Really horrible BSO's - why do people buy them?

[Pat "5mph"]

Not thicko at all, a Brompton can never be a Bike Shaped Object

 

[classic33]

Thicko here - what does “BSO” mean?

Bicycle Shaped Object

 

[Alan O]

Ha, I just saw one propped up near the local shops - springs everywhere, hardly any wear on the tyres, fork "chrome" horribly rusty.

 

[MontyVeda]

All this talk of £60 and £80 BSO makes you wonder how there can be any profit in them?

I think it shows just how much profit there is in a 'proper' bike.

 

[fossyant]

Boardmans are cracking value. A similarly specced big name is often 50-100% more.

 

[Tin Pot]

The other night at work I chanced upon a 26" "Dunlop" full-sus MTB abandoned against some gates I needed to drive through in the van, so I got out to shift it. First thing that hit me was the weight, and as a fan of old steel bikes I'm no snowflake who expects bikes to be so light they levitate by themselves. But this thing felt like it had had it's frame filled with lead, it was HEAVY - must have been well into the-40's pounds range. Not even a big frame size either.
View attachment 424445
Squeezed front disc brake and lever hit bar with no brake action. Back brake barely worked. O/S pedal had disintegrated and was hanging loosely on spindle. Not a pristine example. Should have known what to expect, but no, I just had to have a ride on it didn't I? So I get on and set off down the road. After a hundred yards I'm beginning to realise it wasn't such a good idea; bounce, bounce, clank, wobble from back end, unpleasant bobbing motion from forks, and the thing felt like I was trying to ride it through treacle it was such hard work. Turned round ASAP and back to work. Did a quick appraisal of what bits would fit my old rigids and decided it was a spare parts donor, not a bike to ride. The gear bits on it aren't even budget Shimano, the rear mech is branded Dunlop and the front one just says "power" Saddle OK & wheels look to be useable quality items, once the discs were taken off and binned, as they will fit in a rim braked MTB frame. I've ridden plenty of cheap bikes, and outright junk bikes, but this BSO set a new low standard for me. I'm really trying to understand how anyone can actually BUY one of these things using actual money they've had to earn. It was there for the taking and even free gratis I didn't want it to ride on! My old skip-rescued Apollo is like a Rolls Royce compared to this Dunlop BSO junk.

To race your first triathlon with, is one good reason to buy a BSO.

Man, you got beaten up here didn't you?

I do, and started on a 16Kg Trax TFS.1 full suspension (if you can call it that) mountain bike and yes, Biggin Hill is a different story on a 9kg road bike

Cargo shorts are OK for a 30min blast around the woods, but you'll hurt yourself on a 3hr road ride. Appropriate bike wear for the ride is the mantra.

My buddy asked me the same question; surely Id get fitter heaving The Tank up and down the hill?

Well going uphill it is harder work, but you have to think about the whole ride, and the total rider+kit weight, and soon a few kilos here and there aren't such a big deal. Being heavier I come downhill a bit faster, but on the flat once you're rolling, it's really neither here nor there.

Then you have to understand exercise, particularly endurance fitness over strength and sprint speed. The short story is that you need to exercise in such a way that your heart is under a relatively low stress over a long period of time - usually referred to as Zone 2 training. Huffing and puffing red faced is Zone 5 and is of little use long term.

Now you could do either of these on any bike if you pick the right terrain and speed...so it should be clear to you now why he heavy bike doesn't make you fitter quicker.

The last part of the question is, why get the lighter bike? Well, the answer should be "Don't." BUT. If you feel like a nicer, better looking, better handling bike and/or with more durable components and reliable shifting and braking, that is set up for leisure rather than loaded down for commuting...then get one

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I didn't want to leave my Raleigh chained to railings so bought a cheap Apollo which I reasoned I wouldn't really care about if it got stolen..

Likewise I like my old Raleighs as they're real ones made in Nottingham, and although they all cost me peanuts to buy, I still think they're better than any bike thief deserves to have! Apollos are the archetypal cheap station/pub hacks - bought by owners as expendable and not really valued. The railings near my local station had a motley collection of rigid Apollo, Ammaco, Universal & anonymous non-logo'd black 26" MTB's parked up the last time I looked. None I would call a BSO, but all cheap budget quality efforts of little secondhand value. They serve a purpose.

Any cheap bike is ruined by adding 'suspension'.
There is a reason a Fox or Rock Shox decent fork is around £400 upwards. Rear air cans are about £250 upwards.

That's the fundamental problem afflicting most BSO's. You can make a simple rigid bike of acceptable quality cheaply and sell it cheaply, but a suspension BSO, especially a disc brake one, cannot be anything other than a heap of junk if the manufacturer tries to build it at rigid bike price. Adding complication adds greatly to build costs and must be reflected in the retail price for an equivalent quality.

 

[dantheman]

[QUOTE 5351315, member: 43827"]Just to be fair to Halfords for a change on a bike forum.

They do sell some rubbish bikes but they also sell pretty good bikes. Both the Carreras and Boardmans are good bikes for the money. Even Apollo, if you're looking for a basic rigid bike, are bikes that will last for those people who are not into racing, downhill, or centuries, which probably covers most casual cyclists.

I have gone along with friends to help them choose from Halfords and they have been very happy with their bikes. I have helped them fine tune their bikes after purchase though, as Halfords mechanics can vary.[/QUOTE]

I actually think Halford have come along leaps and bounds in the last 10 years. Although I wouldn't get any work Done there on my bikes, the stores near me seem to have reasonably good mechanics so far as putting together /punctures/basic setup. I mean if you Want a headset replacing or a wheel truing then your stuffed there, but that's not what the average Joe is going there for.. The carrera and boardman bikes are great at their respective price points and bar a couple of brands they're able to get most brands bought specially for you (why would makes completely rule out such a big seller).

I mean sure, you need to speak to the right person as some are pathetic (for instance when I was looking I was told I could test ride but only on shop floor, "fair enough mate, any chance of putting saddle up and pumping tyres as they're flat?" followed by a look of " what's that mean) but (maybe this is something proper cyclists easily notice) some know they're stuff and actually can help.

Halfords will always be a boy racer big bore exhaust seller that also sells bikes, but if you know what you want they're not as bad as they used to be..

I've never seen one of their cycle Republic stores, guess they're better..

For average Joe, I can see how they could be put off by some of the posher lbs. Even I walk in and can be a little, but nice bike porn..

 

[Alan O]

Likewise I like my old Raleighs as they're real ones made in Nottingham, and although they all cost me peanuts to buy, I still think they're better than any bike thief deserves to have!

My favourite bike is my lovely old Nottingham Raleigh Royal, though after building it from a frame I got for £40 it has turned out to be rather expensive at approx £250 (not including my Brooks Cambium saddle).

But I really appreciate its value when I occasionally wonder what ideal bike I'd buy new if I had lots of money. I end up certain I'd want steel, with the same super-comfy geometry as my Raleigh Royal, good adjustable cantilever brakes, a wide triple chainset, the simplicity and easy maintainability of friction-shift gears rather than those horribly complex indexed brake/shifter monstrosities where almost nothing is compatible with almost nothing else. And I end up specifying... my Raleigh Royal. And all that money I could spend on an expensive new bike... well, I'm married, so where that goes would be a management decision.

 

[Globalti]

The people who buy BSOs are the same people who get suckered into buying naff rowing machines and tummy exercisers from TV shopping channels, try them once, give up then flog them at a car boot sale. Hotel exercise bikes are not much better and the bad position is likely to injure a fit cyclist, which is why when I'm on trips I prefer to drink beer than go to the gym.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

My favourite bike is my lovely old Nottingham Raleigh Royal, though after building it from a frame I got for £40 it has turned out to be rather expensive at approx £250 (not including my Brooks Cambium saddle)..

I think building bikes up from frames tends to be the expensive route, since whoever stripped off all the mechanicals has extracted a lot of the value out of it, which you then have to reinstate piecemeal. My preference is to buy complete bikes secondhand, even if the intention is to make changes to spec.
However, put the cost in context; I would rate the Raleigh Royal roughly on a par with a Dawes Galaxy in quality and spec terms. If you look up old Dawes prices from the 70's and 80's and adjust for inflation, a 531ST Galaxy would be around £750 in today's money. So therefore, would a Royal roughly speaking. Think of it as having built a fine quality machine for around a third of the price of a brand new equivalent and the cost doesn't seem so bad.

 

[Alan O]

I think building bikes up from frames tends to be the expensive route, since whoever stripped off all the mechanicals has extracted a lot of the value out of it, which you then have to reinstate piecemeal. My preference is to buy complete bikes secondhand, even if the intention is to make changes to spec.
However, put the cost in context; I would rate the Raleigh Royal roughly on a par with a Dawes Galaxy in quality and spec terms. If you look up old Dawes prices from the 70's and 80's and adjust for inflation, a 531ST Galaxy would be around £750 in today's money. So therefore, would a Royal roughly speaking. Think of it as having built a fine quality machine for around a third of the price of a brand new equivalent and the cost doesn't seem so bad.

Yes, I definitely agree. Though I say "rather expensive at approx £250", I really mean that in comparison to complete 2nd hand bikes. But it was one of a small handful of classic touring frames that I wanted (a Galaxy would have been just as desirable, yes), and I have it built to my spec with my choice of components - and I'm actually very happy with it for the price.

Someone a while ago asked me if I'd thought of building old bikes to sell on eBay, but that's only a way to lose money. But it did make me think about doing the opposite; buying complete bikes to strip and sell the good components. I've seen a few where I conservatively reckon I could have doubled my money (probably having to scrap the wheels, and maybe even the frame) and maybe made around £100 for a few hours work. But it's just not been in my heart to do that to nice old bikes - I'd rather someone bought them cheap and rode them.

 

[Johnno260]

My MuddyFox fits this category it's old heavy, cheap front shocks, cheap disc brakes, my wife bought it for me years ago.

It's good for going out with the kids and having a trailgator attached, but it's complete junk.

 

[jowwy]

I just get cant past thr irony in this post

A skipdiver complaining about people buying bso's, but then keeps the bso he found for parts.......you couldnt make this shoot up

 

[KneesUp]

I had a similar bike as described which came as a 'free gift' when I joined a gym. Rode it once, out of curiosity. Along with the general crap-ness, it didn't even fit. The gym only had one size. I gave it away, to someone who wanted it to 'pop to the shops' on. The shops were 200 metres from his house. As far as I know he's ridden it once, and it was 10 years ago I passed it on.