argos bike - with forks wrong way around - This photo is from Argos catalogue!
A few years ago, I was travelling to New York and wished to do some training. Since I was only there two weeks, I thought, why not get the cheapest possible bike. I thought:
- - If it gets stolen in NY, it’s less money to lose
- - I’m only here two weeks
- - If a cheap bike is slow, it doesn’t matter because it will be just as good training.
So I went to a local New York bike shop and got the cheapest bike on sale. It cost $120, or about £70. Actually, there were cheaper bikes but they were too small.
What was it like riding a sub £100 bike?
In two words – Pretty awful.
That was my general impression. Cycling was hard work, and no joy. I didn’t do any training save cycle a few times around a local pond. The idea of cycling more than 5 miles on this bike just didn’t seem right.
What was Wrong With Bike.
- It was sluggish in the extreme. It had large mountain bike style tyres and was very heavy, perhaps close to 20 Kg.
- Steering was like using a delayed reaction wheel.
- It was difficult to get right height and set up.
- The hi tensile steel was cheap and you felt every vibration.
- The overall feeling was one of clunkiness, it always was making a sound of clunking.
Maybe it was the New York humidity, but, I never once was able to use it for a training ride, I just ended up taking a two week break. The next year I sold it to a friend and bought an old Trek 1980s steel road bike on ebay for $200.
With that 20 year old second hand bike, I am now able to do some training in New York.
To be fair to my old $120 clunker, I still see it being ridden around 6 years later. The person I sold it to, seems reasonably happy using it for his 1 or 2 mile commutes. It’s not like it’s a piece of cardboard which dissolves in the rain.
Cheap Bikes at Asda.
I hear Asda have been selling bikes under £100, and they have been receiving reviews you would expect. Asda promotion says you can equip a family of 4 with bikes for £250
There’s a good blog - bicycle shaped object which reviews some of these ultra cheap bikes.
The funny thing is the pictures of bikes being sold in Asda with the forks on the wrong way.
Related
I used to work for a real low-end bike shop for a while, cheapest possible imported bikes. The main problem used to be that no matter how I (Cytech bike mechanic) set up the gears with care, usually involving repositioning the front mech from its factory incorrectly-fitted position, people just wouldn’t “get” that with the cheapest components, gear changes would need to be “helped” by the rider, and that just because it said “index” somewhere, gear changes wouldn’t be slick and silent every time, and demand ‘Super Record’ performance from SunRace and ChangStar components.
Sometimes with the really stubborn bikes and awkward customers, I used to swap the chain for a sachs one from stock when the boss wasn’t looking – it usually made the vital bit of difference!
Two bikes from the german discounter aldi for 350 $
do for me since two years good services.
Cheap Bikes at Asda this are instrument of torture
If you buy a bike from Asda, you know what you’re going to get. And it’s not going to be great.
I also read the news on BikeRadar.com
Certainly it’s a shame that Asda sells the bikes with the forks on the wrong way. But I think the cheap bikes have their own merit.
They are cheap and they can get you to anywhere in the neighborhood. You don’t have to worry about the bike being stolen or getting rusty in rainy days.
I bought a single-speed bike in a discount store in Japan for about 7500 yen, including the charge of a basket. For two years, I didn’t have any problem with it, not even a flat. Residents there often ride bikes (three speeds) from discount stores.
The bike I’m riding for commute was also bought in a discount store. I’m thinking about getting a new one. Maybe not from a discount store this time, but I still don’t want to spend a lot on a commute bike which needs lots of care.
The only advice for buying bikes in discount stores is that get the bike without any suspension. Even a single-speed is enough.
But when I go for a real ride, I ride my Fuji road bike or KHS folding bike.