Great article for beginners: An impassioned guide on why not to buy cheap bikes.

[night cycler]

Mods -If this has already been posted on the forum please delete.

If you are thinking of getting in to cycling and buying your first bike, please read this. Great advice, and all it is going to cost you is the time it takes to read. The money & stress it can potentially save you is far greater.
https://www.southcoastbikes.co.uk/Dont-Buy-a-Cheap-Bike

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Sheesh. That would take me weeks to get through that article.

The author sure was passionate about his subject and had a lot of free time to write that. Clearly as a bike mechanic he isn’t spending much time fixing bikes, rather he’s at the keyboard, conclusively debunking his own theory.

 

[night cycler]

Hi Heltor, and thank you for your opinion.

I think a little unfair though. Would it be fair to say the guy could have wrote this when not at work, but while at home. Especially having such passion for the subject? You say " Clearly He`s isn`t spending much time fixing bikes". If I am ever in court for something I`m hoping you are not on the jury panel.

 

[Markymark]

I’m sure it’s full of sage advice and I really don’t mean to be rude but if I was thinking of buying a bike for the first time and was advised to read that I’d lose the will to live after 4 paragraphs and would buy another LandRover.

 

[night cycler]

I’m sure it’s full of sage advice and I really don’t mean to be rude but if I was thinking of buying a bike for the first time and was advised to read that I’d lose the will to live after 4 paragraphs and would buy another LandRover.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I tried, I failed,

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I’m sure it’s full of sage advice and I really don’t mean to be rude but if I was thinking of buying a bike for the first time and was advised to read that I’d lose the will to live after 4 paragraphs and would buy another LandRover.

A cheap one...

 

[welsh dragon]

That isn't an article, it's a book. Sod that for a game.

That person needs to get a life. Maybe he should spend less time writing his epic book and spend more time riding a bike. If that doesn't put you off cycling before you have even bought a bike then nothing will. Please wake up when anyone here has finished reading it.

 

[night cycler]

I only went to the end of the article which was interesting. Did anyone read the comments underneath, they were longer than the article. No? No wonder libraries are closing.

 

[Profpointy]

good god, some of you have incredibly limited attention spans. I's only a couple of pages so hardly War and Peace. I reckon I read in, what, 5 minutes. You lot gave presumably never read a serious article or book then ?

PS I thought it very good, clearly put and well argued without ever being elitist

 

[Markymark]

A cheap one...

They’re all cheap to me.

 

[NorthernDave]

Having been there and done that (a long time ago), I agree he has a point.
Many years ago, Mrs ND and I were seduced by the idea of a couple of many-geared mountain bikes from a well know high street sports shop for under £150 for the pair.
Goodness me, they were terrible and got ridden about half a dozen times between them, before getting used as clothes hangers for a bit then getting listed in the small ads (I told you it was a long time ago). It was a long time before I went near a bike again.

The trouble is that I don't think the people who need to read that article will read that article.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

good god, some of you have incredibly limited attention spans.

You make that sound like a bad thing

 

[alicat]

The article is too long and rambling so it isn't going to sway any non-cyclists from buying a BSO. It makes a good skim read for those already converted.

 

[Slow But Determined]

To be fair what the article does do is generalise that all cheap bikes are rubbish. I paid the princely sum of 26 euros for a bike from Intermarche supermarket in Olhao, Portugal (12 years ago) and it took me everywhere and never let me down. If some scutter hadn't lifted it from our basement a couple of years back I would probably still be riding it.