Cheap crap 'mountain bikes'

[Tyre Smoke]

Yes, I know. Heresy!

I'm looking for two (one for me, one for her) cheap bikes to take away in our caravan to get about on.

I know Aldi, Asda and Halfords have done a few £70ish bikes in the past, but would an alternative be to set myself a limit and head towards ebay?

These won't be anything more serious than down to the pub and back and around towpaths locally at home, so no serious stuff or hard work. They will also be travelling on a rack, so will get thoroughly abused.

[rufusgti]

My only experience with a 70 quid mountain bike was a few years ago now. It never actually worked. The gears, suspension, brakes. Nothing actually worked at all.
A good bike shop will have a range of bikes for around £200 that will last you very well.

Or second hand but that can be a minefield when looking on a small budget.

[anonymous-user]

look for a rigid hardtail on ebay, there are plenty of old steel classics from Raleigh, Saracen and the like on there, bikes from Aldi et al are just horrid and will fall apart, thats not me being a snob, just the honest truth. They are built to sucha low budget that all the components just wear out so quickly. I paid £60 for a Saracen Hardtrax as my pub bike and its ace, far better than anything I could get new for under £100! Cheap suspension forks are ineffective, heavy and worth avoiding too.

stuff like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RETRO-SARACEN-BACKTRAX-M...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Hardrock-ste...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPECIALIZED-HARD-ROCK-SP...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Hardrock-Spo...

There is a reason they are nearly 20 years but still going strong!

[Greendubber]

pablo said:

There is a reason they are nearly 20 years but still going strong!

Is it because they've not been ridden for 18 of those years?!

[CoolC]

to pablo's post

[CoolC]

Greendubber said:

pablo said:

There is a reason they are nearly 20 years but still going strong!

Is it because they've not been ridden for 18 of those years?!

I still have my GT Tequesta in the garage I've had from new in 1993. Gets ridden less often now, but has been used continuously in all that time and only ever used consumables.

[nammynake]

Buy cheap, buy twice.

I'd get a pair of these if you must buy new:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

[richardxjr]

B'twin Rockriders from Decathlon. Cheap and much less crap than anything else for that money.

[JQ]

richardxjr said:

B'twin Rockriders from Decathlon. Cheap and much less crap than anything else for that money.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ This. For that money I'd get one without suspension and don't get an hybrid, at that price it'll weigh a ton.

My wife has had a £90 Rockrider from Decathlon for years and it's great for basic stuff and has stood up well to the test of time.

[Tyre Smoke]

pablo said:

look for a rigid hardtail on ebay, there are plenty of old steel classics from Raleigh, Saracen and the like on there, bikes from Aldi et al are just horrid and will fall apart, thats not me being a snob, just the honest truth. They are built to sucha low budget that all the components just wear out so quickly. I paid £60 for a Saracen Hardtrax as my pub bike and its ace, far better than anything I could get new for under £100! Cheap suspension forks are ineffective, heavy and worth avoiding too.

stuff like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RETRO-SARACEN-BACKTRAX-M...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Hardrock-ste...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPECIALIZED-HARD-ROCK-SP...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Hardrock-Spo...

There is a reason they are nearly 20 years but still going strong!

Thanks for the pointers. This makes much more sense. Something that will only get used maybe half a dozen times a year but won't fall apart on the first pothole. Looks like Ebay is the way to go. Any more on the 'bay?

[Fat Albert]

I sold my 16 year old Claud Butler on eBay for £60, it was a state of the art bike in its day and was still doing my weekly 26 mile on/off road ride up to 3 months before I sold it (built my own aluminuim bike to replace it) so there are some good buys out there

[Audicab]

CoolC said:

I still have my GT Tequesta in the garage I've had from new in 1993. Gets ridden less often now, but has been used continuously in all that time and only ever used consumables.

O/T but I rode a GT Tequesta from Nottingham to Biarritz in about 1990, it was a great bike. Unfortunately I sold it in France to pay my airfare back to the UK as I just couldn't face the ride back.

[Fastpedeller]

It is possible (though not likely) to get a useable cheap bike. I bought a Hill Helium (no suspension) bike from Halfrauds 6 years ago, as a cheap (£70) light (alum alloy) bike for winter. Ok it's not been perfect (what is) In the first month I kept breaking rear spokes ever 2 weeks, but hey, I rebuilt the wheel with a new (thicker flange and with freehub) rear hub, and in 6 months bought a new sealed BB axle to replace the cheapo cup/cone one which I wore out. I've now done some 25,000 miles on it (yes you read correctly), and obviously have periodically replaced chain, cassette, tyres etc. (oh and I never did use the plastic pedals supplied with it. So all-in-all a light (10kg) bike for the price, very budget conscious cycling with a smile. I would suggest if you do buy low priced then avoid suspension (indeed avoid it unless you really need it anyway, it's just added weight)

[yellowjack]

I used to own a 'Stealth' BSO for the purpose of riding to and from the ammunition/explosives store on the airfield at the Barracks where I worked. Previous holder of my position had the use of a Ford Ranger, but by the time you faffed about with daily checks, longer road route, and padlocked gates, the bike was quicker over the two mile return trip, and could be parked inside the compound.

I bought the thing from a colleague for £30, he had barely ridden it more than a dozen times, mostly to the local shops. I put a cheapo computer on it, and am ashamed to say that I cared very little for it, and did very little maintenance. At a sniff over 1,500 miles, it has completely given up the ghost - hub bearings are shot, as is the bottom bracket and the headset bearing. The rear dérailleur spring doesn't exert any return force, the cables barely move in the outer sleeves, and the freehub will no longer freewheel or permit the chain to run backwards.

It was regularly treated to GT85 on cables and pivots, etc, and the chain got lubed when my 'proper' bike got done, and it was always kept indoors at night. Apart from the wear problems, the brakes were appalling, with the black plastic cantilever arms bending rather than exert any pressure on the rims. As far as the front "suspension" forks went, I'd have had better results from girders to be honest.

I would not have bought it to ride 'outside', but it did the job within barracks, and lasted just about as long as I needed it to. I also made the mistake, quite some time ago, of buying my eldest son a "Zenith Reflex". Buying cheap is very much a false economy, when cheap is £89.

Honestly, he barely ever rode the bike, it had all sorts of problems with slipping seatpost and bars chief among them, due to absolutely dire single bolt clamps. It's still in the garage, even now, unrideable despite barely ever being used. Worst among it's faults is the frame itself. It makes my Parktools workstand look flimsy, and probably owes more to industrial pipework in the oil industry, than bicycle frame technology.

Stay well clear of 'cheap crap' mountainbikes. They are almost without exception worse than useless, likely to put you off the idea of cycling for ever. As others have said, there are several 'affordable' brands/models about, but you would be better served with a mid-range, second-hand bike, from a popular manufacturer, bought for little more than those 'Sports Direct/Dunlop' monsters.

[zebedee]

I'd second the secondhand proper bike suggestions, especially if someone has a genuine sale reason like a newer mtb and clearing it out the shed. It should be easy to get a decent bike working again even if there are a few problems, but as someone else said, many cheap bikes just won't ever work properly (or be remotely pleasant to ride) at all

[deadtom]

pablo said:

look for a rigid hardtail on ebay, there are plenty of old steel classics from Raleigh, Saracen and the like on there, bikes from Aldi et al are just horrid and will fall apart, thats not me being a snob, just the honest truth.

this. A hundred thousand million brazillian times this.

[anonymous-user]

I'd head down to decathlon sports (as others said). Their bikes are ideal for occasional use & pretty decent for the price. Trying to find the right secondhand bike, in the right size, x2, within 100 miles, will be a nightmare..

[New POD]

Hawk cycles, have a discounted bike at £79.

Now it's funny because I paid £75 for a similar hawk, 20 years ago, which has had about 5 years use in that time. Never really had any problems with it. Still using it about 10 miles a week.

[zebedee]

there are a number of shops emerging selling refurb'd decent bikes - I'm sure at a premium, I've never looked at pricing, but I would imagine these are shops run by quite passionate and meticulous people in the main. Might be worth a look and a chat with such a proprietor, they should be able to source what you need.

[NotDave]

rufusgti said:

My only experience with a 70 quid mountain bike was a few years ago now. It never actually worked. The gears, suspension, brakes. Nothing actually worked at all.
A good bike shop will have a range of bikes for around £200 that will last you very well.

Or second hand but that can be a minefield when looking on a small budget.

When at uni I went to J E James in Sheffield. Got a "PROBIKE" IIRC for about £60. Rigid, 21 speed, shimano components. Brakes were crap as plastic V brakes. But all in all, for what I paid it did the job as a cross city commuter that I didn't care about.

Felt heavy as fk compared to the Kona/Jamis/Trek/Trials ones I had mind.

Decathalon is another good place for cheap bikes to abuse.