Read my lips: don’t buy a crappy bike!
by Steve ~ August 27th, 2007. Filed under: Department Store Bikes.Recent activity on this blog has convinced me that I need to write this post. I know it may seem that I’m having fun playing with my low-end Canadian Tire SC1800, but I am in no way whatsoever recommending that other people run out and buy one of these bikes, or a similar Department Store Bike. Why not? Because these bikes are of low quality, will not last, and will cause you nothing but grief and frustration.
Unless…
- you are going into this with your eyes open
- you are willing to learn how to repair the bike
- you are committed to putting in the hours and hours of maintenance and repair time required to simply keep the bike roadworthy and safe
- you are a tinkerer who doesn’t mind getting covered in grease from toes to eyebrows
- you are willing to invest in bike repair tools
- you are willing to pay more in replacement parts than you paid for the bike
- you find more fun in bike repair than actually riding the bike
All of these apply to me. This has been a fun experiment. I’ve learned a lot about bikes, bike repair, and my own abilities. That’s why I intend to keep going with the Bike of Doom. The more I push it, the more I’m going to have to do to keep it running. All of this knowledge and experience will help me keep my other bikes in good running condition.
Do these points apply to you? It’s a checklist. If you can’t check them ALL, think twice (even three times) before buying a cheap department store bike. If you want a commuter bike, invest in a good, low-end bike from a Local Bike Shop. Or buy a good used bike that you can refurbish. Both of these options are far more likely to result in you having a good time on your bike than if you follow in my footsteps.
Still don’t believe me? Check the Repair log and SC1800 Toolbox links in the left sidebar.
Now, all that said, there is another possibility, and that is that you already own a piece’o'crap department store bike. Maybe a kindly aunt gave you one as a birthday present. Maybe it’s the bike you took from home when you moved out. Maybe it’s all you thought you could afford. Perhaps you picked one up yourself, intending to ride around the block with the kids. Perhaps you found one in your back lane and saved it from the landfill. Whatever the god-awful confluence of events that led you to possess one of these things, you’re saddled with it, and for some reason you now feel compelled to ride it. That’s okay. That’s fine. That’s not my fault. In that case, I don’t have to feel guilty — welcome to the Bike of Doom club!
Maybe you’ll have as much fun as I’ve had. Good luck with that.
Related posts:
A new bike for a SuperCycle rider
August 27th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
I wondered if the thought that you’d inspired others to adopt your folly would weigh on your conscience. Let’s face it, a ton of people are going to buy a $99 bike every year, most of them with no idea of what monumental pieces of crap they are. That’s not your fault. Anyone who’s read your blog over the summer has to have their eyes wide open. If they have $99 they can do what ever they want with it. Me, I’d buy a good pair of bike shorts.
August 27th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
Thank you for being so succinct and full of common sense. I paid $70 for a pair of bike shorts once. Now, four years later, they are frayed, crumbling at the seems, nearly transparent. It’s a frightening experience for pedestrians and other cyclists, if a somewhat humbling one for yours truly. Unfortunately, I’m not willing to put the time into keeping them roadworthy, safe, or even modest.
August 28th, 2007 at 2:57 am
I’m wondering if buying an older, medium quality bike might be a better deal than a cheap department store clunker. I’ve never analyzed the costs. My winter commuter was a yard sale bike that I bought for $85 about 10 ears ago. Now, I’m a veteran tinker, so it’s seen many changes over the years. The only bits left from the original bike are the frame, fork, and headset. Everything else has been replaced - mostly with more garage sale components. I may put pen to paper and try to figure out what I’ve put into it, but I’m guessing it’s still going to cost less than your SC1800.
August 28th, 2007 at 4:01 am
I’d like to see those numbers. I expect you’re probably right. I mean, I have found cheap used bikes that could form the basis of a good commuter, but they always needed vital components I didn’t have on hand. And to be honest, I guess, when I first thought of this Department Store Bike thing, I thought “How bad can one of these things be, really?”
August 28th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
I love my 12 year-old, bought at the bike shp Raliegh Rocky. I’m on my third set of tires and second set of brake pads, but otherwise I haven’t done anything but clean and lube it. I do take it places and lock it up (unlike my newer bike) but I’d still be sick about it if it was stolen.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Yeah, the Rocky seems like the perfect commuter bike to me. No shocks, fairly light, resilient and solid, good geometry and comfortable to ride. Maybe too nice a bike to ride through a Winnipeg winter. I rode a Specialized Hardrock through one winter. When I took it into the bike shop in the spring for a tuneup the repair bill was quite high. I had to replace all the cables, the brake pads, the chain, the cassette. Winnipeg winters… road salt, road sand, -40 temps, then corrosive slush in the spring… it’s all pretty hard on a bike. After I realized what was happening to the Specialized, I started to use my Raleigh that winter. Like yours, it was bought at a bike shop. The same bike shop, in fact! Go, Gooch’s! It got into such rough shape that I threw it out in the spring. Nowadays, I’d probably take a stab at refurbishing it. With the $99 bike, it doesn’t really matter if it survives beyond Winter. It costs about the same as a tune-up on a better bike.
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:04 pm
I don’t think any beginner should even be given a glimpse of hope with one of those 99 buck jobbers. I went through that inadvertently (meaning ignorantly) and I’m surprised it didn’t send me away from biking forever. Constant break-downs and annoyances. I never knew biking could be so much fun!
September 3rd, 2007 at 6:02 pm
I don’t know about “a glimpse of hope”, but certainly beginners should not be encouraged to start with one of these. To think they won’t, however, is wishful thinking. Most intelligent people starting a new endeavour strive to limit their losses by investing in cheaper equipment, until they decide if they “like it or not.” The current attitude in bicycle buying seems to be “Don’t even think about trying cycling unless you’re willing to invest hundreds of dollars at a specialized store for a high-quality piece of equipment.” Instead, I’d like to say, “Hey, don’t sweat the fact that you ended up with a lousy bike, you can still get some enjoyment out of it if you take these steps, and after awhile you’ll have a much better idea of what kind of bike you really need.” If a newbie gets knocked out of cycling by having a bad experience with a cheap bike, and can’t find the resources to to manage, that newbie isn’t going to have much luck with cycling in general, in my opinion, and we’re just encouraging him to throw away even more money on an expensive bike that will end up leaning in a garage and never used.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:46 am
If there’s one thing I remember about my department store bikes it’s the amount of bike repair skills I was forced to learn. (You know, re-welding the frame, hammering the wheels back to true, etc.) ;)
February 20th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Oh, you’re right about that. That’s actually one of the good things about riding one, I think. Those skills have translated well into maintaining my good bikes. I haven’t had to re-weld the frame yet, but that might be fun…