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Bargain basement bikes: are they a false economy?

By James Costley-White

UK supermarket chain Asda have hit the headlines with their claim to be selling Britain's cheapest bicycles, but are these £70 bikes the bargains they appear to be, or should buyers beware?

Of course, it's not only Asda who are selling cycles at prices we'd normally be wary of. Most supermarkets have similar models, and you'll see mail order offers in any Sunday newspaper.

The big chains can charge such low prices because they buy and sell in bulk, and sometimes even sell products at a loss in order to stimulate visits to their stores. Asda, the UK’s second largest supermarket and part of WalMart, the world’s largest retailer, say they have bought “tens of thousands" of the bikes, and claim they won't make any profit on them.

So, what are the pitfalls of buying a bike this cheap? Asda have been widely mocked on internet forums because one of the bikes pictured in their TV adverts has its forks back to front, and this highlights one of the key problems with 'supermarket specials' – you often have to assemble them yourself rather than relying on a trained shop mechanic.

Given that most of the people building these bikes won't be experienced cyclists or mechanics, there is a danger that the bikes won't be put together safely. If Asda can't get the forks the right way round, what hope is there for their customers?

First-hand experience

Mark Brown, director of the Association of Cycle Traders, has set up a blog called Bicycle Shaped Object where he describes his experiences after buying a £70 British Eagle Tulsa from Asda.

He says his aim is to "provide a realistic insight – good and bad – into what cheap bikes (aka “Bicycle Shaped Objects”) mean for customers, for cycling, for business and the environment", with the ultimate goal of a change in the law so all bicycles are sold properly assembled and set up.

Mark identified the following issues with the bike:

  • Forks: Come out of the box facing the wrong way and there is nothing in the instructions to tell you to turn them. No grease on the steerer tube.
  • Headset: Rusty straight out of the box.
  • Pedals:  Right pedal is not properly flat because thread has not been set correctly in the crank arm; very poor grip; don't see them lasting long.
  • Wheels: Neither is true.
  • Seatpost: Too short for a large size bike aimed at riders over 6ft tall. Plus the minimum insertion mark is so low down that there is probably not enough post inside the frame.
  • V-brakes: Plastic levers flex and bend when applying any pressure.
  • Tyres: Come out of the box only partly inflated and there is nothing in the instructions to tell you to inflate them.
  • Tools: Supplied wheel spanner 'made of cheese' so it's impossible to adequately tighten the wheels with it.
  • Frame: Sizing and angles very strange (seems very small and cramped for a large frame); made of heavy (complete bike is 40lb/18kg), low-grade steel which offers no flex/comfort.
  • Controls: Grips are narrow, uncomfortable and so close to the Gripshift-style shifters that this leads to frequent accidental shifts.
  • Saddle: Uncomfortable, with lots of padding but no flex.

But on the blog, he admits: "I was secretly hoping that there would be untold problems but the truth is that so far – and we are only talking one ride – everything that needs to work properly has done so.

"Some readers are probably disappointed I haven’t made it sound worse but I think a balanced view is important, and anyhow wait til you hear about the ride… I don’t think I have ever ridden a bicycle which made me want to cycle less often. The ride quality and feel of this bike is terrible."

Second opinion

Guardian newspaper reporter Helen Pidd had similar complaints with the British Eagle Verona she bought from Asda, and compared the annoying ghost shifting to going to the cinema and having someone kick the back of your seat all the way though the film.

She noticed some additional flaws: her women's bike was fitted with a men's saddle; the headset was loose; and the rear derailleur was hooked onto the axle, rather than bolted to the frame, making it almost impossible to adjust the gears properly.

"Every time I was due to set out on it, I cast a jealous glance at my lovely, nimble racer and prepared myself for the unpleasant ride ahead," she said. "This is the real downer with cheap bikes: they put you off cycling."

What the experts say

Asda may claim to sell the cheapest bikes in Britain but there are plenty of other bargain models we'd be just as wary of. Our own Rob Spedding, editor of Cycling Plus, put a Terrain Ascent from Tesco to the test as part of the magazine's sub-£100 bike 'Scrap heap challenge' earlier this year (issue 221).

He didn't have high hopes after picking it up in a sale for £40, but struggled with building it, pretzeled the back wheel within 10 minutes of riding and lost a crank after less than 20 miles. He summed up the experience by saying: “It was, in all honesty, the least fun I’ve ever had on a bike."

Rob spedding's £40 tesco bike experience:

Rob Spedding was a broken man after riding 30 miles on his £40 Tesco special

Asked what he thought a beginner should look at spending on a bike, Rob said: "You can pick up a cool urban commuter for £200-£300, such as a Ridgeback or a Carrera Subway from Halfords. They're not going to be exciting and they're going to have pretty low-end groupsets and equipment, but if you're just starting to get into cycling, they're fine.

"If you see cycling as more of a long-term commitment and want a proper road bike you should spend more – we'll have a review of four £750-£900 bikes in our next issue [CYP227]. Spend as much as you can afford and you won't regret it."

Matt Skinner, editor of What Mountain Bike, said he would advise people never to spend less than £400 on a new bike if they planned to use if off-road. If they had less than this to spend, they should look for a second-hand or sale bargain rather than buying new.

"It's a false economy to buy a new bike that costs less than £400 because the labour charges for the repairs you will need will easily add up to more than the value of the bike," he said.

The Great British public

Amanda and Lynn McDonald, a young married couple from Taunton, Somerset bought two bikes on eBay shortly after Christmas for about £150.

Lynn said he was really happy with his 18-speed Universal Fusion (RRP £90). "I haven't been riding as much as I should – only three or four times – but the bike's really good," he said. "It's quite comfortable and I've got no complaints. I didn't want to spend any more because I'm not really into bikes."

Amanda was less impressed with hers, saying she had been put off riding it by the poor build quality and welding, slipping gears and hard men's saddle.

Final thoughts

On his blog, Mark comes to a similar conclusion to our magazine experts: "The problem with cheap bikes – if we put aside that pesky safety issue – is that they don’t make cycling an enjoyable long-term experience. They could be putting people off cycling altogether or limiting their cycle usage."

But he acknowledges there is a counter-argument: "If cheap bikes gets some use and lead to some people cycling more often, and in turn changing their habits and possibly getting a 'proper bike' in time, then surely they have a part to play, and at the end of the day not everyone wants – or can afford – to spend more on a bicycle."

A spokeswoman for Asda defended their bikes, saying: "Our not-for-profit £70 and £50 bikes have been selling incredibly well, with over 20,000 sold in the first week of being in-store.

"Our bikes are made by Falcon and have undergone rigorous testing and inspection during the manufacturing process.

"General customer feedback on the bikes has been very positive and it's great that our customers can now stay active and healthy without breaking the bank."

BikeRadar contacted Tesco for a comment but had not received a response at time of publication.

What do you think about budget bikes? Do they ruin people's enjoyment of cycling, or are their detractors just bike snobs? Should there be a law to make sure they are assembled safely? What do you think is a sensible price to pay? Have your say in the comments box below.

User Comments

There are 32 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 30 of 32 comments

  • Thanks for this, I cna now justify to my wife I have to spend £2000+ on a bike

  • I think a lot of the problems would be solved if the supermarkets had a member of staff with the tools/training to properly build the bike when it was bought.

    They'd never stump up for such a thing but it would improve the situation a lot.

  • I bought an old racer from my LBS for the missus to get around on - cost me £40

    My Ma went to Halfords and bought a mountain bike at twice the cost and the thing is a heavy, slow, heap of cheap poo. I have never had so many issues in indexing gears.

  • I have spent a week building nothing but poor quality kids bikes (retail at £100-£150) and even if Asda et al. wanted to employ a decent mechanic to build them, they'd struggle.

    Building them is about as dismal as riding them. Some of the adjusters you'd expect are there, but have no effect. The grip shift is often so stiff that I can hardly move it, let alone hope that a child could. You end up accepting that the indexing will never be right and the brakes won't be good. Then you wonder if it's worth spending your time truing the wheels and correctly adjusting the cones. When the wheels cost less than £5 each, it's hard to justify your time on adjusting the stupid things.

    To their credit, the Asda bikes have some things right: No pointless full-suspension. Singlespeed for kids.

    I think what the world needs is some sort of magic shift of perception so that adults and kids don't think they need giros on their fake BMXs and suspension on their fake MTBs. Then the limited budget can be directed towards making the necessities work a little better.

  • I feel for AidanH.

    I have only had to fix two SuperBadMarket bikes for family and the awful quality of the metals/components made me feel it was a death trap. I actually clubbed together with my brother to chuck one and buy my mother a decent bike for salety.

    “Bicycle Shaped Objects” is a great way to view these items.

  • in france it is illigal to sell a bike in a box, it should be hear as well!

  • A few years ago my missus bought a £100 apollo hybrid from Halfords. Lots of adjustments were needed to make it safe to ride (e.g. pretty much all bearings needed adjustment, the brake blocks were going in to the wheels etc). However once adjusted it was actually a good bike, especially for the cash.

    After it got stolen she bought a giant hybrid CRS 1 for £200 which is similar but slightly better quality and lighter.

    £700 plus bikes are not necessary for leisure / commuting duties. Simple bikes set up properly are. Initial assembly is key.

  • As has already been pointed out, its the quality of the components and the general feel and weight of supermarket bikes that lets them down, as well as shoddy instructions for building them.

    As a cycle mechanic I'm not entirely pedantic about my own bikes but I can't stand odd noises, or brakes that don't feel solid or work properly. Being mostly plastic, the brakes on most of the these cheap bikes are utterly horrible to get working, and again being plastic, flex so much it's a wonder they stop you at all.

    The generic department store behemoth where I live sells cheap bikes but has struck a deal with our bike stores whereby customers pay to have them built by us and thus their warranty remains valid, if built by themselves its nulled. This is both a good and bad thing, given that we can adjust bikes to a level we deem reasonable and safe and if customers have problems they're welcome to bring it back for us to sort out. The obvious downside is the permanent headache most of them cause - but with a bit of knowledge and general tweaking we get most of them running pretty well. :)

  • ASDA can't even build the bikes properly themselves...

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/23/asda-flat-pack-bicycle-dangerous

    so what chance does Joe public have? I never cease to be amazed at how places like this get away with selling such rubbish. I totally agree that no one should be allowed to sell a flat packed bike.

  • Buy two for the price of one yet?

  • Many years ago I bought two bikes advertised in a Sunday newspaper for something daft like £120 for both. They came in a box and with zero competence I did what I could to assmble them and they worked reasonably well. After a few rides I lost interest because the ride was so poor. There must be thousands of these things lying unused in garden sheds or taken to the tip. Bike shaped object is a better description than bike. Later I bought a Kona at Halfords, got hooked, now I have several bikes and ride as much as possible for fitness and the sheer enjoymnet of it. £120 is cheap for two bikes but expensive for a small amount of scrap metal that puts you off the whole idea.

  • There is cheap and too cheap...My first (and current bike but hopefully not for too much longer) is a Trek 3700. I bought it in 2003 for £230 , rode it 6 times and left it in the garage until June 2006 when I really started riding seriously. I've done over 1200 miles on it, had it serviced, been riding off-road with it, (but no jumping) and it has held up. Upgraded handlebars and saddle to lighter weight items but thats about it. What I have learnt is this - 1) The bike was just about "Good enough" to encourage me to ride 2) I now why I need to spend at least £1500 on my next bike and I know exactly the type of bike I want to upgrade to (Giant Anthem X1 !!). I would have been annoyed to spend £600 and then leave it in the garage!

    Mike

  • Worthwhile building up a relationship with LBS. So helpful when you need a quick job done. A good LBS will want a happy customer, who'll come back for spares, repairs, upgrades, etc. Supermarkets just want to sell you groceries.

    First bike, or first bike after a while, is always a risk, cos it's only when you;ve ridden a fair bit that you know what you like and what you don't. Bought a Mongoose Tyax a coupe of years ago, do the job started mtb and have a better idea what to go for next time. No sense spending a shitload on first bike, when your riding doesn;t need it and you don;t know whether what you're buying will suit the rider you'll become.

  • I reckon a decent, but second hand frame, plus something like a Sora group set that you can upgrade later, are the best way to go for a budget-ish bike that actually works and makes you want to ride it. The problem with that is an absolute beginner may not have the skills to build it up themselves, so will have to pay extra to get it built up at the LBS anyway, and many LBS now will not build up bikes unless you buy all your parts from there in the first place, leading people back to the not-very-good, budget bike option again.

  • "Matt Skinner, editor of What Mountain Bike, said he would advise people never to spend less than £400 on a new bike if they planned to use if off-road"

    ...Rubbish!

    At this price range a 70 quid bike is aimed at people who don't cycle much, people who want to take the kids out or people that just want to try cycling. There will no doubt many other reasons.

    At this level the chances of them riding hardore trails is slim to say the least. Whats wrong with a Specialized Hardrock Sport at 290 quid...Nothing at all?

    Was it Charlie Wegelius who said, with a nation of 60 million, it's a shame more people don't get out on their bikes more? Ok the Asda may not be a top of the range bike but if it allows more people to start riding that a good thing...right?

    Looking at this summer's "what mountain bike" the rest of the best, an Iron Horse Warrior, comes in at £399!

  • A friend of mine recently bought a Decathlon bike for 200 quid and its been absolutely fine for the last 500 miles or so its been ridden! Coped well with a few MTB rides too.

    The carrera subway range are also sold off at the end of the year, often for around 160 quid.

    70 seems to be a bit low, for 150-200 you can get a perfectly useable every day bike.

    I think the 400 quid comment in the article refers to a bike bought for "mountain biking".

  • That's the trouble with a general statement: it's general. Yes the Iron Horse Warrior is listed as £399, but are you really going to quibble about £1?

    There are some bikes out there for under this price of course - including the Specialized - that can handle the rough stuff day in, day out, but my statement was general. Not specific. There will always be exceptions to the rule.

    A few years ago a Decathlon Rockrider FS (I believe that's what it was) cost in the region of £400 or so, but was a reasonably sorted full suspension bike that actually worked okay, and that was dressed with branded parts left, right and centre. It impressed hugely as equivalent bikes from competitors were costing £200-£300 more. It was an obvious loss-leader for Decathlon but it was a great buy and completely bucked the trend of cheap and decidedly un-cheerful low-end full suss.

    Last year we would've said to look to spend upwards of around £300, but now we're seeing equivalent specced bikes shuffle up to the £400 mark that deliver the same package that £100 cheaper bike delivered the year before. That's the origin of the £400 watershed and it's what we say in-mag also for a general starting point.

    But I agree, it can only be a good thing to get more people out in this great country of ours and riding bikes - whatever the type of bike. What can turn them off as quickly as they get on, is a poor, heavy, unreliable and a soul destroying clunker of a bike that saps the fun and effortless out of riding.

  • Lunchtime today in Watford Asda:

    http://twitpic.com/cyxr2

    still putting the forks on back-to-front!!

  • But as many previous comments have said 'if you don't enjoy the experience why would you want to continue?'

    ASDA offer good value at low cost re food and clothing but I don't believe that any one seriously interested in cycling, either new or experienced would even consider purchasing such a cheap bike.

    The ASDA rep. who defended the bike by saying over 20k had been sold is really confusing things as the people who may have bought them were only lookin at price not quality and after the testers comments I predict either a flood of them onto e-bay or local paper sale adds, or garages jam packed with them never to see the loght of day.

  • Matt...I was being pedantic over the price but we're in a recession and a pound buys me two choccy bars or a big bag of pick 'n' mix.

    If you need any 3D images/illustrations for the mag give me a shout?

    ...You can't blame me for trying!

  • I have mixed feelings about this. On the positive it makes excercise accessible for the masses (given so many of us are obese nowadays). £70 for a bike is very good although I'm sure the quality is a bit suspect. But what can one expect for £70 ? Surely no-one can be that dim to expect Dura Ace levels of engineering for this sort of money.

    Personally I don't have a problem with assembling a bike yourself. When I was a kid my mum bought me bikes from a catalogue and they arrived in boxes. To ride it I had to learn how to put a bike together and how to make the necessary adjustments to make it work. Somehow I feel that the general public is turning soft as 90% of the public don't even know how to do the most basic of car maintenance anymore. Very sad.

    We should all know how to keep a bike on the road!!

  • I was after a "hack" bike which I could take into town or to the pub, lock it up and if it was stolen I wouldn't lose much sleep or cry.

    Had a look at the Asda bike and if that's all £70 gets you? I was quite shocked at the brakes. I wouldn't trust the brakes to work.

    The quality was so low I thought why did Asda bother? I don't believe the not for profit bit.

    I applaud Asda for having a go but they should have pitched the bike quality and price higher and produced a more worth while bike.

    I'll look out for a 2nd hand or sale bike else where.

    Bikes really have never been a cheap item when it requires a certain level of quality to function and last well.

    However a basic bike should be a simple thing to produce. With modern manufacturing processes a decent affordable bike shouldn't beyond our wit?

    I'd love to know what the mark up is on a typical bike?

  • My Cove custom build is going on ebay tomorrow and I am going to buy something a little cheaper. After all it will still get me from A to B.

  • Hi

    I read the article and read what everyone has written quickly. What I've read is that people seem to forget that there are people out there who only have £70 to spend on a bike, this they deem a lot of money (which in my eyes it is aswell). So some people saying spend 150-200 on a bike is an awful lot of money that they don't have and see as a waste when they ride the bike in the holidays with the kids, or a long a canal tow path once in a blue moon.

    At least ASDA are trying to get people onto bikes, the bikes they produce might not be the best. But they are designed for people who want astheictly pleasing looking bikes (forks etc) rather than actual high tech performance.

    Simon

  • I can't understand how the supermarkets can get away with selling partly-assembled bikes when bike shops have to conform to British Standards for safety reasons. My own experience of a £100 catalogue special was whan I was working in a shop - customer brought one in for assembly - we charged for 2 hours labour but it took all day to get it working properly. Worst thing was final job was to readjust the seatpost as it was clamped in the workstand. Using a spanner to re-tighten, the plasticene bolt sheared off - worse, it was something like 7mm and spent a long while trying to find a replacement that fitted! The wheels weren't round or true, the frame wasn't straight, the headtube wasn't square and the headset binding - I was just tring to make sure that the gears and brakes worked and it was safe to ride.

  • maybe if people only have £70 to spend they should save up for a while! or get a better job, this is why the teacher told you to listen...lol...

  • Didn't Supersonic order one of these a while back and give a brreak down of the good and bad in a post on the forum.

  • Why are you poor? Because I'm stupid.

    Why are you stupid? Because I'm poor.

  • there are 2 very different sides to this issue.

    i used to build bikes for my saturday job at motorworld around 10 years ago, most of the range was priced at the entry level (around 100 quid, even for full sus!) and frankly most of the bikes were shocking! Passing the shop now i see they have similar priced bikes to that of asda and tesco etc. and i'm sure they are still shocking bikes!

    i like to think that i knew what i was doing building these bikes being a keen rider, albeit i am not trained or qualified to any level. having seen some of the bikes built by people who weren't interested in bikes i would definitely say there is a real, and urgent, need to ensure all bikes are built by suitably qualified mechanics. there will always be people like me who know how to build a bike and it will be just as safe as a bike built by someone with the necessary qualifications. However, there are simply far too many mechanical monkeys out there building bikes that should never leave the store!

    I once foolishly trusted a bike built by a colleague and when i tried to turn the handle bars spun round!!

    whilst the bikes themselves are never going to be of the highest quality (you gets what you pays for afterall), i think they do serve an important role for people who really canot afford a 'proper bike' or only intend to ride to the local supermarket etc.

    All bikes should be built by people suitably qualified.

  • There's a lot of tat on eBay, but it is possible to buy a quality CrMo mtb for under £80. Of course, this is not the best option for someone who knows nothing about bikes and is buying what they think is an off-the-shelf, jump-on-and-ride option from a supermarket. The used bike might need a little work - but it sounds like the new ones do, too. So if you're going to spend another £30ish on professional set-up, wouldn't it be better to spend that on a used, quality bike than a nasty new one?

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