Are Cheap Bikes worth it?

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Rooster1

Rooster1

I was right about that saddle
chris667 said:
They're going to be plastic coated steel. Heavy, but people use cheap bikes to go to work all the time.

If you buy the bike and don't assemble it properly it's possible that the crank will deform because it was loose on the bottom bracket spindle and then become useless, but that's not quite the same thing.

A cheap bike can be fine. I see lots of people riding them to train stations. When I used to live on a narroboat, I knew a man who bought cheap BSO type bikes and instead of locking them up would tie a rope round them and chuck them into the canal. He was still better off replacing the bikes every couple of months than he would have been buying bus tickets.
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I bought a cheap bike for my son during lockdown, very similar to the one shown, and the crank arms are 100% plastic through and through.
And as a result, after light use for just a few rides, the part started to deform by the square taper bb.
And I just checked out the Decathlon Riverside in the shop - Looks like plastic to me (not just plastic coating)

hybrid-bike-riverside-120-blue.jpg
 
C

chris667

Guru
phil-b said:
Im have tempted to just bike the bullet and buy somthing decent like this ridgback
Click to expand...

It's a price per hour so any bike you actually use is good value, but:
  1. It's not necessarily going to be set up properly if you buy it mail order - bikes need a little service after their first couple of hundred miles to sort out the niggles.
  2. It is just a 26" wheel mountain bike, really.
 
C

chris667

Guru
Rooster1 said:
I bought a cheap bike for my son during lockdown, very similar to the one shown, and the crank arms are 100% plastic through and through.
Click to expand...

Well, that's depressing!

I stand corrected. Not sure how you would even make a plastic crank arm, but there you go!
 
Andy in Germany

Andy in Germany

Guru
Location
Freiburg im Breisgau
Rooster1 said:
The crankset arms are probably plastic and will quickly degrade and become loose, the bike will then be useless and require a replacement crankset or arm, which is time and money and hassle.
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chris667 said:
They're going to be plastic coated steel.
Click to expand...

It's likely plastic coated steel. We get bikes like this frequently, and often the coating is brittle and cracked and even falling off in chunks. Whacking the remains with a hammer is effective and jolly satisfying as they shatter. The arms look a bit skinny aterwards but they still work.
 
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Jameshow

Jameshow

Veteran
phil-b said:
I want a bit of a all rounder. something I can go to work on and ride at the weekend both on and off road
Click to expand...

That helps.

I think you want something lighter something like a giant, trek, Cannondale, boardman. Around 12kg.

These start at around £500. If that's too much look for something s/h.

There is a guy in eBay who does end of line boardman bikes - Zee bikes worth a look?
 
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