Anatomy of an intraductory 'mountain bike'

[mikee]

http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/24/71981024.html

£30 well spent

 

[GoldenEraMTB]

my 25 quid stumpy
off of e-bay

Thats perfect! This is what can be had with a bit of being in the right place at the right time maybe but it shows what can be done with a little effort.

or luck

the only luck was that i bought it first

my point.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good; it's not meant in the pejorative.

 

[spike3]

I quite fancy that Cobra.

Fancy a trade for my FreeSpirit?


BB

Sorry no.

And maybe a tad harsh LGF on the Cobra, it actually rides quiete nicely although the comment about the brakes is completly true as is the comment about it not being a mountain bike so don't treat it as one although I mostly blame the tyres. Trying to pedal it uphill offroad is nearly impossible due to poor grip (tyres need changing) and going down the brakes are scary as anything (brakes are rubbish but upgradable, i'll let you know how much new modern pads help) but the frame geometry suits me brilliantly and it handles nicely on paths but not thick mud, deep gravel or wet grass but that should be sorted by the tyres.

Overall I mostly agree with all of what you say

 

[FMJ]

I posted in the XYZ worth? thread about a 92 GT Tequesta I was going to look at. The pic was old, the bike had more wear than shown, and the seller had swapped out the Eggbeaters in the pic w. some plastic junk. I thought I could use some of it, but he wouldn't budge on the price, so I walked away. Forward to today. I went and looked at a 91(?) GT Karakoram I found on Kijiji (ebay's version of Gumtree). Bike is a bit dirty/dusty but in good shape (no scratches I can see) and I picked it up for about 60 pounds. It'sd a bit of a gate for my 30" inseam, but worse comes to worse the parts can go on future builds andI can move the frameset to a taller GT guy.

If any of the GT gurus have their decoder rings handy, the frame number is 19010 6083 with A4 above the second set of numbers. I'm pretty sure it's a 91. Don't think it's the Elite, but may be wrong.

 

[stewlewis]

That £25 Stumpy is a beaut. As an Ebayer bargain lover it makes me more jealous than some of the high spec rides seen on RB.

I agree with the write up but to the average Joe there's nowt between them. You do need to be knowledgeble to a certain degree to find a decent bike for a decent price. Or a mate that knows. Saying that I have mates with £99 Toys R Us bikes, mates who paid £25 for an Ebay BSO, cus it was £25 and mates who want full suss and new for under a ton.

Here's probably my best find A Fuji Tahoe, NOS, STX kitted. Lovely colour and paint. £25..

 

[Dr S]

bad, bad bicycle, should never have been allowed to be manufactured this way. Heavy low grade steel with pressed parts. Poor to dangerous brakes, ineffectual gearing using obsolete style of rear derailleur which relies mostly on the rear wheel bolts to hold it on, wheel rims too wide for the braking to be effective, let alone the fact that they are chrome plated. easily damaged seat post liable to bend or snap, saddle clamp allows for seat movement at inopportune moments, plastic pedals lethal in the wet offering no grip. Screw on cassette of the type where the freehub part often fails, one piece chainset & BB has to be replace if teeth wear, no replaceable rings, pressed steal makes it very heavy. Shifters are simple thumbies which often loosened off allowing for 'ghost' shifting. In short, a very bad poorly though out bicycle designed to mimic more expensive models and whose sole purpose was to generate as much profit as possible using the lowest possible quality parts: Mostly found abandoned in bike racks, train stations and your local tip. Heavy, difficult to upgrade AVOID - IT IS NOT AN 'MTB' AND SHOULD NOT BE TREATED AS SUCH!:

Apart from the plastic pedal bit you have just described a Marin County Klunker.

Heavy frame made from crap tubes- check
Wheels too wide and chromed- check
Seatpost prone to bending- check
Naff freewheels: check
Simple thumbies that 'auto change'- check
Crap brakes- check

Most entertaining bike i own. Maybe there is something in these BSOs afterall?

 

[Charlieboy28]

touche good doctor

 

[velomaniac]

I'm with Dr S. a BSO can be entertaining, he was caning his klunker down the red route at Innerleithen. I myself have ridden an Integra Phantom(Very BSO) down the Innerleithen trail, great laughs

I've also ridden Townsends and Emmelles around Glentress and I'm building up an Emmelle as my Lardtail SS for a few meets and races. Be aware of limitations and get out and ride. Bike snobbery no way

 

[FMJ]

Bike snobbery no way

I think LGF's point is you can get a cheap, usable, half decent bike for marginally more (or less, even) than BSO money if you dig around. As far a snobbery goes, you'd get chased out of the VRC with torches and pitchforks if you posted any of the bikes in this thread there, let alone the Cobra.

 

[pete_mcc]

Zaskar:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GT-Zaskar-Mountai ... 2694wt_793

Trek 8500 with great spec although not very retro..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mountain-Bike-Tre ... _500wt_922

Cheaper and better than most entry level bikes