Cheap bikes in Asda

Quoted message said:

Are these things any good, or do they fall apart after 20 miles? Do the
suspension systems work? Can the suspension rates be adjusted?

Not too sure about the life expectency of the bikes but the suspension
systems are very rudimentary...it won't be the suspension rates that can be
altered but the pre-load .i.e. the damping rates are almost certainly fixed.
To expect to get any sort of quality full suspension bike at £90 is a
hopeless dream. You'd be better off looking for a second hand hard tail
mountain bike or hybrid. There's nothing wrong with rigid forks either.

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

Quoted message said:

Was looking at the bikes in Asda earlier - they have a gents moutain bike
thingy with front and rear suspension for 90 quid - "Venture Trespass" or
something. I'm thinking of getting one for farting about in the evenings

and

Quoted message said:

at weekends, on cycle paths and country footpaths.

Farting about seems about right as the bike is almost certainly [censored].
Please don't ride on country footpaths, someone may not differentiate you
from me and I'll be castigated :-)
However, you can legally ride on bridleways and many other country tracks.

Quoted message said:

Are these things any good,

No.

Quoted message said:

or do they fall apart after 20 miles?

They might, so might you after 20 miles on the damn thing.

Quoted message said:

Do the
suspension systems work?

Badly for a while probably.

Quoted message said:

Can the suspension rates be adjusted?

Sometimes: [censored]-> Crappier-> Crappest.

Seriously though, at first I thought you might be 'avin' a larf but if you
aren't let me advise you that these sort of bikes are evil. To put it into
perspective a base price for a decent front suspension fork would cost
nearly double that bike, even allowing for Asdas volumes and economies of
scale you don't get much bike for 90 notes. It will likely be very heavy,
the suspension may not work at all <1> let alone poorly, the components will
be of low quality and won't withstand abuse for long.
And it very likely won't be set up very well.
Avoid it like the plague!
<waits for posts from people who have good experiences with cheap bikes>

<1> I checked a budget bike at a large well known motoring accessory and
bicycle retailing emporium and the front suspension "sliders" didn't
("didn't what?" you ask, didn't slide is what).

--
Pete
http:[email hidden]/P

"Wally" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Was looking at the bikes in Asda earlier - they have a gents moutain bike
thingy with front and rear suspension for 90 quid - "Venture Trespass" or
something. I'm thinking of getting one for farting about in the evenings and
at weekends, on cycle paths and country footpaths.

Quoted message said:

Are these things any good, or do they fall apart after 20 miles? Do the
suspension systems work? Can the suspension rates be adjusted?

Can you lift it?

Cheap bikes often weigh much more than others.

Sometimes the brakes are made of cheese and the moving parts of plastic.

YMMV

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

in message <[email hidden]>, Wally

(') said:

Was looking at the bikes in Asda earlier - they have a gents moutain
bike thingy with front and rear suspension for 90 quid - "Venture
Trespass" or something. I'm thinking of getting one for farting about
in the evenings and at weekends, on cycle paths and country footpaths.

Are these things any good,

No.

Quoted message said:

or do they fall apart after 20 miles?

Almost certainly not.

Quoted message said:

Do the suspension systems work?

For some value of 'work'. They bounce.

Quoted message said:

Can the suspension rates be adjusted?

No.

There are plenty of these ultra cheap full suspension bikes out there.
They are universally dreadful. This is because suspension which is
useful on a bicycle (and, frankly, for most bicycle use, suspension
isn't useful at all) requires very high quality engineering, and some
exotic materials, and this makes it very expensive.

Cheap suspension is either steel springs (heavy, adjustable only by
replacing the spring with one of different rate, no damping), elastomer
(doesn't work in the cold, loses its bounce relatively quickly) or a
combination of the two. Cheap suspension also suffers from poor
materials (will corrode early and rapidly become unusable) and poor
engineering tolerances, leading to flex, slop and jamming.

In any case full suspension is only of use on _very_ rough terrain -
places a land rover would have difficulty. On anything else it's extra
weight to cart about, and extra complexity to go wrong; and it actually
makes pedalling more difficult, over and above the extra weight,
because some of your pedalling effort goes into moving the suspension
('pedal bob'😉 instead of propelling the bike. Rear suspension that is
any good either has a 'stable platform valve' or lockout or both.

The heavy steel frames of these ultra cheap bikes are often not very
strong, mainly due to poor welding. They won't reliably stand up to the
sort of riding which would make full suspension worth while.

Don't waste your money. Full suspension bikes which are any good start
at around a thousand pounds and go rapidly up from there. If you want a
cheap bike, get one with as few features as possible, that way there's
some chance that those features are of reasonable quality.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Life would be much easier if I had the source code.

Wally said:

Was looking at the bikes in Asda earlier - they have a gents moutain bike
thingy with front and rear suspension for 90 quid - "Venture Trespass" or
something. I'm thinking of getting one for farting about in the evenings and
at weekends, on cycle paths and country footpaths.

Are these things any good, or do they fall apart after 20 miles? Do the
suspension systems work? Can the suspension rates be adjusted?

No. Buy a good secondhand bike. Getting a bike shop to sort out the
cheap one will cost more than it's worth.

Wally said:

Was looking at the bikes in Asda earlier - they have a gents moutain bike
thingy with front and rear suspension for 90 quid -

If you want a cheap new bike, go to Decathlon.
And forget full suspension at that price range.

Decathlon are doing a bike for £89, if you buy two (and there
is a ladies model) that is £79.

in message <[email hidden]>, Peter B

(') said:

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

Quoted message said:

Was looking at the bikes in Asda earlier - they have a gents moutain
bike thingy with front and rear suspension for 90 quid - "Venture
Trespass" or something. I'm thinking of getting one for farting about
in the evenings

and

Quoted message said:

at weekends, on cycle paths and country footpaths.

Farting about seems about right as the bike is almost certainly [censored].
Please don't ride on country footpaths, someone may not differentiate
you from me and I'll be castigated :-)
However, you can legally ride on bridleways and many other country
tracks.

In England. In civilised parts of the UK, apart from people's gardens
and a few other places, he can ride where he likes.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; When your hammer is C++, everything begins to look like a thumb.

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Wally

(') said:

Do the suspension systems work?

In any case full suspension is only of use on _very_ rough terrain -
places a land rover would have difficulty. On anything else it's extra
weight to cart about, and extra complexity to go wrong; and it actually
makes pedalling more difficult, over and above the extra weight,
because some of your pedalling effort goes into moving the suspension
('pedal bob'😉 instead of propelling the bike. Rear suspension that is
any good either has a 'stable platform valve' or lockout or both.

And, if the saddle is low enough for you to get onto it with toes on
the ground, it will be too low when your weight's on it, making for
inefficient pedalling.

Colin McKenzie

Peter B wrote:

To put it into

Quoted message said:

perspective a base price for a decent front suspension fork would cost
nearly double that bike, even allowing for Asdas volumes and economies of
scale

agree generally but my MTB has Rock shox Judy TT's which were once top
of the range but could be had at the time I bought the bike for less
than £70. I would imagine that anything in the Asda price range will
weigh so much as to remove any pleasure from riding it. Far better to
go another £100 on a mid range bike with last year's kit, of which
there are many to be had.

vernon levy said:

Not too sure about the life expectency of the bikes but the suspension
systems are very rudimentary...

This seems to be the overriding response that I'm getting.

Quoted message said:

it won't be the suspension rates that
can be altered but the pre-load .i.e. the damping rates are almost
certainly fixed.

Okay.

Quoted message said:

To expect to get any sort of quality full suspension
bike at £90 is a hopeless dream. You'd be better off looking for a
second hand hard tail mountain bike or hybrid.

Quoted message said:

There's nothing wrong with rigid forks either.

I play about with video, and was half-thinking of trying some wth the camera
on the handlebars - I was wondering if forks with suspension might help
reduce vibration.

--
Wally
www.artbywally.com/FiatPandaRally/index.htm
www.wally.myby.co.uk

Peter B said:

Farting about seems about right as the bike is almost certainly [censored].

Even if one factors in the ultra-cheap labour that was used to make it?

Quoted message said:

Please don't ride on country footpaths, someone may not differentiate
you from me and I'll be castigated :-)
However, you can legally ride on bridleways and many other country
tracks.

As Simon says, some parts of this island are sufficiently civilised for
cycling on paths not to be an issue. In the town where I live, cycling on
footpaths is positively encouraged.

Quoted message said:

Seriously though, at first I thought you might be 'avin' a larf but
if you aren't let me advise you that these sort of bikes are evil. To
put it into perspective a base price for a decent front suspension
fork would cost nearly double that bike, even allowing for Asdas
volumes and economies of scale you don't get much bike for 90 notes.
It will likely be very heavy, the suspension may not work at all <1>
let alone poorly, the components will be of low quality and won't
withstand abuse for long.

Points taken.

Quoted message said:

And it very likely won't be set up very well.

It comes in a box - the buyer does the setup.

Quoted message said:

<1> I checked a budget bike at a large well known motoring accessory
and bicycle retailing emporium and the front suspension "sliders"
didn't ("didn't what?" you ask, didn't slide is what).

Noted.

--
Wally
www.artbywally.com/FiatPandaRally/index.htm
www.wally.myby.co.uk

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

Quoted message said:

Are these things any good, or do they fall apart after 20 miles? Do
the suspension systems work? Can the suspension rates be adjusted?

Quoted message said:

Can you lift it?

Dunno - it's on a rack thing at head height. Next time I'm at Asda, I'll try
the boxed one (on the floor) to get an idea of the weight.

Quoted message said:

Cheap bikes often weigh much more than others.

They have another cheapie - non-suspension - with an ally frame. Not sure
how much, but similar price, I think.

Quoted message said:

Sometimes the brakes are made of cheese and the moving parts of
plastic.

Noted. I'll look more closely at the components.

--
Wally
www.artbywally.com/FiatPandaRally/index.htm
www.wally.myby.co.uk

Quoted message said:

I play about with video, and was half-thinking of trying some wth the

camera

Quoted message said:

on the handlebars - I was wondering if forks with suspension might help
reduce vibration.

Have you thought about a helmet mounted camera?

Quoted message said:

Noted. I'll look more closely at the components.

I already have - they are not very high quality from the bottom bracket
through to the coned axles, chain set and derrailleur, brakes and handle bar
stem, all are second/third rate products compared to what you might
reasonably expect to get on a good second hand bike.

Simon Brooke wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

In any case full suspension is only of use on _very_ rough terrain -
places a land rover would have difficulty.

Not very good for absorbing vibration, then? More for gross movements?

Quoted message said:

and it
actually makes pedalling more difficult, over and above the extra
weight, because some of your pedalling effort goes into moving the
suspension ('pedal bob'😉 instead of propelling the bike.

Hadn't thought of that.

Quoted message said:

Rear
suspension that is any good either has a 'stable platform valve' or
lockout or both.

Noted.

Quoted message said:

Don't waste your money. Full suspension bikes which are any good start
at around a thousand pounds and go rapidly up from there.

Nah, I'm looking a for a cheapie for farting about - I'm not a serious
cyclist of any description. Just after a bit of fresh air and excercise of
an afternoon.

Quoted message said:

If you want
a cheap bike, get one with as few features as possible, that way
there's some chance that those features are of reasonable quality.

A good point, and well taken.

--
Wally
www.artbywally.com/FiatPandaRally/index.htm
www.wally.myby.co.uk

in message <[email hidden]>, Wally

(') said:

I play about with video, and was half-thinking of trying some wth the
camera on the handlebars - I was wondering if forks with suspension
might help reduce vibration.

You're much better with a helmet mounted camera - better suspension,
better angle of view, and it looks where you look.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; no eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn.
;; Jim Morrison

in message <[email hidden]>, Wally

(') said:

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

Quoted message said:

Are these things any good, or do they fall apart after 20 miles? Do
the suspension systems work? Can the suspension rates be adjusted?

Quoted message said:

Can you lift it?

Dunno - it's on a rack thing at head height. Next time I'm at Asda,
I'll try the boxed one (on the floor) to get an idea of the weight.

Quoted message said:

Cheap bikes often weigh much more than others.

They have another cheapie - non-suspension - with an ally frame. Not
sure how much, but similar price, I think.

Almost certainly a much better buy. But at this sort of price, provided
you know what to look for and what to avoid, second hand is a much
better bet.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Iraq war: it's time for regime change...
... go now, Tony, while you can still go with dignity.
[update 18 months after this .sig was written: it's still relevant]

Zog The Undeniable said:

No. Buy a good secondhand bike.

The new one has a guarantee.

Quoted message said:

Getting a bike shop to sort out the
cheap one will cost more than it's worth.

I'm mechanically adept, and I don't charge myself anything for my labour.

--
Wally
www.artbywally.com/FiatPandaRally/index.htm
www.wally.myby.co.uk

John Hearns said:

Quoted message said:

Was looking at the bikes in Asda earlier - they have a gents moutain
bike thingy with front and rear suspension for 90 quid -

Quoted message said:

If you want a cheap new bike, go to Decathlon.

Who? Where?

Quoted message said:

And forget full suspension at that price range.

I'm moving in that direction - run of opinion so far is 100% against. :-)

Quoted message said:

Decathlon are doing a bike for £89, if you buy two (and there
is a ladies model) that is £79.

Noted. I'll google...

--
Wally
www.artbywally.com/FiatPandaRally/index.htm
www.wally.myby.co.uk