A Mountain bike came into Spindles last Saturday that was unmaintainable. It had disc brakes and grip shift with full suspension and had been bought off the web for about £100 for a Christmas Present. It came in a box, was assembled by the 14 year old recipient and then taken to Halfords to be 'tuned up'.
It looked like it had hardly been ridden however, the discs were bent, the brakes were 'wobbley' in their housing, the rear mech. hanger was bent, and the L.H. pedal looked as if it had been cross threaded. On closer inspection it was the threads themselves that were not straight. It weighed a ton. The Discs would just not go straight and it didn't help having a loose front wheel nut.
The ride was as bad as it can get with the skewed pedal inducing a mild form of sea sickness. It was a hard task to tell the lady who brought the bike in that it was not going anywhere. It was not her fault. These internet deals look appealing and £100 full sus bike looks like a real bargain. Alas a £100 internet bike would only cost £35 pounds to make and you cannot get much of a bike for £35 no matter how may Chinese workers you throw at it.
Ultimately quality costs. A quality bike would last many years, be a pleasure to ride and would therefore get used. So bikes are for life not just for Christmas.
Only Buy on the net if you know what you are getting
Don't buy from a supermarket or similar
Quality reconditioned Second hand is always a credible option
