freewheelwilly
Senior Member
- Location
- London
ha ha true
classic beginners mistake
- Thread starter stephyt
- Start date
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ha ha true
gary in derby
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Derby
always remember when i was a young apprentice being told "you buy cheap you buy twice" always buy the best you can afford. these words of wisdom have served me well.
james79
Member
- Location
- Beverley - East Riding
Ive just got an old giant sedona for £50. Good condition as well! Its an excellent bike. Ive made mistakes in the past getting bikes so have a look for a good reliable second hander rather than dirt cheap new bike as the wrong choice can be expensive!
xpc316e
Veteran
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK
We need toremember that £90 may be all that the OP could afford to spend on a bike. It's not a wonderful bike, but it may well suit her needs. She will probably find that things like gears and brakes are not easy to keep well-adjusted because of the quality of the parts, but if it is looked after and not left out in the rain it should do the job.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Absolutely!! When I bought a similar bike (as a knockabout bike that I could lock up anywhere without worrying) it wasn't a great bike but it did the job and if it hadn't completely worn out after five years use i'd probably still be using it for that purpose.
KateK
Well-Known Member
- Location
- cambridgeshire
and there aren't as many second hand ladies bikes around, and if you're new you don't know what's a good make and what isn't, though I found a good beginner's web site on bike shaped objects and how to spot them, can't remember where, which identified good clues to a bad bike such as plastic pedals and plastic brake levers I think. Actually I'm waffling here I'm sure the rest of you could do better...its the drugs you see, they did my short term memory like noones business ...now where did I leave my bike??
KateK
Well-Known Member
- Location
- cambridgeshire
Anyway, what I wanted to say was, don't despair, have fun. For my first 5 months I rode a 26 year old bike with bottom bracket exhaustion (think pedalling in a bag of rubble), knackered gears (think chain coming off and getting stuck at least once an outing) and a 26 year old saddle (don't even think about it - it'll make you walk funny) and I still enjoyed it. A new cheap bike is going to be better than that.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Ooooh, ouch.
festival
Über Member
Please take it back. before that phone their customer services and explain you are on a tight budget and asked for help and guidance in choosing something that would suit your needs, obviously you got duff advise and what are they going to do about it etc.
Generally they will phone someone in charge at the store and suggest they put it right. eg give you a more suitable bike and arrange for you to take it back. If you are nice but firm they usually respond well.
Frankly, you can't get anything worthwhile for £100, but try a ridged fork hard tail hybrid type for the same money, it will be better than what you have got.
Its not your fault you have no idea, thats their job to guide you to the right choice, even if its to say to you that you should be spending £250 to achieve your needs, but if you only have £100 this ie 'the hybrid' will sort of do.
Good luck.
Generally they will phone someone in charge at the store and suggest they put it right. eg give you a more suitable bike and arrange for you to take it back. If you are nice but firm they usually respond well.
Frankly, you can't get anything worthwhile for £100, but try a ridged fork hard tail hybrid type for the same money, it will be better than what you have got.
Its not your fault you have no idea, thats their job to guide you to the right choice, even if its to say to you that you should be spending £250 to achieve your needs, but if you only have £100 this ie 'the hybrid' will sort of do.
Good luck.
Sidetracking here, but I hate that saying. What if you want a bike to ride six times a year and you can afford £6000? For that amount of use a £400 Ribble would serve you just as well for all but the bragging rights - and you could lock it up outside the pub
OP
OP
stephyt
Active Member
- Location
- cramlington
hi I have emailed customer services explaining what is what and puttin in some of ur suggested comments see I thy can do anything. unable to ring as I haven't the Time ATM
will keep updated if I get anywhere with then here's hoping lol 
x
Scruffmonster
Über Member
- Location
- London/Kent
That's not what that term means. You still buy to purpose. The point being, find the purpose that a purchase must fit, then buy sensibly for that purpose.
My mate and I have a running bet. In more affluent days, I bought a £180 Dualit toaster, 5 years ago. He crucified me for this and bet that in his lifetime he would never spend £180 on Toasters. His first one cost £30 and it popped after 3 years. His second cost £55. I dare say he'll buy at least another one or two in his life.
festival
Über Member
In the past I have worked for Halfords for my sins and if you get the right person they will usually try to exceed your needs when resolving a problem. But you have to be persistent if you get the wrong person, the right person will see you as a customer for life and go the extra mile so play on that.
The fact you have put it into writing (email) means they will have a record and should follow it through to a positive conclusion.
I would be interested to hear what happens.
The fact you have put it into writing (email) means they will have a record and should follow it through to a positive conclusion.
I would be interested to hear what happens.
Sorry, I got confused when you said "buy the best you can afford" into thinking you meant "buy the best you can afford". Realising now that you actually meant "buy sensibly for [a] purpose", I agree completely
I had an expensive chrome toaster once (not a dualit,but a fairly sensible and well-built machine nonetheless). I took it into work where it died an early death when someone stuck a knife in the slot while it was toasting. I can't persuade my wife we need another unless I can find one that pops the toast instead of requiring you to pull it out.