Bike on sports direct?

Alpha Dog 1

http://m.sportsdirect.com/mt/www.sportsdirect.com/silver-fox-vault-26-inch-mountain-bike-mens-932174?un_jtt_v_un_PDP=yes&un_jtt_v_un_info=&un_jtt_v_un_pers=&un_jtt_redirect

Lads, anyone own this bike or would know if it's any good?
It says that it's 26 inch, is that normal for a adult male?

It seems a pretty good price so I'm wondering if there's a catch!

spyderski

The only catch is that it's a piece of sh1t.....

ANYTHING that sells at £54.99 in a retailer is being landed (in the UK in this instance) at a cost of less than £20. Not much chance of producing& shipping from China anything that resembles a quality bike for £20.

But you probably knew that already.....

fits

its a Piece of crap. A proper bike with front and rear suspension costs$$$$. Otherwise its just unnecessary weight. Wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

Alpha Dog 1

Ah bummer. Thought it might have been half decent.
Have bought a lot of stuff off sports direct over the years and its always been of good quality so was kind of hoping this would be the same.


Ohwell, thanks.

yosser hughes

Why is it a bad bike though? Actual technical reasons . Not just that it doesn't cost enough.
Genuine question,as I know nothing about bikes.

Wishbone Ash

yosser hughes wrote: »

Why is it a bad bike though? Actual technical reasons . Not just that it doesn't cost enough.
Genuine question,as I know nothing about bikes.

Very heavy steel and lowest grade components which will fall apart after very little use. The smallest repair will cost more than the bike costs (and that's even if you get any shop willing to go near it). Made in far east when workers probably get paid with a bowl of rice per day.

spyderski

It has 18 gears - so a 6 speed cassette - which havnt been made by any mainstream manufacturer for nearly 20 years.

It has v brakes

It has a single spring for its rear suspension, and elastomer forks.

It's weight is (optimistically) given at 15kg

The groupset is from some unknown brand

It has a steel frame (nothing wrong with steel, but not at this price)

I would genuinely think I could completely destroy this bike in 30 minutes of riding.

Other than that, it's grand, technically.

kenmc

you will struggle to buy an entry level pair of wheels alone for the sort of money they're charging for that "bike", never mind adding any other components. it will weigh a ton, be flimsy, probably some obsolete , end of life or custom components and be horrible to ride.

Tenzor07

It's a bicycle shaped object, or BSO.

Just a toy, fine if you're the sort who just wants to cycle around the corner to the shop once a month!

Tenzor07

kenmc wrote: »

you will struggle to buy an entry level pair of wheels alone for the sort of money they're charging for that "bike"

For that price i'd only be able to get a tyre for my MTB!

Alpha Dog 1

Tenzor07 wrote: »

It's a bicycle shaped object, or BSO.

Just a toy, fine if you're the sort who just wants to cycle around the corner to the shop once a month!

Thats exactly what i would be using it for

EB_2013

Better off splashing out for something decent which you will get years out of rather than something cheap that looks flash but will fail quickly.

Probably okay for short trips but forget going off road even with front and rear suspension, it wouldn't be able for it.

fits

Having ridden a crap freebie bike for a year here, I think its not worth it. Cheapo bikes like that can fail without warning.

rainbow kirby

If you do insist on going to a bargain retailer for it - Decathlon would probably be a better choice. If your budget is really low though you would be better off buying secondhand.

Ryath

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_992068_langId_-1_categoryId_212377

This is probably the best option if you want to spend as little as possible. You could get something for less second hand but at that price range really you'd want someone who knew a bit about bikes to check them over.

The subway is a better option it has reasonable brand name bits on it even if you make no effort to maintain it would last a few years and are acually fairly decent to cycle. That siverfox yoke is a absolute POS. I'd say weighs 4/5kg more than then subway the suspension will be seized in a few month's and I guarantee something will break on it with in a few months that will push the total cost to near what you would have spent on a semi decent bike.

Darkglasses

Go second hand, I would say that's bad to the point of being unsafe on public roads.

Wishbone Ash

Darkglasses wrote: »

... that's bad to the point of being unsafe on public roads.

.....and even more unsafe on downhill forest trails! :eek: