should I take this back?

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Hi everyone, complete noobie here. At the ripe old age of 5o plus have strated riding for the very first time. Told my dad I was deprived as a child as I never had a bike!

Its going well and although I dont trust myself on roads yet have done various trips of 7 miles or so.

Bought a cheap (£!00) bike from toysrus and appear to have problems with the gears. I have already taken it back once and they tell me they fixed it but still going on. Basically it has a really poor twist gear change. changing from 1 to 2 etc is no problem but changing the other way is a nightmare as the gears frequently dont change or even gets to the point where the whole chain practically falls off the back (dont know technical terms yet)

Am I expecting too much from a cheap bikes gear change or it it just a simple problem that I should take it back to shop again?

apart from that I am really enjoying my new transport and getting fitter as well
 

BrumJim

Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
Probably, yes.

There are plenty of threads on here and on the wider World Wide Web about the problems of buying a really cheap bike. Look up such terms as BSO.

If you are going to use it daily, then you need a decent bike. If your budget is £100, then your only choice is second hand. If you can stretch to around £300, then there are some very usable bikes from places like Halfords and Decathlon. Particularly if you want a reasonably basic Mountain Bike (no suspension).

If you want to spend over £500, then you can get a very good bike that you will love riding and will be well specced. Over £1,000 and you can really enjoy spending your money, and even think about a carbon frame.
 

tyred

Legendary Member
Location
Ireland
As it's new, it should work exactly as intended. It may just need adjustment and the people in Toyrus don't know how to do it. I know I hold a contorversial opinion about these cheap bikes but I still maintain that they are serviceable if set up properly. I've seen many that have given years of service to casual cyclists.
 

wanda2010

Guru
Location
London
Hi LITT

First of all welcome to the world of cycling as a slightly older person. I learnt to ride almost 5 years ago, at the age of 42 but only started riding on the road just over a year and a half ago.

How about taking the bike to your local bike shop to get their opinion on this bike? That way, when you take it back to TRU you can discuss it with them from a stronger standpoint, especially if it's still under guarantee/warranty?

Good luck.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
I've had a Toys'R'us lump of rubbish ... and take my advice take it back and say "Not fit for sale"... never got the gears ever to work properly or the brakes, it was really heavy and we had to buy a new wheel within 4 months of purchase etc etc etc. The only good thing that could be said about that bike was it was the thing I rode which made me realise I wanted something nice and reliable to ride. I wouldn't say it was just that it wasn't adjusted properly as once I had a new bike I was able to adjust the brakes properly on that ... it was simple things like the bits being made of cheese so that the brake adjustment bent, using cheap cables that corroded quickly, no grease in the bearings.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Take it back and tell them it's just a toy.

The take the advice above and buy a second hand bike with a rigid fork. I bought a superb Peugeot racer, so new it still had the little whiskers on the tyres, for £150 by haggling a bit. It had been ridden very little and oiled a lot so when I cleaned all the muck off I found a smashing bike underneath.
 

wanda2010

Guru
Location
London
Globalti said:
Take it back and tell them it's just a toy.

The take the advice above and buy a second hand bike with a rigid fork. I bought a superb Peugeot racer, so new it still had the little whiskers on the tyres, for £150 by haggling a bit. It had been ridden very little and oiled a lot so when I cleaned all the muck off I found a smashing bike underneath.


Made me choke on my Walkers crisps :evil:
 

decca234uk

New Member
Location
Leeds
I think tyred has hit the nail on the head. The people in the store probably don't have the skills to fix it. even though it's a cheap bike it should still work, and being able to change gears with ease is fundermental to a bike. If I bought a cheap TV I'd still expect to get a picture when i turned it on.
I would take it back and complain. if you took it to a specialised bike shop they would probably be able to sort it, providing you could put up with all the head shaking about buying a cheap bike, but why should you pay.
It's a simple matter of you purchasing a product that does not do what it is intened for. Take it back and complain.
 

So Tyred

New Member
Location
Southend, Essex
No relation to Tyred up there :smile:

Cheap bikes are really a waste of money and should be avoided like the plague. Even if on a tight budget, there is always the second hand market to get a decent ride from.

Have a read here and the blog I linked to: http://sotyred.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/cheap-bikes-from-asda-etc/
 

dav1d

Senior Member
I bought a Toys R Us bike for £50 around 5 years ago I think, the gears always had problems, even after being suppodely "fixed". Eventually, I took it back, got told I couldn't have a refund, then got offered a credit note (I'd payed in cash!), and finally my money back. I know nothing about the Trades And Descriptions Act, but quoting it seemed to work.

Btw, is it a suspension one? If so, you will regret buying it if you don't take it back - in 2007 I also bought another Toys R Us bike for just under £90 - Kinetic Sabre. Honestly the worst bike I've ever had (and most of my bikes have been BSOs!), too heavy, too tiring to ride any distance, I got the least miles out of that, and the least use as the frame broke a bit after 8 months, plus the back wheeled buckled).

long-in-the-tooth said:
Hi everyone, complete noobie here. At the ripe old age of 5o plus have strated riding for the very first time. Told my dad I was deprived as a child as I never had a bike!

Its going well and although I dont trust myself on roads yet have done various trips of 7 miles or so.

Bought a cheap (£!00) bike from toysrus and appear to have problems with the gears. I have already taken it back once and they tell me they fixed it but still going on. Basically it has a really poor twist gear change. changing from 1 to 2 etc is no problem but changing the other way is a nightmare as the gears frequently dont change or even gets to the point where the whole chain practically falls off the back (dont know technical terms yet)

Am I expecting too much from a cheap bikes gear change or it it just a simple problem that I should take it back to shop again?

apart from that I am really enjoying my new transport and getting fitter as well
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
:welcome:Welcome

There is a possibility the gear cables are new and have stretched and need adjustment. As some have said Toys R Us won't have much of a clue how to sort it out. I tend to agree with Tyred that it should be functional. I used a BSO in Brazil for three weeks, it wasn't anything like as good as my proper bikes here but it worked and I did quite a few kilometers on it.

Main thing is you are enjoying your cycling keep it up.
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
Take it back and get your money back.
I've tried to fix several of those things and it's impossible, some parts are so poor they'll never work properly for long. Many bike shops make good money fixing such things, you pay ToysRUs £100 and the bike shop another £60 to make it rideable. Waste of time.

Go to Decathlon if the budget is tight, their basic bikes work fine for little outlay. Avoid all suspension, no cheap bike will have suspension and be any good.
 
OP
OP
L

long-in-the-tooth

New Member
thanks so much to everyone who has replied. I think at the very least I am going to take it back to them and try to get the gears sorted. If nothing else happens and it is a crock of sh** then at least it has got me really interested in riding.

I have found out that my work are part of the cycle scheme or whatever its called so I can get a much better bike through that. Only problem I can forsee is that as I am classed as an 'essential car user' for which I get an allowance and use my car to get about between appointments I am not sure how I can blag it that I will use it the majority of the time! i will get my thinking cap on.

and yes, it is one of their suspension bikes. I dont know enough about bikes really and I wanted a mountain bike and it seemed like a good deal. Live and learn.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
The rules for the bike usage is something to do with using it more for work than you do for leisure? Can't remember how it was worded but it doesn't say you have to use it a specific number of times for work - nor does anyone check. And you could leave your car at work and then cycle into work if you were really enthusiastic!!!:smile:

I like you bought my "Toy" bike when I knew nothing about bikes ... and you just see other people on them and assume that is what a bike is meant to look like. The next bike I bought had front suspension and the one after that has no suspension at all.

I wish you luck getting it sorted but I suspect even if they sort the gears out so they are working today ... it won't be long until they are needing sorting again.
 
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