BSO

[rowan 46]

we will never agree that bso is an unhelpful elitest term I think if you can get on a bike and ride it its a bike others don't agree with that definition. A cheap bike may be of questionable quality but plenty of people got into cycling on the back of cheap bikes. I agree that not all mountain bikes are suitable for going down mountains but then few people buy them for that purpose most are bought for kids by cash strapped parents with the purpose of making their kid look good to cycle down the park or round to their mates. The days when kids went for miles on their bikes are pretty much gone in these days of heavy traffic and stranger danger. Other people buy bikes for their commute and a cheap bike does them fine for a couple of miles away or a sunday jaunt round the local park.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

we will never agree that bso is an unhelpful elitest term I think if you can get on a bike and ride it its a bike others don't agree with that definition. A cheap bike may be of questionable quality but plenty of people got into cycling on the back of cheap bikes. I agree that not all mountain bikes are suitable for going down mountains but then few people buy them for that purpose most are bought for kids by cash strapped parents with the purpose of making their kid look good to cycle down the park or round to their mates. The days when kids went for miles on their bikes are pretty much gone in these days of heavy traffic and stranger danger. Other people buy bikes for their commute and a cheap bike does them fine for a couple of miles away or a sunday jaunt round the local park.

Do you know that the BS standard for sale of a bike means it must be able to last for around 200 or 300 miles. A cyclist will do that in a max of 3 months. BSO's are built to satisfy thir requirement and no more. Great bikes indeed!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

No it isn't, I see the term POB as someone who is ignorant of the rules of cycling (perhaps willfully) and rides around on the pavement, across junctions without looking, knees sticking out and all that bad stuff and probably doesn't even consider themselves as a cyclist rather as someone who uses a bike to get from A to B and doesn't care to take the skill further than that. A cyclist would use the term POB to differentiate themselves from those people, so when someone is talking about 'bloody cyclists on the path' or whatever, they can turn around and say 'they're not a cyclist, they're just a person on a bike'.

I like cars, and I like to think I can actually drive one properly, and take an interest in *how* to drive one properly and how to maintain a car. I used to post in a forum of likeminded people and we'd use the term 'car operator' for those people in cars who only care about getting from A-B and that's it, have very little in the way of proper driving skills beyond that required to pass the driving test (and then some forgotten), driving on the phone, not looking beyond the end of their bonnet or basically doing anything other than focussing on their driving. I'm sure as cyclists you know the type better than most...

It isn't snobbery or anything else. It's a way of distancing onesself in a way that I'm sure you'd be happy to be described differently to someone on a bike riding on the path, seat wound right down, spinning in a bizarre gear while texting your mate.

In the same way as all cheap bikes are not BSO's, not all POB's ride BSO's. There is a guy lives near my lad's scout hut rides a Specialized full sus (stumpjumper? it's all black anyway). He might be an offroad god for all I know but on the road he is definately a POB.

Am I the only one who questions why some people join a cycling forum and then moan about snobbary, expensive bikes and jargon?

 

[rowan 46]

Am I the only one who questions why some people join a cycling forum and then moan about snobbary, expensive bikes and jargon?

No but you are the only one who has a problem if they don't think as you. I think a forum is to bring up ideas and discuss you seem to take it personally that people don't agree with you. Chill lots agree with you lots agree with me its called debate

 

[Angelfishsolo]

No but you are the only one who has a problem if they don't think as you. I think a forum is to bring up ideas and discuss you seem to take it personally that people don't agree with you. Chill lots agree with you lots agree with me its called debate

Enjoy your riding and try and learn from the forum.

 

[rowan 46]

Enjoy your riding and try and learn from the forum.

you too

 

[The Dwaff Family]

we will never agree that bso is an unhelpful elitest term I think if you can get on a bike and ride it its a bike others don't agree with that definition. A cheap bike may be of questionable quality but plenty of people got into cycling on the back of cheap bikes. I agree that not all mountain bikes are suitable for going down mountains but then few people buy them for that purpose most are bought for kids by cash strapped parents with the purpose of making their kid look good to cycle down the park or round to their mates. The days when kids went for miles on their bikes are pretty much gone in these days of heavy traffic and stranger danger. Other people buy bikes for their commute and a cheap bike does them fine for a couple of miles away or a sunday jaunt round the local park.

DS2(just turned 6) Cycled 11 miles to bike club yesterday and then did 1 1/2 training. Out again today for a few miles, DS1(12) out today for 10 miles.

I have met plenty of other like minded kids and parents on our journeys too,I guess you are taking different routes, but we are out there!

 

[rowan 46]

DS2(just turned 6) Cycled 11 miles to bike club yesterday and then did 1 1/2 training. Out again today for a few miles, DS1(12) out today for 10 miles.

I have met plenty of other like minded kids and parents on our journeys too,I guess you are taking different routes, but we are out there!

Sorry wasn't clear I meant on their own

 

[The Dwaff Family]

Ahh yes, quite important information you missed off there

 

[abo]

Am I the only one who questions why some people join a cycling forum and then moan about snobbary, expensive bikes and jargon?

Yeah I was wondering the same. I like astronomy, on a forum you might see someone talking about a Mak-Cas on an Altazi mount and you'd either have to figure out what that meant or put your hand up and ask.

In fact there are a lot of parallels between a telescope forum and a bike forum, with some members having multi-thousand pound rigs and multiple telescopes for each type of observing discipline, some members with good quality entry level gear, questions about refurbishing old equipment and a general derision of supermarket-bought telescopes, for they are badly described with hugely overstated 'magnifying power', low quality optics and generally not suitable for stargazing.

Yes folks, there are Telescope Shaped Objects...

There are probably equivalent Camera Shaped Objects, Lathe Shaped Objects, Kite Shaped Objects etc. too if you looked in the right forums

 

[gaz]

I've always thought that bso was used to describe a bicycle that is so cheap that the quality of it is very poor an the bike its self is dangerous. I don't see a problem with callig them bso's.
I think they play an important part in cycling, so many people use then because they are cheap and they just run them into the ground until they break.

If people come onto a cycling fourn and ask 'what bike should I get?' you can't expect people that are passionate about cycling to suggest a bike which is potentially dangerous. You can get a good bicycle for around £200. Buy second hand and you will get a good bike for £100.

 

[John the Monkey]

On the kids bike thing - I find Decathlon's range pretty good, if you can't stretch to Isla Bike's price range. Both my son and daughter have Decathlon bikes - the bits stay adjusted, the wheels stay true (thus far) and you can pick them up in good nick 2nd hand for between £40 and £50.

They do a nice line in city bikes for youngsters too, although I couldn't convince my daughter that having a rack on the bike was "cool"

 

[abo]

On the kids bike thing - I find Decathlon's range pretty good, if you can't stretch to Isla Bike's price range. Both my son and daughter have Decathlon bikes - the bits stay adjusted, the wheels stay true (thus far) and you can pick them up in good nick 2nd hand for between £40 and £50.

They do a nice line in city bikes for youngsters too, although I couldn't convince my daughter that having a rack on the bike was "cool"

I like the look of some of the Decathlon bikes and I'll definately be looking at them when my daughter is looking to move up to a 'proper' bike in a couple of years. Though their full sus kids bike looks a bit 'ahem' and I've noticed some weasel words in their descriptions e.g. 'Easy to use and safe twist grip gears (no need to let go of the handlebars to change gears)'

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I've always thought that bso was used to describe a bicycle that is so cheap that the quality of it is very poor an the bike its self is dangerous. I don't see a problem with callig them bso's.
I think they play an important part in cycling, so many people use then because they are cheap and they just run them into the ground until they break.

If people come onto a cycling fourn and ask 'what bike should I get?' you can't expect people that are passionate about cycling to suggest a bike which is potentially dangerous. You can get a good bicycle for around £200. Buy second hand and you will get a good bike for £100.

Thank you Gaz - Thought I was going crazier than I already am

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Yeah I was wondering the same. I like astronomy, on a forum you might see someone talking about a Mak-Cas on an Altazi mount and you'd either have to figure out what that meant or put your hand up and ask.

In fact there are a lot of parallels between a telescope forum and a bike forum, with some members having multi-thousand pound rigs and multiple telescopes for each type of observing discipline, some members with good quality entry level gear, questions about refurbishing old equipment and a general derision of supermarket-bought telescopes, for they are badly described with hugely overstated 'magnifying power', low quality optics and generally not suitable for stargazing.

Yes folks, there are Telescope Shaped Objects...

There are probably equivalent Camera Shaped Objects, Lathe Shaped Objects, Kite Shaped Objects etc. too if you looked in the right forums

Cheers - Thought I was in a parallel universe again