Originally Posted by
Bike Gremlin
I work in a relatively poor country (not as "bad" as some parts of Africa and Asia, but poor compared to most of Europe).
Tourney is considered to be "decent" compared to "no-name" stuff.
It's an improvement ("upgrade") compared to the lowest quality stuff I've worked with.
I rode on bikes borrowed from locals in China in the early 2000s and was able to straighten their bent chainrings with bare hands - no rocks or even door frame involved. I think these were the lowest-quality bikes I ever rode on. All steel on them was soft, and I could not see signs of any maintenance. In one shop, I saw a 'Western' department-level bike displayed in a window in an altar-manner fashion - the price was humongous relative to the salaries. The Indian-made bikes I rode in Eastern Africa were tough in comparison, even though they might employed unusual solutions for me, such as rod-operated brakes, double-top tubes, and Dunlop valves. Bikes used there as taxis still today continue to be of this type.