Really cheap bikes

In aus.bicycle on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:31:51 +1000

Pete said:

I'm looking for two cheap bikes to leave down at a holiday house near
the beach. Will mostly be ridden on sealed roads and bike tracks, and
usually only during summer and easter.

What do people think of the Huffy bikes in the latest K-Mart catalogue?

Ask BTH... he seems to be doing OK on a cheapie.

Zebee

Pete said:

What do people think of the Huffy bikes in the latest K-Mart catalogue?

We try not to.

Buying those things will only encourage them.

Any reason why you'd buy a new heap of junk, rather than a second hand
bicycle?

tim

Pete said:

I'm looking for two cheap bikes to leave down at a holiday house near
the beach. Will mostly be ridden on sealed roads and bike tracks, and
usually only during summer and easter.

What do people think of the Huffy bikes in the latest K-Mart catalogue?

Peter

They sound perfect for what you want and at $70 a pop how can you go
wrong?

Quoted message said:

They sound perfect for what you want and at $70 a pop how can you go
wrong?

Famous last words... probably spoken by people who thought their
brakes would actually work... :P

Travis

Pete said:

I'm looking for two cheap bikes to leave down at a holiday house near
the beach. Will mostly be ridden on sealed roads and bike tracks, and
usually only during summer and easter.

What do people think of the Huffy bikes in the latest K-Mart catalogue?

Here's how I'm doing with the Big W equivalent:

http://www.smallsolar.org/BTH/budgetbike/

I haven't been to Kmart lately, but from a quick look at the catalogue
the $88 Cylops bikes seem pretty much equivalent to my Blade. If the
$88 bike doesn't have alloy rims, I'd recommend spending the extra $10
and getting a BigW Blade instead though (since you mention "near the
beach"😉.

BTH

tim said:

Any reason why you'd buy a new heap of junk, rather than a second hand
bicycle?

I realise that the "new heap of junk" bicycles might offend some people
here, but in what way are they heaps of junk for my purposes? And what
exactly would I need to look at on a second hand bicycle to determine
whether it isn't a heap of junk too?

I'd simply like (for convenience) to leave a couple of ridable bikes
(indoors) at a holiday destination where they'll only be ridden for a
few weeks a year.

If you know where I can pick up two second hand bicycles (that you won't
consider to be heaps of junk) at a similar price point to the KMart
bikes ($135 each for the ones I saw in today's catalogue), then please
let me know the details.

Peter

Pete said:

tim said:

Any reason why you'd buy a new heap of junk, rather than a second hand
bicycle?

I realise that the "new heap of junk" bicycles might offend some people
here, but in what way are they heaps of junk for my purposes? And what
exactly would I need to look at on a second hand bicycle to determine
whether it isn't a heap of junk too?

I'd simply like (for convenience) to leave a couple of ridable bikes
(indoors) at a holiday destination where they'll only be ridden for a
few weeks a year.

If you know where I can pick up two second hand bicycles (that you won't
consider to be heaps of junk) at a similar price point to the KMart
bikes ($135 each for the ones I saw in today's catalogue), then please
let me know the details.

Peter

ebay can be your friend. :^)

Tony F

Pete said:

tim said:

Any reason why you'd buy a new heap of junk, rather than a second hand
bicycle?

I realise that the "new heap of junk" bicycles might offend some people
here, but in what way are they heaps of junk for my purposes?

I realise that most of my bike stable would offend some people here.
I'm the last person to be bike snobbing.

There is a continuum of bike quality and price, starting at the $79.99
department store rubbish, extending right up to the 5-figure pro
level.

All bikes lose about 50% of their selling price as soon as you buy
them.

So, a $200 bike that has been ridden once and leant against a garage
wall for a year, selling for $100, will quite likely be a better bike
than a $100 bike bought new.

Quoted message said:

And what
exactly would I need to look at on a second hand bicycle to determine
whether it isn't a heap of junk too?

The very minimum for a safe "mountain"-style bike is alloy rims and
some kind of cantilever brakes (ie brakes arms are discrete units,
mounted on the fork arms either side of the wheel - as opposed to
caliper brakes which are mounted with a single bolt through the fork
crown). Caliper brakes simply don't work with big tyres, and steel
rims are scary when wet.

Anything more than that is a luxury. Luxuries may include brake
components made of metal instead of plastic; decent welding on the
frame; ball bearings in the hubs, pedals and headset rather than metal-
on-metal rubbing surfaces (more of an issue with kids bikes, but worth
checking on an adult bike); stainless steel spokes instead of gal;
more durable gear shifters... the list of potential quality skimps is
long.

Bikes at all price points are loaded with gimmicks, all of which are
best to avoid if you're looking for bang:buck. Funky monocoque frames
are heavier and/or weaker than a traditional double diamond frame.
Suspension on <$500 bikes doesn't work at all (some would say $1k, but
I'll be generous). Likewise disc brakes.

Quoted message said:

I'd simply like (for convenience) to leave a couple of ridable bikes
(indoors) at a holiday destination where they'll only be ridden for a
few weeks a year.

If you know where I can pick up two second hand bicycles (that you won't
consider to be heaps of junk) at a similar price point to the KMart
bikes ($135 each for the ones I saw in today's catalogue), then please
let me know the details.

http://www.tradingpost.com.au
http://www.ebay.com.au
Local newspaper classifieds
Usenet groups and internet forums
....

Second hand is almost always better value than buying new.

tim

tim said:

Pete <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What do people think of the Huffy bikes in the latest K-Mart
catalogue?

Quoted message said:

We try not to.

Buying those things will only encourage them.

Any reason why you'd buy a new heap of junk, rather than a second hand
bicycle?

Sometimes, sometimes not. Whereas I wouldn't buy a $100 KMart/BigW bike, BTH
has shown that it is cost-effective to do so.

So would you advise that someone who needs a cheap car should buy a 15 year
old Mercedes of unknown condition, or a five year old Commodore with 100,000
on the clock, rather than a new Hyundai Getz, that comes with a 5 year
warranty, for the same price?

I wouldn't.

Theo

Pete said:

What do people think of the Huffy bikes in the latest K-Mart catalogue?

If you can easily modify them to ride to and from the shops by adding a
decent rack and panniers, or bicycle trailer them, then why not. Itis
less cost if someone knocks them off.

Travis said:

Quoted message said:

They sound perfect for what you want and at $70 a pop how can you go
wrong?

Famous last words... probably spoken by people who thought their
brakes would actually work... :P

Actually, famous last words are more commonly the last words spoken by
famous people. An example would be:

"I wanna be just like my brother!" -- Bobby Kennedy.

BTH

tim said:

Pete said:

tim wrote:

Quoted message said:

stainless steel spokes instead of gal;

These can also make bikes worse, a lot of K-Mart type bikes have mild
steel hubs laced with stainless spoke into mild steel nipples.

Galvanic action ensures the stainless spokes last about 18 months before
they corrode and snap.

Cheers

Joel

--
Human Powered Cycles | High quality servicing and repairs
[email hidden] | Affordable second hand bikes
(03) 9029 6504 | Bicycle reuse centre
www.humanpowered.com.au | Mechanical and on-road training and instruction

tim said:

The very minimum for a safe "mountain"-style bike is alloy rims and
some kind of cantilever brakes (ie brakes arms are discrete units,
mounted on the fork arms either side of the wheel - as opposed to
caliper brakes which are mounted with a single bolt through the fork
crown). Caliper brakes simply don't work with big tyres, and steel
rims are scary when wet.

Well, I *prefer* to ride a bike with alloy rims and cantilever or V
brakes, but that's more of a preference. It sounds to me as though
almost any bike would work for what Mr Pete wants, even steel rims and
caliper brakes can be fine *provided one recognises their limitations
and rides accordingly*. (I also greatly *prefer* dual hydraulic disk
brakes on the front wheel of my motorcycles, but the pathetically tiny
single-leading-shoe drum brake on my CT90 seems to do the job well
enough).

Quoted message said:

Anything more than that is a luxury. Luxuries may include brake
components made of metal instead of plastic; decent welding on the
frame; ball bearings in the hubs, pedals and headset rather than metal-
on-metal rubbing surfaces (more of an issue with kids bikes, but worth
checking on an adult bike);

Sleeve bearings in the HUBS!? Eek! =:-O

Quoted message said:

stainless steel spokes instead of gal;

Depends where you live, but fair enough.

Quoted message said:

more durable gear shifters... the list of potential quality skimps is
long.

Yup, I suspect that a pair of simple non-indexed alloy "thumb
shifters" would outlast quite a few plastic grip shifters.

Quoted message said:

Suspension on <$500 bikes doesn't work at all (some would say $1k, but
I'll be generous). Likewise disc brakes.

Well... I might be going out on a limb here, but I prefer cheap
suspension forks on the front to a rigid frame.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you know where I can pick up two second hand bicycles (that you won't
consider to be heaps of junk) at a similar price point to the KMart
bikes ($135 each for the ones I saw in today's catalogue), then please
let me know the details.

http://www.tradingpost.com.auhttp://www.ebay.com.au
Local newspaper classifieds
Usenet groups and internet forums
...

Second hand is almost always better value than buying new.

Agreed, but pushing that line you're fighting a multi-billion-dollar
advertising industry. I'll go with any strategy gets bums on bicycle
seats. ;-)

BTH

Joel Mayes said:

tim said:

Pete said:

tim wrote:

stainless steel spokes instead of gal;

These can also make bikes worse, a lot of K-Mart type bikes have mild
steel hubs laced with stainless spoke into mild steel nipples.

Galvanic action ensures the stainless spokes last about 18 months before
they corrode and snap.

My BigW Blade has brass nipples.

BTH
(That sounded surprisingly vulgar, didn't it?) ;-)

Pete said:

If you know where I can pick up two second hand bicycles (that you won't
consider to be heaps of junk) at a similar price point to the KMart
bikes ($135 each for the ones I saw in today's catalogue), then please
let me know the details.

Where do you live? If you're in Canberra, Revolve will sell you a
bike for $30 or so. If you're in Melbourne, the Ceres Bike Shed in
Brunswick will cost about the same.

For anywhere else, you're on your own. ;-)

BTH

BT Humble said:

Joel Mayes said:

tim said:

On Sep 20, 12:51 pm, Pete <[email hidden]> wrote:
> tim wrote:
stainless steel spokes instead of gal;

These can also make bikes worse, a lot of K-Mart type bikes have mild
steel hubs laced with stainless spoke into mild steel nipples.

Galvanic action ensures the stainless spokes last about 18 months before
they corrode and snap.

My BigW Blade has brass nipples.

BTH
(That sounded surprisingly vulgar, didn't it?) ;-)

I've had a volunteer at work the past couple of week working on bikes
for asylum seekers (we've got a big course comming up with ASRC) she's
German/Chillian and has reasonable but limited english.

I got a bit of a suprised look when naming the tool used to true a wheel.

Cheers

Joel

--
Human Powered Cycles | High quality servicing and repairs
[email hidden] | Affordable second hand bikes
(03) 9029 6504 | Bicycle reuse centre
www.humanpowered.com.au | Mechanical and on-road training and instruction

"Pete" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for two cheap bikes to leave down at a holiday house near the
beach. Will mostly be ridden on sealed roads and bike tracks, and usually
only during summer and easter.

What do people think of the Huffy bikes in the latest K-Mart catalogue?

Peter

As a bike shop owner I love Huffy bikes. My workshop is always full of them
;-)

They don't seem to take too well to being stored either. We're getting a lot
of them now coming out of the shed after winter storage - wobbly wheels,
rusted derailleurs, corroded and sticky cables, etc.

I'd say spend a few bucks more and get a reliable bike from a bike shop.
Tell them you want to store the bikes and you'll get advice on how to
protect them and ensure they work when you want them to. Otherwise you'll
end up with bikes takingup storage space and unpleasant to ride (if they are
rideable).

Another guy on this group (BTH) is currently using a cheapy for his commute.
That's OK, but he's an experienced rider who is looking after the daily
maintenance and tweaks required.

Cheers,

Frank

BT Humble said:

Travis said:

Quoted message said:

They sound perfect for what you want and at $70 a pop how can you go
wrong?

Famous last words... probably spoken by people who thought their
brakes would actually work... :P

Actually, famous last words are more commonly the last words spoken by
famous people. An example would be:

"I wanna be just like my brother!" -- Bobby Kennedy.

Damn it Ben, I made a mess of my coffee.

Theo

Joel Mayes said:

I've had a volunteer at work the past couple of week working on bikes
for asylum seekers (we've got a big course comming up with ASRC) she's
German/Chillian and has reasonable but limited english.

I got a bit of a suprised look when naming the tool used to true a
wheel.

Hmmm, spoke key, BFH? Ahh, jig?

Theo