HuffyBicycle Company Hardtail Mountain Trail Bike

This review is for the Huffy Hardtail Mountain Trail Bike - 26 inch wheels/20 inch frame, Gloss Nickel.I was not much of a biker and have not rode a bike in ten years. When looking for a "bike", was not sure what to get or what to look for when purchasing online (i.e. can't try it out before purchasing). I picked this model mainly because of the low cost ($275.00) and good reviews. Next, I was not even sure how to pick the frame size or wheel size. After some internet reading, the 20-inch frame size was the best option for my 5'10 height and chose the 26-inch wheel size (seemed proportional to the 20-inch frame). My main objective was "joy" riding and not really doing any biking on mountains or off-road biking.The bike came in new - very little assembly. Only had to install the front tire and the handle bar assembly. The packaging include a multi-purpose tool (wrench) and hex wrenches to assembly the bike.Once the bike was assembled, I had two issues:1. The rubber brake pads were slightly rubbing against the rim. I had to play around with it a bit to adjust the brakes. Was able to adjust them where they were perfect.2. Now, the hard part. The front derailleur was not working correctly. I could not shift into some of the gears and could also hear slight clicking/tapping when peddling. Very long story short, I had to watch many videos on YouTube on how to adjust the derailleur (i.e. low/high limits, cable tension..etc). Also, without a bike stand to hold up the bike, this becomes a tedious effort. For those of you who have had to do this, you know the pain. So, after many many hours of adjusting the limits and cable tension, got it to where it is 99% better when using the gear shifters (from and back).The bike size fits me perfect. No issues with comfort in riding. I can easily adjust the seat height and handle bars for a better fit.Overall, this is a decent mountain bike for what I need it for. Not looking for anything special. I do enjoy riding it and happy with the purchase. If you are looking for a bike for cruising or joy riding, then a mountain bike is not for you. (mainly because of the treads on the wheels).Couple items to know about:1. Change out the bike seat ASAP. Too hard and causes pain/rash within 15min of riding.2. If you remove the front derailleur tension cable, make sure you put it back on the correct way or else the gear lever will not work. It will feel tight and you will not be able to shift any gear. I learned this the hard way after I spent about three hours trying to figure out why I could not shift the gear lever. Finally, I realized my very simple mistake. When you wrap the tension cable around the locking nut, you need to loop it in a clockwise motion, not counter clockwise. - lesson learned. (see attached picture).

I received the bike this past Thursday and assembled without much issue, but when it came to adding air for a little test ride, the rear wheel/tire, no issues. The front tire wouldnt seat tight enough and caused the inner tube to rupture suddenly and catastrophically. I wasnt aware there was an issue, so I ordered a set of replacement inner tubes online since finding 26 x 2.40 proved difficult with Schrader valves nearby. The next day those arrived and I installed a new tube, I noticed the tire was a bit loose on the fitment, but didnt have anything to compare directly to on this model bike. Not knowing it would cause anything, I installed the tube carefully, and the problem repeated. I took the tire off, which again seemed too easy, and noticed the tube was failing in the same area, about 2 or 3 inches from the valve area. I looked for anything sharp in the inside, and did notice the rim spoke guard rubber trim was not seated well, but was exposing spokes on the other side of the rim so why would the tube fail on the opposite side. No matter, I adjusted the guard and ensured that there was nothing sharp that would fail the tube. After reinstalling the tube and tire, I inflated again to the labeled 40PSI (labelled 40 to 45PSI), and it sat again for a bit, while I checked some other bikes (on yet a different pressure gauge to ensure it was not being overinflated). About 3 minutes later, the tire came free from the wheel while sitting on the workbench with a very loud BANG! And now the 3rd tube was destroyed. I purchased yet another guage/inflator online just to be triple sure this is not a failure in my testing equipment, and this was the 3rd inflator used on the last test to confirm accurate inflation. All 3 inflations were with coordinated inflators that ensured there was not an issue in the pressure used. The tire is either too large to seat correctly, or the wheel is too small to seat correctly. Either way, I am out $20 dollars on tubes alone not including the one it shipped with, and purchasing new inflators to confirm the accuracy of the air fills. Not happy and my daughter is even less happy she has nothing to use for her Spring Break off school to enjoy while off. Hopefully Huffy sorts this issue out quickly.Update - After reaching out to Huffy on Saturday, Tuesday they shipped a replacement wheel, tire, and 2 inner tubes for the issues we encountered. Parts are in route, but glad that the manufacturer has supported the failures out of the box. Will update further if the part do not remedy the issue, but expected to resolve at this point. Updated from 2 stars to 4.

Great bike for the price! Performs well and nice looking too!

Pedal plastic cracked after a single 3mile weekend family bike ride. Next ride seat stopped holding its position even though tightened to extents the ridges that normally hold it together are now stripped. While this is a budget bike It shouldn't fall apart just riding around the neighborhood, at this point it doesn't have all the functioning parts left to call it a bike.

I'm 5'7" 210 lbs., this fits me well.I swapped the seat immediately, never tried the original, with a rectangular mens seat.I swapped the kickstand immediately with a smoother functioning one.I wish the handle bars could be adjusted a couple inches higher.I also wish it had disk brakes.I am usually not so critical on my reviews but those few things would make this the perfect bike for me.As you can see I have complaints, but the bike does deserve a 5 star rating. It is a great bike and with some fine tuning I was able to make it close to perfect for me without spending an arm and a leg.I would suggest checking out your local bike shops before buying this though.I YouTube'd the rise and fall of huffy, pretty crazy world out there...

Don't expect it to compete with the $3,000 bikes from the bike stores. It's heavy but seems to be strong. So far I'm very happy with it. The welds are beautiful. Adjusting the brakes was a little tedious. I was having trouble getting them centered so they didn't rub on one side of the wheel or the other. I eventually got them after adjusting them, riding it for a while, adjusting again, riding, adjusting....