Cheap-o mountain bike

[Rob M]

Cycle got!

Bad:

Perhaps five minutes out of the shop, I drop off the curb to quickly cross the dual carriageway and into the park. Something feels odd as I drop off the curb, but go go go. Get into the park, turn handlebars... And indeed, the handlebars turn. Not taking the wheel with them.

A fifteen minute walk later, back into Evans, slightly mardy shop bloke tells me that it's because a 'spacer' on there is too big, meaning they can't tighten the bars as much as they should, so this can sometimes happen. I didn't ask for this spacer to be put on there, so why the hell did they - of their own accord - put something on there that makes the bike unsafe? Mental.

Anyway, took it out back, tightened it, seems okay now. Although they didn't have the helmet i'd ordered, so I'm rather wary of throwing it around too much until i've got that. But once I get that, I'm going to make sure the bike sees some heavy use before the six weeks service; if something's going to come undone, I want it happening whilst I can get it fixed without an argument.

Good:

Looks nice, feels decent (if a tad rattly on rough ground,) and it's nice to have a bike that seems to fit me. Hurrah.

Hrm:

I appear to be rather less fit than I perhaps thought...

 

[Ivan Ardon]

Cycle got!

Bad:

Perhaps five minutes out of the shop, I drop off the curb to quickly cross the dual carriageway and into the park. Something feels odd as I drop off the curb, but go go go. Get into the park, turn handlebars... And indeed, the handlebars turn. Not taking the wheel with them.

A fifteen minute walk later, back into Evans, slightly mardy shop bloke tells me that it's because a 'spacer' on there is too big, meaning they can't tighten the bars as much as they should, so this can sometimes happen. I

What a load of rubbish - they've let a dangerously set up bike out of the shop. I'd be getting seriously angry at this point.

This sort of validates Jimbo's point about correct assembly being more important than the initial cost.

 

[starthms]

just in the middle of 2 days taking parts off my cheap old halford apollo off and putting them back on right, disc brake no longer rub and i can get the gear i want now the cables have been tighted and limit srews set so chain doesnt come off. i have no bike mechanical knowledge of bikes just books and the internet so how come they cant do this in the shop that supposedly have trained technician there to build your bike shocking how they can get away with it.

 

[Rob M]

What a load of rubbish - they've let a dangerously set up bike out of the shop. I'd be getting seriously angry at this point.

Yeah. I don't know the policy on swearing on this board, so i'll moderate down to an "it's crap."

I was [annoyed], which is why I walked it in and up to the counter, the fella said "you alright?" and I said "No", lifted up the wheel and kicked it sideways so he could see it spin around (as in, on the damn axis of the handlebar shaft.) That's when he trotted out the nonsense about the spacer. So I said, yeah, do whatever, just fix it, and check everything else too. Not much else I could do, annoyingly. (Problems with a computer, I'll argue a shop boy's face off; bikes I'm well out of my depth.)

Anyway, it was fixed, best I can see, and he said they'd checked the wheels, pedals, rest of it (not convinced, but again, what can I do.) Suffice to say, after the free service, I'll be looking elsewhere for any future dealings.