Monday

What Makes a Crappy Bike? Here's a few thoughts ...

I've known many, many friends who drop into their local Wallie's World, or Kmart, or Target and pick up the cheapest bike they can wrap their wallets around.

And, let me tell you, they are NOT doing themselves any favors.

I know good bikes are expensive. And the best bikes are WAY TOO expensive. But, you have to get a nice bike to really be able to use it, put it through its paces, and get the most out of it.

The last paragraph gives the best advice of the whole article ... buy used (second hand) from someone who has worked in a bike shop, and have pimped and maintained their bike while they've owned it. I've owned my Gary Fisher over 10 years, and the freaking thing just keeps running. It's like buying quality over value. Not easy - but if you really want it to work, you gotta do it.

And here's a tip for anyone who has trouble riding ANY bike. Raise your seat.
No ... Seriously.

Raise your seat so that your legs have to almost fully extend for you to pedal. The 90-degree, right angle bike pedal IS NOT how you are supposed to ride your bike. This one change could revolutionize your riding experience.
clipped from www.wired.com
Worst) Bikes
Mens Bike looks to be a bargain
But the trouble begins… immediately.
The conclusion of the LBS? The bike is junk.

First, the women’s model was supplied with a men’s saddle. Second, it just doesn’t work properly. The brake calipers are bendy, flexy plastic, the twist-grip gears won’t actually hold in a single speed for more than a couple minutes (or until the next bump in the road) and hills were impossible: “but tackling them on my weighty (18kg), graceless machine felt like I was scaling Pen-y-Ghent on a pedal-powered tractor,” says Pidd. Even the back wheel came supplied already out-of-true.

Worse, this is a self assembly bike. Anyone who knows enough about building and fixing bikes would know enough to avoid this machine, so therefore the only people who might buy it are not qualified to build it.
It shows us that “low-priced” is not the same as “value”, and that skimping on a good bike is not only dangerous but it spoils you fun. Our advice? Buy second-hand

1 comment:

Jason V said...

do these thoughts apply to marriage also? or finding a spouse?