roadrash
cycle chatterer
It always used to the specialized allez around here. If you had a Btwin, you'd be a laughing stock even if they owned a Raleigh.
that's more what describes a person as a pr!ck, than what describes a BSO, SNOBBY FECKERS
It always used to the specialized allez around here. If you had a Btwin, you'd be a laughing stock even if they owned a Raleigh.
The bits I've emboldened above are what sum up the difference between old mass-market bikes and BSOs. A BSO simply won't take that kind of use and keep on going. The problem is that although a BSO uses components that look the same as the old robust ones, they are actually made of much cheaper materials so don't have the durability.So it's about functionality?
My first "proper" bike I owned when I was a kid might be regarded by some as s a BSO today. It was a Raleigh Arena, a 5-speed "racer" with drop bars, but cottered cranks and all-steel components. I strongly suspect that it's frame was based on Raleigh's generic sports roadster design. It wasn't light, but it was tough as old boots and in my hands it took a beating without much ill-effect. My mate had a virtually identical bike only with a BSA badge. This was at a time BMX was getting popular and so a lot of other kids had Raleigh Grifters, which I personally thought were junk, so I bought a big-wheel bike for relatively decent road performance. That didn't stop us doing stunt jumps off wooden ramps propped up on stacks of house bricks along with the Grifter owners. My mate was really reckless and managed to trash his BSA so I bought it off him for a fiver, straightened it up, and thereafter used it as my beater/silly stunt bike to save destroying the Raleigh.
Looking back to those days, most mass-market bikes were relatively heavy, but they were solidly engineered and it took a lot of abuse to actually break them.
This is what I'd mean by a BSO: the brakes were wonky and didn't work, it weighed 19kg, the wheels were warped, pedals wonky, etc. I got it for free and it hadn't been used.
View attachment 382137
This is my £5 Dawes which probably just goes into the same territory:
View attachment 382138
Front suspension is useful, not just for riding on trails / terrain, but equally for riders, on any surface ( including roads ) who are less experienced, and need a bit more control from the front of the bike. A decent set of front sus forks will mean that the tyre maintains contact with any unevenness in the surface, more consistently, leading to less perception of ‘skittishness’ from the bike. They add weight, but for a relatively new rider, the advantages of having greater confidence / Control outweigh the disadvantage of increased bike weight. As long as the forks are not complete junk, they are a nice thing to have.I must admit, if someone gave me the full-sus yellow monstrosity, all I would have done is stripped all the mechanicals off it for spare parts and chucked the frame in the skip.
The Dawes is not so clear-cut. It's not a full-blown BSO in the same league as the Corona rubbish, I'd regard it just as a basic bike. I'm really surprised to see that brand name on the frame of what is clearly a cheap bike with the dreaded front suspension forks. When I think of Dawes I always think Dawes Galaxy, a bike I would have bought as a teenager if I could have afforded one at the time. I've never considered them as a MTB maker! .I really don't see the point of suspension forks and to me they are a gimmick on cheap bikes because at that sort of price point you can't possibly engineer them well enough to work properly. I must admit I steer well clear of any frame with suspension, and personally I would only skip salvage anything built with conventional fixed forks and tail end.
I'm looking really hard... Does the bell look worth keeping?I must admit, if someone gave me the full-sus yellow monstrosity, all I would have done is stripped all the mechanicals off it for spare parts and chucked the frame in the skip.
I'm looking really hard... Does the bell look worth keeping?
Edit: actually, I bet you could turn the back end into a single wheel trailer with a bit of effort.
Reminds me of my dahon speed pro. Not a cheap bike even discounted end of line as mine was and the latest version from the family was 1.5 grand last time i looked.Once when I was coming home after a night on the sauce, I was in desperate need of more wine, so like you do I bought a corkscrew/bottle opener from a 24hr garage near me. It was in that weird section of the shop where they also have buttons and sellotape on display. It was one of those with the two arms on the side that move up as you screw the screw in and then you pull them down to lever the cork out. Well, I got it (and a couple of bottles of nasty wine) home and was all set to carry on the evening's frivolity, but the arms on this corkscrew just bent without actually levering up the cork in the slightest. It was like the thing was made of grey Plasticine.
I always think of this when the subject of BSOs comes up. This was a corkscrew shaped object which, because it was made of cheese or 'monkey metal' as my old man would say, actually did nothing of the corkscrew function. T.
Righto
I always choose one of my front sus hybrids on these rides, as trying to ride on the rougher stuff, with a fixed fork bike, is not a great idea, even for an experienced ride leader, let alone some of the novice riders we see regularly. {