main goals is to get more people onto bikes. Not everyone can afford a $1000, $2000 or $4000 bike. I grew up in a household that was struggling to make a buck, to put food on the table. My first bike was a big box bike, and without having that big box bike I may never have found my passion for cycling.”
Zink isn't the only professional athlete with his name on a bike at Walmart - snowboarding's favorite redhead, Shaun White, has his own line of 20" BMX bikes, as does Australian BMX rider Steve McCann, but so far Zink is the only mountain biker whose name can be found in the big box retailer's bike department.
Although they seem to have gotten off to a slow start, with no new products announced since signing Zink over a year ago, Hyper is still planning on debuting a line of high end bikes at Sea Otter, with slopestyle, downhill, and 27.5” wheeled offerings reported to be in the works.
![The big gap as the sun dropped.]()
In an interview with Pinkbike last year, Eric Carter, Hyper’s brand manager, said, “We do a lot of business with Walmart, and we’re proud of that. One of Hyper’s main goals is to get more people onto bikes. Not everyone can afford a $1000, $2000 or $4000 bike. I grew up in a household that was struggling to make a buck, to put food on the table. My first bike was a big box bike, and without having that big box bike I may never have found my passion for cycling.”
Zink isn't the only professional athlete with his name on a bike at Walmart - snowboarding's favorite redhead, Shaun White, has his own line of 20" BMX bikes, as does Australian BMX rider Steve McCann, but so far Zink is the only mountain biker whose name can be found in the big box retailer's bike department.
Although they seem to have gotten off to a slow start, with no new products announced since signing Zink over a year ago, Hyper is still planning on debuting a line of high end bikes at Sea Otter, with slopestyle, downhill, and 27.5” wheeled offerings reported to be in the works.
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i aint sayin 9 y.o kids dont need cheap crappy bikes to enjoy destroying, but wtf is cam zinks name on this piece of crap?
I'd be scared to ride it.
Walmart employee- "Ahhhhh, yea it is, it's rad"
This bike, it's not the bike he rides. Anyone who knows or cares who Zink is, doesn't buy their bikes from Wal-Mart & you can get cheap rides from shops. This is what you call selling out. There are more people wanting to run bike companies/businesses/ride professionally than there are people to do business with them, so this is the way Carter & Zink decided to go because it's all they can do.
can anyone explain that to me? seriously, i want to know why.
my guess from one business point of view is that maybe this route simply gives hyper a cash infusion to help fund their long term goals. that cash can also help keep riders like Cam on the payroll to grow their profile and tech/r&d. meanwhile, parents and kiddos can relate the product they can now afford to something as progressive as the rider represents in media coverage. It's just a bike to get another butt on and maybe they discover who Cam is and the rampage and who knows..? i can't see the harm or the hate in it at all.
the wal-mart debate is a whole other thing & the fact that it will probably be assembled with just a hammer and a screwdriver but....i will stay positive!
So it goes the same for kids bikes. Parents should be aware of the bikes limitations and their kids interest in the sport.
On a slightly different note. Your shop really only sells bikes over 1k? I mean there's plenty of sturdy and decent quality bikes under 1k. That p2 I had was like 700 back in 04. I guess if it works for the shop then there's nothing wrong with it.
I don't think that wcartman is wrong. I just think he didn't wrote exactly what he meant...
I agree that money and capabilities are not always connected but we've to be honest- the better the bike (more expensive) the more it can handle and more we can expect from this bike (better capabilities). I think that DJ/FR bikes cost that much because their design/manufacturing process takes time,loads of testing hours and very precise building. That's why tthey cost so much and that's why not everybody is able to buy himself a new one...
BUT- a lot of people developing their skills is selling their bikes or parts cause they need better suspension, better frame, fs not a ht etc. And this is in my opinion a market that beginner should be interested the most- USED PARTS AND BIKES! Yes,U need somebody who could help U with the purchase, who knows a thing or two about bikes and DJ bikes precisly. I mean a friend who will help you verify if that frame is broken, was welded etc. For sure pretty much everybody from this site knows about extreme MTB more than a seller in Walmart!
And USED DJ BIKES in GOOD CONDITION are way more valuable purchase when we talk about jumping/street riding than that kind of SH*T from supermarkets!
I'd never recommend buying that bike to anyone! Loads of used Konas,Norcos,NS Bikes, Specializeds, Treks Giants etc. is out there waiting for your kid to take it for the first ride in the woods or skatepark or dirt jumps! And they're worth your money! This bike-a-like product above is surely NOT!
It's like buying a bike helmet in supermarket just to see that behind the ultra low price there's a lack of any safety certificate hidden...
Bang on!
I rode and destroyed plenty of Huffys and Schwinns when I was little. I jumped and bent rims and broke chains and tore up cheap saddles and I learned how to replace tubes and use a chain tool and tighten hex bolts and care for a bike.
My littel Walmart BMXs were what made me the rider I am today. Yeah, it's great when we are old enough to work, save some money, and buy a decent bike, but stop bitterness toward low-end bikes.
Does your town have a LBS? Mine doesn't. It's small. The closest "local" bike shop is 45 minutes away. Sometimes, you just have to make due. When I was little, I wanted a Haro just like Mirra or Nyquist, but we couldn't afford one. The closest I came was a pair of Mirra's signature DCs in high school.
Now, kids who aren't as fortunate as most of you (I'm assuming), have the chance to be stoked on a Cam Zink bike. And pull your heads out of your butts- no kid will be hucking this thing 40+ ft or down mountains. They will be kids like me, little and learning and stacking firewood logs with some old sheat of plywood and making jumps, riding through their first homemade trails, and learning how to maintain a cheap bike because it's their prized possession and all they have.
Get over yourselves and be happy kids are getting some exposure to a big name in mountain biking. That bike is a lot nicer than what I got from Walmart 20 years ago.
there is an old saying: "If you want to play, you gotta pay..."
kid on a low income would be light years better off, buying an affordable BMX from Mongoose, Haro, GT, etc.
cheap bikes are a false economy, and also a drain on the environment, they don't actually work properly and constantly break, until they finally fail to the point where they end up dumped in a back alley, or in the trash
they also put new riders off the sport as the riding experience is so miserable they don't get to appreciate the sublime beauty that is cycling on a good bike in any of its many forms! (road, mtb, hybrid, bmx, etc.)
it the same problems people face with any cheap sports equipment like cheap skateboards and roller blades, it can put them off for life
cheap Mountain Bikes are really bad news; an affordable BMX is a much better choice as you are not paying for derailleur gears or an undamped suspension fork; all the budget on a BMX goes into the frame, forks, wheels and finishing kit, and the single speed gearing is super durable
that's what I started on, a GBP£100 Raleigh Burner BMX made from high-tensile steel but was durable and lasted until I could work a paper round and buy a GT made from cromoly steel with Skyway Tuff wheels and Shimano DX pedals
www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn29.html
The above is quite a good option but is still quite expensive because it comes from a small company (and it has rear gears, adding to the price).
When I started out I was riding something definitely a bit shit and it took a long time to replace all the parts until it was something passable and not everone would have the same amount of patience and love as I and similar riders will have for this kind of thing.
But yeah these BSOs (i won't call it a bike) are a proper waste fo everyone's time; the client and bike shops. The reason being that everytime one of these f*cks up it costs quarter, half sometimes the same price of the original RRP to get it running again and then the bike shop has lost revenue and time working that out and the client has a useless lump of metal they paid €250 or whatever for... and then what a waste of materials and resources - shipping them around the world for production, assembly, packaging and then distribution.
It'll take Trek or Spesh or someone to release a reasonably priced SS MTB to put an end to this bull. Not this: www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/carve/carvepronedoverendlimitededition
The armchair managers here need to cut him a little slack - every other sport has pro models at entry price points. Do you think hockey players bitch about having their signature curves available on entry level wood sticks? Do you think Tony Hawk selling video games was a terrible idea?
There are far worse things than getting more people on bikes. Even if only 2 in 100 get hooked and end up on better bikes that will grow our sport. And I hate to say so but even without the Cam Zink sticker these bikes will sell - he did not invent the $199 bike pricepoint.
Cam's point is that everyone in here who talks crap about Wal-Mart and Hyper also hates kids getting into bikes. Good point?
So much so, in your case, that I feel like I might as well be typing this to a tree. - that's called a Hyperbole. Have fun.
by apeing the visual aesthetic of the "entry level" mountain bike, uneducated consumers are suckered into wasting their hard earned wages on buying this junk for their kids; they do not understand the difference between the £150 Apollo or $200 Hyper and an entry level Specialized Hardrock
they then waste even more hard earned wages, regularly driving back to the supermarket or box store with the broken bike, and paying for repairs (which often mean the box store puts the faulty bike into the trash, and has their minimum wage "mechanic" build another new bike (costing $25) from a box, and give to the parent
you don't need gears, a front mechanical disc brake and a sprung suspension fork on a budget bike, simply because the quality of those items is so poor that they don't offer any usable functionality
the "budget" spent on specifying these dubious parts that make the complete bike by the bike companies' 'product manager' is consumed by reducing the quality of the frame, wheels and finishing kit to accomodate the high relative costs of the Sunra derailleur gears, Lian-Li mechanical disc brake and unbranded suspension fork with its welded steel crown / stanchions
if they did away with all that junk, and concentrated the "budget" on a tough steel frame and rigid fork, simple caliper brakes and single speed transmission, robust finishing kit plus a reasonable wheel set (alloy rims on loose ball hubs):-
then the end users (kids) would have a much better riding experience which could get them into a lifetime of bike riding, and the parents will have a better life experience by buying a product that is robust, functions well for its intended use (backyard stunts and street riding) and is not constantly being taken back to the supermarket or box store for "repair".
crappy mechanical disc brakes just don't work effectively; unfortunately I speak with experience as a bike mechanic who has worked on too many of those cheaper brakes; I'd always recommend a budget rim brake like Shimano Acera V-Brake in comparison
cheap disc brakes require constant adjustment to maintain any semblance of braking power (if you can even achieve that aim!) and often just annoy the rider (and their mechanic) because of ongoing noise, cable contamination, lack of stopping power and rotor drag
even supposed 'quality' branded mechanical discs like Avid BB-5 are very poor imitations of budget hydro disc from Tektro or Avid; a problem with the more expensive and competent Avid BB-7 mechanical is that its the same price as a Shimano Deore Hydro brake!
during 2013 we are starting to see road and cyclocross bikes fitted with budget BB-5 and Shimano mechanical disc brakes and they offer no improvement over a cheap rim brake, apart from eliminating wear and tear to the rim braking surface which you would experience with a rim brake:- however, with the rim brake you can actually stop with confidence and enjoy a good range of modulation!
if you read my post, "crappy mechanical disc brakes just don't work effectively"
we are not talking about Hayes HMX-2 or Avid BB-7 mechanical disc brakes (these are both effective when setup well)
but the unbranded (or branded "Promax" "Ling-Li") super low budget mechanical discs you get on the sub entry level department / box store bikes
if you've worked on those kind of 'bicycle shaped object' you'd agree a reasonable v-brake like Tektro or Shimano Acera will actually stop the bike with confidence, compared to the awful cheap disc brakes I mentioned, which don't work no matter how darn hard you try to set them up
White kids these days.
And Sheriff Bronson always helps us anyways. He's a man of God! last week he shot a Mexican, he'uoz traespassin as well! Next mornin' we came to help Sheriff with the body. We said the prayer over the dead maaen and after Sherif said: that mdrfkr ain't takin anyone's jaeeb!
You might be right, but, wouldn't it be nice to see affordable bikes moving into you LBS, and see 90% of kids buying their bikes at the LBS instead of Walmart? Just saying.....
The advantage of this type of marketing is: kid buys bike (or parents) kid looks up Cam Zink, Kid startes reading about bikes and finds information on better bikes. Kid gets job, saves up and buys hand me down parts, or works really hard and gets first real new bike. We can't expect people to skip the introduction.
BTW, The first FS 16" wheel bike I bought my kid is still used at the cabin. All of the cousins have used it. None broke it over a 40' gap LOL!!
Think this is Zink making an attempt to sell out?
Honestly I think it will not only benefit him, but the growth of our sport. Kudos to him!
Kids at the local skate parks ask me all the time how much my P.2 was, when they hear they the cost they are shocked. About time we get the younger generations who might not be able to afford quality bikes that we have something that won't fail them in a novice dirtjump/skatepark setting.
I'd agree that the price of a mountain bike suitable for regularly skatepark abuse is excessive
I'd always advise them to spend less, on a quality BMX from one of the big brands, cromoly-steel frame/fork/bars, sealed bearing hubs and bottom bracket with 3 piece cranks, cannot go wrong
BMX are so much more durable to own / ride in a skatepark than a MTB, and actually easier to ride in a skatepark environment = I speak as a rider starting on BMX in 1981 and MTB in 1986 and having ridden both regularly since those early days
NittyGritty you have obviously never built a trail, you have obviously never dealt with authorities when asking permission to build trails. People buying those, should not sit on any bike, ever! They don't make the sport grow, they give it a bad name. I am tired of coming to my jumps site and seeing things remade, then I have to pick up cans of monster energy lying all over the place. Disrespectful bunch of morons
And as hampsteadbandit says: BMX is the solution - it is fun and playful, yet it will teach you a few hard lessons - if you can't deal with it, you quit, buy XBOX and wank your life away
There is an unfortunate amount of truth in this statement. Many a middle school kid do I see going through this dilemma.
I've been to countless city counsel meetings, fighting to keep the trails in place. Putting in MY time and MY effort having petitions signed by the community to convince the city and officials that the trails provide a safe and respectable environment for riders alike.
And I'm sorry that you think offering affordable, "Hopefully of decent quality" bikes to kids from less privileged backgrounds is just a marketing ploy. You are clearly ignorant, and fail to see the cup half full. I can not even begin to count the amount of kids at the trails who would just come and watch us ride everyday after school, wishing they could afford a decent mtb.
So don't tell me that I am unaware of my surroundings and that I lack any bit of knowledge in the growth of our sport. I have been involved in the biking community all my life.
And finally, I'm sorry that you live with a bunch of white trashy kids who don't respect their community. That is why we as bikers and builders took it upon OURSELVES to teach younger kids not to be a*sholes, and that if they wanted to ride the trails, they would have to keep them clean. Maybe you should do the same.
Sometimes the THING for a KID or BEGINNER should be as tough as it gets, cause the beginner or specially a kid has a special unique combo: "no skills with no thrills" - that means they have no riding skills, no experience, no idea what they're capable of, no idea what should and what shouldn't be done on a bike and what are the consequences of crashing on a bike.
I think that for this ammount of cash there's no way that this bike has even a single part (and Im not takin' about the frame which is of course the most important thing and should be a very high quality product if we're talkin' about DJ) you could trust it won't break when U hit the first jump and not land it straight!
Even things like pedals or grips or even a headset mean something! If you're rollin' in to a jump and your pedal will fall of/ grip will move in your hand just before the take off U're boiled my friend...
And please tell me,that for a price of a 1/2 good DJ frame or one quality DJ fork- Suntour Duro for example U can build whole DJ bike! U must be joking!
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who's lookin' for a bike for a kid who want to start journey with extreme MTB.
That's the bike for a kid with only city riding aspirations that only wants his bike to look good. That's all!
Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices.
The world should hate that company. It is toxic for so many reasons.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't get more and more kids into DJ and FR riding,but in my opinion this is the worst way to do that!
Come on Guys, honestly what kind of a DJ FRAME (purposly wrote FRAME not BIKE) costs just 200$?! And we're talkin' about the whole bike! It would be more acceptable if that was the single speed rig- no shifters, gears, single brake etc. In that terms price would be very very low, but not suspiciously low! I've got no idea what kind of a parts are mounted to this "bike-a-like" product,but I wouldn't let my kid ride that anywhere except foam pit or as a lake bike! I would be so worried that my child is going to hurt him/herself because of a poor quality of this product that I would probably have problems with sleeping during the nights!
Did it pass any serious safety tests? Did anyone test it o jumps, skatepark etc.? I seriously doubt it!
This kind of product is suppose to take a lot of beating! It's not for the PRO level riders- that's for the kids starting their journey with extreme MTB! They've no skill, no experience, no one to tell them what should be done and what definetly shouldn't and for sure a lot of crazy&foolish ideas in their mind!
And I don't blame them for that- they're just kids- that's their privilege! But I would blame myself for letting my kid ride this piece of crap because I wanted to save few houndred $ on kids health and safety!
It's way better to buy a "normal" MTB ride for a kid and then upgrade it step by step to the DJ bike level. I've started my riding on the bike from a supermarket and on the first crash I bent my fork and broke the frame... Not saying that bikes for 200$ are worthless but for sure they're worthless a s a DJ and FR bikes!
Honestly, not a best move from Cam Zink... :/
On the other hand that bike is aimed to the kids that probably just want to look cool and they'll never hit any drop bigger than curb!
Hopefuly...
And, stigma from Walmart -- Hyper can simply abandon the effort should Walmart continue derogatory Business ethics and labor practice.
Done-right, Hyper can be another brand which introduces Fair Labor and Practice on a Global-scale and then maintain it.
Really, at a quick glance the bike looks like it is tied together. It looks like my first Hardtail.
As to how much a frame costs... in actuality, a proper DJ frame only costs around $25 to $50 wholesale at the factory in china or taiwan. That the fancy brands mark them up so much is a problem with the bike industry itself knowing that the people who buy from LBSs will pay a premium for stuff for a certain name or brand loyalty, or because they've long since been fooled into thinking they HAVE to pay more for stuff because of where they are. Consumers for the most part, put up with that, for convenience. Its the same reason canadians who don't shop online and don't have easy access to the USA, continue to pay significantly higher prices for drugs, books, groceries, consumer goods etc, than in the USA, even though our dollar has been at almost identical parity to the US dollar for much of the past two years.
A full on 29er hardtail frameset with lugs, butted chromoly tubing, fillet brazing and tig-welding, and a rigid fork can be ordered for about $90 (plus shipping) from mega-factories in taiwan like Maxway, complete with paint if you're placing an order for quantity. A small boutique brand would then turn around and sell those framesets here in north america for around $350 per frame at dealer wholesale who then turns around and sells them at about $600 retail.
I would think it would help out the bike community even more so if kids went to a good bike shop to get real help from expert bike peeps at the same time keeping these bikes cheap.
i'm not trying to be a jerk, but i doubt local shops would even be interested in "selling" these bikes like they do with big boy bikes, parts, and services. LBS's actually sell the experience of learning and growing as a mountain biker. if i worked at a LBS, i don't feel i would be interested in pushing inferior products that will be outgrown in a summer of shredding, and i doubt most customers would want that.
the difference is that walmart shoppers never walk into the store looking to "get sold", and largely they aren't having expectations for support on walmarts products.
truth is though, nothing has done more to get people into the sport than redbull, gopro, pinkbike (not a plug, i promise), and good homies who are already into it.
Interesting, it's different here. Without the leadership of the LBS we would not have legalized trails, kids' rides, group rides, etc... Guess, I'm thinking more of the smaller, individually owned shops.
@sino428
I get your point, but here our local shops try everything they can to hook kids up with good bikes. Often for a very reduced price or with used bikes. It becomes more a philosophy, get the kids involved in the local scene, teach them a thing or two about bike maintenance and trails, etc...
Bottom line for me is, the more kids go out and ride, the better. I've just seen how the big box stores are hurting our small local communities and are super opposed to folks leaving their cash there.
or
All the users on pinkbike instead of squirreling away their old usable parts can work with a friend(s) to get a bike built up and find a kid in need in your neighborhood to get them rolling proper.
I hope cam zink does come out like this: www.toledoblade.com/image/2011/08/19/800x_b1_cCM_z_ca6,6,340,388_cT/burger-king-mascot-retires-08-19-2011.jpg
I dislike Wally World as much as the next person, but I would have been soo stoked to get that bike as a child. All of the bikes that I rode growing up were hand-me-downs or yard sale bikes that sometimes had to be pieced together. Didn't have my first NEW bike until I was into my 20's.
The truly sad part for me is that many low income Americans will still scoff at spending $200 for a bike when they still have the means to get a smart phone & data plan, cable TV, and other B.S. that I do just fine without. Maybe they can take an EBT card to buy this bike.
images.wikia.com/creepypasta/images/0/07/This_post_gave_me_cancer.jpg
its called a joke bro
Ride what ever you can get.
Shred on!
And I think some people need to get off their high horse here. I personally would never buy a bike or snowboard like this because it won't meet my demands, but not everyone needs or wants a high end equipment. For a guy who's snowboarding entails a few trips a year to his local hill to ride groomers, the $400 package is more than enough. Same goes for the guy who might just be looking for a bike to tool around at the park with his kids. The Wal-mart bike is fine. He doesn't need $1000 bike or even a $500 which is probably the cheapest thing my local bike shop even sells.
Also, most of these cheap bikes come equipped with cheap low end components from Shimano and SRAM. Why isn't anyone complaining about that? Those big box bikes are loaded up with cheap Shimano components but you all still run out and spend hundreds of dollars on your XTR and Saint stuff. Why no outrage there?
avoid this company's really shouldn't make shit quality to make money they should make bikes with pride and also dropping pro endorsements would also save a few £'s
They've made a fortune exploiting people all over the world. Most top-brand bikes are heavily overpriced, but you just CANNOT build a $199 bike if you're paying the people that manufacture it a fair wage. Shame on anyone involved in this.
Of us got out first bikes through dept stores
It's about the pedal. Not the skinny jeans with your boxers out the top?
False profits you haters are to this industry...
Yeah buddy, First post, let the whining begin.
Good work EC! Stoked to see your bikes at Thee Otter!!
B- For a lot of us our 1st (2nd, 3rd) bike was a department store POS. You don't buy 16 year old a corvette for their 1st car, just like you wouldn't buy a $5000-$6000 wonder bike for a kids 1st bike. they wouldn't be able to appreciate it or be able to use it even close to it's ability. A lot of people can't afford to spend $1000+ on a bike, so don't hate them for riding something cheap
C- It helps promote the sport to a wider audience. This is a very good thing. as somebody that grew up playing "team sports" mountain biking is way way better.
D- having your name on a product that you might not use is not lying, it's called business weather you like it or not, good or bad. And it's done all the time, that's the reality.
wallmart and we're proud of that", forgive my ignorance but is that THE
eric carter? Seems incongruos considering his style and attitude of old.
I geuss things change. he's making a living from the bike industry, which
he deserves.
If we support "Disposable" bikes like this then we will have a lot of waste and kids will be spending more money in the long run. If we as humans support the idea of better bikes then kids will be happier and enjoy riding a lot more and their bikes will last a lot longer.
There are 2 sides to this, of course being from the uk, we don't have a wal-mart, we have dunlop bikes, pieces of crap, but its better that low end bikes are out as an availability to people who cant afford their kids to have high end spec rides, ive seen a kid who is probably not in year 10-11 riding a giant glory dh with fox 40's and pro 2 EVO hubs, not to mention the saint drive setup he has, it's a beautiful rig, and that's more annoying to me because thats more money than sense when all he does is ride round the local town centre on it. i would rather be seeing kids on crappy bikes trying to get their feet off the ground and onto pedals!..
it's nice to see a big rider being labelled on these bikes, he may make lots of money from this. Probably why he is doing it, but if you were offered the same you would too?
People had to start from somewhere, and some parents have enough money to buy the high end gear for their children, if any of you had that kinda money, I'm sure you would probably do the same, I know I would.. But this is a nice gesture, kids like showing off, and if they do know who cam zink is, then they will be able to show off to their friends, make little jumps with wooden boards and ride through the woods with their parents, when they are older they can get better bikes! And when they are old enough to work, then they can buy what they want.
I wish bikes like this had been released when I was about 10... Instead of the purple haze BMX I once had...
The pros sponsors will use there name on products that they don't use and have done and will do for years its probably not zinks idea but to be fair who cares im sure these bikes might make some young kids happy.
In my opinion people should just be happy to see the next generation on there bikes and not sitting vegetabalising playing computer games 24/7
On the other hand, even though I was "low income", I also wanted quality when I began in cycling, and I started out by scoping out the Buy/sell on PB, and bought a USED bike locally as my first good bike. Initially someone supported their LBS, then I bought that bike from them, so that they could go back to that LBS and get another bike. Sort of a trickle down effect. I had a bike capable of doing the things I wanted to learn, and then some. Local shop had customers, including myself (still does), and I got into biking.
So it's very hit or miss. Depends on how you look at it/what you want to get out of your purchase.
I hope that this will help kids get out and ride, I hope that it will get families out, I see to many fat families, and kids, I really do. but being a wrench at a shop, I see these bikes come in, looking like S*#T, rusty, bad tires, cause they didn't have any sacrifice to get it. A parent spends $350.00-$500.00 on a bike, I see that parent talking to the kid and saying that if we spend this much, you will ride it, AND you will take care of it, and learn all about it.
So there is my 2 cents, like I said, I really hope it gets kids out riding, but if Hyper choose to go to bike shops, or even like Jenson USA, or Price-Line, I think that would have been a better representation of mountain biking, and the future of are sport.
FYI for the people talkin trash on zink go ride the shit he rides then post ur Apology from the hospital bed!!!!
A $200 bike would be a much better bike if it had a single gear, ridged forks and decent tube-set and wheels. (don't get me started on $150 duallies!)
I got no problem with cheap bikes, just sh*t ones!
That is the basics of consumerism- you have got a choice. It is YOUR choice. And Zink, his name or the sticker with his name on it have got f**k all to do with it. Do not like it? Do not buy it. End of it.
So you know what? I hope he makes some good money off this. The guy deserves it, and he's gotta think about life after mountain biking one day. I'd rather he put his name on shitty bikes and had a comfortable retirement than hear he "didn't sell out" and was broke and too f*cked up to work when he's 45.
f*ck yeah Cam
LBS margin is 35%-60% on BIKES, and PARTS.......not including gear and the such. This isn't conjecture it is a FACT. Wal-Mart buys in mass volume and get MASS disco's.......Volume leveraging is big boy business, while high margin business RELATIONSHIP based, period. Cisco and IBM get away with insane margins due to direct relationships (and eductaion of) with their buyers, not by selling to 'shoppers'.
If Cam's name gets more kids on bikes to do as most of us did which is start out on cheap bikes (which from the buy/sell forum here MOST of this site doesn't want to pay good money for GOOD parts, hence the troll low ball offers ALWAYS - goto MTBR and see what money gets spent on GOOD used parts vs. here for an example because you would think the 90% here still has no money to spend and wouldn't be so averse to kids getting some good deals on ENTRY LEVEL rigs.
So in summary LB's will be just fine and Wal-Mart will be just fine.........Mo Kids Riding means Mo Better Trails and Sport in the future, fact. If we didn't ride then no one would. Also I don't expect intellectual honesty from this crowd, but for those that do display it, Good on You!
That is a lot of opinion. Has anyone seen it? Has anyone rode it? I hate walmart as much as the next. But I can't comment on the product.
I can comment on people saying don't bring crap to their LBS. I say bring anything to the LBS so they don't go out of business. I can only imagine what would happen to the bottom line at the LBS if people only brought the high end bikes they didn't buy there and ask them to fix it with parts they bought onsale on the internet....wait....
At least the mini rant made me feel better
Walmart= Profit over performance
If you can't afford a mechanic you can't afford a Walmart bike.
If you don't have the money, you need to fully rigid single speed. It's the Only cheap option in the long run.
If you ride aggressively you will blow the fork quickly.
If you don't, you don't need a suspension fork anyway.
If makes riding more accessible and affordable for children, then so be it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh2sWSVRrmo
www.peopleofwalmart.com
I'm really glad that children nowadays are able to ride on better bikes than we could..and Zink's signature will make children proud of their Walmart bikes.
www.walmart.com/ip/29-Hyper-Explorer-MTB-Men-s-Bike-Black/21616164
But hey, you gotta start somewhere. You really have to be ritch if your first bike is à Demo!
Is that Mr.Zink at 3:05? Haha
I tell you what,without a place to shop like Walmart over the last few years,there were several times that my wife and kids wouldn't have been able to eat week to week,let alone buy Christmas presents or clothes.
So,in wrapping up,you spoiled ,little ,socialist know it alls can **** off a die in your little brainwashed utopia.****ers
Walmart is not your friend - Walmart is a vampire.