# Bargain?



## Vitesse (30 Apr 2010)

Argos Challenge road bike, was £199, now £79. Has to be a bargain!


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## chillyuk (30 Apr 2010)

I am not an equipment snob but think I will give this one a miss thank you.


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## accountantpete (30 Apr 2010)

I usually stick to the local market stall if I want cheese.


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## ianrauk (30 Apr 2010)

*searches internet for local branch Argos as I need some cheap bling jewellery too*


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## PpPete (30 Apr 2010)

Even the reviews on the Argos site are uncomplementary !


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## Banjo (30 Apr 2010)

Probably be ok for occasional short rides but at that price its going to be made out of cheap materials with cheap components .If you want to enjoy your cycling and do more than a couple of miles now and then I would try and get a bike from a respected manufacturer.

I once ordered a folding bike from Argos .You can only get them delivered and three times it didnt arrive as arranged.Getting through to them to complain/rearrange was a nightmare.Didnt keep it long luckilly managed to sell it without losing too much.


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## MLC (30 Apr 2010)

Here's the spec

: 
Carbon Hi-Mod Fork: Hi-Mod+ Full Carbon Front Derailleur: SRAM RED Rear Derailleur: SRAM RED Shifters: SRAM RED Chainset: Hollowgram SL BB30 Chainrings: 39/53 tooth chainrings Bottom Bracket: BB30 ceramic bearings Cassette: SRAM OG-1090 11-26 tooth Chain: SRAM PC-1090 Front Brake: Zero Gravity Rear Brake: Zero Gravity Brake Levers: SRAM RED Handlebars: Zipp SL Ergo 31.8mm Stem: Zipp SL Speed 31.8mm Headset: Carbon Top Cap Rims: DT Swiss RRC 425 front and RRC 525 rear Front Hub: DT Swiss RRC 425 Rear Hub: DT Swiss RRC 525 Spokes: DT Swiss Front Tyre: Schwalbe Ultremo Tubular, Super light version 700x21c Rear Tyre: Schwalbe Ultremo Tubular, Super light version 700x21c Saddle: Fizik Antares with Carbon rails Seatpost: USE Alien Cyclops Carbon 31.6mm


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## Vitesse (30 Apr 2010)

MLC said:


> Here's the spec
> 
> :
> Carbon Hi-Mod Fork: Hi-Mod+ Full Carbon Front Derailleur: SRAM RED Rear Derailleur: SRAM RED Shifters: SRAM RED Chainset: Hollowgram SL BB30 Chainrings: 39/53 tooth chainrings Bottom Bracket: BB30 ceramic bearings Cassette: SRAM OG-1090 11-26 tooth Chain: SRAM PC-1090 Front Brake: Zero Gravity Rear Brake: Zero Gravity Brake Levers: SRAM RED Handlebars: Zipp SL Ergo 31.8mm Stem: Zipp SL Speed 31.8mm Headset: Carbon Top Cap Rims: DT Swiss RRC 425 front and RRC 525 rear Front Hub: DT Swiss RRC 425 Rear Hub: DT Swiss RRC 525 Spokes: DT Swiss Front Tyre: Schwalbe Ultremo Tubular, Super light version 700x21c Rear Tyre: Schwalbe Ultremo Tubular, Super light version 700x21c Saddle: Fizik Antares with Carbon rails Seatpost: USE Alien Cyclops Carbon 31.6mm




That's strange - mine has a 31.5mm seatpost. Think I'll ask for my money back.


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## Sheffield_Tiger (30 Apr 2010)

Odd

Looks to have a triple chainset on the pictures, but not on the spec


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## on the road (30 Apr 2010)

I'd steer well clear of it.


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## Sheffield_Tiger (1 May 2010)

I reckon, to give it it's due, it would be just the thing if I did, as I considered a while back, move 70 miles away from work, and wanted something cheap and cheerful to just commute to the train station and back with daily.

People have done long distance tours on worse...


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## Cyclist33 (1 May 2010)

A completely pointless purchase. Even at 80 quid it would be a complete waste of money.

It looks awful, too.

Cyc


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## cyberknight (1 May 2010)

RSO Road shaped object. I am no bike snob (heck i ride 2 Halfords carrera`s) but seriously you cannot get a decent bike for £80 brand new. Would you even use one as a winter hack?


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## Sheffield_Tiger (1 May 2010)

Cyclist33 said:


> A completely pointless purchase.



Maybe to people on here, myself included, who are all spoilt by having enough disposable income to afford better.

I'd have loved something as good as that bike (comparitively) when I first started riding on a clunker of a forty-ninth-hand sit up and beg.

If you can only afford £80 and not £250 then that is your entry-level bike, and the £250 machines that we might call "hacks" are, from that perspective, "dream machines"


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## Vitesse (2 May 2010)

Cyclist33 said:


> A completely pointless purchase. Even at 80 quid it would be a complete waste of money.
> 
> It looks awful, too.
> 
> Cyc



I just don't understand this sort of comment. Unless you have so much money that price just doesn't matter, what's pointless about spending £80 on a means of transport that's five times more efficient than walking?


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## Vitesse (2 May 2010)

cyberknight said:


> RSO Road shaped object. I am no bike snob (heck i ride 2 Halfords carrera`s) but seriously you cannot get a decent bike for £80 brand new. Would you even use one as a winter hack?



Used a similar bike that cost £50 from ToysRus through a couple of winters. No problems in 2200 miles, and still going fine (although the rear tyre only lasted 1400 miles, shock, horror).


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## Mark_Robson (2 May 2010)

If an £80 bike gets people into cycling then that's a result. If they only want something to take to the park with the kids for an hour then it will be fine. We forget that everyone has to start somewhere and a lot of people wont, or cant pay the kind of money that we pay for a bike. 
I hate the term BSO.


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## youngoldbloke (2 May 2010)

MLC said:


> Here's the spec
> 
> :
> Carbon Hi-Mod Fork: Hi-Mod+ Full Carbon Front Derailleur: SRAM RED Rear Derailleur: SRAM RED Shifters: SRAM RED Chainset: Hollowgram SL BB30 Chainrings: 39/53 tooth chainrings Bottom Bracket: BB30 ceramic bearings Cassette: SRAM OG-1090 11-26 tooth Chain: SRAM PC-1090 Front Brake: Zero Gravity Rear Brake: Zero Gravity Brake Levers: SRAM RED Handlebars: Zipp SL Ergo 31.8mm Stem: Zipp SL Speed 31.8mm Headset: Carbon Top Cap Rims: DT Swiss RRC 425 front and RRC 525 rear Front Hub: DT Swiss RRC 425 Rear Hub: DT Swiss RRC 525 Spokes: DT Swiss Front Tyre: Schwalbe Ultremo Tubular, Super light version 700x21c Rear Tyre: Schwalbe Ultremo Tubular, Super light version 700x21c Saddle: Fizik Antares with Carbon rails Seatpost: USE Alien Cyclops Carbon 31.6mm



Spec. for what? - Argos Challenge Road Bike @ £79 ????? You must be joking ........

_By the way ... it is possible, and really helpful, to insert a link using the 'insert link' facility on the reply box toolbar then if interested you don't have to go through all that Google search business looking for 'Argos Challenge" ..... etc, etc, etc_


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## Mark_Robson (2 May 2010)

He was


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## Vitesse (3 May 2010)

Mark_Robson said:


> He was



Yeah, that's the £99 Super DeLuxe model.


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## cyberknight (3 May 2010)

Sheffield_Tiger said:


> Maybe to people on here, myself included, who are all spoilt by having enough disposable income to afford better.
> 
> I'd have loved something as good as that bike (comparitively) when I first started riding on a clunker of a forty-ninth-hand sit up and beg.
> 
> If you can only afford £80 and not £250 then that is your entry-level bike, and the £250 machines that we might call "hacks" are, from that perspective, "dream machines"



Yes it is true , i would like a bike costing £1000 but i cannot afford one, so to me riding a £2k+ machine is a dream .
A £300 bike is all i can afford/justify i think its all a matter of proportion if it gets people cycling all the better .
I think we are just trying to let people know the limitations of a bike and hope that they will continue to cycle after the components let them down.


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## chillyuk (4 May 2010)

£80 would be a struggle for me, and I would have to take some convincing to spend it from my pension. However, if I needed a bike there are many Raleigh, Peugeot and other good 80/90's makes on Ebay, Amazon etc at affordable price. A good second hand against a crap new doesn't take too much work out.


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## swee'pea99 (4 May 2010)

I agree there's far too much snobbery about bikes and airy comments along the lines of 'anything under £xx is going to be crap', but that does look like one horrible piece of crap, at any price. More likely to alienate than enthuse. I'm with chillyuk - £80 will buy you a nice reliable 80s/90s bike. At anything around the ton, 2nd hand has to be the way to go.


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## Mark_Robson (4 May 2010)

[quote name='swee'pea99']I agree there's far too much snobbery about bikes and airy comments along the lines of 'anything under £xx is going to be crap', but that does look like one horrible piece of crap, at any price. More likely to alienate than enthuse. I'm with chillyuk - £80 will buy you a nice reliable 80s/90s bike. At anything around the ton, 2nd hand has to be the way to go.[/QUOTE]Agreed but I think that a lot of people who buy cheap bikes buy them on impulse with no idea of what constitutes a good bike, that's where the market is for that type of bike and for the casual riders it's enough for their needs.


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## MLC (4 May 2010)

Just in case any one else was confused by my earlier "spec post" yes that was in jest I copied the spec from an 8k Cannondale 

To enter the snobbery debate:

I started cycling on what could be deemed a RBSO (road bike shaped object) and had it for a year. It is now my leave at station on commute bike it cost £189 and I've scalped a couple of bikes that cost ten times that !!!

I have now moved to a Spesh Secteur sport which some may also look down on because it is not the Elite or Comp or Sports ultegra. but it was a very big step up from what I had and |I would imagine the same the further up the price range you go.

I did journey to Decathlon at the weekend and they were demonstrating this. 

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/comp-pro-fc-900-72884310/#AVANTAGES

It was rude not to have a test ride on it of course !!!!

This would be a good example of a decent bike with a decent spec and it rides very nicely thank you. I was chatting to the guy he said he was showing it off to show that Decathlon aren't just about cheap bikes they also do quality he also said that if that was made by any of the big boys (Specialised, Trek, Cannondale etc etc) it would be flying off the shelves but cos it has B twin on it it doesn't and I must admit I did concur!!! 

My opinion only but there should be no room at all for snobbery in any sport whatsoever and I try to take that philosophy and apply it to life in general as well.

If sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, then Snobbery is the lowest form of .......


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## MLC (4 May 2010)

[quote name='swee'pea99']I agree there's far too much snobbery about bikes and airy comments along the lines of 'anything under £xx is going to be crap', but that does look like one horrible piece of crap, at any price. More likely to alienate than enthuse. I'm with chillyuk - £80 will buy you a nice reliable 80s/90s bike. At anything around the ton, 2nd hand has to be the way to go.[/QUOTE]

Agreed 

but as regards second hand - as a fairly new guy I remember going through hell when trying to source my first bike. I knew very well that second hand would get me something better specced than the same new however I probably like a lot of others knew nothing about what to look for in a bike. I did not know what Sora and Ultegra were let alone knowing what one was better. I can honestly say I was scared to go down the second hand route for fear of being taken advantage of or being ripped off or buying a stolen or broken bike so I resorted to buying a cheapie new. I also didn't know if I would like cycling or not so the thought of laying out £ 600 (which is a lot of money) for an entry level bike for a sport that I didn't know I would like was never actually gonna happen.

It is only now a year down the line with the benefit of hindsight that if I was put in position of having to buy for the first time now I would feel fairly confident about knowing what to look for and what size of bike I would want. back then I would not have had a clue and obviously Argos' clever marketing men have seen this gap in the market and are exploiting it to the full.


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## swee'pea99 (4 May 2010)

These are all true and fair points. There's also the factor that when you buy 2nd hand you're quite likely to need to do some basic maintenance sooner rather than later, even if it's only fitting a new tyre or some brake blocks - and if you have to get your LBS to do it, it starts eating into your savings. 

However...nothing's unsolvable. Finding out about old bikes is way easier than it used to be. Google. As to fear of your seller being a scally, swap a few emails - it's pretty easy to judge who you're dealing with. And on the maintenance, you can get a helluva lot of help thru' sites like bicycletutor, youtube, parktools and sheldon brown - and here! 

Basically, if you want a new bike that's going to be fun to ride, you're probably looking at £300+ for a minimum. Choose carefully and you can get a much better bike 2nd hand for under £100. But it does take time & effort. Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice...

I still wouldn't take that Argos if it came free with a bag of Walkers cheese & onion, mind...


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## Steve H (4 May 2010)

swee said:


> Oh I love Cheese & Onion crisps! I'd definitely get sucked in by that deal.


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## Vitesse (4 May 2010)

The problem with secondhand is that you if you pay £80, or whatever, you usually need to replace a few bits and pieces, and these can easily cost another £80. Just a cheapo wheel, tyre and tube will be £40, probably more.

At least with a RBSO you know that it's all new, if not necessarily the finest quality!


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## cyberknight (4 May 2010)

MLC said:


> I did journey to Decathlon at the weekend and they were demonstrating this.
> 
> http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/comp-pro-fc-900-72884310/#AVANTAGES
> 
> ...



MM nice but i don't like it i mean wheres the rack and mudguards


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## swee'pea99 (4 May 2010)

Vitesse said:


> The problem with secondhand is that you if you pay £80, or whatever, you usually need to replace a few bits and pieces, and these can easily cost another £80. Just a cheapo wheel, tyre and tube will be £40, probably more.
> 
> At least with a RBSO you know that it's all new, if not necessarily the finest quality!



You might, but you very well might not. All the ones I've bought have been fine 'out of the box'.

The OP doesn't say where he's located, but if he lived in, say, Harlow, he might take a look at, eg:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-PULSA...d=ViewItem&pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item19bbee3503
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Raleigh-Milk-...d=ViewItem&pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4cef16f2fe
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/raleigh-milk-...d=ViewItem&pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item27b14b8aa2

Personally I wouldn't buy any of these, for various reasons. I found them in 5 mins - finding the real cream takes longer and more effort. But any of them would crap on that Argos, with or without crisps, and I bet you'd get significant change out of £80.


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## Beardie (5 May 2010)

[quote name='swee'pea99'] when you buy 2nd hand you're quite likely to need to do some basic maintenance sooner rather than later, even if it's only fitting a new tyre or some brake blocks - and if you have to get your LBS to do it, it starts eating into your savings. 

[/QUOTE]

This is where the LBSs really came into their own. Buying a secondhand bike from one would mean that it would already have had a service and all worn parts replaced. You could then be reasonably sure that it would go for some time before needing serious attention. 

When BSOs started flooding in, it was possible for the first time to buy new for less than secondhand. Bike shops no longer found it worth the cost of checking over secondhand bikes for sale (unless it was something special) and so stopped offering trade-ins. Result: a lot of good bikes with miles left in them go to the tip. Really, I believe that the sub-£100 bike is the worst thing to happen to cycling in a long time. This isn't snobbery, but a reaction to customers unknowingly being fed rubbish.

Imagine if a car maker introduced a new car for £1500 or so, but it was made of such poor-quality materials that it would be unlikely to get through its first MoT at the end of three years. I would like to think that it would rightly be seen as a waste of resources by everyone from Greenpeace to Top Gear, yet BSOs are on a par with this.


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## claud rider (5 May 2010)

This bike is about as much use as the rubbish range sold in Halfrauds.
Fine for very light and infrequent use but do any serious riding and its going to fall apart pretty quick.
I'am no expert but these days the starting rate is about 500 pounds for a for a use full bike.
It was lower than this but due to a few economic exchange rate problems it has gone up quite substantially.


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## arallsopp (5 May 2010)

When I was a lad, I used to be into my hi-fi. Loved the stuff. Thought nothing of spending £ks on decent speakers, saved for over a year to buy an amp, that kind of thing...

Of course, I know plenty of bike snobs whose idea of fidelity is an mp3 player with bundled headphones where the whole thing costs less than a decent run of speaker wire.
No way that *I* could enjoy listening to it.

Have they wasted their money?


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## Sheffield_Tiger (5 May 2010)

claud rider said:


> ...these days the starting rate is about 500 pounds for a for a use full bike..



Sorry, but that is complete twaddle


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## Mark_Robson (5 May 2010)

claud rider said:


> This bike is about as much use as the rubbish range sold in Halfrauds.
> Fine for very light and infrequent use but do any serious riding and its going to fall apart pretty quick.
> I'am no expert but these days the starting rate is about 500 pounds for a for a use full bike.
> It was lower than this but due to a few economic exchange rate problems it has gone up quite substantially.


What complete rubbish. Carrera bikes are very good value for money and you can get a good bike for far less than £500


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## cyberknight (7 May 2010)

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/virtuoso-09-34691

Says it all and down to £300

and ...........
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/subway-1-8831


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## Cubist (8 May 2010)

claud rider said:


> This bike is about as much use as the rubbish range sold in Halfrauds.
> Fine for very light and infrequent use but do any serious riding and its going to fall apart pretty quick.
> I'am no expert but these days the starting rate is about 500 pounds for a for a use full bike.
> It was lower than this but due to a few economic exchange rate problems it has gone up quite substantially.




My uncle bought a car air freshener from Halfords once and by the end of the week his bungalow had fallen into the sea.


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## on the road (8 May 2010)

He didn't need the air freshener


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## steve30 (9 May 2010)

Argos' Challenge Typhoon is currently at £99.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3321542/Trail/searchtext>CHALLENGE+BIKES.htm

Does anyone here have one, or has anyone here used one?

I see lots of negative comments, but I don't see any comments from anyone who has actually used one. I doubt it would be excellent, but you never really know until you have tried it.


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## GazK (9 May 2010)

I can't advise, but I do like the sound of 14 "sunrun gears"...


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## Alan Whicker (9 May 2010)

steve30 said:


> Argos' Challenge Typhoon is currently at £99.
> 
> http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3321542/Trail/searchtext>CHALLENGE+BIKES.htm
> 
> ...



How bad can it be? As long as the brakes stop you moving when you want them to, it'd do very well as a runaround. I see people every day commuting on far 'worse' bikes. 

About 12 years ago I had a Probike Black Knight BSO. Weighed about as much as car, had plastic brakes and a crank that warped, but I regularly rode from Bethnal Green to Putney on it. It also cost me £35 more than this Typhoon. I upgraded a year later to a Claude Butler. It was like putting slippers on after wearing clogs.


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## Gerry Attrick (9 May 2010)

I think it is possible that giving heartfelt advice on the forum can, where that advice conflicts with the opinion of some members, be too easily branded "snobbery" by some. Please don't attack me now for saying that, I'm having a go at no-one. However the advice given above by the "don't buy it" respondents is, I am sure, well-meant. I have personally known two people put off cycling because of the bad experience they have had with BSO's (not from Argos). Once put off, they will not risk getting their fingers burnt again and then lost to cycling.

Instead of going to the butchers to buy shoes, visit an LBS to enquire about bikes. Many LBS's have customer's adverts for second-hand bikes and often knows the bike and is in a good position to advise whether or not it is suitable.


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## swee'pea99 (9 May 2010)

Did you notice the small print at the bottom?

* Please note item 3321542 has previously been on sale at £79.99.

+ two reviews.

Review #1: "rode it first time and 3 miles into the trip the chain broke and had to walk it home"
Review #2: "The only disappointment was that having built the bike and then pumped the tyres up one of the tyres promptly burst"


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## CopperBrompton (9 May 2010)

chillyuk said:


> A good second hand against a crap new doesn't take too much work out.


Exactly, you can get an old but good-quality secondhand bike for the same money as a rubbish new one. Same thing with cars.


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## Sheffield_Tiger (10 May 2010)

To play DA here, no-one posts "average" reviews, only good or bad. Most reviews would, if reviewing were mandatory, fall into the "average" category I guess, and there are unlikely to be outstanding reviews of a bike at this price.



swee said:


> Review #2: "The only disappointment was that having built the bike and then pumped the tyres up one of the tyres promptly burst"



Read: "I shouldn't have tried to build this myself as I'm all fingers and thumbs and haven't a clue. I only went and tried to pump up the tyre with the tube pinched under the bead and didn't notice until it went pop. I should have got a competent person to put the bike together, my brakes are probably set up with one block running the tyre sidewall and the other dipping under the rim.

No, I would not reccomend this bike to anyone who asked me, but to suggest that only one of my bikes is any use at all for anything because the other 2 cost less than £500 each IS plain snobbery and out-of-touch.


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## CopperBrompton (10 May 2010)

I agree there are some perfectly good £300-ish bikes around (though even then £300 spent on a secondhand bike will get something _really _good). But at the £100 mark, secondhand is the only sensible way to go IMV.


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## LukeA (10 May 2010)

I work at Argos part time myself inbetween freelance work, and have seen these bikes first hand, they're honestly not too horrific. You absolutely get what you pay for, if you know what youre looking for you would definately be able to get something of higher quality second hand, but i doubt you'd be dissapointed with this one, for the money paid atleast.


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## johnr (10 May 2010)

Vitesse said:


> Argos Challenge road bike, was £199, now £79. Has to be a bargain!



No it doesn't.  (Is that enough?)


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## Globalti (10 May 2010)

A friend of mine bought his GF a £99 bike. He asked me to check it over... to be honest you can't adjust a bike that bad because the components are so crudley made that it's impossible to achieve a fine adjustment. For example the brakes were side-pull and made from pressed steel so they distorted when you used them. The actual pads were held on with nuts and some washers but you couldn't tighten the nut while holding the pad in the correct position. 

The bike weighed a ton and the gears didn't work properly.

She never rode it.


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## kewb (10 May 2010)

past experience of an argos bought raleigh mtb have put me off ever buying from them 3 bikes 3 buckled wheels all from the box ,
assembled the first bike put front wheel on had to take it apart to return it to store , two replacements same problem , got refund in the end was a kids present so resulted in mad dash to hafords for replacement ,
no kidding btw similar bike they put it together in shop looked ok , time was ticking , got it home out for ride yep both wheels buckled ,
fair due halfords replaced with better rims free of charge .


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## summerdays (10 May 2010)

Vitesse said:


> The problem with secondhand is that you if you pay £80, or whatever, you usually need to replace a few bits and pieces, and these can easily cost another £80. Just a cheapo wheel, tyre and tube will be £40, probably more.
> 
> At least with a RBSO you know that it's all new, if not necessarily the finest quality!



But if the parts are made of cheese you have to replace them and then you have paid out that £40 etc... we had to buy new wheels for our BSO object within 4 months of purchase.



Globalti said:


> A friend of mine bought his GF a £99 bike. He asked me to check it over... to be honest you can't adjust a bike that bad because the components are so crudley made that it's impossible to achieve a fine adjustment. For example the brakes were side-pull and made from pressed steel so they distorted when you used them. The actual pads were held on with nuts and some washers but you couldn't tighten the nut while holding the pad in the correct position.
> 
> The bike weighed a ton and the gears didn't work properly.
> 
> She never rode it.



I've seen many a cheap bike component such as the brake adjusters where the metal is so soft that it bends and easily becomes stripped of its threads, the noodles brake, the plastic brake levers bend rather than apply proper pressure etc. That's even if it has been assembled correctly. 

One bike I saw in school - told the lad the saddle was too low and offered to put it up for him... only to find it was sold with litterally 1 inch of seat post adjustment. Now would you accept that on your bike? and is that truely fit for a growing child.

I'm not a bike snob ... but at the very bottom of the bicycle market there is stuff that is not fit to be sold as a bike. From the point when the bike is adjustable and serviceable I don't care if its second hand or really expensive - though obviously some bikes look nicer than others (doesn't always equal more expensive).


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## Vitesse (15 May 2010)

Globalti said:


> A friend of mine bought his GF a £99 bike. He asked me to check it over... to be honest you can't adjust a bike that bad because the components are so crudley made that it's impossible to achieve a fine adjustment. For example the brakes were side-pull and made from pressed steel so they distorted when you used them. The actual pads were held on with nuts and some washers but you couldn't tighten the nut while holding the pad in the correct position.
> 
> The bike weighed a ton and the gears didn't work properly.
> 
> She never rode it.



One of the main problems with cheap (and not so cheap) bikes seems to be that the slave labourers paid a pittance to build them over-tighten the steering, wheel and bottom bracket bearings. Riding a BSO straight from the box is thus likely to wear everything out in a few miles, so the idea that 'you can't adjust a bike that bad...' makes no sense.


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## Sheffield_Tiger (15 May 2010)

Vitesse said:


> One of the main problems with cheap (and not so cheap) bikes seems to be that the slave labourers paid a pittance to build them over-tighten the steering, wheel and bottom bracket bearings. Riding a BSO straight from the box is thus likely to wear everything out in a few miles, so the idea that 'you can't adjust a bike that bad...' makes no sense.



I once worked at a BSO-importer that started out fairly well. Every bike was COMPLETELY stripped, parts sorted and then everything was hand-built. The main reason for this was that the business was aiming to find its niche in supply to companies, football clubs and other sports clubs etc. so many of the frames were blasted and properly resprayed in corporate colours.

Good idea in theory, the bad idea was trying to source BSO's from Italy which were far overpriced. It went bust after throwing a lot of money at trying to secure exclusivity on Bianchi imports, which went tits up after the launch party had been arranged and announced.

The company then limped on buying in Taiwanese BSOs (Magna being the main one) and rather dodgily and illegally stripping down and respraying/rebranding as an Italian brand.

But I guess they were the only Magna BSOs to be fully stripped and hand re-built, so at least the customers being duped got something that was set up as good as it could ever be.

Thankfully (though it caused me issues at the time being paid in rubber cheques) the company went under and is no more. The boss insisted that their wheels were the best because he said they were 100% aluminium, not an alloy, and that they were built by robots who could get a wheel far straighter than any human. Yes, he was a complete nitwit.

(I only worked there by the way - and before minimum wage at the princely sum of £2.50/hr so was in no real position to do anything about it)


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## Vitesse (22 May 2010)

Back to £99 now - still half price, allegedly!


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## gavintc (22 May 2010)

Vitesse said:


> Back to £99 now - still half price, allegedly!



£99 wasted is still £99 wasted. I can think of lots better things to spend £99 on.


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