BSO

[ianrauk]

I disagree.
I own an apollo and its excellent. 20 miles a day and its excellent.
The - you will realise the poor quality when you upgrade to a decent bike - arguement i dont agree with.
In absolute terms it is excellent and in relative terms ; well comparisons are odious.

I also disagree.
I have had an Apollo and my wife currently has one.
They are not the greatest bikes by a long shot. But are at least made to a far better standard then a Tesco/Asda cheapo special and if looked after will last a good while.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I also disagree.
I have had an Apollo and my wife currently has one.
They are not the greatest bikes by a long shot. But are at least made to a far better standard then a Tesco/Asda cheapo special and if looked after will last a good while.

Maybe I should have said the transition from BSO to Bike rather than borderline?

 

[Mad at urage]

Yes so your getting people who dont know their way around a bike buying a bike of insufficient quality without proper tools and instructions.
Why ?
Because they want to. (same with joe publics love affair with flat pack furniture and the 1000s of botched diy jobs happening as we speak. More power to joe public - if he wants to buy cheap flatpack rubbish then they arnt going to listen to anyone saying otherwise.

Fine, as you say if they want to ... just as long as it is an informed choice. Labeling these as BSOs is an attempt to inform people's choice.

 

[abo]

Dont listen to anyone - apollo are fantastic bikes.

Apart from when they're not.

 

[benb]

Least it should have taught them is dont but another flat pack bike from asda / tescos.
Wish i saw some in skips - now i have cancelled ben nevis i will have to pop down my local landfill site.

Unfortunately, for many, it will teach them that cycling is an uncomfortable chore so best stick with the car.

 

[apollo179]

Fine, as you say if they want to ... just as long as it is an informed choice. Labeling these as BSOs is an attempt to inform people's choice.

By the same token b & q should sell there electric drills with the warning "Carefull - you could seriously muck your house up with this drill"
Surely somewhere down the line we credit joe public with some basic inteligence and the responsibility to go with it.

 

[abo]

By the same token b & q should sell there electric drills with the warning "Carefull - you could seriously muck your house up with this drill"
Surely somewhere down the line we credit joe public with some basic inteligence and the responsibility to go with it.

No, it's entirely different. It'd be like B&Q selling an own brand value 12v Nicad cordless drill styled to look like a 24v DeWalt Li-ion cordless hammer drill...

 

[Angelfishsolo]

By the same token b & q should sell there electric drills with the warning "Carefull - you could seriously muck your house up with this drill"
Surely somewhere down the line we credit joe public with some basic inteligence and the responsibility to go with it.

Maybe I am a little old fashioned but if I buy something from a reputable shop I expect it to be of satisfactory quality and feel I should not have to worry about its' ability to carry out its' intended purpose. There is, as far as I can see, anything unintelligent about that line of thinking. If I by Smartprice beans as opposed to Heinz I expect them to still be haricot beans in a tomato(ish) sauce albeit of poorer taste. What I do not expect is a tin of reject quality husks in water.

 

[apollo179]

Maybe I am a little old fashioned but if I buy something from a reputable shop I expect it to be of satisfactory quality and feel I should not have to worry about its' ability to carry out its' intended purpose. There is, as far as I can see, anything unintelligent about that line of thinking. If I by Smartprice beans as opposed to Heinz I expect them to still be haricot beans in a tomato(ish) sauce albeit of poorer taste. What I do not expect is a tin of reject quality husks in water.

So your saying tesco / asda should sell them clearly labelled as flat pack rubbish bikes.
We all know that isnt going to happen.
Retailers are operating under the constraints of trading standards etc and accordingly we can assume they are labelled acurately - the rest is up to the consumer.
Just as a housewife squeezes a mellon to check it for quality the same burden of responsibilty lies with the bike consumer to check what they are buying.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

So your saying tesco / asda should sell them clearly labelled as flat pack rubbish bikes.
We all know that isnt going to happen.
Retailers are operating under the constraints of trading standards etc and accordingly we can assume they are labelled acurately - the rest is up to the consumer.
Just as a housewife squeezes a mellon to check it for quality the same burden of responsibilty lies with the bike consumer to check what they are buying.

I'm saying the bike should not allowed to be sold in the first place. That little sticker hidden on the frame is how they get past TS. Rather like a con that wasn't a con on ebay a few years ago. Xbox box for sale £20.

 

[John the Monkey]

A little extra weight? The one I have the displeasure of working on from time to time is as heavy as a DH bike!!!

I refer the honourable gentlemen back to my experiences of the "Rhino" dual sus. A kid's bike AS HEAVY AS AN ADULT'S STEEL FRAMED HYBRID.

That's not right.

FWIW, Mrs Monkey has an Apollo. It has a rigid (but pretty heavy) "Hi-Ten" frame. 5 speeds at the back, two chainrings, indexed thumbshifters. It's heavy, its wheels are heavy, its brakes are crap (but do the job if adjusted every week to couple of weeks). Its gears are ok, but the derailleur hanger is mounted in the dropout of the rear wheel - an arrangement on this bike that makes wheel removal and replacement a pain, and means a large amount of torque is needed on the rear wheel bolts.

It's not completely shoot, largely because I know what I'm about and can mitigate its worst qualities. She'd have been better spending £100 on a 2nd hand Raleigh Pioneer, or similar 90s era hybrid or MTB though. She'd probably have had change for some nice upgrades too.

And in fact, that's what she does ride now. The Apollo sits in the shed awaiting conversion into something more useful.

 

[apollo179]

I'm saying the bike should not allowed to be sold in the first place. That little sticker hidden on the frame is how they get past TS. Rather like a con that wasn't a con on ebay a few years ago. Xbox box for sale £20.

Whatever happened to buyer beware. Dosnt the bike buyer have any responsibility for thinking about what they are doing , what they are buying.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I refer the honourable gentlemen back to my experiences of the "Rhino" dual sus. A kid's bike AS HEAVY AS AN ADULT'S STEEL FRAMED HYBRID.

That's not right.

FWIW, Mrs Monkey has an Apollo. It has a rigid (but pretty heavy) "Hi-Ten" frame. 5 speeds at the back, two chainrings, indexed thumbshifters. It's heavy, its wheels are heavy, its brakes are crap (but do the job if adjusted every week to couple of weeks). Its gears are ok, but the derailleur hanger is mounted in the dropout of the rear wheel - an arrangement on this bike that makes wheel removal and replacement a pain, and means a large amount of torque is needed on the rear wheel bolts.

It's not completely shoot, largely because I know what I'm about and can mitigate its worst qualities. She'd have been better spending £100 on a 2nd hand Raleigh Pioneer, or similar 90s era hybrid or MTB though. She'd probably have had change for some nice upgrades too.

And in fact, that's what she does ride now. The Apollo sits in the shed awaiting conversion into something more useful.

That sounds pretty much like the Apollo that I had. You had to plan and emergency stop and down hill braking was a distant dream.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Whatever happened to buyer beware. Dosnt the bike buyer have any responsibility for thinking about what they are doing , what they are buying.

Caveat Emptor - The battle cry of dodgy salespeople everywhere. We do live in the 21st Century now don't we? We should be able to buy products that are what they claim to be. Asda and Tesco sell great value TV's, cameras, phones, DVD's, food, clothing et al so a reasonable person might expect the same from their bikes. Sadly this is not the case.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

This site is well worth a look at.