Walmart’s $248 Ozark Trail G.1 Explorer gravel bike continues to generate a lot of online buzz, which, if you think about it, is where most of the world’s buzz comes from these days – online. Much of the discussion revolves around the dichotomy between bicycles sold at bike shops vs. bicycles sold at big box stores like Walmart, and touches issues of class and economics. I find myself straddling that line, supportive of small business while also cognizant of the financial challenges that many people face that steer them away from local bike shops and toward cheaper bikes at big box stores.
One might be inclined to dismiss those looking down upon Walmart bikes as classist (and some of them are), but it’s also an undeniable fact that 99% of the bikes Walmart sells are kind of crappy, with cheap components and inattentive assembly. Both things are true.
The G.1 Explorer, as it tries to be a quality budget bike, is battling a poor brand reputation earned by its predecessors. Within all of this buzz and (sometimes heated) discussion, I am trying to give the G.1 Explorer a fair shake, At the end of the day, it’s just a bicycle, and it either works as a bicycle or it doesn’t. The wheels either turn smoothly or they don’t. The pedals either propel me forward or they don’t. The bike either feels like a cohesive unit or it doesn’t.
So far, the G.1 Explorer is exceeding the exceedingly low bar set by its predecessors. This second ride is a ~19 mile road loop with mostly smooth roads (for New Jersey, at least) and some rolling hills.
For the record, I have no relationship with Walmart besides purchasing the bike from them.
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