I bought this bike from Walmart last summer:
My sister and I bought bikes just to ride around and excersize. The chain began to skip bad after about 2 weeks. The the point where it is nearly impossible to ride.
We went back to Walmart to exchange it for the same exact bike. We did. When I got back home, I rode it a bit and was fine for a little while before the chain began "slipping" (not skipping yet) that same day. I figured, hmmm, this is not as bad as it SKIPPING, so I went along with it and it began to get better. A few days later, the chain begins to SKIP to the point where I didn't want to ride it anymore. We just rode bikes in the street, no off road.
I come back down here to GA for my Junior year SCAD (scad.edu), they ship the bike down, I put it back together. The chain skips. So I adjusted the part that changes the smaller gears on the back wheel. It stopped skipping for a good while but I had to keep it on ONE gear. Eventually, it begins to skip again so I cut wire from my old headphones to hold the part that changes gears in the back up. Again, I have to keep it on ONE gear, can't change it. It ran nicely for a good while. Now the chain is skipping uncontrollably. It just got HORRIBLE about 4-5 days ago and I am ready to just throw this thing away.
When I am riding standing up and the chain skips, sometimes my foot will slip off of the pedal and I could break my ankle. So now I "sit down" when I ride, but it is hard trying to get up hills, move fast (I depend on my bike to get me to classes around town), and it is just not enjoyable.
I remember riding my roomate's bike at the beginning of the year because mine was not down here yet. It wasn't new, but had no chain skipping problems
Sorry for the long story. I am just not sure that I want to take it to my Bike Shop downtown to have them service it. I know they charge a lot just to look at the bike and I might as well buy a new one, but I don't have the money.
Also, I am in Savannah, GA. It is either HOT down here. Or it is raining and I leave my bike outside when I am at my apartment or in class. So it collects a lot of rain and some rust may be building up. Though the chain skipping was happening WAY before rain touched it.
Any feedback? I am about to go take pictures of the chain and cogs right now.