BSO

[Cubist]

I see it from the point of view that the bikes are fitted with brakes. If the brakes are adjusted correctly, they do the intended job of stopping the bike. If the owner doesn't maintain the brakes in working order, that is not the fault of the bike, manufacturer or retailer but the fault of the owner. If you don't maintain expensive Campag brakes, they will not work as intended either.


I own an old MTB which falls into this category and it has plastic cantilever brakes. They work perfectly well because I maintain them. If I didn't, they probably wouldn't work but that is true of most things in life.

Reread it and then read the bit where I said "it compounds the issue".

Go and buy as many of these piles of shite as you want. Maintain them to your heart's content, but for goodness sake don't recommend them to the inexperienced as fit for purpose! They simply aren't.

You can call them what you will, I reserve the right to scorn them as the piles of scrap they are. That is my opinion. It isn't snobbery, it a deep seated hatred of anything that doesn't do what it's supposed to do despite an appearance that it should.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

My definition for BSO would be.
Not fit for purpose , excluding human error assembly related faults.

I am pretty sure Trading Standards would disagree with you on that.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Reread it and then read the bit where I said "it compounds the issue".

Go and buy as many of these piles of shite as you want. Maintain them to your heart's content, but for goodness sake don't recommend them to the inexperienced as fit for purpose! They simply aren't.

You can call them what you will, I reserve the right to scorn them as the piles of scrap they are. That is my opinion. It isn't snobbery, it a deep seated hatred of anything that doesn't do what it's supposed to do despite an appearance that it should.

Do I detect the slightest bit of frustration creeping into your replies ?

 

[Bicycle]

It isn't snobbery, it a deep seated hatred of anything that doesn't do what it's supposed to do despite an appearance that it should.

Gosh!

When people admit to deep-seated hatred of inanimate objects, I begin to smell techno-snobbery in the air.

I may be wrong.

Meanwhile, I have a deep-seated hatred of those very low sofas with cushions so soft that it's difficult to get up from one with any grace or poise.

 

[battered]

BSOs are essantially toys. They are not fit for purpose as a bicycle, they won't see the year out before they fall apart. The only way they will survive a year is if they spend most of their time in a garage or shed and come out once a month, then they have a chance. Happily this is what most people expect these days from a bike. Trading Stds know this and their tests are very basic, if it rolls it passes.

This is not snobbery. Not all cheap bikes are BSOs. Decathlon did a single speed commuter for £70, that was fit for purpose and I would have been perfectly happy to have one of those to scoot around town, go to the pub, etc. Basic NTBs work pretty well for roads and towpaths. There are however bikes with "full suspension" that just don't work, I was given one such with a broken simple MTB and it was only suitable for parts.

 

[apollo179]

I am pretty sure Trading Standards would disagree with you on that.

If you showed trading standards the bike with the forks on the wrong way round that you had just bought for £40 from asda i hope that once they had stopped laughing they would tell you the best thing to do.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

If you showed trading standards the bike with the forks on the wrong way round that you had just bought for £40 from asda i hope that once they had stopped laughing they would tell you the best thing to do.

Which I am sure would be to return the bike and ask for demand a refund.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

BSOs are essantially toys. They are not fit for purpose as a bicycle, they won't see the year out before they fall apart. The only way they will survive a year is if they spend most of their time in a garage or shed and come out once a month, then they have a chance. Happily this is what most people expect these days from a bike. Trading Stds know this and their tests are very basic, if it rolls it passes.

This is not snobbery. Not all cheap bikes are BSOs. Decathlon did a single speed commuter for £70, that was fit for purpose and I would have been perfectly happy to have one of those to scoot around town, go to the pub, etc. Basic NTBs work pretty well for roads and towpaths. There are however bikes with "full suspension" that just don't work, I was given one such with a broken simple MTB and it was only suitable for parts.

So one thing is now clear.

Cheep Bike does not equal BSO

BSO = Cheep bike.

We are getting somewhere.I feel some people believe the false syllogism that one is the same as the other.

 

[apollo179]

Which I am sure would be to return the bike and ask for demand a refund.

But if you like the bike why dont you just turn the forks round the right way. Or you could return the bike to asda and get them to refit the forks or they could just get another of the same bike out of stores that have the forks on the right way round - presuming the assembly line hasnt produced every bike with the forks round the wrong way.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

But if you like the bike why dont you just turn the forks round the right way. Or you could return the bike to asda and get them to refit the forks or they could just get another of the same bike out of stores that have the forks on the right way round - presuming the assembly line hasnt produced every bike with the forks round the wrong way.

Maybe it's just me but I wouldn't trust a bike that has such a blatant flaw in assembly even if it was subsequently corrected. I would certainly seek professional advice from both the legal and mechanical fraternity at this stage.

 

[stevetailor125]

I live in a community where even a supermarket BSO is beyond a lot of peoples means which is where my recycled bike scheme started from. I do get a few bso's through but they are rebuilt using better components from spares bikes. As long as they are transport then people without the finances are not worried what makers name is on it. Probably by todays standards my Ridgeback hybrid is a BSO but it does the job, and gets looked after.Sometimes it isn't people not knowing better, its people not being able to afford anything else. A lot of bikes I get donated are not BSO's but still sat neglected out in a back garden for a couple of years

 

[apollo179]

Maybe it's just me but I wouldn't trust a bike that has such a blatant flaw in assembly even if it was subsequently corrected. I would certainly seek professional advice from both the legal and mechanical fraternity at this stage.

I cant beleive you bought a bike with the forks on the wrong way round in the first place.

 

[Cubist]

Gosh!

When people admit to deep-seated hatred of inanimate objects, I begin to smell techno-snobbery in the air.

I may be wrong.

Meanwhile, I have a deep-seated hatred of those very low sofas with cushions so soft that it's difficult to get up from one with any grace or poise.

No, that deep seated hatred is part of the hatred of anyone who thinks it is acceptable to manufacture and sell something which does not do what is expected of it. If you want to label that as snobbery then you are very far wide of the mark.

For f*cks sake read the bits that so many of us have tried desperately hard to point out, that we do not deride cheap bikes, kids bikes or toy bikes, we deride poor quality ones that are sold as adult bikes.


I consider the sale of supermarket BSOs to be akin to fraud. If Decathlon and Halfords can knock out acceptable quality bikes for the £100 mark, then so can Tesco, Asda, Argos et al. That they continue to sell scrap like the "Rockface Vertigo" despite consumer programmes etc pointing out the dangers/shortfalls, and continue to assemble them incorrectly on their display, indicates their cynicism and lack of responsibility.

 

[Hip Priest]

So one thing is now clear.

Cheep Bike does not equal BSO

BSO = Cheep bike.

We are getting somewhere.I feel some people believe the false syllogism that one is the same as the other.

The equals sign is being misused. If it was truly equal, then the equation would work whichever way round you put it.

 

[Cubist]

I live in a community where even a supermarket BSO is beyond a lot of peoples means which is where my recycled bike scheme started from. I do get a few bso's through but they are rebuilt using better components from spares bikes. As long as they are transport then people without the finances are not worried what makers name is on it. Probably by todays standards my Ridgeback hybrid is a BSO but it does the job, and gets looked after.Sometimes it isn't people not knowing better, its people not being able to afford anything else. A lot of bikes I get donated are not BSO's but still sat neglected out in a back garden for a couple of years

Lovely. You manage to endorse and contradict all the arguments advanced in one single post.

You recycle BSO's, but not before you replace the shoddy components with better quality ones. Great. You rescue them from BSO status to cheap bike status by making them ridable.

People with limited finances are not brand snobs. They want transport. If they were to ask you how best to get a bike for 70 quid what would you say? Would you tell them to go to Tesco and buy a Rockface Vertigo, or would you point them to the classifieds/ebay where that sort of money is perfectly capable of scoring a quality second hand bike?

Was you Ridgeback a BSO when you bought it? No. It was a budget bike.; It's now an old bike. That doesn't make it a BSO.

All bikes can be neglected. BSOs aren't the only ones. However, if you buy a bike and riding it is an unpleasant experience, and your hands won't turn the gripshift, and your shoes are worn out from slowing you down you are more likely to abandon it behind the caged trampoline.

Tesco et al are exploiting the people with only £70 to spend. They could do better, but choose not to.