Less than a decade ago, if you were looking for serious, non-race 24″ cruiser your choices were few and far between.
If you wanted a 24″ bike that would take some abuse, it usually meant you were riding either a Haro Backtrail 24 or the DK General Lee.
Today, you may have noticed (especially if you’re a regular reader of this site) that the choices for non-race 24″ cruisers are a little deeper. And perhaps fittingly, those two old workhorses, the Backtrail and the General Lee were dropped from their respective company’s lineups.
But just like those ol’ Duke Boys in a car chase with Roscoe P. Coltrane, the General Lee was a bike that couldn’t be kept down. It’s resurfaced, albeit in a slightly different incarnation and to some sometimes heated BMX forum discussion in, of all places, Walmart!
Do Bo and Luke Duke know what happened to the General Lee?
Word on the street is that Huffy bought out DK and, in addition to their higher-end bikes and parts, they are offering a small lineup of race and freestyle bikes in Walmart.
This version of the General Lee is hi-ten steel with Chro-mo 3-piece cranks…a far cry of it’s original completely Chro-mo version…but priced accordingly, at $179 (US).
Some people are burning up the forums saying this is a travesty.
I dunno. Remember the Subrosa Salvador 24 from last year? That was a hi-ten bike with chro-mo cranks priced at $404! That to me, was more of an outrage. At least this bike is priced appropriately and sold in a place that makes sense.
Would Uncle Jesse approve?
I can see a Dad picking one of these up, at the same time he’s picking out a first bike for his son or daughter. Who knows, after jumping curb cuts, popping a few wheelies and just having fun on his $179 bike, he’ll decide to upgrade to something a little better at his local bike shop. And there he’ll see a brand he recognizes but be something much better suited to heavy-duty riding.
What do you think about DK bikes showing up at Walmart?
Something good?
Or something bad?
For complete specs, check out Walmart’s page.
For more info on all the Dukes of Hazzard references in this post, click here.
cruiser revolution 