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As unbiased as possible, no particular brand names, bikes, models, members favoured over others, OK?
Please read carefully before spitting tea/ coffee/ vino over the keyboard
All these bikes were available in 1990 for between £179 and £399 GBP
All these bikes where purchased recently and made rideable for less than £50 GBP
All these bikes can be found on this site
The 'BSO' price bracket
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!:
The budget MTB
better, frame assembled properly using mainly cro-mo, working gears, and brakes that actually stop, parts interchangeable with off the shelf components. note: wheels are still bolt on which can be a pain if the bolts round off. Reasonable quality parts used for the BB and headset, no strange sizes. Cassette hub used rather than screw on, freehubs can wear out through poor seals. Pressed steel chainset is very heavy and most dont have replaceable chain rings so once the teeth wear, its useless. Although looking plasticy, parts are often nylon coated steel, durable but prone to bending. Pedals, although still plastic, have better bearings and more grip. Shifters and brake levers look combined but actually can be separated to make replacement easier if damaged. Can still be found for sale in well looked after condition in the usual places, often found at the tip in either commuted to death condition or mint garage fressh, unloved brands can be had very cheap in comparison to more popular makes, although heavy to start, can be easily lightened and upgraded: AN IDEAL INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF THE MTB
The mid priced price bracket upwards
Higher grade frame materials used, better quality parts creeping in, the use of aluminium for components, alu chainset with replaceable steel or alu rings as they wear out. Rear derailleur on this model has a an extra sprung shifting mechanism actually making it shift worse than the mech featured on the the 'budget' MTB. Complicated shifters feature a type of grease that thickened over time making for miss shifts or no operation at all giving these quite durable shifters a bad reputation over the mechanically simple 'thumbie'. Combined shifting and brake levers expensive to replace if damaged. Many still around, popular 'paper-round' money bikes so loved by their original owners, often ridden into the ground or upgraded beyond recognition only to be stolen later. Occasional appearances at the tip, mostly still residing in garages RetroBike and on-line: WATCH OUT FOR KNACKERED ONES!
Funnily enough, the above works for new bikes too...
Please read carefully before spitting tea/ coffee/ vino over the keyboard
All these bikes were available in 1990 for between £179 and £399 GBP
All these bikes where purchased recently and made rideable for less than £50 GBP
All these bikes can be found on this site
The 'BSO' price bracket
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!:
The budget MTB
better, frame assembled properly using mainly cro-mo, working gears, and brakes that actually stop, parts interchangeable with off the shelf components. note: wheels are still bolt on which can be a pain if the bolts round off. Reasonable quality parts used for the BB and headset, no strange sizes. Cassette hub used rather than screw on, freehubs can wear out through poor seals. Pressed steel chainset is very heavy and most dont have replaceable chain rings so once the teeth wear, its useless. Although looking plasticy, parts are often nylon coated steel, durable but prone to bending. Pedals, although still plastic, have better bearings and more grip. Shifters and brake levers look combined but actually can be separated to make replacement easier if damaged. Can still be found for sale in well looked after condition in the usual places, often found at the tip in either commuted to death condition or mint garage fressh, unloved brands can be had very cheap in comparison to more popular makes, although heavy to start, can be easily lightened and upgraded: AN IDEAL INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF THE MTB
The mid priced price bracket upwards
Higher grade frame materials used, better quality parts creeping in, the use of aluminium for components, alu chainset with replaceable steel or alu rings as they wear out. Rear derailleur on this model has a an extra sprung shifting mechanism actually making it shift worse than the mech featured on the the 'budget' MTB. Complicated shifters feature a type of grease that thickened over time making for miss shifts or no operation at all giving these quite durable shifters a bad reputation over the mechanically simple 'thumbie'. Combined shifting and brake levers expensive to replace if damaged. Many still around, popular 'paper-round' money bikes so loved by their original owners, often ridden into the ground or upgraded beyond recognition only to be stolen later. Occasional appearances at the tip, mostly still residing in garages RetroBike and on-line: WATCH OUT FOR KNACKERED ONES!
Funnily enough, the above works for new bikes too...
