This weekend my neighbour asked me to check over her sons bike as it had been sat unused since last summer.

I agreed being the helpful chap I am, she then brought round what can only be described as a pile of carp.

It was pretty much brand new, and ironically called the “Torrid” which it was.

Firstly it weighed more than my steel hardtail. It was also a dual suspension ‘design’ with a short seat tube and a crank that moved up and down with the rear wheel.

The twistgrip (5 speed) nearly broke my wrist operating it and the grips were fatter than anything I’ve ever seen even on a motorbike.

Applying the front brake again needing the strength of Hercules you can deflect the “suspension” forks fore and aft due to the play in them.

To top it all off when I tried to raise the saddle I found the minimum insertion mark on the seatpost was about 10cm below the saddle.

What make my blood boil is that people sell these things to parents that don’t know any better and wonder why little Jonny doesn’t enjoy riding it.

Yes. But. The parents are grown adults, in theory perfectly capable of researching the best bike for their kid and understanding the difference between cheap rubbish and something decent. I bet they did when buying a car, house, new kitchen, TV, etc.

But for bikes they couldn’t be bothered, they just saw something cheap at Asda or wherever and bought it.

I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the kids, not much for the parents.

S’pose, but did it cost more than a pair of Burgtec pedals?

In fairness to some parents, bikes are a foreign land.

I saw a family trying to fix a pair of BSO’s to the back of their car at the park. Even the rack on the boot had been fitted upside down, they hadn’t got the first idea.

I know what you mean. And we’ve all seen it. But I think you have to consider that most people don’t have the exposure to cycling we do.

A lot of us are just used to £500-600 hardballs being referred too as ‘entry level’. Whereas for most people thats a really serious outlay, and they tend to get a bit of a shock when they head into the LBS and they’re told thats the minimum you can spend. Say you’ve 2 kids. Thats a grand before you’ve started. So when the spotty herbert in Halfords instead points them in the direction of the BSO to the untrained eye, they’ve all got the same bits on them, haven’t they?

I bought one of these back in 2006 from Halfords when I was a poor, unemployed and newly-graduated. Brand new – only £129.

I thought it was the bargain of the century. It weighted about 25kgs, the front “disc brake” stopped working after a week, the gripshifts were temperamental at best, and the suspension somehow made the road feel more bumpy.

My BiL did exactly this, despite me telling him not to. It’s a truly awful bike and I’d not touch the thing. He only bought it as it was so cheap, he’s got a few quid too.
His little boy doesn’t like riding bikes now 😐

S’pose, but did it cost more than a pair of Burgtec pedals?

I have burgtec pedals…….

bencooper – Member
Yes. But. The parents are grown adults, in theory perfectly capable of researching the best bike for their kid and understanding the difference between cheap rubbish and something decent. I bet they did when buying a car, house, new kitchen, TV, etc.

But for bikes they couldn’t be bothered, they just saw something cheap at Asda or wherever and bought it.

I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the kids, not much for the parents.

For a lot of parents, the thinking is that “they’ll grow out of it in six months, so there’s no point spending money on it” plus they’re often not aware that decent bikes are available – to your typical non-cyclist parent, a bike is a bike – they go to Halfords (or worse, a toy shop) and buy either th epink one or the blue one.

Besides, how may of us rode around on Grifters and the like as kids, and absolutely loved them, despite them being basically a two-wheeled girder?

Besides, how may of us rode around on Gridters and the like as kids, and absolutely loved them, despite them being basically a two-wheeled girder?

And clearly the Budgie bike was the best bike ever for pulling wheelies on 😀

I did the BHF Cotswold ride yesterday. There were a lot of people riding 30 miles on what we would call BSOs. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.

wonder why little Jonny doesn’t enjoy riding it

Little Jonny should MTFU
Seeing little Clarence riding around the block on some 2K Nduru machine with his full face lid makes my blood boil.

I had to ride down the woods on a piece of sh*t until I got a job and saved for something better….. and I damn well enjoyed it so there.

I once helped a poor chap put his pedal back onto his BSO – we were at the top of Cwn Carn 🙂

We were tempted to follow him down, but decided to leave him to his misery/fun without an audience.

I often wonder if he is still stuck in a tree halfway down, or if he gave up or loved it and is now winning Enduro’s on a proper bike.

What make my blood boil is that people sell these things to parents that don’t know any better and wonder why little Jonny doesn’t enjoy riding it.

People buy cheap things all the time that aren’t very good. I really don’t think it’s something to get VERY ANGRY over.

When I was a kid I always had cheap secondhand road bikes, they were rubbish. One had a bent frame as it had been run over by a forklift. I didn’t expect it to be amazing or work particularly well but it didn’t dent my enthusiasm.

Have you seen what kids do to bikes,leave them in the middle of the road,chuck them down grass banks in a ghost bike race (like we used to do),leave them out in the rain,ride them around with flat tyres.
But then again bikes were built to lasts 25 years ago,now they disintegrate upon looking at them,that goes for the 5k ones to.

What’s particularly galling is that you can make an acceptable bike for the cost of the junk bikes if you’d just leave off the suspension, and even the gears.

Some years back a workmate – a well paid man in early middle age – asked me to adjust the brakes on his Raleigh Activator. They were simple cantilever brakes, but the rims were plated steel and had hardly any flat surface so no matter what I did nothing happened brake-wise. It had full “suspension” mind.

For a lot of parents, the thinking is that “they’ll grow out of it in six months, so there’s no point spending money on it”

How many times I have heard/seen that comment – on STW…

Pretty much on any post about kids bike someone will say that – so not just non-riding parents.

I organised a works day out at Cannock once. One chap turned up with a BSO strapped to the back of his MX5 (he is a six footer, the BSO was clearly a 16″). By the time we got to the bottom of the long fireroad climb on the Follow The Dog the right hand pedal had mashed the threads in the crank arm and fallen out. I pointed him in the direction of the car park and led the rest of my work mates around the route (it was the old FTD, pre-Monkey).
The chap in question got his £99.99 refunded by Tesco…

So most adults will spend thousands on unnecessary cars but less than a ton on a full suspension disc braked bike!

I stipulate a minimum bike standard for rides I organise now. Although I regularly have to repair people’s (decent) bikes halfway round routes due to them being stored in sheds all winter.

A lot of us are just used to £500-600 hardballs being referred too as ‘entry level’. Whereas for most people thats a really serious outlay, and they tend to get a bit of a shock when they head into the LBS and they’re told thats the minimum you can spend. Say you’ve 2 kids. Thats a grand

I wonder how much most people spend on their 50″ TVs and monthly subscription to SkyTV? Its all about priorities.

I stipulate a minimum bike standard for rides I organise now.

That’ll make it inclusive and encouraging for newbies.

Just like the office know-all who does a kit inspection before a day walking in the Lakes. “You can’t walk around here in traners” to one bloke is tying the laces of his Walshes.

Who then runs 2 laps of the same route without apparent effort.

The chap in question got his £99.99 refunded by Tesco…

This.

If it don’t work for an acceptable length of time take it back.

That’ll make it inclusive and encouraging for newbies.

I make that rule so that the newbies with bikes that are ‘ok’ are not held up by people with BSOs that can’t make it 100 yards before they implode. Or, worse still, the bike falls to bits half way around the route and everyone’s day is ruined. And the person with the BSO is not embarrassed by: A. being told at the car park that their bike is not capable of making it; or: B. half way around the course that we all have to accompany them back to the car park, slowly, walking, carrying a ton of scrap metal.
It also may be dangerous to ride a BSO along certain trails. I also stipulate helmets and gloves. I’d rather put a newbie off riding than see them damage themselves!

I have a quiet word with all participants before the ride and offer to lend anyone a spare bike if necessary (or offer to check their bike for problems).

Tough love works!

Chap at work asked for a recommendation for his 9yr old.
He balked at spending £300 on an Islabike. 🙄
So I recommended THIS.

Which he subsequently went & bought.
Ok, its not going to set the world alight, but its not got stupidly knobbly tyres or “suspension”.
Once the Halfords set-up had been put right, its actually not a bad little bike.

A chap in the office once boasted about getting two full suspension bikes for £100 from the great cycling emporium that is the back of The Sun.
I think he concreted them under the drive eventually. They make good reinforcing.

ir_bandito – Member
I wonder how much most people spend on their 50″ TVs and monthly subscription to SkyTV? Its all about priorities.

me, none. i’d be willing to bet i have the smallest tv in essex!

Whilst we are on the subject, what is the protocol regarding forks on backwards? I see this maybe once a month. Is polite to say something? I spotted a kids one on backwards the other day and pointed it out to her Dad, i’m not sure if he appreciated the information or not.

I think he concreted them under the drive eventually. They make good reinforcing.

Brilliant! 😆

Just like the office know-all who does a kit inspection before a day walking in the Lakes. “You can’t walk around here in traners” to one bloke is tying the laces of his Walshes.

Who then runs 2 laps of the same route without apparent effort.

Minimum kit inspections carried out by ATGNI always cracks me up. Reminds me of when I took my kids up the Buachaille last Autumn. Lots of people giving disparaging comments and looks about their lack of kit. They didn’t seem to like it when we ran up the hill past them

When I repaired normal bikes, the one thing that’d really wind me up is the parents not wanting to spend much on repairing because “it’s only for the kid”.

That’s your kid you’re going to send out on the roads (or pavements next to the roads) with a dangerous bike, because you don’t want to spend a few pounds to make it safe?

I got tired of my guilt making me do repairs that the parents wouldn’t pay for.

Nothing wrong with that Apollo. Not the lightest, I agree, but a capable bike for a reasonable price. I’m not an Isla Bike fan, personally. There are plenty of other options that make cycling more accessible.

Of course £99 FS BSOs are at the opposite end of the spectrum, but can still be made to function adequately.

Whilst we are on the subject, what is the protocol regarding forks on backwards? I see this maybe once a month. Is polite to say something? I spotted a kids one on backwards the other day and pointed it out to her Dad, i’m not sure if he appreciated the information or not.

I once told a bloke that the cables were out of the noodles on his kid’s V brakes and got told to eff off. I’ve seen a few riding round with helmets on back to front also.

From personal experience we now buy second hand and pass the bikes through both kids before selling on. So far each bike has cost about £30.

But for bikes they couldn’t be bothered, they just saw something cheap at Asda or wherever and bought it.

Yeah but how to cheap cars/TVs etc compare to entry level stuff?
Dacia Sandero (UK cheapest car) seems to get good reviews. How many £50 BSOs get good reviews?
A shite deathtrap car would never make it to market, bikes are fair game tho it seems.

I got unto cycling again as an adult after digging my brother’s old BSO out of my parents shed and decided to have a go. He’d only ridden it two or three times so it was like brand new just needed to put some air in the tyres. Even though it was the wrong size for me (miles too small), I ended up really enjoying cycling, I ended up riding it to death but for the terrain I started on and my skills/fitness it was perfectly fine. Obviously after about 6 months as I improved and got a bit more adventurous/more mileage it started to wear out quickly, but I was hooked and I could then justify spending on a ‘proper’ bike.

If my brother had spent the £600-£1000 on a new bike would he have ridden it more than the BSO he spent £99 on? I don’t think so. However, I am still riding today (Although I do have a proper bike now).

ir_bandito – Member

I wonder how much most people spend on their 50″ TVs and monthly subscription to SkyTV? Its all about priorities.

this.

tell someone that you spend £30/month on your phone – fine.

£50/month on Gym membership? also fine.

£30/month on sky subscription. fine.

£40/month on cigarettes. fine.

£400 on a bike? stand clear of the exploding heads.

Once again its the cost vs value argument.

Only to people who cycle, does a £500 bike sound cheap. Only to people who cycle, does a £1.5k bike have value.

To everyone else, a bike is a cheap purchase. And I kind of agree. Bikes have been around for a long time now. Like kettles, TV’s, laptops, etc. Everything is getting cheaper.

£150 on a bike? Shit thats a lot of money, it must be good right? Look at £150 can get you – a new iPhone 5, a nice laptop with 4bg RAM/decent cpu, a brand new console if you don’t mind waiting for the deals, etc etc

Except bikes haven’t exactly been getting cheaper on the low end at all – just being made shitter with worse components. So you get crap for your money.

The number of times I’ve told people what a semi decent mountain bike will cost new and seen their jaw drop in disbelief

Bikes are expensive. And the average joe doesn’t understand how, or why (and neither do I at times), and therefore thinks everything over £150 new must be for those cycling club weirdo’s that meet up fresh faced at 7am on a Saturday to look at each other in lycra and talk about chafing.

It’s like baulking at paying £400 for a 42″ LCD TV, asking for a cheap one and getting a 12″ B&W CRT with a coat hanger for an aerial.

… everything over £150 new must be for those cycling club weirdo’s that meet up fresh faced at 7am on a Saturday to look at each other in lycra and talk about chafing.

He he

While on a work trip abroad I couldn’t sleep for days, felt awful and knew a ride would sort me out. Borrowed a $150 bike too small for me from a colleague and went pedalling in nearby hills on road. A narcotically blissful ride! Free as a youngling again. Who cares if it’s heavy – I ride an Alpine 160 these days!

It’s like baulking at paying £400 for a 42″ LCD TV, asking for a cheap one and getting a 12″ B&W CRT with a coat hanger for an aerial.

Depends on whether you’re planning on taking your TV home, watching it for an hour, then carrying it into the garage and leaving it in the corner for a few years, until you take it to the tip.

I’d imagine thats the fate of 90%+ of BSO’s

It’s like baulking at paying £400 for a 42″ LCD TV, asking for a cheap one and getting a 12″ B&W CRT with a coat hanger for an aerial.

Exactly – but equally, as someone who doesn’t watch TV and doesn’t use a gaming console (PC 4 lyfe) the idea of spending anything over £20 and a firm handshake on a TV seems to me frankly nuts.

Yet I know some people who bought a £3k TV on finance 😯

Let’s not get started on those who buy the multiple £K sofas at DFS only to sell them a few months later on Facebook…!

But to be fair most non cyclists will watch loads of TV spend hours on their phones ect, ect. In reality all of those things represent value for money to them. Hundreds of pounds spent on a bicycle for the occasional ride around the park would be a waste.

I balk at why people buying iphones and iwatches. Similarly I dont understand gucci shoes either.

On the backwards forks I usually mention it might be safer and brake better if they were the other way round. Its more of a duty for the child safety ( then the burden is back on the parents to do something about it).

For a long while into this thread I thought it was going on about bad back.

The thing that a few people seem to be having difficulty grasping here is that different people have different priorities. They don’t think bikes are important. They think other things are. So they prioritise their purchases accordingly. You can’t really criticise them for that.

Oh…. hang on a minute….

To a lot of (the majority I think) people bikes just aren’t the big deal present like they were back when a lot of us were kids in a time before Xbox and play station and iPad etc. so now kids want all those things and maybe a bike too. And parents see bikes in tesco and think £69.99 for a ‘full suspension mtb’ is a bargain. They dont care about the quality because it fits the cost criteria and that’s all they’re worried about. Or they go to halfords because they’re fooled by their seasonal advertising that says a bike is half price. And everyone loves a bargain. They don’t know or particularly care that the bike at full price would have been a total rip off and at half its rrp is actually pretty much on the money. Now they’re stuck in a cycle of low expectations leading to disappointment. This leads to lack of use which leads to the next time said child wants a new bike their parents refuse to spend much because ‘you never used the other one we got you’.

But it certainly isn’t something worth getting cross about. Be disappointed for the owner if you want. But as binners says people have different priorities.