Poll on the use of BSO

[JohnHenry]

Not an offensive term, but as others have said, unhelpful.

If someone is happily riding their piece of shoot to get to work, the shops or having a pootle along the cycle path every Sunday morning and it does what they want it to, does it really matter if there are people out there who ride better bikes?

Is my Bic biro a pen-shaped-object piece of shoot to the people who insist on posh pens? It writes when I run it across a page so does exactly what I expect a pen to do. If a BSO moves forward when someone presses on the pedals, then it does what most people expect a bike to do.

+1

 

[summerdays]

Voted No - the fact a shop can sell a Bike Shaped Object offends me, not that someone is riding one.

 

[exbfb]

+1

+1 again.

There really is more to worry about IMHO.

 

[marinyork]

Voted No - the fact a shop can sell a Bike Shaped Object offends me, not that someone is riding one.

It's a nice idea, but I've never seen how regulation could effectively stop this without putting almost insurmountable barriers to cycling. Culturally and financially, we're just not ready for it .

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I don't like the term. I think it is unhelpful, sometimes snobby. People who ride so called BSOs are largely the future of cycling, a point that is frequently overlooked. We have to somehow get them to carry on despite the awful nature of some of them and switch to more practical machines in some cases.

I rather think that is what TI Raleigh's marketing people thought in the second half of the 20thC. How's it going for them these days?

 

[Mark_Robson]

I find the term BSO elistist and snobby. What's wrong with using the term cheap bike? which is what they are.

 

[marinyork]

I rather think that is what TI Raleigh's marketing people thought in the second half of the 20thC. How's it going for them these days?

A lot of it is their fault, but unfortunately we're stuck with this culture.

A lot of new cyclists simply will not spend three hundred pounds on a bike or even two hundred. It is seen as absolutely ridiculous. A lot of new cyclists are BSO riders, it is just that a lot of campaigners focus on the easy targets of getting their neighbours, neighbours wives, the tennis partner of their neighbour's wife and their servant into cycling.

Now it may be completely unhelpful that poor people won't max out a credit card to get a decent bike whereas they might to get all kinds of other things especially of the electronic variety, but that's just how it is. It's very difficult to change that. So we're left with embracing those wonderful BSO riders and focusing on the next generation. Talking to ourselves about how wonderful the muesli belt middle class riders pootling around their neighbourhoods or short distances to cushy jobs for the nhs/council/universities won't get cycling very much further than it is right now. What you'll end up with is advanced versions of what we have now - cycling neighbourhoods and cycling deserts. I'd love a cultural change, don't see it happening.

 

[TheDoctor]

It's not a cheap bike.
It's a heap of shite masquerading as a bike, sold in Argos / Toys R Us / Tesco and assembled by idiots who aren't quite up to stacking shelves.
Honestly, I've worked on some of these things and they're rubbish, actively dangerous and a slur on the worthy name of cycling.
And breathe.
/rant

 

[lukesdad]

Ive never used the term myself, and as I guess 99% of people on here probably learn t to ride on one they can t be all bad can they ? So yes the term does offend me especially when used by people who should Know better.

 

[ian turner]

Ive never used the term myself, and as I guess 99% of people on here probably learn t to ride on one they can t be all bad can they ? So yes the term does offend me especially when used by people who should Know better.

98% of people might be offended by the suggestion that they bought their first bike from ASDA. Not all cheap bikes are equal

BSO 4tw

 

[Norm]

I find the term BSO elistist and snobby. What's wrong with using the term cheap bike? which is what they are.

I think the Doc has covered this but I just wanted to add that the reason that I don't believe it is elitist is the same as the reason I don't believe that BSO means cheap bike.

A new cheap bike can be had from the likes of Decathalon or Halfords, or second hand from ebay, Gumtree, local free ads or even from a chap you only know through a cycling forum. They can be fanstastic things, offering reliable transport at bargain prices.

A BSO will start off as a POS which is so heavy that it's difficult to ride. If it lasts past the first 100 miles, things will have fallen off or worn out or be unserviceable but the chances are that the bike will be such a burden to the potential cyclist that it will be left to gather dust and house spiders long before it makes that milestone.

BSO does not mean cheap. My kids both have Apollo bikes from Halfords which cost around £120 two years ago. Both have proved resilient and reliable and, my daughter's particularly, they have covered some fairly decent miles without needing anything more than the saddle raising because the kids are growing.

Conversely, my son's bike before that was a Reebok which never really did have a decent rear brake and seemed to weigh about the same as my car. That was a BSO.

 

[2Loose]

98% of people might be offended by the suggestion that they bought their first bike from ASDA. Not all cheap bikes are equal

BSO 4tw

Indeed, If I had tried to learn to ride on the 'thing' that was bought for neice, I probably ouwldn't know anyone here now.

I think the Doc has covered this but I just wanted to add that the reason that I don't believe it is elitist is the same as the reason I don't believe that BSO means cheap bike.

A new cheap bike can be had from the likes of Decathalon or Halfords, or second hand from ebay, Gumtree, local free ads or even from a chap you only know through a cycling forum. They can be fanstastic things, offering reliable transport at bargain prices.

A BSO will start off as a POS which is so heavy that it's difficult to ride. If it lasts past the first 100 miles, things will have fallen off or worn out or be unserviceable but the chances are that the bike will be such a burden to the potential cyclist that it will be left to gather dust and house spiders long before it makes that milestone.

BSO does not mean cheap. My kids both have Apollo bikes from Halfords which cost around £120 two years ago. Both have proved resilient and reliable and, my daughter's particularly, they have covered some fairly decent miles without needing anything more than the saddle raising because the kids are growing.

Conversely, my son's bike before that was a Reebok which never really did have a decent rear brake and seemed to weigh about the same as my car. That was a BSO.

Exactly. Having recently ridden my nieces 20" wheel BSO which weighs at least three times the weight of either of my bikes (I am 40, she is 8) with gears that need adjusting twice within 8 miles! Would have put me off bikes altogether as far too much effort for even a short run, if that is what had been available 30 years ago.

 

[Hip Priest]

It doesn't offend me. Though I think it should only be used to describe the sort of £79 full suspension thing you get from Sports Direct which has the forks on back-to-front and weighs about the same as a Hummer. Not just any bike under £200.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

A lot of new cyclists simply will not spend three hundred pounds on a bike or even two hundred. It is seen as absolutely ridiculous. A lot of new cyclists are BSO riders, it is just that a lot of campaigners focus on the easy targets of getting their neighbours, neighbours wives, the tennis partner of their neighbour's wife and their servant into cycling

In these parts if you can only afford a BSO then, when your current BSO expires (but see below), you will replace it with another BSO. Repeat ad lib to fade. Odds are it is cheaper than buying a decent bike which goes awol when your £5.99 combination lock gets ripped open.

A new cheap bike can be had from the likes of Decathalon or Halfords, or second hand from ebay, Gumtree, local free ads or even from a chap you only know through a cycling forum. They can be fanstastic things, offering reliable transport at bargain prices.

BSO does not mean cheap. My kids both have Apollo bikes from Halfords which cost around £120 two years ago. Both have proved resilient and reliable and, my daughter's particularly, they have covered some fairly decent miles without needing anything more than the saddle raising because the kids are growing.

Apollos are often nigh on indestructible. In these parts anyway. Post the nuclear holocaust that leads to humankind's extinction I'm sure the giant cockroaches which survive will ride around on old Apollos (and the odd Raleigh Pioneer. King Cockroach will have a super galaxy but he won't lend it out.)

 

[ianrauk]

It doesn't offend me. Though I think it should only be used to describe the sort of £79 full suspension thing you get from Sports Direct which has the forks on back-to-front and weighs about the same as a Hummer. Not just any bike under £200.

That's exactly how I interprete a BSO.