Toys R US Bargain?

[Vitesse]

Toys R Us is offering an alloy frame 'racing bike' in their sale for £49. It may be c**p, but if just a cheap pair of 700C tyres costs about £15, this seems like an incredible deal. Anyone bought one, and is it U/S in the other sense?

 

[Vapin' Joe]

If you count the number of individual componants on a bike, many of which have to be made to precice engineering standards in order to work efficiently, I think you can safely say that your Toys R Us "bargain" will be an unrideable heap of shoot within 250 miles.

And 250 miles is being optimistic.

 

[TVC]

The clue is in the name of the shop 'Toys'

 

[palinurus]

Jesus. This one I guess..

£49 Road bike

I can't comment, I can't imagine it's any good but it's almost worth a punt just to try it out as a cheap commuter and see how long it stands the abuse.

Decathlon do- or did- a cheap road bike with downtube shifters (around the £120 mark I think), a poster on another forum -probably ACF- bought one and posted a review and a few updates. I think he was relatively happy with it as a budget commuter, unfortunately it was stolen after a while so it never became a long-term test.

 

[palinurus]

I'm not suggesting you buy it tho', just that it would be interesting to find out what it's like. My best guess is that it would be shite.

 

[Vitesse]

Seems to me that even if it only managed 250 miles, £49 is still pretty good value compared to a train ticket. The same distance in an economical car will cost £25. And as not all of your BSO will be worn out, the rest can be used for spares. Halfords asks a fiver for an inner tube and a tenner for a 700C tyre that wears out in less than 1000 miles.

 

[kyuss]

Seems to me that even if it only managed 250 miles, £49 is still pretty good value compared to a train ticket.

That depends on what breaks first. 20mph+ downhill and a wheel falls apart or the brakes snap, you'll be hitting the deck pretty hard or going under a car and spending a lot more than £49 on some new teeth. Not such a bargain then. Don't do it, it'll be a crap ride, no fun at all and a bloody death trap.

 

[yenrod]

Cant knock it till you try it !

 

[Gerry Attrick]

On the plus side, nobody would want to nick it

 

[Yorkshireman]

Just had a look (curiosity) and it would seem that they're out of stock. At that price all the components are likely to be made of a substance closely resembling cheese (not sure about the frame). As its a 12 speed the rear hub may be a screw on (limited choice/availability/gearing) 6 cog, with an OLN/drop out width too narrow to upgrade to an 8/9 speed hub (ally chain-stays are 'difficult' to re-set wider. The tyres are an unknown quantity, but likely to be made of something like chewing-gum mixed with dried dog jobbies, if you want 'cheapo' tyres have a look in WILKOS(Wilkinsons) I'll bet they'll be better. Bear in mind that Toys R Us (from what I hear and see) have a worse record than Halfords regarding bike assembly.

 

[palinurus]

Had to have a search. Apparently the dropouts are good for fixed conversions.

Fixed Triax

 

[Vitesse]

Why do you need a 8/9 speed hub? I prefer a 12-speed bike and ride one by choice.

 

[Headgardener]

Hi All. Doesn't look as if there is any offset (think that is the right word) to the front fork, must make it difficult to steer properly.

 

[shimano]

This may be what's called a 'loss leader' in the trade ie it gets people through the doors and even if they don't buy the bike which may be a genuine bargain chances are they'll buy something else just 'cos they're there. 'course it may genuinely be a racer worth £49 in which case rather you than me...

 

[beanzontoast]

Some of these comments appear a bit over the top. Expressing doubt, given the price, is one thing - ridiculing the bike without seeing it is another.