$149 Mountain Bike vs mountain - The Walmart Enduro

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Welcome to Pisgah Forest, home to a huge array of remote and challenging mountain bike trails. To get anywhere here, you need to climb a few thousand feet. To get out alive your bike needs to hold up to roots, sharp rocks, and sustained braking. There’s no cell phone reception out here, and the trails are far too narrow for emergency vehicles. When your very life depends on your equipment, what value would you place on reliability?

With names like trouble, wipeout, ambush, and carnage, these bikes deliver what they promise, but today we’re staying optimistic. Alex and I are taking our time and weighing our options. Even in a sea of super cheap bikes, we can choose the ones that suit our priorities best.

We settled on a pair of Genesis V2100’s, which had front discs, threadless headsets, and half decent saddles. As we checked out, reality started to set in. We’d be relying on these bikes for over 5000 feet of elevation change. We’d need all the help we could get. Back at the house I packed everything from sockets to gorilla tape, to zip ties, to extra food, lest we get stranded on the far reaches of mount Mitchell.

We set out with our new bikes in tow, and kept two main goals in mind; Make it down the trail in one piece, and finish it off with Mexican food.

What started as a ride quickly devolved into a grueling hike. It wasn’t the gearing, or even the weight—we just tried and couldn’t. The tires had no traction, and the bikes flexed like crazy under any kind of torque. Once the grade evened out we had a much easier time, and started to clear some serious ground. We were enjoying nature, and It wasn’t long before we reached our first downhill.

Although it was only 50 yards, it was telling. Alex and I settled in for a long ride up the old Mitchell toll road, knowing full well that the climb might be the easy part.

We were climbing at a snail’s pace, painstakingly choosing our lines. Our cranks started creaking, and our hubs began to eat themselves, but we picked our way up the toll road without encountering any major mechanical failures. In fact, we were enjoying ourselves. For $149, Alex and I were taking part in an activity enjoyed by the likes of dentists and jewelers, with their pretty $6000 bikes. What do those bikes do that these can’t anyway?

On my trail bike, this janky rock garden is a blast. On this bike, I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

As you can see, Alex had been going much slower than me. He had the sense to. His bike had not one bit of damage to it, while I was nursing a blown up fork and no drivetrain whatsoever. It was clear by this comparison that speed is the major destructive force on these bikes.

As I edit this video, my hands, arms, shoulders, and torso still hurt from this ride. On my trail bike, the brakes can be applied with one finger. On the Genesis, braking is a full body workout that leaves you in pain for days.

We had made it to the end, sort of…. we still needed to get to the car. Luckily it was mostly downhill and I could hitch a ride on Alex’s backpack. After beating ourselves up for the better part of 5 hours, there was only one thing on our minds.

Playing around on department store bikes might be fun and games, but I found that riding one on an actual mountain bike excursion is not fun, and most definitely not a game. Still I’m amazed that Alex’s bike survived. Although he was using a lot more restraint than I was, everything from the gears to the brakes were working at the bottom. To Walmart’s credit, there are warnings on these bikes that tell you not to take them on mountain bike trails. After our journey, I’d have reason to believe that on a flat dirt path, the Genesis V2100 would inconvenience you at the very most, not kill you.

But just like sushi, tattoos, and cosmetic surgery, you’ll regret cheaping out on a bike that you really intend on exploring the mountains with. If you want to fall in love with mountain biking, try renting something first, or save up $400 for an entry level hardtail. In the meantime you can hike these trails for free. With one of these you may be hiking anyway.

If you enjoyed this video, I have plenty of others on this topic. Let me know what you think below, and better yet give me some ideas of what to do with these next. Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.

[MetsanAsukas]

sounds like your riding a shopping cart down.. probably felt like one too.

[frankchristo]

I can see the craigslist ad now “Like new mountain bike rode once no lowballers I know what I have”

[clydetheglide]

That bike sounds like two skeletons screwing on a tin roof

[hamburgermeat]

"When your life relies on your equipment"
*immediatly goes to walmart*

[schnsaint]

Now you realize why you found that mongoose bike in the trees...

[sgrisez]

I bought a Schwinn mountain bike from Target several years ago. There's a sticker on it that literally says "...not for off road use."

[wastedtalentinc]

This video appears after my wife asked me “what’s wrong with just getting a Kmart bike anyway?!?”

[EliDjahn]

Labeled "Mountain bike" by Walmart
Also Walmart: "Do not take on Mountains"

[jmanswat]

Only Wal-Mart can make a full suspension bike that rides like a full rigid!

[Omlet]

“With names like trouble, wipeout, ambush, and carnage, these bikes deliver what they promise”

[jameslewis]

The first time I ever really got into mountain biking, I was visiting my Grandparents for the December holidays. I didn't have a bike, so I borrowed my grandfather's 2003 Nishiki Thunder... A fully rigid steel monstrosity, with a threaded headset, rusted, worn-out rim brakes, and no-name brand, perished tires pumped to within a few PSI of bursting. This was mistake number 1.
In my infinite wisdom, I asked my grandfather to drive me and the bike to the top of a really large off-road mountain pass, so that I could "enjoy" the ride back down. This was mistake number 2. Finally, I didn't have any cycling shorts, and turned down a kind offer to borrow some from a family member. This was mistake number 3.
What seemed like a fun, winding downhill dirt road lasting a few miles on the drive up, turned into a sadistic taint-pounding torture fest from the moment I started the descent. The rigid steel frame seemed to amplify every washboard rut in that road into a vicious attack on my family jewels, beating up those poor bastards like they owed the road money, despite the geriatric spec gel seat cover. My nuts still audibly scream whenever I think of that fateful day.
The gradient wasn't particularly steep, but the brakes were utterly useless, burning up immediately and providing a lovely smell of fire to punctuate my descent into hell. Despite the fact that I gripped those levers all the way to the bars, the bike just continued to accelerate down the hill, resulting in much puckering of my sphincter. The rock-hard tires were over-achievers... They were not satisfied with merely buggering my giblets to the point of sterilization, but they also aimed to achieve a perfect state of zero traction. Each corner that I took was a 50-50 chance of me bursting a gonad or falling off the side of a cliff.
On several occasions, I nearly wiped out into oncoming traffic - which, at the time would've probably served as sweet relief from the seventh circle of ballpain that I was banished to.
In the end, I walked away with several loose fillings and an abrupt end to my family lineage... But the experience did not dissuade me from buying a proper bike and getting into this crazy sport.

[samuelpudwill]

In walmarts defence they were just expecting you to just ride on side walks and grass

[jonowens]

That's exactly what I did I saved up $489 dollars to buy a trek hardtail mtb with locking fork shocks and being 14 it's not that easy of a task coming up with that much money on your own. That bike is my pride and joy and have put it through a lot of crap these past few weeks but it still rides like I just bought it! And I'm going to have to thank you Seth. You are the main person who got me into mtb riding! I watched one video and said that's exactly what I want to do. So thank you very much!!

[SandWitch]

"I would like to return bike. Ive only rode it once."

[Winsociety]

I have a 200 dollar Walmart "trail" bike. My buddy has a brand new Marlin 7. My buddy and I started mtn biking recently and the first trip he kept looking back like, come on bro... Then he offered to switch bikes... Within 5 seconds he was looking back like how tf have you been riding with this? Carefully and strategically.

[OCLVIG]

My father is a retired Firefighter/EMT in Michigan. His department had multiple rescues out of one of our favorite popular MCMBA sanctioned trails known as "the most dangerous trails in the Midwest"; many of those were from people trying to ride Huffy and other department store bikes. Broken seat tubes, posts, frames, handlebars, etc. They should not be allowed to call these things "mountain bikes". When I first got into mountain biking, I had much success with a couple of bikes that were between $500 to $800 on sale. One was a Diamond Back and one was a Trek, both bought at actual bike shops. They were both ridden for years, and were even better with some upgrades. I didn't ride as hard back then so they served their purpose. Bottom-line, as a beginner, you can have some safe and reliable fun by spending the extra money. Of course, as your riding skills increase, be prepared to shell out the big bucks; it's definitely worth it!

[RV-vbjt]

Perhaps the funniest thing I have EVER heard during a bike review: "The bike is 1000x better without the chain"

[shadowxxe]

2:42 You know what the suspension feels like its doing later *Oh god Egh-Gin-g-Ove-r-the-OH GAWD-Ohw oh man*

[daloons]

"don't take this mountain bike onto mountain bike trails" - Wal-Mart

[OGmolton]

When you said "we only have one thing left to do" I was hoping it cut to yall trying to return those bikes to walmart