Over one hundred miles on my NEXT Parowan bike

Well, I have finally done it.  I have pedalled 100 miles since getting my bike last Christmas.  I would have put a lot more miles on it, but being a stay at home dad sort of keeps me anchored at the house.  Any way, there are few reviews regarding this bike so I'll just toss a quick seal of approval.  The bike cost $49 new at Walmart and outside of a slow leak in the front tire, I haven't had a problem with it.  It is a cheap bike, and I'm sure I put a bit more effort in riding around than people who have much nicer bikes, but it doesn't skip gears, the brakes work, I haven't had to replace a single thing on it yet.

There it is, still looking spiffy after being stored outside in Florida humidity for a few months.  There is no rust that I can see.  All of the parts are what came with it, nothing has been replaced.  The gears all work, and everything works as it should.  I will say, it did take about an hour to get everything put together and working right - but after that I haven't done any adjustments.

With that said, I have only really been hitting paved trails.  I do ride over a bit of grass here and there, but nothing that would bang the bike up.  The rims still rotate fine, and do not rub into the brakes.

The longest ride I've been on thus far, was a thirty mile haul on the Suncoast trail and you can definitely feel it, the one major complain I have with the bike are the hand grips, they are solid plastic and after a while of sweating they get really slippery, not to mention uncomfortable.  The seat is not as uncomfortable as you would think, it is is not luxury by any means but after that thirty miles I wasn't in any pain from it.  My legs, well that is another matter.

Today I rode 15 miles on the trail, and it was incredibly relaxing.  It is always nice to get away from home and just enjoy nature while riding your bike.  For $49 it has surpassed any expectations I would have of it, of course I would rather have a nicer bike.. but when you have been unemployed as long as I have, this bike is an excellent choice for cheap entertainment.  If it makes it to 200 miles, I'll be sure to check back in with another post.