BSO

[The Dwaff Family]

Kids BSO's really are truly awful as we have had a few of them sadly Bought DD one from Toys R Us for £100 but it was soo god damm heavy, that she would never get to enjoy cycling and was ever so wobbly because of it. Went i nthe garage after a week and is still there, we went on to then purchase a much lighter alu frame with better brakes etc from a LBS. Have since discovered Islabikes too and thank god I did!

I see too many kids on bikes they cannot manouevre/handle properly and makes me very sad that any kids bikes can be so poor.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

really? yet another elitest viewpoint I ride about a hundred miles a week to get me about my work. I don't cycle much for pleasure so I suppose I am not a cyclist by your criteria best get rid of the commuter forum then

Why do you cycle to work rather than drive or use public transport? I did state "Why you cycle" in my comment.

 

[rowan 46]

Kids BSO's really are truly awful as we have had a few of them sadly Bought DD one from Toys R Us for £100 but it was soo god damm heavy, that she would never get to enjoy cycling and was ever so wobbly because of it. Went i nthe garage after a week and is still there, we went on to then purchase a much lighter alu frame with better brakes etc from a LBS. Have since discovered Islabikes too and thank god I did!

I see too many kids on bikes they cannot manouevre/handle properly and makes me very sad that any kids bikes can be so poor.

I don't deny there are some awful bikes out there especially the very cheap ones with dual suspension but an awful lot of kids manage to throw them around and ride on them. in an ideal world all kids would have enough money to buy a decent bike and the space to be able to use them

 

[rowan 46]

Why do you cycle to work rather than drive or use public transport? I did state "Why you cycle" in my comment.

I cycle because I can't drive and don't like public transport

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I cycle because I can't drive and don't like public transport

Then you choose to cycle and as such are a cyclist.

 

[rowan 46]

Then you choose to cycle and as such are a cyclist.

which is my point nobody holds a gun to anybody's head and makes them cycle therefore if you ride a bike you're a cyclist

 

[The Dwaff Family]

I don't deny there are some awful bikes out there especially the very cheap ones with dual suspension but an awful lot of kids manage to throw them around and ride on them. in an ideal world all kids would have enough money to buy a decent bike and the space to be able to use them

As already stated previously, this bike was not particularly cheap at £100 for a kids bike, but the weight was ridiculous, brakes could not be reached properly and the chainguard kept getting caught on the pedals, was not good for anyone to learn and to want to keep riding. I did not think there was much difference in kids bikes from wherever you bought them, but how wrong I was, I should imagine there are alot of other parents like me out there. The kids will never moan particularly but it was oh so clear that the bike was no good for any child.

 

[rowan 46]

As already stated previously, this bike was not particularly cheap at £100 for a kids bike, but the weight was ridiculous, brakes could not be reached properly and the chainguard kept getting caught on the pedals, was not good for anyone to learn and to want to keep riding. I did not think there was much difference in kids bikes from wherever you bought them, but how wrong I was, I should imagine there are alot of other parents like me out there. The kids will never moan particularly but it was oh so clear that the bike was no good for any child.

I certainly wouldn't gainsay anything you say but I have seen people happily riding what are termed bso's

 

[Angelfishsolo]

which is my point nobody holds a gun to anybody's head and makes them cycle therefore if you ride a bike you're a cyclist

Having options learning to drive, using public transport and electing to ride is a choice. This choose makes you a cyclist or a cycling commuter if you like. If you have no other option but to ride then you are still not excluded. If cycling gives you enjoyment you are a cyclist. Someone who only uses the bike to get to and from the pub is a POB.

 

[summerdays]

As already stated previously, this bike was not particularly cheap at £100 for a kids bike, but the weight was ridiculous, brakes could not be reached properly and the chainguard kept getting caught on the pedals, was not good for anyone to learn and to want to keep riding. I did not think there was much difference in kids bikes from wherever you bought them, but how wrong I was, I should imagine there are alot of other parents like me out there. The kids will never moan particularly but it was oh so clear that the bike was no good for any child.

Definitely agree with you there (as the ex-owner of a Toy'r'us bike), when we got rid of it we gave it to a bike recycling scheme with the hope that they could find something to salvage off it rather than pass it on to anyone else. (Well for a start we had replaced the back wheel and a few other bits so hopefully they were at least able to use that!).

 

[rowan 46]

Having options learning to drive, using public transport and electing to ride is a choice. This choose makes you a cyclist or a cycling commuter if you like. If you have no other option but to ride then you are still not excluded. If cycling gives you enjoyment you are a cyclist. Someone who only uses the bike to get to and from the pub is a POB.

why? they chose to ride. not to walk

 

[Angelfishsolo]

why? they chose to ride. not to walk

I suspect time and distance are the biggest factors.
Out of interest would you join a cookery forum and expect to be taken seriously by talking about Microwave Ready Meals. After all, food is food isn't it?

 

[rowan 46]

I suspect time and distance are the biggest factors.
Out of interest would you join a cookery forum and expect to be taken seriously by talking about Microwave Ready Meals. After all, food is food isn't it?

It's good enough for Delia

 

[Angelfishsolo]

It's good enough for Delia

 

[abo]

pob that's another disparaging term used by cyclists to differentiate themselves from people who ride cheap bikes

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.