Universal Polaris 26" dual suspension bike Was £139.94 Now £69.97 @ Tesco Direct

BettiePage

BettiePage wrote: »

Just ordered one for sprog. Being delivered Friday.

Not a bad bike. I wouldn't have been happy paying the original price for it but for a £70 bike for sprog to no doubt wreck it is ample.

HankMcSpank

If you want his & hers, it's slightly cheaper (delivered), using this URL...

http://www.sterlinghouse.co.uk/offers/specialOffer.aspx.qmap/offerId/1

(select the 'deluxe' for him (SO26) & her (SO27) in each drop down box, it comes to £130 + £19.95 delivery, therefore just under £75 for each bike including delivery.)

adwozere

They had 3 to 4 bikes boxed up, for the same price (I think they were the same) in store at the braintree town centre branch of Tesco.

ijth

as someone with reasonable knowledge of the cycle industry, i wouldn't touch any of these bikes or similar. there are many reasons but a few are:

• poor quality design/manufacture make riding them hard work. just try riding one of these alongside a friend with a decent (£199+) bike and after a mile he/she will be as fresh as a daisy whilst you are standing on the pedals trying to keep up. think i'm exaggerating? i've done it....never again.
• amateur set-up. ok, bikes may seem simple, but at a proper independent bike dealer you will get your bike assembled and fitted to you by someone properly trained (ask if the mechanic has Cytech accreditation). no rubbing brakes, skipping gears, forks on backwards (I've seen this in Tesco and other boxed-bike stores.....ridiculous), etc.
• safety. there have ben several notable cases in the media recently where cycles have not been set-up properly and the rider has had an accident. do you own a torque wrench? if not, how can you be sure everything is tightend up sufficiently? or not overtightened causing possible failure?

ok, i know that finding £60 for abike is a lot easier than finding £200 but trust me, if you can afford to invest the extra (and it is an investment), then for safety's and enjoyment's sake it is well worth it. i bought two Giant bikes for my 7-year olds. they cost me £160 each from a local dealer but they were fitted/sized correctly, assembled by trained mechanics, worked perfectly and had a first service thrown in. they are also several lbs lighter than the £50 alternatives I could have got in a box from Tesco/Sterling House/Universal, etc. My girls enjoy riding them, they are easy to ride long distances (they can cover a 15-mile ride on them no problem) and most of all, I know that they are safe. And my local dealer is a friendly face who is happy to advise/help if I call in with a problem. try taking a "Tesco special" to your local dealer when it goes wrong.....they may not have much sympathy and may even avoid touching it for fear of liability.

i'd love to see an end to mail order bikes. i know they keep costs down but are they really worth it unless you know what you are doing and have the correct tools to do it?

isayoldchap

ijth wrote: »

as someone with reasonable knowledge of the cycle industry, i wouldn't touch any of these bikes or similar. there are many reasons but a few are:

• poor quality design/manufacture make riding them hard work. just try riding one of these alongside a friend with a decent (£199+) bike and after a mile he/she will be as fresh as a daisy whilst you are standing on the pedals trying to keep up. think i'm exaggerating? i've done it....never again.
• amateur set-up. ok, bikes may seem simple, but at a proper independent bike dealer you will get your bike assembled and fitted to you by someone properly trained (ask if the mechanic has Cytech accreditation). no rubbing brakes, skipping gears, forks on backwards (I've seen this in Tesco and other boxed-bike stores.....ridiculous), etc.
• safety. there have ben several notable cases in the media recently where cycles have not been set-up properly and the rider has had an accident. do you own a torque wrench? if not, how can you be sure everything is tightend up sufficiently? or not overtightened causing possible failure?

ok, i know that finding £60 for abike is a lot easier than finding £200 but trust me, if you can afford to invest the extra (and it is an investment), then for safety's and enjoyment's sake it is well worth it. i bought two Giant bikes for my 7-year olds. they cost me £160 each from a local dealer but they were fitted/sized correctly, assembled by trained mechanics, worked perfectly and had a first service thrown in. they are also several lbs lighter than the £50 alternatives I could have got in a box from Tesco/Sterling House/Universal, etc. My girls enjoy riding them, they are easy to ride long distances (they can cover a 15-mile ride on them no problem) and most of all, I know that they are safe. And my local dealer is a friendly face who is happy to advise/help if I call in with a problem. try taking a "Tesco special" to your local dealer when it goes wrong.....they may not have much sympathy and may even avoid touching it for fear of liability.

i'd love to see an end to mail order bikes. i know they keep costs down but are they really worth it unless you know what you are doing and have the correct tools to do it?

ijth
Thanks for your comments.So it's not just the price of around £50 that make
these bikes cheap in manufacture?I guess they must be c..p too.
Damn and I bought three of them after seeing the safety kite mark.

HankMcSpank

If this Tesco's bike isn't very good, then how about this one (the retailer is Sterlinghouse, which sell this same bike as Tescos but 'two for one' @ £130)...

http://www.sterlinghouse.co.uk/viewproduct.aspx.qmap/ptId/745/pId/80057

alloy bits & bobs, dual supension, disc brakes (nicer colour!). This particular bike is selling a lot cheaper on Ebay where the retailer has an Ebay shop...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110161069144&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D%2B110161069144%26fvi%3D1

photome

I was told by a cyclist that having rear suspension means that you lose about a third of your pedalling power through the suspension. On that basis i wouldnt buy a bike with rear suspension.

ijth

again, it's not so much the quality of the bike and its components itself I am concerned about - as with everything, you get what you pay for and I can completely understand a parent not wanting to spend a fortune on a really good quality bike their child is going to ride occasionally or leave lying on the ground or not locked up properly or bash about. my main concern is the self-build element of buying a bike in a box for all the reasons I stated earlier. there are some good bargains to be had in local bike dealers that fit the lower-end price category but will at least be assembled by someone trained and with the correct tools for the job.

i'm all for money saving but there are some things I wouldn't automatically choose on price for safety reasons. bikes are one of those things. bike helmets might be another. and car seats. and car tyres....you get the picture!

EdCov

Just to say as someone who used to ride four miles a day to work and back every day. A cheap bike will be less of a pleasure to ride and enjoy, and is more likely to be whacked and left about. A better bike may be more enjoyed and therefore you will encourage the children to ride and enjoy it.

I got bought cheap bikes as a child because I was never going to use them, so what was the point. Of course it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Got older, got myself a better bike, and I enjoy it.

A lighter bike is a lot easier to pedal, good alloy wheels are less likely to buckle or get bent. Set it up yourself and the gears may not work properly which if you suddenly change gear on a road and then lose power because you can't get it back into gear is dangerous.

If you are practical with tools then setting up a bike is not a problem to do, but if you are not practical then get one that is ready set up.

Fatal_Swan

I completely agree with ijth and EdCov that a bike of the Tesco/Stirlinghouse kind (£70 or less) will be a false economy, as even a slightly better bike will get substantially more use, and give you far more enjoyment than having the extra few quid in your pocket.

For people still looking for a mail order bargain that you probably won't find in your local shop, I'd suggest these Dawes's MTB or city bikes, e.g.:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20673

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20670

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20675

These are currently £112 each (delivered), since Chain Reaction Cycles have 10% off orders over £100 at the moment. They don't have suspension or disc brakes (which are just gimmicks on a sub-£200 bike), so your money goes into a decent enough aluminium frame and components which should stand up to light regular use on roads and paths. (Sub-£200 bikes generally will not stand up to regular off-road use.)

Chain Reaction's a reputable specialist bike shop, and actually one of the best mail order shops you'll find, period. They're well known for unbeatable prices and superb customer service - their prices are the same over the phone and you can get some advice at the same time.