What was your worst cycle and why?

[Chris S]

Here in the States, most kids had Schwinn Stingrays, closely akin to riding an actual pig.

I bet they were popular down the Cahulawassee River!

 

[Boondoggle]

I had the rear cassette eaten away in about 1 month in 2 gears. Wheels NEVER stayed in true. Certain bolts wouldn't stay tight without locktight and the bottom bracket wore out after 2 months and had to be replaced (pedals rocked from side to side).

Ah right. Mine's had a new bottom bracket after 6 weeks, 2 new wheels after 4 months and one new pedal. Looks like I'm in for some fun

 

[Bobario]

I bought a £50 BSO from Woolies many years ago. It was a full suspension, and I needed to put about three times the effort in to get it to move the same speed as my old bike. It was impossible to tighten the seat post up enough to stop the seat sliding down. So by the time I got to work my knees were hitting me in the ears. After about three weeks it was almost totally trashed, nothing worked properly and the bike was so crap it wasn't worth spending any money fixing it. So in a fit of rage I ended up throwing it in the river on my way home from work one day. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[Browser]

I've had secondhand bikes and new bikes and learned from them all. I had a Falcon Explorer for a number of years which led me to believe that 700c wheels weren't very strong, until I got my first expensive (to me anyway) bike, a Tifosi CK7 Classic with Shimano R500 circley-bits and I realised it was that the Falcon had bargain-basement Rigida alloy rims which were the problem!
As far as the idea of a lower-priced entry level bike which lasts/is well made, can such an animal exist? Is the same way as entry-level white/consumer goods, the only way to cut costs is to make the components out of lower-quality materials and to a lower spec. I think we need to adjust our expectations of what we can get for what money, buy more second-hand stuff and/or save up for longer. I was very fortunate that my company participate in Cycleshceme and I could spread the cost of the Tif over 12 months, but I still had to grit my teeth at the cost.
It was well worth it though.

 

[Boondoggle]

I've had secondhand bikes and new bikes and learned from them all. I had a Falcon Explorer for a number of years which led me to believe that 700c wheels weren't very strong, until I got my first expensive (to me anyway) bike, a Tifosi CK7 Classic with Shimano R500 circley-bits and I realised it was that the Falcon had bargain-basement Rigida alloy rims which were the problem!
As far as the idea of a lower-priced entry level bike which lasts/is well made, can such an animal exist? Is the same way as entry-level white/consumer goods, the only way to cut costs is to make the components out of lower-quality materials and to a lower spec. I think we need to adjust our expectations of what we can get for what money, buy more second-hand stuff and/or save up for longer.

Whilst I agree about cheaper bikes quality being directly linked to price I can't help but feel there is a tendency these days from manufacturers to lower the quality to the point where bikes are sold which are just unfit for purpose. A bottom bracket shouldn't last 6 weeks, a bike wheel at any price point should not buckle to the point of being unusable after 3 weeks of riding on purpose built smooth cycle tracks. It's about increasing profit by selling a product unfit for purpose, calculating that a high enough percentage will make it beyond the 12 month warranty. I find this unacceptable and it wasn't always like this.

 

[Browser]

Totally agree Boondoggle, but when you say 'it wasn't always like this' and not knowing how old you iz, have you retro-priced a BSO from now to say 1985 to see how much an Asda special would have cost then? I haven't got the financial nous to work this out but you'll probably find that it would be a low enough price for folk/attitudes back then to have said "hang on a mo, they're havin'a laugh" rather than "I can get a bike with front suspension and 21 speeds for £79 quid!" and not think any of the mechanical maladies you've listed will happen.
I just think that we need to adjust our expectations as well as manufacturers not trying to load the spec of bikes at the expense of quality. In other words, if it's possible to make a bike for £79.99 with half-decent components then it should be all steel (cheaper than ali and straighten-able after a crash) and come with the most basic spec, possibly single speed etc. If you want more speeds/better spec then you pay for it.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

A Universal La Riviera: it weighed 50 tonnes, had three gears and a seat made out of PAIN (Plastic)

And as a 15 year old, riding a granny bike did nothing for your social life. It lasted until the year after uni, when I threw it into a bush in a fit of rage near Jimmy's Hospital in Leeds.

 

[gbb]

Mine was (and ive still got it) a Trek 7100FX.
Why ? you ask....its not a bad bike.
Because i really wanted a roadbike...and for some reason, about that time it wasnt as popular as it is now. I only seemed to be able to buy expensive roadbikes, way beyond my finances at the time, there didnt seem to be any budget bikes. So i compromised and brought the Trek....and frikkin hated it almost straight away. I use it and abuse it,...its hardly done any mileage really in years, i still couldnt care less about it.

The lesson...never ever compromise.

 

[Davidc]

A Raleigh bike with a 3 speed that I was bought when I was 11. So heavy that if you fell off with it on top it needed heavy lifting gear to release you!

 

[lordloveaduck]

Anything by Dawes i have had three of there evil bikes (hay i'm a slow learner) may there nipples burn in hell.

 

[marafi]

In the rain, hit my knee very badly and a bus was close by Even after that i still cycle! But the helmet though now with a camera is a must for me. Especially people who try to take insurance claims from me.