My first mountain bike was a Walmart-brand Roadmaster that I got in college when my brother’s roommate moved out and left it behind. He was cleaning out and gave it to me. I didn’t realize how cheap it really was, but the name Roadmaster should have been a dead giveaway. I fixed it up and made it rideable – learned some bike maintenance along the way, which was good – and rode it on one or two local trails I could find. Then I went on a trip to Moab with some friends to ride Slickrock Trail. The thing would fall apart. Friends riding behind me would pick up pieces of plastic that had broken off of it. One of the guys in the group had just gotten himself a Gary Fisher and told me I’d be doing better on the climbs if I had a better bike. I didn’t believe him and just thought I was too out of shape. After that ride, I gave it away to a friend who could ride it to work. I then kept wanting to get a better bike, but was turned off by the price. About 13 or so years later I finally got a real bike in a Specialized Stumpjumper and I’m back out riding trails. And the friend with the Gary Fisher back in the day was right, a real bike is a HUGE improvement over that Roadmaster. That being said, for anyone riding a Walmart MTB, keep on keepin’ on – you can still ride it most places, you may just need to give it some extra love to keep it running right.