Anatomy of an intraductory 'mountain bike'

[hydorah]

Great post

Great post from LGF

Says exactly what I was trying to say in another thread

And that is it: you don't have to spend loads of money to get an RB with full usability and the potential to upgrade

But beneath that level there are some very dodgy items possible sins: freaky non standard BB shells, pressed steel drop outs(!) I have seen the ends of fork tubes flattened and slotted to form drop outs... Steel rims, no derailuer hanger (it's part of the mech), plastic brake levers and many more horrors - as mentioned already

I have loads of £30 or less bikes that I have bought and sold

All decent, usable bikes

Currently my Trek and my Marin are £30 RBs in my possession

Not yet snagged anything quite as stunning as that Stumpjumper at £30 however!

 

[legrandefromage]

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?

Klunkers where made from scavenged parts and what was available at the time - A BSO is deliberately made from the worst of what is available - a poor comparison from Dr. 'look at my gold lame pants' S.

 

[Dr S]

Holy shit, you don't say.

I was taking the pi**, you grumpy arse. :roll:

 

[legrandefromage]

Holy shit, you don't say.

I was taking the pi**, you grumpy arse. :roll:

I can confirm, my arse is not grumpy but does talk alot of shit.

 

[brocklanders023]

I'm another that's had my share of decent bikes for not a lot of cash. Highlights would be the virtually unused 1991 Diamond Back (ado not even worn off the rims) with full LX for £50 and similar condition Carrera with 531 frame for £25. Add to that a recent buy for £25 that came with 231 rims on M900 hubs + M900 crank set. No need to buy a BSO unless it holds some personal value i.e same as your first bike.