SparkPlug

Halfords | Trax TR.1 Rigid Mountain Bike

Someone dumped one of these, new, outside the local shop. Truly **** <- I mean rubbish.

I'll claim the front valve.

FBinNY 

I take exception to the BSO designation. We cal all agree that these will never be great bikes, or even good bikes, but they can be affordable fair bikes for non-serious cyclists. They're fine for short distance urban or suburban commuting or for the weekend non-combatant (warrior is too much for what I'm taking about) who rides along at a leisurely pace for an hour ot two.

My objection to th BSO designation is that it's an elitist put down, and we need to consider that if these are eliminated, whole classes of possible riders would be priced out of the sport altogether. BTW - on the plus side, by eliminating some "features" like a shock fork, the bike reduces the chances of an economically catastrophic failure (more costly to fix than the bike warrants)

Anyone who's spent any time in a co-op knows that these are the bikes that the lower working classes ride, and many see far more miles in their lifetimes than the expensive rides that people own but don't ride.

SparkPlug

I will back off and take your point.. apart from the fact that Halfords, et Al, are unable to set the bike up properly in the first place and beyond that it's noodles and the rest will rust to buggery in two months whilst the brakes go out of alignment and strip their cables as the levers lose the threads in their resin whilst the chain slips off various sprockets into places it cannot be recovered from without a crow bar.

Trax1 = BSO

I might invite you to spot your implied difference.

jhazel

I'm going to vote for BSO as an appropriate description in the Mechanics forum. Yes, it can be ridden, but it doesn't repair or maintain like a bicycle. I just finished working on the brakes of a friend's BSO. One of the brake arms had been tightened so that it would not move and the hex head bolt was stripped. Big pliers to get it off and a trip to the hardware store for a new bolt. Lube and adjust the the cable. When I went to center the brakes, I found the adjusting screw bent at about a 30 degree angle. Another trip to the hardware store. (I need to keep more odd bits that come off of bikes.) At the end, I had spent a lot of time and I wouldn't guarantee the job for more than a week of riding. My friend loves it and she can call it a bike in the recreational forum or the general forum. In the mechanics forum, I think BSO is the nicest thing it can be called.

FBinNY 

So we're going to call a stropped bolt head, and a bent screw an indicator of bike quality? IMO it sounds more like a problem of poor work by someone before you.

Again , I make no claim that the so-called BSOs are appropriate bikes for serious riders, but they make it possible for large numbers of people who simply lack the dough to buy anything better. To me it's a case of half a loaf, or even just the crust, being better than none. I ride daily, and I see more of these on the road during the week, or at the end of the work day than I do decent (even entry level decent) bike. Of course, on Sunday morning more of the better bikes will be out there.

During the winter, other than small numbers that do it by choice, the vast number of bikes I'll see are being ridden by commuters for whom anything else is out of reach and public transport doesn't work (many work evening jobs, and don't head home until after most bus routes stop running).

The biggest flaws with the BSO categogy are that too many are made with too many poorly executed features, like shock forks or even dual suspension so they look like something better, and as a rule they're so poorly assembled that even what might work doesn't.

But public transit here in the metro NY area is a minimum of $5.00/day and can be higher if additional transfers are needed. Plus it simply doesn't work for many because of hours or the actual route traelled. So a BSO, aka POS bike fills a real need for many.

Bradleykd

Those are a couple of compassionate posts by someone who is quite harsh at times (fairly warned in his sig. haha). I'm glad to see these posts though because it shows a love for all of cycling, not just high-end road cycling. I for one started riding in October 2012 on a Mongoose commuter I got on clearance at Kmart for $63.00. I rode that on the MUP for hundreds of miles for a year. When I started riding my dad bought a new Cannondale to ride with me and my wife and I were shocked that anyone would spend $800 on a bicycle! Fast Forward that year and I bought a $1200 Felt road bike that I was proud (and still am) to be able to have. After a couple years of riding I can rationalize a few thousand dollars spent on a bicycle, but I never would have started riding if it wasn't for that $63 BSO. I still have that frame. I cut off all the ugly, painted it black and made a dirt cheap fixed gear out of it.

All that said, I am a mechanic by trade and I do see the fun in laughing at some of the "custom" vehicles I've worked on, but would only positively criticize the owner. I assume that is where this thread came from.

FBinNY 

Harsh? Me?

Rubato

You? Harsh? No. You, and many other contributors, seem to be motivated a love of what we do, a spirit of sharing, and a connection to a common sense reality.
Thank you all.

Andrew R Stewart 

I will agree with Francis on this topic. I have worked on hundreds (possibly thousands) of bikes that meet the BSO standards. But you know, their owners were riding and not walking or polluting with a car. Sure these bikes are made of soft and course parts, otherwise they couldn't be so inexpensive. But the biggest problem is the poor assembly and follow up maintenance. Many times I rather fix up an cheap bike then a fancy one. I know that I'll be doing far more improvement on the cheap one and that the rider is likely far more dependent on my services then the expensive bike one is. Andy. (Who rides nice bikes but just wants to see every one riding some kind of bike).

HillRider

I also agree with Francis and Andy that almost any bike is better than none for those who can't or won't afford a better quality one. I've seen many of the bikes we disparage as "BSO's" used by poorer workers as their only transportation to work or to shop. Without them they would be limited to walking and not have nearly the range of opportunity they do with the bike. In relatively flat areas they can work adequately since good shifting and brakes aren't as essential.

That said, I also think many of those bikes are so poorly made and so unreliable they discourage as many potential riders as they assist. Someone who wants to ride will buy one as a first purchase and be so discouraged they never try something better. I wish department store bikes would stick to the simplest designs and build them adequately rather than adding suspension forks, etc. and doing it dreadfully.

Gresp15C

According to legend, almost every brand-new Ford Model T had to be repaired by the dealer before it could be driven. Today, consumers expect products to be perfect, out of the box.

Cheap bikes are kinda like a last remaining vestige of the Model T era. I've worked on a lot of cheap bikes, including some of my own, and those belonging to friends. They can be functioning bikes, but suffer from two drawbacks:

1. Nobody knows who's responsible for delivering a working bike to the customer, and the designs require a modicum of skill from somebody to get things working like the gears and the brakes.

2. The "finish" of components can add a measure of fussing and judgment to the adjustment process. For instance, crappy bearings won't ever have that magical transition from crunchy to smooth to loose, but will simply go from crunchy to loose.

There's no reason why a bike can't just work when it comes from the factory, but that would require some engineering and investment, rather than just copying the latest fads.

Dan Burkhart 

My sentiments exactly. A simple steel frame, rigid fork, horizontal dropouts and friction shifters can make for a very serviceable bike with bottom line components.
Where it all goes off the rails is when they try to replicate high end bikes with low end components.

HillRider

That applied to new cars even through the 1950's and 60's. The cars were delivered to the dealers in such rough and unfinished shape that they were referred to as "new car kits". The ability to roll the thing off the delivery truck, give it a quick wash, add gas and drive it away is a very recent development.

shelbyfv

i wonder what prompted the original post? There are so many of this type of bike/BSO, what would compel someone to single one out and post a link? Maybe the rider of one passed the OP on a hill? Seriously, what new, cheap and readily available bike would be good for a "transportation" bike user. No faux suspension, no pot metal brakes or steel rims, enough gears to get up a hill but not so many that anything other than ham-fisted tuning is required. No searching CL for 80's rigid mtb. What about those bikes people send to Africa? Just idle curiosity, I have no need for such myself and would steer a friend to CL.

dynaryder

I've had numerous BSO's come into my clinic. While most were just cheap bikes that were all the owner could afford,there were a couple that really made me nervous. Like ones with plastic brake levers(the actual mount and body were plastic) and ones with stamped sidepull calipers that flexed when the brake was applied. I'm guessing these components were originally intended for kids' bikes,and were put on adult bikes to save money. That kind of cost-cutting is just wrong.

Bill Kapaun

+1
There are bikes such as Huffys however, that have such weak brakes it's nearly criminal.
Trying to fix those brakes is what actually got me into truing wheels.
You simply needed a true wheel so you could get the pads close enough to the rim that the lever didn't bottom out before getting "some" decent braking.

Grand Bois

I have never heard of this before and I'm very curious. What did the dealership need to do to prepare the car? Can you name a source for this information?

hueyhoolihan

BSO... BSO... BSO...

dabac

I'm on the fence here.
In my crowd, I'm the one who ride the cheap bikes.
Although my cheap is still 6-10x the store price of a BSO.
But I still find the BSOs a bit tricky to relate to.
I can easily abide the heavy frames and forks. And the looks.
And I've never been particularly impressed with any crank.
At 5/6 speeds, even a f/w design can do OK.
But the stamped metal caliper brakes, not quite so.
The thing to me probably is that they are basically irrepairable.
Not technically, but financially.
Need new tubes + tires, have to pay someone for the switch?
Might as well get another bike.
New BB? incl install, maybe 1/3-1/2 the cost of a new bike.
It also seems like the cheaper the bike, the less upkeep it receives. So they start out bad and quickly get worse.
I have tuned and resurrected BSOs a couple of times.
If I get them before the rust has settled in too deep I really don't mind the work. It's honest, basic bicycle maintenance.
And yeah, if you avoid the absolute bottom of the barrel, they will do OK for casual riding.
But sometimes they're just too shoddily built. Stamped metal caliper brakes, oval headset cups. Droputs that are so thin that the slot spreads when you tighten the wheel nuts.
Tires that just won't seat right. etc etc.
It's like that Gary Larson strip about a horse hospital:https://www.mypage.tsn.cc/sashyre/pic...e_hospital.gif

I'd really prefer if people were able to ride bikes where replacing the obvious wear parts still would make financial sense.

And I pity the folks who have to do do regular riding on a bottom-of-the-barrel BSO.
It'll wear, and need upkeep but it'll never come out right.

Spending the same amount of money on a used, but higher quality bike would at least offer some return of investment.
Splurge on a $30 cartridge BB and it might last a decade.
A coaster brake rear wheel can easily last the same.

HillRider

No, I can't name a specific source except the various car magazines I was reading at the time. This was particularly a problem in the late '50's when Chevrolet and Ford were locked in a sales war and were cranking out cars as fast as possible to be claim the number 1 sales spot. The assembly lines emphasized speed not assembly quality and cars got out with loose bolts, trim unattached, interior parts loose, even loose spark plugs and unattached wires. The dealerships had to go over each car to make it drivable and what they didn't catch, the new owner did.

I don't know if you are old enough to have been aware of cars then but I am and was. Anyone "nostalgic" for those cars and complains "they don't make them like they used to" is absolutely right and the rest of us should be thrilled they don't.

Grand Bois

I'm old enough to have special ordered a new '65 GTO. I saw it come off of the truck and it didn't look too bad to me, but they wouldn't release it to me until the next day. I didn't get much sleep that night.

FBinNY 

I might add that until the seventies or eighties bicycles ware the same way. Basically, what came from the factories were a bunch of parts attached to a frame in approximately the right place. Dealer mechanics had to rework everything, from tightening and truing both wheels, to in some of the more extreme cases, taking apart the headsets and BBs to grease them. BITD derailleur chains routinely couldn't stay on poorly formed chainrings , and bike mechanics got plenty of use from files and hammers.

gsa103

This is a proper BSO:

Selling a full suspension mountain bike, Excellent working condition.



"a full suspension mountain bike, Excellent working condition. no rust on chains and rides smoothly. "

The object originally posted is a full functional if low spec'ed bike. The thing above is a death trap cleverly disguised as a bicycle.

oddjob2

^ Is the handlebar backward or just the fork?

FBinNY 

You'd be amazed at the number of people commuting daily on bikes like these. I agree that they're totally unsuited to any serious riding, and/or hilly terrain, but if you turn the pedals they'll transport you from one place to another.

BTW- I love that the bike in the photo, has the fork turned backward.

We've grown used to such niceties as aluminum brake arms, aluminum rims and the like, but need to keep in mind that until 40 years ago, pressed steel caliper brakes on steel rims were the norm, and the prior generations rode bike with these, and somehow survived. The simple reality is that just about all but the worst of these can be put into reasonable condition by a halfway decent mechanic. The sad is that the odds are that this will never happen.

Here in my home area, the usual pattern is that someone will ride one of these, keeping tires patched so they hold air and otherwise letting entropy slowly degrade the bike until it's a skeleton then replacing it. This usually takes a year or so, but for the owners is the least costly option.

As I said in earlier, and as others concurred, it would be nice if "basic" bikes were simpler and better, rather than having more features than can be delivered with quality at the price needed. But that's not the reality now, so maybe, instead of flaming these bikes, people could volunteer some time at a co-op to help their owners keep riding.