The worst bike ever made or that you have owned

[Arrowfoot]

Just wanted an entry level MTB bike for grocery runs. So in 2019, bought online an entry level Raleigh MTB with Shimano tourney and thumb shifters. Worst bike ever. Did everything possible to make it better. I actually picked the Raleigh brand thinking there will be standards. How wrong I was.

The gears, the wheels, the seat, the cables etc. On close examination, I realise that every component was bad quality. I know when you pay peanuts you get monkeys but this was beyond ridiculous. Even the application of lubricant / grease was sparing. I could not believe as late as 2019, they can sell something that was so bad.

I bought a cheap ass entry level Decathlon MTB in 2012 that was brilliant and it was cheaper. Until it was stolen.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

How frequently?

View attachment 612574

Maybe see how many different frequently together suggestions we can get.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Can't believe I have not posted this before

But when I was about 11 my Mum and Dad decided that I needed a proper bike capable of going on the roads
conditions
1) I had to pass the cycling proficiency test before I was allowed on a road
2) I always had to have lights - if the batteries ran out (2 U2s) then my Dad promised he would always pay for new ones

Ok - so we went to a LBS that I knew because they also sold 'N' gauge railways which I loved (weird combo - but whatever) and I was kinda between sizes for the frame
But it was OK because there was a new Raleigh frame called the Elite - where the crossbar bent down slightly just before the saddle thus making it a bigger frame but being able to lower the saddle a bit more

My Dad has ridden all over Liverpool and area around several RAF bases on proper bikes - so Sturmey Archer 3 speed gears where the height of luxury to him - none of this fancy derailleur stuff!

would have been OK except I soon realised that any hill of any kind that was more than 100 yards long involved getting off and walking - I assumed it was because I was fat and unfit (actually bad body image but anyway!)
The thing was very inefficient and weighed about the same as a main battle tank - but with more rolling resistance!

Only kept it a few years and we came to a deal where it was sold and the money from that - plus my Christmas and Birthday presents - went to a better bike
ended up in the mid 70s with a 10 speed Peugeot - flew up hill easily - often didn;t need to change gear on hills I had previously had to walk up!

so - TLDR - Raleigh Elite - horrible thing

 

[Gillstay]

View attachment 144002 I had something similar to this when I was about 12 or 13. Weighed as much as a small planet but handy for all my fishing gear, plus it was indestructible

My Mum's worse bike was one of those. It was during the war, her mum ran a butchers shop so it meant she had to do the meat deliveries and she was just a slip of a girl . Getting a new bike meant the opposite of what we think now, she hated it with a vengence.

 

[NorthernDave]

Raleigh Chopper - the coolest bike to have, but frankly bloody awful.

Closely followed by a Raleigh Grifter - looked a bit like one of those fancy new BMX bikes but weighed about the same as the moon.

I only realised how bad they were when I got my first "racer"

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good afternoon.

Quite recently GCN did a commentary on a similar but not identical bike

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MurHt7Sxhyk
and a bit later a hill climb

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoFWEvvi9VM&ab_channel=GlobalCyclingNetwork

Given that channel's bias towards discussing the advantages of latex inner tubes over butyl ones the Eurobike comes off quite well.

Halfords have something called the Apollo Paradox https://www.halfords.com/bikes/road...road-bike---48cm-51cm-54cm-frames-601204.html again once you get past laughing you have to wonder about a whole bike that is cheaper than a Di2 rear mech.

I get that it is fun to mock cheap bikes but there are also a lot of great deals out there if you are willing to see past the label, there is a fan base here for the Raleigh Royal, butted 531 frame lightweight aluminium alloy parts etc, but the Raleigh catalogue advertises it as a fraction over 30lbs whereas the half hearted "racer", the Record Sprint 501 main tubes and non alloy steel for the other tubes/forks comes in at around 25lbs,

For me where these bikes fail is in the gear shifters, the selling price is too low for even a Shimano Tourney STI shifter, the frames are made without down tube bosses and the down tube shape is so odd that band on shifters can't easily be fitted. So they end up with butterfly or mountain bike shifters on drop bars and these are probably a compromise too far, have you ever watched how close your knees come to bars when riding out of the saddle?

Bye

Ian

 

[Oldhippy]

By far the worst ones were the ones I 'customised'. Chrome dress rails hammered on to pre straightend forks (with a hammer) and axle slots cut out. Da da! Easy rider chopper. Bloody awful to ride but at 14 I was the coolest/stupidest kid on the block. 😁

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Raleigh Chopper - the coolest bike to have, but frankly bloody awful.

Closely followed by a Raleigh Grifter - looked a bit like one of those fancy new BMX bikes but weighed about the same as the moon.

I only realised how bad they were when I got my first "racer"

WHen the Raleigh Chopper was all the rage my friend got something similar

bright yellow thing called a Dragster
110% of the total weight was over the back wheel so it would wheelie at the drop of a hat
and the 3 speed hub was changed by a lever that startedlevel with the saddle and had a pivot about 18 inches belore the handle - connected to the cable 1 inch further down
i.e. at a massive mechanical advantage - put that into the hands of a rugby playing teenage boy and it tended to break.

mind you I believe that his success at several sports (especially rugby) was partly due to refusing to admit defeat and insiting on riding all over the Wirral on that damn thing stuck in 3rd gear - did wonders for his fitness!!

 

[Biker man]

Hi to all.
Hope you've all had a good day today.
This question may of been asked numerous times before so please accept my apologies if it has.
My dad had a cheap and nasty road bike from Woolworths I cant remember for the life of me what it was called. Probably some brand that was exclusive to Woolies. This bike was horrendous in every way. The components where made from chocolate and the frame literally turned to rust after six months. After a year it was only fit for the scrap heap. The wheels were now reduced to rust , the crank was shot and the components where worn.
The bike was from the early 80s and cost around £65 in memory serves me correct.
On another note, two school friends back in the early 80s both had the same make and model bikes for Christmas. The bikes were Sun Solo road bikes and were most probably a catalogue purchase from Empire stores or Janet Frazer. ( ha remember them lol ). Every day , through rain sun or snow there would be a large group of us who would bike and race each other to school covering around 12 miles a day. I always remember after around six months of ownership of these two Sun Solo bikes , the.paint work started to discolour on the crossbar near the head set. The discolouration was only about the size of a thumb but the blue paint work slowly got lighter in colour until one day whilst biking home from school the lads frame made a loud crack noise and sure enough the frame had cracked across the discoloured paint. Three weeks later the others lads bike succumbed to the same fate. They did manage to get replacement bikes though from the company.
So do you have any horror stories of a cheap and nasty bike that may of owned.
I would love to hear about them.
Many thanks
Johnny

Hi I had a Byocycle FDXL the battery went wrong in first two days every sort of problem with it .Buy cheap buy twice.

 

[bladesman73]

Here in east anglia, any bike sold by Cycle King, usually the Salcano brand. Fall apart faster than Roglic on an uphill time trial.

 

[FrothNinja]

Raleigh Chopper and Malvern Star Dragster, especially the ones with the cross bar shifter, just thinking about them makes my eyes water.

 

[palinurus]

It was a Tensor 5-speed that my dad bought mail order from an ad in the Daily Mirror.

It wasn't bad though- I loved it, rode it around all over the place. Did my first longish rides on it. They are well-known for being terrible but mine kept going, no fork legs falling out or anything like that!

So- even my worst bike was excellent.

 

[TheDoctor]

Not bikes I've owned, but I have ridden.
Itera plastic bike. Awful, but not as bad as
Strida. Utterly dreadful, but not as bad as
Sinclair A-bike. Id rather walk barefoot.

 

[AndyRM]

A Raleigh Activator. Damaged myself pretty badly when I came off that.

Also had a bike branded Tioli as a child, it was very, very heavy.

 

[Chris S]

I bought a Havoc Sabre for £12. The gears changed themselves at random and it was impossible to get rid of all the free play in the bottom bracket without it binding. After a week I palmed it off on somebody else for £10.