I've just bought a cheap bike..tell me I haven't made a mistake.

aliasojo

All my kids have always had Raleigh bikes and Clarks shoes, it's just something I've felt the need to do, lol. However daughter is now far too big for her old Raleigh bike and really needs a new one.

I've just found a bike on Tesco which is half price (£160 down to £80) less a £10 off code, less an £8 voucher I had kicking about which brings it down to £62 (not including Quidco). That's at least half the cost of a similar sized Raleigh.

I've just ordered it. :eek:

I'm now panicking because:

1) It might be absolute rubbish

2) It might not fit her (She's at school so couldn't measure her inside leg - I improvised by measuring her trousers and adding a bit on :rotfl:)

3) I've bought something I don't know anything about on the spur of the moment as it seemed like a bargain. (These things have a habit of backfiring on me.)

4) I clearly have 'issues' :rotfl:

Please tell me someone out there has bought a tesco bike before and it's been fine. I don't know why I feel so worried about this.

Treacly

You might get away with it if you get it properly set up to fit her when it arrives - your LBS (local bike shop) will be able to help you with this - and shouldn't charge you for the privilege (especially if you buy a lock or a helmet for her at the same time). In particular, make sure the saddle is set high enough - a generation of young people are ruining their knees by having their saddles set way too low. Good luck!

threemuttleys

I bought a £60 bike off asda last year...not bad for the money.

webitha

i bought thing 1 a bike from tescos, and it was great, he loved it....til it got nicked

*Louise*

Parents beat themselves up too much about brand names - most kids don't really care

Parent: "Oh I wonder if this one is okay, is it the right colour, the right style, the right brand.....can I afford it"

Child "Oooooo a new bike - yay!!"

As long as it fits, and it's not a boneshaker, it will be fine.

Reggie_Rebel

As long as the wheels don't go in different directions at the first fork in the road it will be fine.

edit

Get your camcorder out just in case, then if it does happen you'll ahve £150 from harry Hill for a decent one

debtfreenewbie

I have had a few of these.You will need to put it together so better to take it to a bike shop.
These bikes are normally ex catalogue stock so they are ok.

paulwf

Treacly wrote: »

You might get away with it if you get it properly set up to fit her when it arrives - your LBS (local bike shop) will be able to help you with this - and shouldn't charge you for the privilege (especially if you buy a lock or a helmet for her at the same time).

Putting together a cheap flat pack bike actually takes a long time for a bike shop as the bikes are of poor quality so it takes ages to get the gears and brakes working to any acceptable standard. When I was in the cycle trade our shop charged £35 - the same as a basic bike service as it took the same amount of time. Any shop putting together for free a bike that has been purchased elsewhere must be bonkers (a lot of bike shop owners have little sense of commercial reality though).

Tesco half price offers on bikes are rarely a genuine half price offer...you might have got lucky but 90% of the time the price you pay is the price it is worth.

Raleigh isn't a very good brand for kids bikes any more. Going back just over 10 years they were British made and although a bit overpriced and not at all trendy they were solidly constructed and lasted for ages. Now they just source from the cheapest far east factories and just specify the badge and graphics to go on it...a real shame to see a once top quality British company sell its factories, make a majority of its staff redundant and give up any care about the quality.

American brands such as Trek, Marin, Specialized and Gary Fisher tend to be where its at now as they still have some pride in their products in the US, unfortunately a bike of half decent quality for a 10+ year old is around the £200 mark as they are essentially the same as adults bikes but smaller. That's a lot of money when a child is growing so fast, good bike shops get a lot of repeat custom so they usually get their old bikes back and give them a service and guarantee and sell them second hand for a reasonable price.

Treacly

paulwf wrote: »

Putting together a cheap flat pack bike actually takes a long time for a bike shop as the bikes are of poor quality so it takes ages to get the gears and brakes working to any acceptable standard.

Oh well here's where I show my ignorance - I wasn't aware bikes came flat-packed these days - I just thought it would be a case of adjustment, not assembly, for which a bike shop doesn't normally charge (in my experience).

*miaomiao*

It's really worthwhile getting someone who is a professional to set up this kind of bike (flat pack). I've found that there are actually a good number of pros who now list online (you can search for feedback/reviews too) in local areas who will come to you to work on the bicycle or they have very reasonable amounts. Another possibility if you are pressed for time or don't have the means to transport it to a bike shop. But unless you have worked with a lot of bicycles, just think of the savings you made and invest some of that in getting it set up properly so that it is especially safe for your daughter!

And ditto on the name brand idea with kids - she'll just be thrilled it's a new bicycle! :j

paulwf

Treacly wrote: »

Oh well here's where I show my ignorance - I wasn't aware bikes came flat-packed these days - I just thought it would be a case of adjustment, not assembly, for which a bike shop doesn't normally charge (in my experience).

It is mostly adjustment...just a lot of it To be honest a lot of supermarket bikes can never be set up correctly however much time you spend on them.

Getting nostalgic again (sorry!) 10 years ago a Raleigh would take a mechanic 5-10 mins to set up perfectly, I remember us setting up a mini production line in no time at all getting all the bikes ready for "santa" to pick up on Christmas Eve

In case I sound like a bike snob I know kids bikes are very expensive but it used to be that bikes were always the "big present" for Christmas or perhaps birthdays so parents would save for that. The last decade has seen a huge shift with kids putting a £100 iPod, £50 mobile phone, £200 xbox with games etc on their list. The poor old bike is now just one option out of many expensive options that kids want so the parents just won't pay for quality any more, perhaps one (but not the only) reason for the rise of supermarket bikes.

You don't have to go back that far (perhaps only as far as the 1960's but certainly no later than the 40's or 50's) and bike adverts showed a basic bike would cost an average months wages and a decent bike would be another months worth. That means in todays money they would cost £1,000 for a basic bike...which is why a modern £200 bike is absolutely fantastic value, but IMHO trying to push it down to sub-£100 is a step to far.

Sorry for the long post