What are the main differences between cheap bikes and proper bikes?

[summerdays]

Low quality bikes (not all cheaper bikes are low quality), have saved money where ever they can, using plastic levers, no grease in the wheels, low quality metal so that when you try to adjust stuff it just strips the threads. And the one that really annoys me are kids full suspension bikes where the amount of saddle height adjustment is about an inch - we fell for that one once - our rubbish purchase that got me back into cycling. You just can't seem to adjust them properly and there is too much flex in the brake calipers so they screech.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Thanks for your input everyone
It's funny cos I now feel like I should defend my bike lol, it's never let me down even when I had a puncture and nothing to repair it with it held enough air to keep pumping it up at 15 min intervals until I got home and it's not THAT heavy as it is an aluminium frame.
But in all seriousness from what you've said it probably is a bike shaped pile of and I will pluck up some courage and head down to my LBS and see what they have. At least I have an idea about the sort of price bracket I should be looking at

No worries, it's cycling, someone has always got something more expensive than you and they will justify that to the hilt :-)

Never let talk of this or that convince you that what you thought was great is actually a pile of crap. Just equally don't be surprised if you try something better when you find that it is actually better. There are some areas in life where you get what you pay for (up to the right point) and guitars & bicycles are definitely in that area. But the Apollo hasn't put you off of cycling, which is the danger with anything a bit cheap and cheerful when you start out so it's doing what it's supposed to. Don't feel you have to change it until you want to and try out all the options before you make the jump.

 

[ISAAC_J]

Cheap anything will drive you nuts!
Bikes are no different than cars, stereos, guitars, etc ...

I realise that everybody has a budget and cannot afford a rolls royce, or the bicycle equivalent.

My best advice is to pickup a good quality frame / fork (old or brand new) and then determine a groupset and build the bike or go to a comptetent LBS.

To save money, buy an older frame/fork.

Relatively new components of the better groupsets are very good quality and will last for ages.

In general, cycling compared to other sports like golf are cheaper in the long run - try buying a decent set of golf clubs and pay a yearly membership!

That's my two pence worth.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

The lovely Helen called me in Sweden and said "I've bought a new bike, from Halfords". I quailed. "What make darling?" "Er dunno." "What model?" "Not a clue" "Aha" I said "cottoning on "is it a purple one?" "Yes, and the gears are on the bars". She just could not get on with the downtube shifters on the bike I got for her from @User13710.*

Turns out it is a rigid Apollo hybrid. We went to collect it. I wanted to hate it. I really did. I wanted to bemoan its status as a BSO. But for the money it is ok. She's done a couple of hundred km on it, including a day ride with her girlfriends which is the longest ride, at 50+km ,she has done since she was a teenager and the gears still shift, the brakes still stop it, the wheels are still round and true.

*it went free to a good home and I saw it being ridden into town on Saturday.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Strikes me that the cheap bikes of today are somewhat better value for money, than the bikes we used in the 50,s with their rod brakes that never worked, poor quality tyres, and saddles that had no comfort and left one's bum sore after any ride over 10 miles.

 

[MichaelW2]

My best advice is to pickup a good quality frame / fork (old or brand new) and then determine a groupset and build the bike or go to a comptetent LBS.

Buying a bike component by component at retail price is generally poor value compared to whole, mid-range bikes. Unless you have some special requirement, buy a whole bike.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Buying a bike component by component at retail price is generally poor value compared to whole, mid-range bikes. Unless you have some special requirement, buy a whole bike.

Agreed, if you really know what you are doing you can use second hand parts and bits on sale to make something good, but as a first attempt to get a bike, I'd not suggest it. My Sirrus I have slowly upgraded to 105 as things have needed replacing or come cheap because of the move from 10 spd to 11 spd but not really knowing bikes that has still been a bit touch and go (in my head at least) and there's no way I'd want to be doing it as my first foray in to cycling.

 

[Dave7]

As explained to me by my LBS.............a good quality frame (design & material) will transfer far more of your energy through to the road. Cheap frames are like riding something made of scaffold tube and all your enegy is absorbed by the c@:>p you are riding.
A good frame is far more responsive i.e. you put you foot down on a hill and the bike 'goes' as against you slogging your way up the same hill.
Yes.........components (wheels/gearing etc) will make a difference but a good frame is the most important thing to sort.

 

[PhilDawson8270]

try buying a decent set of golf clubs and pay a yearly membership!

Even if you have the money to pay, you can still only join if they like you

 

[sidevalve]

Not too sure of some of the above - I have a Trax bike £78 from you know who and frankly it's been great fun. I suspect that in many cases the problem is one of attitude ie 'Oh it's only a cheap thing therefore it's not worth looking after it'. Result when something does break / wear out the owner usually seems almost pleased to be justified. Halfords Carrera range are quite good and not very expensive but TBH some very expensive bikes are way too heavy IMHO. I'm sorry to say this again but my old Dawes [£50 E Bay] weighs in at just under 10kg [and that includes a cable lock I had wrapped around the seatpost at the time. It really can be the old 'horses for courses' routine.