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Old 10-10-13, 12:12 PM
  #66  
deeth82
Dirty Schwinn-Lover
 
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Lexington, SC
Posts: 370

Bikes: '11 & '13 Schwinn Racers, Takara (Kent) Kabuto, '11 Gary Fisher (Trek) Marlin SS 29er, Schwinn Sanctuary Cruiser, '11 Schwinn Sid, Firmstrong Chief 3-spd, '10 Schwinn Corvette

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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
The short and quick answer is NO! Inexpensive bikes sold at big box stores are bad mouthed incessantly as "BSO" by bicycling cognoscenti as well as by people who are tied financially or emotionally to the product sold by LBS, bicycle outlets whose lunch is being eaten by the product offered by the big box stores as well as on-line providers.

My commuter and daily get around town bike (a Ragazzi w/7speed IGH) was bought at a big box store (Real) in Germany in 2000 for 268 DM (approx $130). The only modification of consequence was changing out the saddle for a Brooks B66. I have approximately 50,000 miles on it and it still has the original fenders, though the chainguard broke a couple of years ago. If a useful inexpensive commuting/city bike is not available in the UK, it may be worth your while to take a quick trip back to Germany and get something of value at the lower price range.

That's a perfectly beautiful (and perfectly functional) commuter! I say if they get you where you need to go with minimal headaches (and if you wrench on them regularly enough, you can reduce the headaches down to minor trifling things), then the bike is perfect for you. I've got a Takara Kabuto (yes, one of those) that I've modified over the past few years to look like a more upright dutch-style bike...it rides comfortably enough and gets me from point A to point B with minimal cost (and I'm shocked at how long the wheels have gone without giving me fits). I'm positive it doesn't ride as smoothly as my Marlin SS, but it's a great bike in terms of its cost:utility ratio. Keep riding the heck out of that Ragazzi!
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