I have just bought this 2023 National comfort bike and I just caught wind of this Walmart Ozark Ridge bike. National is $500 and the walmart is $400. Light trail and mostly commuting. Does Ericks, (the place that sells the National), put together bikes that much more?
by Ok_Complaint_5841
2 Comments
Imma be honest, these two bikes look pretty different. The national comfort seems like it’d be a good urban hybrid commuter. Large wheels, riser bars, solid forks, V brakes. It seems like it’d be easy to use, easy to maintain, and comfortable to ride. Downside is it won’t be as good on trails. Could do OK as a gravel bike, but any serious rocks, roots, or uneven surface is going to be hell.
The Ozark on the other hand seems like it’s more built for trails. Suspension fork, disc brakes, flat bars, fat wheels, etc. it’s what you’d expect from an entry level mountain bike. It’s not going to be winning you any awards or conquering the real rough stuff, but it’ll do for lighter trails. Unfortunately it probably wouldn’t be quite as nice for an everyday commuter, though if you can lock the suspension it might be a better option to fit your need for both a commuter and trail bike.
Really I think it more depends on how you want to use the bike than the price. If you’re going to be taking a lot of trips on local roads for work or errands, I’d lean more towards the National, but if you want a trail bike that you can also use for the occasional ride back home, I’d lean Ozark.
And mind you, that’s purely based on the designs of the bikes. I have no idea what the build or part quality is on either of these bikes, so I can’t really give you advice on whether either bike is specifically worth purchasing.
UB-1. no contest. no contest at all.
the gear ratios are better for commuting, the fact that it’s more expensive despite being simpler in construction implies that the components are of higher quality (always research these things though, natch), the UB-1 can accomodate full fenders and a rear rack, rim brake replacement pads are less expensive and more common and trivially easy to replace and you as an average commuter will not perceive a difference in performance between rim and disc brakes. and perhaps just as importantly as all of these things, the UB-1 is less likely to get stolen. it is exceptionally unremarkable. a mountain bike like the ozark trqil though, in a bike rack surrounded by unremarkable commuters, is gonna be more likely to be targetted by a thief. even if they only liberate the shocked fork, the entire bike is functionally useless at that point, and a new aftermarket front fork is gonna run you almost half the original cost of the bike.