Other POS bikes on the road
by Steve ~ April 4th, 2007. Filed under: Riding the Bike.I’ve been noticing other people riding the equivalent to my Bike of Doom. You nod at another cyclist and you see he’s riding a rusted, wobbly wheeled Supercycle, Huffy, Extra or other kind of department store trash. For the most part, these are diehard commuters. They don’t wear cycling gear. They’ve got backpacks on, makeshift racks and baskets. I’ve seen some of them all winter, heads bowed into the wind, pedaling slowly, inexorably forward. Because of them, I have hope that the BOD will survive.
I’m always struck by how poorly maintained these Piece O Shit bikes are. I’ve heard some of these riders coming from a block away because their chains are brown, rusted, squeaky wrecks. How hard can it be to throw some oil on a chain? Even 3-in-one household oil, for God’s sake. Never mind expensive silicon based bicycle oil.
I saw a brand new one hanging in the bike racks at work the other day, a Supercycle a step up from my own. I checked the Canadian Tire catalogue and this one was listed at $129., compared to the $99 mine was going for. The extra $30 buck seems to have gone into crappy front shocks and a nicer, two tone paint job. Otherwise it’s the same bike as mine.� Those prices are in Canadian dollars, by the way.� I’ve seen similar bikes in the US at $85.
Anyway, it seems obvious that other commuters had the same idea as I had, long before I had it: use a junk bike for commuting, because losing-it/breaking-it/wearing-it-out won’t be a great loss.
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April 6th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
I too have been considering buying a POS department store bike. After reading this blog I immediately headed down to my nearby Target (USA) store and picked up a fine Mens 26″ Huffy Blackwater at the rock bottom price of $79.99. It looks real nice parked next to my $3000 road bike. So far everything still works. I use it mainly for short city commutes. I really like it when I pull up to roadies on high dollar Colnagos and see them cringe when they spot the big Huffy name on my bike. I smile and give ‘em a thumbs up. My favorite lunch spot is near a top end LBS. I make it a point to lock up my Huffy in front of the shop. Gets its share of laughs from the clientele. I’m really getting a lot of enjoyment from my crap bike. Can’t pedal it with the wife though. She’s too embarrassed to cycle next to me. Humpf. I be a proud Huffy owner.
April 6th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Hey, that’s cool. It’s obvious that riding a cheapo bike to commute is a strategy used by a number of cyclists who have better bikes stowed away at home for better days. At $79 how can you go wrong? The Walmart here has the Huffy Blackwater; it’s the same price as my bike at about $99 CAD. I think they’re probably equivalent bikes. Even the geometry looks the same. Anyway, ride carefully. I haven’t quite convinced myself these low-end bikes can stand up to a daily commute over a long period of time, although it seems to be doing fine so far.
April 25th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
I know a guy who rode a cheap Huffy for almost 10 years. It certainly helped that he’s a professional mechanic, aircraft - not bicycles. He finally got rid of it because the drivetrain was worn out and it was more expensive to replace the parts than to get another ‘mart bike.
I didn’t go that route. I bought a good quality older road bike at a garage sale. That was 12 years ago. The only parts left from the original bike are the frame, fork, and headset. It helps that I have a BIG junkpile in the garage!
April 25th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Getting a new cheapo bike rather than replacing parts probably makes sense on an economic level, but I’d be inclined to try to repair/replace where possible. I almost bought two Bikes of Doom so I could have one for parts. I may have to seriously consider that. On the other hand, buying a cheapo used ten-speed is another option. My problem is that no matter how cheap the bike, I’m likely to become emotionally attached to the damn thing after riding it for awhile, so if it gets stolen I’m still going to feel it. Of course, it’ll hurt less than if one of my good bikes disappeared. Been there.