The Cheap and Nasty

[twain]

am i in a minority that expresses inner disgust and anger at the horribly cheap, nasty looking, plastic and naff metal 'budget bikes' that are so often seen for sale in LBS's and even supermarkets these days?
i'm talking about the 'generic brand name bikes', the ones that seem to rapidly morph into a fuzzy rust coated lump within a few days of outdoor use....
i guess its just like any other market where budget brands operate, but it doesn't help that they are so visibly awful.
i suppose most of the issue may lay with the lack of care from its rider, but there really are some awful looking bikes that just look plain dangerous...
anyone hearing me on this?

 

[orange71]

look around the site - you'll find plenty of threads about these BSO's... you're not alone

 

[poweredbypies]

They are only cheap and nasty if you know about bikes. For 90% of the people out there they see a bike with suspension and its new and shiny for £99 bargain. Its only when they try to do some proper off roading that they run into the bike limitaions and it falls to bits on them, that they realise they bought a bag of poo.

 

[twain]

has anyone on here tricked out a cheapo frame and actually discovered its a pretty good ride? i do often look at some of these BSOs and think - without those 'orrid nasty plastic parts, it'd look pretty good....whether it'd ride well is another story....

 

[Barneyballbags]

The budget BSOs don't really bother me, although sometimes I do think that, with a little bit of effort, they could have got a half decent low-end (used) Kona or similar, for the same money.

The thing that really irks me is when I see people riding around with their forks fitted the wrong way around. I know that a lot of the bikes are self-assembly, and that a lot of the people who buy them might not necessarily be the most mechanically-minded, but it's so glaringly obvious that they're fitted backwards!

 

[legrandefromage]

http://bicycleshapedobject.wordpress.com/

 

[Raging_Bulls]

A friend of mine once (march 2004) bought one of those nasty cheap bikes, abeit a pre-assembled one. I had the "pleasure" of collecting it for him.

Within 50 yards I noticed that the entire thing hadn't been assembled at all. The levers were loose, the headset was dry and loose, the stem wasn't tightened to the fork and the gears weren't running properly.
Upon noticing that my input at the handlebar had no influence whatsoever on the front wheel's position, I tried to brake, only to feel the laft front brake pad missing the rim completely and ending up between the spokes. Luckily I was doing 3 MPH.

I managed to make it home and went over the entire bike, tightening every single bolt and nut and properly tensioning the spokes.
I then delivered it to him. I was kinda worreid because he's a rather overweight guy.

The first time he got on it, the seam on the rear inner tyre gave up under his 250lbs, and the outer tyre got severely damaged due to the resulting snakebite. A new set of outer and inner tyres solved that.
The next day he took it for its first proper ride (on the road), and managed to bend the front rim because he had to brake mid-corner. Decathlon refused to provide warranty because we had made modifications to the bike by replacing the tyres, so we bought a set of cheap wheels and all was good again for a while.

2 weeks later I took his bike out for a test drive to adjust the gears, and noticed that the frame itself was flexing. I adjusted the gears and told him that I'd like to ride it again after 2 more weeks.
On my second run I noticed that the flexing had gotten worse, up to the point where sporty riding would make it go into a high-speed shimmy which reminded me more of the sort of tankslappers I was used to on my old motorcycle. I also managed to break the chain.

I fond no cracks, so the bike was then taken back to Decathlon. Without even trying it, they told me that the flexing was all in my head. Meanwhile the fork was starting to seize and the chain and sprockets were showing signs of wear ( after less than 500 miles ! ).

We decided that it would cost more to reinforce the frame and fix the bike up than I paid for my then Bulls Sport 3.50, so he ended up buying the same one I had. He still rides that Bulls.

 

[Dr S]

About four years ago, myself and a few friends got together in Yorkshire for a weekend away. A spot of motorsport on the Saturday and a day around Dalby on the Sunday was the plan.
A few days prior, in casual conversation with a friend, I discovered he was a closet mountain biker and he said he would like to come along.
Over breakfast on the Saturday morning he enthused about his cycling. Rode to work a few days a week, a few evening rides and a full day on Sundays. Much more riding time than me then. He then spoke of his steed. 'its a proper mountain bike, full suspension and everything. Wasn't cheap- ££129 from Halfords!'

We soon gathered around the back of his vanfrom which he pulled a 40lb behemoth with steel triple clamp forks, a hidious frame with rusty rear shock and inoperative V brakes. Oh how we teased.

That night I fixed his brakes, adjusted the gears and lubes the chain before a quick spin around the car park. This thing was horrible. The 73 degree head angle and rubbish forks made riding around a field a scary experience and the sheer weight of this thing was something to turn you into a wasted wreck in minutes. A truely dreadful bike.

The next day, bright and breezy we headed into Dalby. You could see the other riders smirk as he rode up and down the car park helmetless whilst we fettled forks, filled camelbacks and loaded ourselves with tools and the like.
That was the last we saw of Paul all day. He was gone in a cloud of dust and squeeking pivots. Up, down, on the flat, through the berms, over the jumps, down the drop offs, everywhere.... He owned us. We were his bitches. Flat out everywhere. Made us look like pillocks. And everyone else for that matter.
He loved every minute of it.

Nothing broke. He had a great day out. He still rides it today.

Funny things those BSOs.

 

[NAILTRAIL96]

For me it's about how you ride, not what you ride.

 

[pete_mcc]

Disgraceful elitism.