Should we tell them?
Discussion
I see a huge number of people, normally husband and wife, that have bought cheap bikes and are riding around trying to get fit. This is good and the fact that they are almost all on BSOs is not important as they may enjoy it and move on to buy proper bikes.
What really gets me though, is that they almost all (in the case of women, it is all) have their saddles set so low that they can stand flat footed whilst seated on the bike.
Should we tell hem that this is destroying their knee joints?
What really gets me though, is that they almost all (in the case of women, it is all) have their saddles set so low that they can stand flat footed whilst seated on the bike.
Should we tell hem that this is destroying their knee joints?
The proper height for a child's saddle isn't measured the same way as for an adult. Children need confidence enough to be able to reach the ground while still on the saddle, with both feet. Often this leads to a less than optimised pedaling position but as they gain confidence and ability you can start to raise their saddle a bit.
My son on his latest steed:
My son on his latest steed:
Bike Shaped Objects - bicycles that are of such poor quality, they aren't viable transport.
I've given up giving bike advice to people who aren't keen on cycling. Whilst good quality bikes must be cheaper than ever in real terms, they still think it's a ridiculous amount to spend. I've pointed people at the cheap Kona Smoke deal that Rutland do, only to find they've bought a £80 Cycle King special, and want my help because the wheels are buckled, it won't brake and keeps dropping the chain. They then give up cycling. Lucky they didn't waste all that money I was telling them to spend, eh?
Re. kids bikes. why on earth people think it's okay to buy kids a bike that's 2 sizes two big so they "grow into it" is beyond me. I've got neighbours who have bought bikes that their kids literally have to fall off to dismount. When their kids give up cycling, their decision not to spend much money on it will be validated, of course.
I've given up giving bike advice to people who aren't keen on cycling. Whilst good quality bikes must be cheaper than ever in real terms, they still think it's a ridiculous amount to spend. I've pointed people at the cheap Kona Smoke deal that Rutland do, only to find they've bought a £80 Cycle King special, and want my help because the wheels are buckled, it won't brake and keeps dropping the chain. They then give up cycling. Lucky they didn't waste all that money I was telling them to spend, eh?
Re. kids bikes. why on earth people think it's okay to buy kids a bike that's 2 sizes two big so they "grow into it" is beyond me. I've got neighbours who have bought bikes that their kids literally have to fall off to dismount. When their kids give up cycling, their decision not to spend much money on it will be validated, of course.
Either that or it's a brand new £200 Cycleking special with "full suspension" and massive knobbly tyres. Why do people think that is what they need for pottering around the local park? They could have got a decent bike for that money!
Any on to kids bikes, why do they all buy ones made of pig iron? We were looking at some balance bikes for my two year old and most of them weighed more than my bike. But pay an extra £20 and you'll get something made by Specialized or similar out of real bicycle parts which weighs half as much. In a similar vein, a couple of years ago a relative of mine bought his 8 year old son a new bike for his birthday. No kidding, it's the heaviest bike I've ever handled (even compared to my knackered old hybrid). No wonder the poor little blighter struggled to get it up hills!
Any on to kids bikes, why do they all buy ones made of pig iron? We were looking at some balance bikes for my two year old and most of them weighed more than my bike. But pay an extra £20 and you'll get something made by Specialized or similar out of real bicycle parts which weighs half as much. In a similar vein, a couple of years ago a relative of mine bought his 8 year old son a new bike for his birthday. No kidding, it's the heaviest bike I've ever handled (even compared to my knackered old hybrid). No wonder the poor little blighter struggled to get it up hills!
DrMekon said:
Bike Shaped Objects - bicycles that are of such poor quality, they aren't viable transport.
I've given up giving bike advice to people who aren't keen on cycling. Whilst good quality bikes must be cheaper than ever in real terms, they still think it's a ridiculous amount to spend. I've pointed people at the cheap Kona Smoke deal that Rutland do, only to find they've bought a £80 Cycle King special, and want my help because the wheels are buckled, it won't brake and keeps dropping the chain. They then give up cycling. Lucky they didn't waste all that money I was telling them to spend, eh?
I couldn't agree more with this. A decent bike is cheaper, in real terms, than ever before. If you consider that my parents bought me a Raleigh Bomber in 1982 which was nearly £100, and was utterly crap (I was 14yo and seduced by the macho advertising), £200 today - 28 years later - will buy you a reasonable machine from a bike shop which may not be the most competitive but will not fall apart.I've given up giving bike advice to people who aren't keen on cycling. Whilst good quality bikes must be cheaper than ever in real terms, they still think it's a ridiculous amount to spend. I've pointed people at the cheap Kona Smoke deal that Rutland do, only to find they've bought a £80 Cycle King special, and want my help because the wheels are buckled, it won't brake and keeps dropping the chain. They then give up cycling. Lucky they didn't waste all that money I was telling them to spend, eh?
DrMekon said:
Re. kids bikes. why on earth people think it's okay to buy kids a bike that's 2 sizes two big so they "grow into it" is beyond me. I've got neighbours who have bought bikes that their kids literally have to fall off to dismount. When their kids give up cycling, their decision not to spend much money on it will be validated, of course.
Also agree. My lad grew out of this:
... so I was looking around at the Specialized Hotrock and others of that ilk (actually I fell in love with the Islabikes) however he's not yet big enough for a 20 inch wheel, but he will be in the Spring. It seems a lot of money to fork out on a 16"er for less than a year's use, so when we were given the bike in the pic in my previous post, I gave it a quick service on our garden table and handed it to my son who loves it. It's quite a nice little ride. Wheels are straight and roll well. Frame's steel but not stupidly heavy like some.
Mr Will said:
Any on to kids bikes, why do they all buy ones made of pig iron? We were looking at some balance bikes for my two year old and most of them weighed more than my bike. But pay an extra £20 and you'll get something made by Specialized or similar out of real bicycle parts which weighs half as much.
Joking surely? A wooden balance bike can be had for £50. A metal-framed one for £30, and it will only have a single tube from the bottom bracket to the headtube, so the centre of gravity is low. It's not aluminium but it's easily light enough for my 2yo daughter to pick up and play with. Has a brake too, which she'll learn to use soon. Hopefully.The Specialized balance bike is £100. Not a bad investment if you are thinking of having 3 kids staggered by a year or more apart but seems daft paying that for something which won't be required in less 6 months (my son grew out of his balance bike in a little under 5 months - started using the little pedaler in the pic).
The cheaper ones are not all too heavy.
But don't misunderstand me, now that my son is addicted to cycling and has achieved a height where he won't outgrow a bike in months, I am willing to spend whatever it takes to get him a bike he will love enough to use often and look after.
^^ Love that. 
There was always a kid near to us who raced BMX. The quality and lightweight of his bike was always a cut above everyone else's. He wouldn't let anyone else try it out - I guess because he was younger/smaller than us he thought we might crush his bike. But back then it was the equivalent technology upshift from ours to the one in the pic above.
There was always a kid near to us who raced BMX. The quality and lightweight of his bike was always a cut above everyone else's. He wouldn't let anyone else try it out - I guess because he was younger/smaller than us he thought we might crush his bike. But back then it was the equivalent technology upshift from ours to the one in the pic above.
Mars said:
Mr Will said:
Any on to kids bikes, why do they all buy ones made of pig iron? We were looking at some balance bikes for my two year old and most of them weighed more than my bike. But pay an extra £20 and you'll get something made by Specialized or similar out of real bicycle parts which weighs half as much.
Joking surely? A wooden balance bike can be had for £50. A metal-framed one for £30, and it will only have a single tube from the bottom bracket to the headtube, so the centre of gravity is low. It's not aluminium but it's easily light enough for my 2yo daughter to pick up and play with. Has a brake too, which she'll learn to use soon. Hopefully.The Specialized balance bike is £100. Not a bad investment if you are thinking of having 3 kids staggered by a year or more apart but seems daft paying that for something which won't be required in less 6 months (my son grew out of his balance bike in a little under 5 months - started using the little pedaler in the pic).
The cheaper ones are not all too heavy.
But don't misunderstand me, now that my son is addicted to cycling and has achieved a height where he won't outgrow a bike in months, I am willing to spend whatever it takes to get him a bike he will love enough to use often and look after.
My point was more about older kids bikes though, there is some real tat out there. How can anyone expect a child to enjoy cycling when they struggle to lift their bike and bits keep breaking/falling off. Its like the adults on BSOs (love that term!) several times over.
To be fair I dont remember any of my bikes being any good when I was growing up.
From memory I had a little green thing with solid tyres that despite being tiny weighed a ton
A black bsa framed racer with a hodgepodge of bits forming the rest of it
A peugeot framed racer much the same
A raleigh craptivator - supposedly it had suspension, but in actuality it just squeaked slightly if you dropped it off a kerb. Also weighed 19 tonnes.
Didn't stop me from having great fun, particularly remember trips taking the activator up box hill and then straight off the side - bikehike shows it to be a 425 ft descent over half a mile. Happy days
From memory I had a little green thing with solid tyres that despite being tiny weighed a ton
A black bsa framed racer with a hodgepodge of bits forming the rest of it
A peugeot framed racer much the same
A raleigh craptivator - supposedly it had suspension, but in actuality it just squeaked slightly if you dropped it off a kerb. Also weighed 19 tonnes.
Didn't stop me from having great fun, particularly remember trips taking the activator up box hill and then straight off the side - bikehike shows it to be a 425 ft descent over half a mile. Happy days
Mr Will said:
My point was more about older kids bikes though, there is some real tat out there. How can anyone expect a child to enjoy cycling when they struggle to lift their bike and bits keep breaking/falling off. Its like the adults on BSOs (love that term!) several times over.
Oh I definitely agree. 
Something else... having had a holiday in France where we totally failed to take our own bikes and resorted to the hire bikes (there is a good reason - just not interesting), I have a pet hate of bikes which never get a once-over. Brake blocks that aren't aligned with the rims, seats at the wrong height (people who don't bother to flick the QR to pull the seat up), tyres that are so flat the rims are virtually touching the inside of the tyre, rusty chains, indexed gears that don't line up with the deraileur, snake-wheels (5 mins with a spoke key and I've got mine nearly perfect)... although hire bikes are probably deliberately left to rot (although I can't help wonder why - a student employee wouldn't cost much), there's no excuse why owners of bikes similarly leave them to rot.
When I was a kid, my grandparents had a tradition of buying each grandchild a new bike on their 13th birthday. I was 13 in 1989 and got a Peugeot POS 
but it got me started in mountain biking. It was heavy and cheap but still great fun. I think in these days of decent kit and 20 years of development, it's easy to forget that the basic fun in mountain biking is the riding, regardless of the weight, number of gears, suspension etc.
but it got me started in mountain biking. It was heavy and cheap but still great fun. I think in these days of decent kit and 20 years of development, it's easy to forget that the basic fun in mountain biking is the riding, regardless of the weight, number of gears, suspension etc.Some people know their bikes are s
t, I know mine is but it's ok for the riding I do, if I am still riding regularly in a years time and have the cash I will replace it with something less ste, but I know I am an idle sod who might ditch cycling through laziness a better quality bike wouldn't help.
t, I know mine is but it's ok for the riding I do, if I am still riding regularly in a years time and have the cash I will replace it with something less ste, but I know I am an idle sod who might ditch cycling through laziness a better quality bike wouldn't help.shouldbworking said:
A raleigh craptivator
Truly awful things. I used to work in a bike shop at the time these were around. It was a two man job getting one in the workstand! We used to call them excavators. Hopefully they have all rusted and fallen apart now! Must be worth a bit in scrap metal judging by how much they weighed!
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