Asda £70 BSO

Marc wrote:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...sda-cheap-bike

I've just seen it advertised on TV. with the fork back to front!


"you can either take it to your local bike dealer and hope they won't
laugh you out of the shop when you ask them to do it for you (and if
they oblige, you'll pay at least £20 for it)"

My LBS -- wouldn't touch it.
Not for assembly or repairs or a service.


--

Come to Dave & Boris - your cycle security experts.

killermike wrote:
Marc wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...sda-cheap-bike

I've just seen it advertised on TV. with the fork back to front!

Sounds like a bit of snobbery there. At least this ASDA bike is an attempt
to cobble together a simple bike rather than full-suspension jobby. One of
the commenters makes an excellent point about the fact that consumers
demand a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Sounds like the setup could
have been better, but she says that she got a someone from the ASDA PR
department to assemble it for her(!?). I agree with the advice that second
hand one would probably be a better starting point for most people.


NOOOOOOOOO!

It's ****e and intended for those who can't even wield a screwdriver to
assemble it. They are just the right bike for putting peolpe off of cycling.
I predict that over 70% of them will end up in skips, ponds or just
abandoned as soon as the summer is over.
It's the non-environmentally friendly side of cycling, the disposable bike.


--

Come to Dave & Boris - your cycle security experts.

Keitht wrote:
killermike wrote:
Marc wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...sda-cheap-bike

I've just seen it advertised on TV. with the fork back to front!

Sounds like a bit of snobbery there. At least this ASDA bike is an
attempt
to cobble together a simple bike rather than full-suspension jobby.
One of
the commenters makes an excellent point about the fact that consumers
demand a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Sounds like the setup
could
have been better, but she says that she got a someone from the ASDA PR
department to assemble it for her(!?). I agree with the advice that
second
hand one would probably be a better starting point for most people.


NOOOOOOOOO!

It's ****e and intended for those who can't even wield a screwdriver to
assemble it. They are just the right bike for putting peolpe off of
cycling.
I predict that over 70% of them will end up in skips, ponds or just
abandoned as soon as the summer is over.
It's the non-environmentally friendly side of cycling, the disposable bike.


That one may be a load of 'cojones',but I bought a cheap mountain bike
for £89 from Halfords 3 years ago and it's still good.I have done many
miles,so you can get some durable bikes on the cheap if you look hard.

Bod

"Judith M Smith" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:19:06 +0100, Marc
wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...sda-cheap-bike

I've just seen it advertised on TV. with the fork back to front!

Yes of course you did.

It's rather odd as the front fork is already connected to the frame
when you buy it - and you don't have to do it as part of the
self-assembly.

Well we will have to take your word for that won't we.


You really have no idea how a bike fits together, do you.

Noticed that a lot of bike forums are mentioning exactly the same mistake on
the advert. Maybe they all made it up.

In article ,
says...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...sda-cheap-bike

I've just seen it advertised on TV. with the fork back to front!


It is clear that the bike is built down to a price and that most serious
cyclists wouldn't be seen dead near one, but it does have some merit.

In my work I often promote cycling to people that don't have a bike and
cost is often seen as a barrier. It doesn't help when people visit bike
shops, or speak to cyclists, who say you "cannot get a decent bike under
GBP 300" or "any bike under GBP 300 is a waste of money" etc.. Some of
these people almost get laughed out of the shop and are lost forever. I
have quite happily ridden around on bikes I've got from tips, or bought
second hand for GBP 10-15.

The existence of the Asda bike might get a few people cycling who would
not otherwise. OK more expensive bikes are better and cheap ones
deteriorate more quickly, but there is a market for cheap bikes and I
have known a number of people who have bought cheap bikes, enjoyed
cycling and continued cycling...

By the way I'm not an employee of Asda and certainly no fan

On 2009-07-23, Keitht KeithT wrote:
killermike wrote:
Marc wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...sda-cheap-bike

I've just seen it advertised on TV. with the fork back to front!

Sounds like a bit of snobbery there. At least this ASDA bike is an attempt
to cobble together a simple bike rather than full-suspension jobby. One of
the commenters makes an excellent point about the fact that consumers
demand a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Sounds like the setup could
have been better, but she says that she got a someone from the ASDA PR
department to assemble it for her(!?). I agree with the advice that second
hand one would probably be a better starting point for most people.


NOOOOOOOOO!

It's ****e and intended for those who can't even wield a screwdriver to
assemble it.

That's the problem. With mechanical sympathy and careful maintenance you
could nurse such a bike through quite a few miles. But that's not the
kind of people who buy them (or even assemble them), so they don't stand
a chance.

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:34:36 +0100, Gerald H
wrote:

It is clear that the bike is built down to a price and that most serious
cyclists wouldn't be seen dead near one, but it does have some merit.

In my work I often promote cycling to people that don't have a bike and
cost is often seen as a barrier. It doesn't help when people visit bike
shops, or speak to cyclists, who say you "cannot get a decent bike under
GBP 300" or "any bike under GBP 300 is a waste of money" etc.. Some of
these people almost get laughed out of the shop and are lost forever. I
have quite happily ridden around on bikes I've got from tips, or bought
second hand for GBP 10-15.

I'd say the magic number is more like £200 than £300. There are
downsides: it offers an artificially low expectation of what you can
expect to pay for a bike, it is close to unrideable per the report in
the Grauniad, and in virtually every instance you'd be better off
spending the same money on a much better bike second hand.

My biggest concern, though, is that these things sold out of
supermarkets have no real safety backup. They are assembled by people
who mostly have no idea abut bikes and that means faults with brakes,
steering and the like - serious faults which compromise safety - may
well be left unaddressed when the bike leaves the shop. And even if
they are OK when they leave the shop the use of components made of
cheese means they will need much more maintenance than a decent bike,
yet they are being sold to those least likely to be able to do that
maintenance.

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/urc | http://www.nohelmetlaw.org.uk/
"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken
Newsgroup may contain nuts.

On 23 July, 09:17, Bod wrote:
Keitht wrote:
killermike wrote:
Marc wrote:

*http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...sda-cheap-bike

I've just seen it advertised on TV. with the fork back to front!

Sounds like a bit of snobbery there. At least this ASDA bike is an
attempt
to cobble together a simple bike rather than full-suspension jobby.
One of
the commenters makes an excellent point about the fact that consumers
demand a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Sounds like the setup
could
have been better, but she says that she got a someone from the ASDA PR
department to assemble it for her(!?). I agree with the advice that
second
hand one would probably be a better starting point for most people.

NOOOOOOOOO!

It's ****e and intended for those who can't even wield a screwdriver to
assemble it. They are just the right bike for putting peolpe off of
cycling.
I predict that over 70% of them will end up in skips, ponds or just
abandoned as soon as the summer is over.
It's the non-environmentally friendly side of cycling, the disposable bike.

That one may be a load of 'cojones',but I bought a cheap mountain bike
for £89 from Halfords 3 years ago and it's still good.I have done many
miles,so you can get some durable bikes on the cheap if you look hard.


I'm with Bod on this. Someone bought me a cheapy mountain bike 6 years
ago, badged a "Matrix" with full suspension. It's still going strong
now, but then again I know how to build a bike properly. All I've done
is put a set of road tyres on it rather than the nasty knobblies it
came with and replaced the front mech after I fell off and bent the
original one.

Mike P

On Jul 22, 9:19*pm, Marc wrote:
*http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...sda-cheap-bike

I've just seen it advertised on TV. with the fork back to front!

in Belgium I just go to the 2nd hand shop, set up by the Govt. for
people to recycle their unwanted stuff, whilst giving employment to
people who would otherwise be on the dole

http://www.dekringwinkelzuiderkempen.be/

my last bike cost cost 60 euro
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25893502@N07/2433466723/

In ,
Judith M Smith tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell
us:

It's rather odd as the front fork is already connected to the frame
when you buy it - and you don't have to do it as part of the
self-assembly.

Attaching the handlebars to the bike is part of the assembly procedure, thus
it is trivially simple for the Clueless to have the forks pointing the wrong
way when fitting the bars. Anyone with the slightest vestige of knowledge
about cycling would realise this.

--
Dave Larrington
http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk
What ho, you chaps.