I received a great comment/question about Walmart’s $248 Ozark Trail G.1 Explorer (that name’s a mouthful!) on YouTube the other day:
And it got me thinking. I don’t have any experience with the other Walmart bikes mentioned, so I can’t really say how they ride. KevCentral did ride them, and was pretty complimentary of the Genesis Bohe, but he did say that the tires weren’t very good. And while it shares much of the same 2×7 drivetrain with the G.1, here are some of the differences that I noticed:
- G.1 Explorer has internal cable routing/Genesis Bohe has external cable routing
- G.1 Explorer has downtube cage mount (thanks to internal cable routing)/Genesis Bohe has just one bottle mount
- G.1 Explorer has fork pack mounts/Genesis Bohe does not
- G.1 Explorer uses Presta valve rims and tubes/Genesis Bohe uses Schrader valve rims and tubes
- G.1 Explorer is $248/Genesis Bohe was $348 when introduced, $248 now
A lot of these little features aren’t a big deal unless you plan on doing longer rides and trips. But even for short rides (in heat like we’re having now), it’s nice to be able to carry a second water bottle. I’ll be testing out the G.1 on an overnight trip soon and will be using the mounting points that the Genesis Bohe does not.
The $378 Mongoose Grit seems to be a closer comparison to the G.1 Explorer, with even more mounting points. But it’s over $125 more expensive than the G.1 Explorer. That may not be a lot of some, but it’s a lot (50% more!) for others.
What is fascinating is that the Mongoose Grit, which is much less expensive than other, “proper” gravel bikes (which often start at $1,000), did not get nearly as much attention as the G.1 Explorer is getting. Specwise, they’re pretty close. Buzzwize, they’re world’s apart. Either Walmart has done a better job of marketing the G.1 Explorer (I’m not sure if they sent test bikes to influencers; they didn’t send me mine) or there’s something magical about the $248 pricepoint.
In preparation for my bikepacking trip, I loaded the G.1 Explorer up with bikepacking gear that I have and took it for a local spin. I wanted to make sure that the bike handled ok under load and that the gear stayed firmly attached to the bike. And, of course, I made a video about it.
Spoiler alert – mission accomplished; the G.1 Explorer handled the bikepacking gear just fine.. I am packing ultra-light because the planned route is hilly and the bike doesn’t have super low gearing – just 36 x 28 on the low end. That’s around 30 gear inches, which is just ok for unloaded riding in hilly terrain and definitely not low enough for four-pannier riding on hilly terrain. For fully loaded riding, I prefer around 20 gear inches, or even less if the roads are super steep (like they were last year in Andalucia, Spain).
I’ll post a post trip video as soon as I get back. In the meantime, thanks for watching!