Disposable Bikes

[greekonabike]

I've just realised the mountain bike linked to is a rigid frame with 1x6 gears. I purchased the Slant in 2012 and from memory it's an 18 speed shimano with a grip shift and has front suspension. Halford are selling the same bike in a different colour scheme for £99 (with £1 off for some reason) so over 4 years it's only gone up by a tenner.

I can't help but feel like the Ridge/Apollo range are quite good for the money, kinda like a Dacia. They're cheap and built to a budget but they do have a major brand behind them and do the basics but nothing else.

Similarly one of the LBS stock the Probike range and they seem OK for the money. If you spend £100 on a bike and get it serviced twice over two years at a cost of say £40 each time then the bike only cost £90 a year which is about 30p a day if you use it for 300/365 days.

GOAB

 

[NorthernDave]

Don't forget if you're a British Cycling member you'll get another 10% off, making it even more of a bargain at just £76.50!

 

[greekonabike]

For £76.50 I might as well buy one and submit it to a torture test to see how well it holds up, hopefully I'd make the money back when I upload the footage to youtube.

GOAB

 

[biggs682]

Nah, might not be quite as good as the branded but I'd wager not all could tell the difference.

very true

 

[mickle]

The race to the bottom has victims. Pity the poor souls who work in the factory that made it.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Is that top the black one with blue trim? I've got one of them and it's spot on for what it cost. And it's been mistaken for a very well known and significantly more expensive bit of replica team kit before today...
.

Yes I have the very same one. The Team Sly long sleeve replica!

 

[DCLane]

I run a cheap bike locally for errands - this time it's a Raleigh Pioneer I bought for £21:

 

[MichaelW2]

Good enough pub/ station lockup bike or short range commuter for flatlands. How is the frame alignment? Most BSOs suffer from wonky headtubes and fork legs.

 

[tyred]

I run a cheap bike locally for errands - this time it's a Raleigh Pioneer I bought for £21:

That's a proper Raleigh, it might be getting on a bit and wasn't top of their range but it is definitely not a BSO. It's a fine bike. I have a frame for one of those - cost me 99p on Ebay.

 

[MichaelW2]

That's a proper Raleigh, it might be getting on a bit and wasn't top of their range but it is definitely not a BSO. It's a fine bike. I have a frame for one of those - cost me 99p on Ebay.

Did my first week-long tour in Ireland on a rental Raleigh Pioneer. Way better than BSO grade.

 

[summerdays]

I clicked on the link expecting much worse.... at least they haven't tried to squeeze in suspension! Why call it a mountain bike though?

 

[Saluki]

Having looked at @NorthernDave 's link It looks pretty usable to be honest. Ridge is Halfords own "basics" brand if you will, it has Shimano kit on a steel frame, so it should last years. Even if it won't win any downhill cups it'll get you to work.

I've got a couple of items of "Ridge" clothing from Halfords and they're surprisingly okay. The long sleeved cycling top they do is 15 pounds, and it works.

I thought that too. By the time you have added QR skewers, you are up to a ton, but for a short commute I should think that it's just the ticket for a lot of people who just want a cheap bike.

 

[fixedfixer]

Well I normally tell folks to stay clear of these BSO's, but to be honest I have to hand it to Halfords for putting a half decent 'bike' out there for that price. It is way better than some of the 'death trap' things I see some of the students riding.
I suspect the grip shift will fail but I'm sure an old clamp on downtube friction shifter could sort that for a couple of pounds. I'd use one as the station bike (cheaper than a good lock).
Thumbs up on this for those on a tight budget.

 

[BorderReiver]

Why not just buy something better, second hand?

 

[tyred]

Why not just buy something better, second hand?

I always ask that question in relation to both bikes and cars but in reality people like shiny new things and either lack the skills or don't want to get their hands dirty fixing things. Buy new you get a warranty, people like the peace of mind.