This is a direct result of Sam Walton's two grandsons that have invested hundreds of millions in their HQ city of Bentonville and built probably the best MTB trail system in the world. Additionally, they've started developing the Ozark Trail line. I expect the lineup to grow. They're pretty serious about the sport and Walmart's support thereof. Ozark Trail is actually owned directly by Walmart, not just contracted, as I understand it. I spend a fair bit of time in Bentonville, my dad has a house there, etc.
Fun fact: Walmart built Bentonville. One of the Walton kids is a big mountain biker and since Walmart is based in Arkansas they had one of the premier bike parks in the country built
I just literally rode 30 miles this morning on the ozark bike (the green one lol). I like so far. I might need to change the saddle but other than that so far pretty good. It was pre assembled so I looked over what I could/know before I started riding. So far pretty good
Back in the day I assembled bikes for academy for a few months as a side job. I knew absolutely nothing about bicycles But in all fairness I was a motorcycle tech at the time.
So this is cool to see. Back in college, I was, like your friend, the fool who decided to stroll in Walmart for a sweet new mountain bike. I of course did not get a sweet new bike, I got a Genesis 26" heap "full suspension" (in the most abstract and pathetic way) steel frame monster in L I M E green. But being both exceptionally dumb AND stubborn, I bought a new crankset, grips, pedals, and very soon needed a new wheel, and tires. One day while cruising downhill on the campus street, I heard a "clunk" and looked down to see the handlebar had broken off the stem. The stem plate screws literally just yeeted themselves from their threads, or lack thereof. I'm really not sure how I didn't eat it, but I stopped the bike, and had a buddy who really didn't know how to weld popcorn the hell out of it to "fix" the handlebar. I had that bike for 4 years, it weighed 45 lbs. One day I finally got a rock hopper, and the Genesis sat in my garage until I decided to give it away for free. I found a single mom who couldn't afford a bike for her son, and he was absolutely thrilled to ride that trash heap around the neighborhood. Maybe it helped jump start him to a better bike, maybe he just ended up throwing it away. I dunno, but that was my story with a Walmart bike.
Walmart does shipping, honestly if you're handy with bikes it might be preferable to build it out of the box yourself rather than gamble on how rushed the Walmart employee was that day. I have like two Walmarts near me and I went for the shipping option on the bike I bought anyway, comes partially assembled in a box and I got to take my time watching tutorials and making sure I had everything done properly before taking it for a ride. That said it's nice to have a Walmart nearby if you need to return it, I did have a faulty suspension fork on my first attempt but just rolled it into the store and got a refund no problem. (and I'm pretty sure the same bike was for sale in the same store about a week later, so there's also that to consider.)
