Originally Posted by
chillspike
I have been doing some thinking about low end bicycles with high end looks. Bikes that almost unanimously get condemned as a waste of money on serious bicycle forums such as this one.
Reading some of the responses on past threads talking about metal grades, cheap parts, slick marketing and the idiot masses that fall prey to such marketing, it makes one wonder if there is a legitimate place for the existence of such vehicles in the bicycle world. The forums would strongly suggest there is never a legitimate reason nor a legitimate purpose for admittedly esthetically attractive but low quality species of bicycle. Many of their critiques and conclusions are accurate when taken in the context of how they are expecting a particular bicycle to be put to use.
But I would like to question such conclusions within another context and perhaps salvage or reestablish a legitimacy for such bicycles in the eyes of the public. If you are aware of exactly why you want a bike and how you intend to put it to use, there is no reason for such bicycles to be eternally avoided. They have a place.
By way of an analogy, I've concluded bikes like the esthetically pleasing Sole' (attached picture) and others have a role to play in the bicycle culture despite their hi ten steel frames.
That analogy is this: inexpensive but attractively designed bicycles with lower grade frames are like the affordable formal wear of bicycle society. Their purpose is largely formal and for presentation and display. But that's about it.
Like all shoes can perform the basic task of being walked in, not all shoes can be run in or ski'd in or hiked in. If you are wearing dress shoes, as long as you stick to just basic walking in them, you're fine. But the second you decide you are going to use them to hike in, you're moving away from their purpose and capability. So too, all bicycle frames (except the most egregiously made) can be ridden without trouble. But not all bicycle frames can repeatedly get airborne or go off rode or perform tricks.
Inexpensive but attractively designed bicycles are like an affordable pair of dress boots or an affordable three piece suit. You own them and take them out for formal occasions where appearance matters more at the moment than performance.
So go ahead and get that Sole' if you like its style. Just make sure you know and are fine with what it can and can't do when you purchase it.
Thanks for reading.
There is this guy that has an internet show called Bikeman4u, he has a bike shop in Fla, so someone sends him 2 Sole bicycles in the box for him to put together. He just reams the bikes, calling them cheap junk even going so far as to say they are dangerous cause they only have front brakes. Saying they will hit the front brakes and sail over the handlebars.
Of course he is wrong, an owner of a bike shop that doesnt understand you can use back pressure on the pedals to act like a back brake, then apply the front brake and not shoot over the handle bars.
What people dont understand here in the states is, you can ride a bike and not spend 10 grand on it. The bike capitol of the world is Amsterdam, these people are riding bikes as their main transportation, spending a few hundred bucks, riding upright and not wearing helmets. the way bicycles were meant to be.
So I am a pretty serious bike rider, meaning I ride year round in Michigan do about 100 to 140 miles a week at 61 years old. I used to ride road bikes, then I went to old cruisers , now I am riding nothing but fixed gear bikes. I have 2 relatively cheap ones, a Pure Fix and an SE lager. I am also an amateur bike mechanic having refurbished about 3 hundred bikes in the last 4 years. These so called cheap bikes are not junk as in a Magna or Kent mountain bikes. They are pretty solid bikes from my experience. I am approaching close to 2000 miles on my Pure Fix which I bought slightly used for 160 bucks. Only problem I have had is the rim liners are not sufficient to cover the spoke holes in the rim and sooner or later you will have a flat on both tires. A 25 cent fix that Pure Fix should do, cause that is quite annoying. But for 160 bucks I am not afraid to take a 40 mile round trip ride to Downtown Detroit and back. The bike is solid. I will scrape together some good parts and quality frame and build one of better quality in the future, but for now the bikes I have are great fun. I think for most people they are fine, I bet I am in the top few percent of mileage riders at 120 miles a week. For most people these 300 dollar bikes are more than sufficient.
It is very condescending, haughty and WRONG to constantly call these bikes junk. A person riding 20 to 100 miles a week does not need a 10,000 dollar bike. A person on vacation in Fla for a few weeks doesnt need a 10,000 dollar bike, thank you very much Bikeman 4 u.