Bike snobbery - or is it?

[We_are_Stevo]

That's hardly a design fault of the bike though is it? Any more than the protectors left on the rear axle... :roll:

 

[Rich Aitch]

No Stevo, I was thinking of the shop staff assembling it from the box for their end-of-isle display. Bet they threw the instructions in the bin before they started...

 

[FMJ]

Maybe that's where the staff at Asda went wrong, they saw the caster front wheels of all their shopping trolleys pointing backworks and fluttering when they moved along, looked at their bike and thought, "Yep, that must be how they're meant to go".

You do know that the bike assembler and the shopping cart mechanic are one and the same, no?

 

[We_are_Stevo]

However; those of us of 'a certain age' would have grown up riding anything that came their way - usually bought as a surprise birthday/Christmas present by their parents, undoubtedly British - and absolutely loved it. Then we would have passed them on to a younger sibling, who would have equally enjoyed it for many more years probably before trading it in at the LBS for the next.

There was very little snobbery attached to it back then...

The snobbery and pomposity exhibited within these hallowed pages smacks of the 'My Dad is bigger than your Dad' attitude of the playground politics of our childhood... :roll:

 

[highlandsflyer]

However; those of us of 'a certain age' would have grown up riding anything that came their way - usually bought as a surprise birthday/Christmas present by their parents, undoubtedly British - and absolutely loved it. Then we would have passed them on to a younger sibling, who would have equally enjoyed it for many more years probably before trading it in at the LBS for the next.

There was very little snobbery attached to it back then...

The snobbery and pomposity exhibited within these hallowed pages smacks of the 'My Dad is bigger than your Dad' attitude of the playground politics of our childhood... :roll:

Got to agree with that man, seems the retro bike scene encourages retro (child like) sensibilities in some!

 

[cornholio's RC200]

Maybe our man builds bikes with Pace forks as an aside.... That might have given him the idea for the back-to-front fork

 

[lou74]

got nowt to do with how big my old man is, he bought me shag all! aged 14 i started saving my paper money to buy a 88 saracen trekker for £399 because 400 quid bought a good bike back then. by the time i'd amassed £400 i was 15 & it was 89 so i got a traverse. because I wanted to go racing & I wanted a 1/2 desent bike to do it on.

awww jesus!!!! it's happened again!!!

well done mark! 8 pages of 'discussion'.......... you the man

 

[legrandefromage]

well done mark! 8 pages of 'discussion'.......... you the man

8 pages and it hasnt exploded.

Back in 1986 when I was bought my first BSO, there was nowhere near as much choice as there is now, you get far more bang for your buck. Manufacturers know this and knock out some terrible machines as shown before that are possibly worse than the u-brake madness I started riding on.

Part of my point has been that what was awful shat back in any day you care to mention is still shat now and will forever be shat.

 

[mikee]

thinking about it , my first ever bike was a BSO
a dawes kingpin (shopper) that my mum buoght to ride to work
i pulled the mud guards and dynamo off it and fitted renthal motorbike
trials bars with a coke can shim

it was kin ace

an asda BSO is a lot better

 

[MikeD]

Sub £100 new = BSO. It's just not possible to make a worthwhile bike to sell that cheaply.

Whoever said up there that there's a difference between "BSO" and "commodity bike" is spot on.