BSO

[NeilEB]

Blimey.. some one get this man a beer....

Thankfully it wasn't all in one sitting - otherwise forget the beer, I'd need a straightjacket.

 

[betty swollocks]

Another thing with BSO's (and I have no qualms in calling them this) is the human exploitation element.
I simply cannot see how a bike can cost £59.99 or £79.99, without people having been exploited along the way......given the cost of the raw materials, the various manufacturing processes, the assembly processes, shipping, distribution and profit margins etc.
There are some poor bastards, slaving away for a pittance in some far-eastern sweatshop, you can be sure.

 

[benb]

Another thing with BSO's (and I have no qualms in calling them this) is the human exploitation element.
I simply cannot see how a bike can cost £59.99 or £79.99, without people having been exploited along the way......given the cost of the raw materials, the various manufacturing processes, the assembly processes, shipping, distribution and profit margins etc.
There are some poor bastards, slaving away for a pittance in some far-eastern sweatshop, you can be sure.

To be fair, I'm not sure that's substantially different in the more expensive bikes.

 

[abo]

Another thing with BSO's (and I have no qualms in calling them this) is the human exploitation element.
I simply cannot see how a bike can cost £59.99 or £79.99, without people having been exploited along the way......given the cost of the raw materials, the various manufacturing processes, the assembly processes, shipping, distribution and profit margins etc.
There are some poor bastards, slaving away for a pittance in some far-eastern sweatshop, you can be sure.

I bet the margins all along the way will be tiny, and they're mashing out *huge* volumes of them for sale worldwide. I mean look at those full sus things, they all look basically the same like they could have been made in the same sweatshop factory.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I bet the margins all along the way will be tiny, and they're mashing out *huge* volumes of them for sale worldwide. I mean look at those full sus things, they all look basically the same like they could have been made in the same sweatshop factory.

Do they? I have not seen a cheap full sus with multi link hydraulic suspension

 

[abo]

Do they? I have not seen a cheap full sus with multi link hydraulic suspension

Well, I was generalising but the supermarket BSO's seem to follow the same pattern as this thing from Tesco:

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Well, I was generalising but the supermarket BSO's seem to follow the same pattern as this thing from Tesco:

The sign of a bad full sus is the coil spring IMHO

 

[abo]

The sign of a bad full sus is the coil spring IMHO

The thing that gets me about those bikes, is that shock absorber thing is bound to be a bit of a weak link, whats to stop the whole rear assembly from moving from side to side? There's bound to be some torsion and they just don't look like they could handle it, like they will bend in the middle, and not in the wya they are supposed to.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

The thing that gets me about those bikes, is that shock absorber thing is bound to be a bit of a weak link, whats to stop the whole rear assembly from moving from side to side? There's bound to be some torsion and they just don't look like they could handle it, like they will bend in the middle, and not in the wya they are supposed to.

I have only ever seen one snap in half. All seem to be like riding a bouncy castle though. Good sus is the kind you don't know is working IMHO.

 

[abo]

I have only ever seen one snap in half. All seem to be like riding a bouncy castle though. Good sus is the kind you don't know is working IMHO.

Heh, the amount of people bouncing along on them round here who like they are riding horses.

No criticism BTW, it just looks a bit odd

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Heh, the amount of people bouncing along on them round here who like they are riding horses.

No criticism BTW, it just looks a bit odd

It's one of my biggest criticisms of those machines

 

[Little yellow Brompton]

It strikes me that a person who can only afford a cheap bike shouldn't be looked down because of it. A bso is a bike it may not be as good as the high end ones but properly maintained it will get you there.

No it won't , it will be impossible to maintain it properly, it WILL break, it WILL, go out of adjustement/true, if it even was in the forst place.

A BSO isn't a cheap bike it's a bad bike.

 

[Little yellow Brompton]

Thanks for the suggestion.
Looks a safe bet (nice bike)
£100
So anyone with a sub £100 budget has a problem.
Newbies will probably be (understandably) disinclined to buy 2nd hand.
What do we suggest for anyone with a sub £100 budget , who is inclined to buy new , shops at tescos and is only going to use it for the occasional trip down to the library or down the pub.

Taxis!

 

[apollo179]

I dont think its quite right that in circumstances where someone cant afford to spend over £100 and whos demands would not be exessive that still the view of the forum seems to be either save up or get a taxi.
Surely these circumstances are the bso niche , when buying a bso is the acceptable (only) alternative.
(excluding buying 2nd hand because the subject knows nothinbg about bikes and if he were to go and buy a 2nd hand bike he would likely end up with a 2nd hand bso).
(excluding stealing one)

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I dont think its quite right that in circumstances where someone cant afford to spend over £100 and whos demands would not be exessive that still the view of the forum seems to be either save up or get a taxi.
Surely these circumstances are the bso niche , when buying a bso is the acceptable (only) alternative.
(excluding buying 2nd hand because the subject knows nothinbg about bikes and if he were to go and buy a 2nd hand bike he would likely end up with a 2nd hand bso).
(excluding stealing one)

As I said better to save money until the person can afford £100 than to waste it on a BSO.