''What is that bike?!''
- Thread starter J1888
- Start date
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gbb
Legendary Member
- Location
- Peterborough
Meh, I wouldnt dismiss it out of hand...remember ToysR Us had those Traxx 'racers' for about £100, guy at work went and got one, it was reduced to £50 
.
He brought It in and showed me...
Tyres were ridicuLously heavy, hubs were a bit grindy, I quickly adjusted and lubed them, components were cheap....but, he was still commuting on it a year later, saved himself a fortune in petrol he said.
Personally i wouldnt buy it, but they can have their uses to some people who wouldnt dream of spending £500 on a bike, let alone a grand.
.He brought It in and showed me...
Tyres were ridicuLously heavy, hubs were a bit grindy, I quickly adjusted and lubed them, components were cheap....but, he was still commuting on it a year later, saved himself a fortune in petrol he said.
Personally i wouldnt buy it, but they can have their uses to some people who wouldnt dream of spending £500 on a bike, let alone a grand.
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
How rough, and heavy will those front forks be?!
The_Cycling_Scientist
Über Member
- Location
- Cambridge
Shifters are a little odd I'll admit but not much different to the stem Shifters on some old frames. I guess it would do the job and would maybe make a good enough donor frame over time for upgrades to better parts! All got to start somewhere and if your on a tight budget and would prefer something you know you can take back if your not happy a couple of weeks down the line 
Saluki
World class procrastinator
- Location
- ...Norwich over the water.
My neighbour is thinking of getting one of these for her 11 year old son. I am trying to talk her out of it. He's tallish but will 'grow into it as time goes on' Hmmm. Also at nearly 31lbs, I think that he might struggle a bit with it. Having said that, it's probably lighter than his BSO MTB that he is rapidly growing out of.
I think that I will continue to try and talk her out of it!
I think that I will continue to try and talk her out of it!
Tojo
Über Member
- Location
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Tojo
Über Member
- Location
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne
I might buy one and do a paint job on it sticking some pinarello decals on and seeing how many compliments I get
It would cost you more for the paint, and especially the Pinarello decals, than it's worth........
MisterStan
Label Required
- Location
- Out there somewhere
S.Giles
Guest
And a 'half decent bike' of forty years ago couldn't be purchased for £125, when inflation is factored-in.It's probably as good as, if not better than, most half decent bikes of 40 years ago. We did lots of miles on those and thought they were OK.
Being sniffy about something cheap-and-cheerful like this is a knee-jerk reaction that some people simply can't resist. As compared to the twin-shock mountain bikes that hitherto formed the low end of the market, it's a huge step in the right direction, IMO.
There are many here who could benefit from buying one and using it as a platform to learn about bicycle maintenance. It would save them from having to run to their LBS every time their gears need adjusting or they hear a funny noise, and they would gain a better understanding of what a bicycle actually is! They may also come to realise that the wheelset that cost them twenty-times more than this whole bike isn't actually worth twenty-times more!
nickyboy
Norven Mankey
- Location
- You want hills? We got hills
Horses for courses, innit?
Someone buying this bike isn't going to be doing centuries or powering up hills trying to grab a KoM. They're going to be pootling about or maybe doing a bit of commuting. Buying from Tesco means no intimidating visit to a bike shop and if it's not right you can take it back, no problem. Nobody who would be interested in this bike would even consider buying second hand.
Someone buying this bike isn't going to be doing centuries or powering up hills trying to grab a KoM. They're going to be pootling about or maybe doing a bit of commuting. Buying from Tesco means no intimidating visit to a bike shop and if it's not right you can take it back, no problem. Nobody who would be interested in this bike would even consider buying second hand.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Looks like in the land of the Vertigo, the Barracuda is king.
KneesUp
Guru
That would be fine for me, I have three that cover me for on-road (rough or with luggage), on road (smooth and/or no luggage) and off-road - inflation adjusted cost new c.£2,500, cost to me £58. They're all steel, and so have enough life left to outlive me, so I don't need any more
Admittedly only one of them is rideable, but still ...
How rough, and heavy will those front forks be?!
Yeah, it's a shame they haven't gone for curved ones - steel is a great material for forks if you let it bend a little to smooth things out, but that isn't a fashionable look it seems.
