Move to end the BSO.

[Cycleops]

Reportedly there's a petition going the rounds to stop the production of cheap bikes:
https://bikerumor.com/petition-to-end-built-to-fail-budget-bicycles-asks-industry-to-do-better/

 

[Brandane]

Difficult one. At least BSO's are better than no bike at all - and if reasonable bikes are all at a £300 starting point (just for example) then a lot of people might be put off by the cost. But then how many are put off cycling when their first experience is a bad one - on a BSO clunker?

 

[sheddy]

USA based. Would it keep people cycling ?

I suspect people give up straight away because of zero fitness.

https://bikepacking.com/news/petition-to-end-built-to-fail-budget-bicycles/

 

[biggs682]

Can't see it happening.
Not everyone can afford or want to spend as much as others.

 

[Cycleops]

I can’t see it happening either. You’ll always get manufacturers who will make something cheaper and nastier than anyone else, to meet a price point or a target market.
So they’ll either go to the recycling or end up down here

 

[Boopop]

The thing I've always wondered is, surely it's possible to make a no-suspension hybrid/town bike to the same budget as a BSO, isn't it? How much money does the crappy suspension cost that could be spent on better components and a lighter frame instead?

 

[Alex321]

And who is the petition aimed at?

The manufacturers of these bikes probably aren't based in the USA, so they aren't going to stop because some petition asks them to.

So it must be aimed at the "big box stores" who sell these "bikes". Are they really going to take any notice of such a petition, without legislation requiring all bikes sold to meet appropriate standards (doesn't that already exist?).

I really can't see how a petition like this is going to have any effect, even if 10s of thousands sign it.

 

[Cycleops]

The thing I've always wondered is, surely it's possible to make a no-suspension hybrid/town bike to the same budget as a BSO, isn't it? How much money does the crappy suspension cost that could be spent on better components and a lighter frame instead?

That’s very true but it just won’t have the factor that kids crave.

 

[All uphill]

I tried to convince a neighbour to buy a restored and guaranteed 90s rigid bike from the local recycling charity. Instead he bought a shiny new BSO which now sits rusting in his garden.

He recently bought his partner another new BSO.

It seems that showroom shine outweighs function.

What can you do?

 

[Drago]

Who gets to decide what is poor quality, and is simply inexpensive and workmanlike? And how do they make that distinction?

May as well start a petution against the sun coming up every mornjng for all the good it will do.

The aim is laudable, but I can see no reasonable, practical and legal means by which it can ever be achieved.

 

[HarryTheDog]

Not all dead cheap bikes are completely rubbish. I bought a dirt cheap 99 quid Halfords Appolo MTB when I was 32 and put the then babies/toddlers on a carry seat on the back, it went into disuse a few years later. Then dragged it out of the shed when I was 43 and cycled to work on it. Then I got a better bike and then a better one etc. However when my daughter went off to university she took it and rode it for a couple of years and sold it for 50 quid.
I dont think I ever changed the chain on it in 20 years, unlike my current steed which seems to only work properly if I change the chain at least once a year.

 

[Peter Salt]

One of the issues with cheap bikes is that when people compare a £150 and a £300 option their understanding is that the latter bike likely cost around twice as much in materials/components. However, manufacturing a bike has some fixed costs - manhours, energy, shipping, marketing, etc. If we assume that these fixed costs stand at around £75 and sales margin is 1/3 of RRP, you're left with calculations as follows:
- option 1: £150 - £75 - £50 = £25
- option 2: £300 - £75 - £100 = £125
So the cheaper bike doesn't cost half as much in materials/components - it has to cost 5 times less, i.e. the quality decrease is not linear - it's exponential.

Who gets to decide what is poor quality, and is simply inexpensive and workmanlike? And how do they make that distinction?

Fair point. You can make the bike inexpensive by using cheaper raw materials - say, steel instead of aluminium; completely ignore weight of the system; go with a generic design, etc. The petition, as I understand it, is about built in obsolescence - say, super low quality BB that will fail after one season and cost about as much to fix as a new cheap bike. - Resulting in people just buying another one and repeating the cycle.

 

[Chris S]

There would be more advantage in increasing the life of electrical items. They contain rare minerals that are rarely recycled. BSOs are made out of steel or aluminium which are widely recycled.

 

[tyred]

I don't see how they can.

It's true that the world would be better off without cheap double bouncers but in reality, most people buying a bike have little interest or intentions of doing anything other than pottering around the park with the kids or cycling a mile to the pup or the off licence, school or college. They don't even want an expensive bike as they don't worry about leaving it lying in the garden or outside the pub without locking it. It's all part of the throwaway society. If it is stolen or needs repaired they will happily buy another one.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Theres definately a need for cheap, but ok, bicycles and I think it's about adjusting people's expectations. The example given here is what I mean. I once needed a bike and had no budget to speak of, luckily I was able to borrow one but I think pointing people at one of the many places that do things is a better place to start.

Take away the demand not the supply I guess?

I tried to convince a neighbour to buy a restored and guaranteed 90s rigid bike from the local recycling charity. Instead he bought a shiny new BSO which now sits rusting in his garden.

He recently bought his partner another new BSO.

It seems that showroom shine outweighs function.

What can you do?