Just in time for the holidays are these gems from Target. I’m not necessarily knocking them as the quality of today’s department store bikes have all but rivaled that of most bikes bought at bike shops….. Nahhhh, who are we kidding? These things are the death star of the bike industry. No matter how you look at it though, they’ll probably sell like hotcakes at a syrup factory with the new Star Wars movie coming out later this month.
Past the break the specs you will see on the Huffy Darth Vader and Storm Trooper bikes…
Photos courtesy of Target
Okay okay…. I know. But let’s face it, unless you were Richey Rich,….. no no, not that one, THIS one, you at one time had a department store bike. One thing department store bikes have going for them is licensing rights to popular names like Disney, Marvel (my daughter wanted that Spiderman bike so badly), and the like, making them more identifiable to consumers.
So let’s take a look at what Huffy has put into their latest creation:
The forks are facing the right direction, so they passed the first test. They even lined up the crank arms to most of our readers’ specs. Sure that seat in the first pic is tilted down a bit, but so are about 75% of rookie triathletes’ saddles. All in all, it “looks” not too shabby for your run of the mill Huffy. But hoooold on a minute….. those welds. That big fat hydroformed(?) frame is made of steel! So like any good weight weenie would, I skim the specs crossing my fingers they actually list the Dark Lord of the Sith’s weight. And they did!
Fifty. Eight. Pounds.
The Force you will need, to move this thing… but only if you are 250lbs or less. To be fair, it’s not listed whether that is the actual weight or the shipping weight. If the latter (which it probably is considering they list dimensions as the box size) it could bring the actual weight down by as much as 10 pounds, but still… light, it is not. The Darth Vader and Storm Trooper bikes are limited editions sold exclusively at Target for $299. Considering the weight, you might actually get more money recycling them than selling them used.
SPECS
Manufacturer Suggested Age: 18 Years and Up
Gear Speeds: 7
Bicycle Frame Height: 17″
Bicycle Frame/Component Features: Alloy Rims, Adjustable Handlebars
Bicycle Frame Material: Steel
Suspension Type: Front
Seat Features: Adjustable Seat Height, printed seat, Quick Release Seat
Seat Material: Vinyl
Front Brake System: Disc
Rear Brake System: Linear
Brakes Manufacturer/Type: Yake
Bicycle Chain Material: Steel
Pedal Material: Alloy
Wheel Features: Pneumatic Tires
Rim Material: Metal Alloy
Front Wheel Height: 26″
Rear Wheel Height: 26.000
Tire Type: fat tire
Tire Width: 4 inches
Includes: Spokes, Kickstand
Maximum Weight Capacity: 250.000
Care and Cleaning: Wipe Clean with a Damp Cloth
Dimensions: 64.000L x 24.000W x 40.000H
Weight: 58.000
Warranty Description: Multiple Warranties and/or Time Frames Apply
Battery: no battery used:
Assembly Details: adult assembly required
Bike Type: fat tire, Mountain
TCIN: 17148013
UPC: 028914365466
Store Item Number (DPCI): 082-09-0849
Origin: Imported
Rear rim brake and front disc brake. Make it stop.
I have no confidence in that weld.
Its actually a very sweet bike to ride. The 7 gears gives you a good workout. I bought mine used for $150 and I absolutely love it
Really well written. The Death Star of Bikes, indeed.
The CPSC shouldn’t even let sh*t like this be sold in the US.
What a terrible shame… It’s really sad that so many “parents” will be so stupid as to spend $300 on that piece of crap.
It should be against the law to build and sell such trash: And Target should be up to it’s ears in a class action law suit for being a party to it.
shock fork?
and we all know how well rim brakes work on painted wheels…
what where how why did they get to make a rim brake caliper that large.
more like you’ll need the force to stop.
Don’t buy this one.
lol Scott. backward forks make for that handling.
I actually was (deleted) off riding that thing around the store while the wife was shopping at Target. It is obviously not to anywhere near the standard that anyone who reads this page is wanting. More importantly, the things are being “assembled” by some high school junior who has not ridden a bike since he was 8. All that being said, it didn’t actually feel like 60 pounds, but its still a lot for a little kid to walk up a hill or lift over something they cannot get over… however, Star Wars.
Warp speed, engaged.
@Scott Vines, you have the internet for the day!! Enjoy it!!
Disney is milking Star Wars for all it’s worth. BAN DISNEY
@j – v calipers will spread out as far as you make the posts. As long as they’re tall enough, you can fit them over anything.
At $300, you can buy a lot of bike, especially if you find a used one.
May the hernia be with you.
I assembled the Rebel (white) version a few months ago when Target had their big Star Wars promotion. I am not a high school junior (although I get where that comment comes from). I put it together the way it should be and adjusted everything the way it’s supposed to be and I rode it around as well. It doesn’t feel bad, definitely not 60 lbs. The graphics are cool, and it rides nicer than the other fat bike, but it’s still sitting on the floor after 2 1/2 months. Nobobdy at Target really wants to buy a $300 bike. If they knocked it down to $150, I’d give it a thought.
I’m a bike mechanic and I had to pack one of these up for a customer to ship out and we weighed it after attempting to get it in the bike stand and it is right around 52 lbs built up.
I enjoy Star Wars just as much as anyone else but this is just over the top AWESOME! You can dress up in a completely odd mash-up of Star Wars theme bike stuff!
Got my Stormtrooper kit with pads, R2D2 themed fat bike, Boba Fett full face helmet and I’m ready to shred the GNAR!
Really astounded that Bike Rumor is even giving this an article. This site is thankfully only viewed by avid cyclists and not folks looking for gift buying tips, but promoting this product is equivalent to selling a knock off iphone. The parts simply will not last, and the assembly is a slap in the face to the consumer thinking they have purchased something that will last.
Includes: Spokes
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! So happy it includes spokes!
Excuse me… I need to wipe the sick off my keyboard.
Bet that thing can do the Kessel Run in under five parsecs!
I think some city kids will have fun scooting around city parks in the snow. I saw something similar at a campground this summer. Good enough to bike on sand to the better part of the beach a few miles out. Hopefully Target will sell tubes, folks are going to get flats easily on those marshmallows.
I have to ask: Is it ridable?
EN Standard 15194 will eat this bike and spit it out. Might be legal in, let’s say, Tajikistan or Greenland, though.
It’s honestly nearly impossible to flat on tires running at 5PSI. Tacks and goathead thorns are about the only things that’ll do it. If you want something to pierce these tires, it’s got to be rapier sharp.
Doubt these will be showing up at the bike trials’ bunny hop contest.
Hey don’t knock target. They made to be the only place to Buy a bike. Because bike shops in the USA keep closing left and right. Lol
It’s such a shame that junky super store bought bikes are all too often a kids first introduction to cycling. When I was growing up the used Raleigh that I was given was well ridden before I grew out of it and then my younger brother rode it before getting passed on to another kid after he out grew it. For less money you could buy a descent used trek,specialized or similar. I don’t blame the parents, they just don’t know any better! Shame on the stores for selling this junk.
Was on sale for $209 at my local Target. It looks like a perfectly fine bike for that price, perfect for riding like a goober the couple of times a year it snows or riding to the corner store for munchies.
What’s the point of having a monster hydro formed head tube junction but then attaching it to the headtube with 2 tiny weld points?? Not only is selling this junk deliberately misleading, it’s a safety risk.
Listen to all of you speak about ride quality, safety, and precision (or lack there of) assembly. . . Meanwhile, the real shortfall of this bike is it’s total failure in representing the AWESOMENESS that is the DARK side! Get your heads right friends
All fat bikes are the same. This one will look just fine locked to the rack outside your local microbrewery.
Big fan of tack welding the top and down tubes to the head tube.
The liability is strong with this one.
What’s the purpose of this smirking article, and the comments thereto, other than to make everyone feel so superior?
Seems most of y’all pros forget that more people on bikes means more people on bikes.
I won a local fatbike race on this thing earlier this year, unfortunately I was wearing my storm trooper helmet while riding the darth vader model. I can assure all of you doubters this bike is more than capable of handling even the most technical terrains with ease. The extra weight compared to those modern day weight obsessed machines just gives added comfort and durability for tackling those tough descents, and furthermore the ingenious brake combination lends itself well to specifically apply either caliper or disc brake power as needed. The extra weight is also very beneficial for climbing technical terrain since it keeps the rear tire firmly on the ground so losing traction is not an issue.
I have to question the quality control on this one. The front wheel height is 26″ but the rear wheel is 26.000.
Only slackers’ parents will be buying this, as the recommended age for use is 18 and up.
Eddy could have won the Tour on this (and, for a different reason, Lance).
But the real problem with this one is no thru-axle. I’m not certain if it also suffers the problem of lacking a threaded bottom bracket.
Burton – you are no longer invited to any parties!
Not sure why all the hate. Some kids/parents may not be that into cycling, but may love Star Wars. Maybe this will get them into actual biking. I’m sure many here had POS huffy’s or banana seat streamered Schwinn’s growing up – and probably look fondly back at them.
the farce is strong with this one…
@bad andy wins the comments section. Please close it down now out of respect.
…Bika the Hut!
These are not the bikes you’re looking for.
But are the rims tubeless??
Id hate to see the carnage caused by and end over end crash of a kid getting TKO’d by their bike.
Is the gap in the headtube junction the thermal exhaust port? Didn’t they learn anything with the Death Star 1.0?
Also, the Storm Trooper model should be the safest bike ever, since we all know storm troopers can’t hit anything. *ba dum, ching* I’ll show myself out…
Can you go back to covering bike industry news instead of department store news?
Thanks.
Storm Trooper and Darth Vader Models at Target?
Makes sense that they don’t have an Alliance cruise.
Its 12 parcsecs
La verdad que todo lo que dise este hombre es mentira. Tengo una y hasta mi hija de 9 años la monta, es una bicicleta mas de lujo, claro que no vas a ir a un bosque a montarla es para terreno afaltado y plano, no para montaña.