motopokep

in summary, I realized that me coming here and asking about this $400 Chinese bike, is the equivalent of someone signing up for the Italian Supercar discussion forum, and asking all Ferrari , Lamborghini and Bugatti owners, what they think about the Subaru BRZ they're thinking of buying for their first sports car. Heck, they'd even frown upon the Mustang Shelby and the Corvette over there. I didn't know what kind of forum this was when I signed up. I thought this would be a down to earth crowd who rides bikes of all levels.

motopokep

and to beat the dead horse, almost no one reacted to the fact that I said that I'm buying 3 bikes, 2 being gifts. I spent $1,500 tonight. That was kind of a small factor. And I'm buying a $500 Mongoose Dolomite ALX fat bike (maybe 2) as soon as it's back in stock for my size. That's $2,000 - $2,500 on bikes I'm spending this week, or whenever the fatties are back in stock soon. for $2,500 I coulda bought a qualify brand CF bike, but then my son and my dad would be without b-day gifts, and I know they'll love this bike.

znomit

I don't think this is correct.

Reflector Guy

There is a difference. The crappy bike won't get hurt feelings and suffer a lifetime of self-esteem issues if someone calls it a crappy bike.

Reflector Guy

Another bad example. We're not recommending Ferraris and Bugattis for you; we're recommending modest cars of known good quality in place of the Yugo you've got your heart set on. I mean, the three Yugos.

big john

If you really want to learn stuff here first learn that the measurement of frames is centimetres, not inches.

Also, don't look at bike fit and think that a certain size will fit all individuals of a certain height. People are built differently.
Also, a 54cm from one bike brand may fit differently than a 54 from another brand. There is a lot more to fit than the so-called "size" of the bike. Top tube length, to me, is more important than seat tube length.
Also, some bikes are sized "small, medium, large, etc." These will vary more than the metric sized frames.

These difference are even more pronounced with mountain bikes.

motopokep

Have you ridden it or talked to someone who has?

motopokep

that was a typo, of course I meant cm. I'm just so used to typing "inches", plus I was cross-posting on the fat bike forum at same time, asking about 17-19 inch frames. Thnx for catching the typo.

growlerdinky

Maybe. The horse is still trash regardless.

ericcox

I really hope these bikes work out for you. For limited riding, they very well might. When people were reacting about the quality of these bikes, it wasn't a shot at you; it was an attempt to explain (repeatedly) why they were making their judgement. You can tell a lot from the components on a bike. I have purchased more than one bike in this price range for family, and helped friends as well. I have always focused on the quality of the components and, at this price range, how well the bike was put together if my friends / family were not mechanically inclined. You'll find a lot of people on this board do not ride the latest / greatest. Personally, I've ridden on the road since 1997. In that time, I have owned 5 road bikes - 1 a $400 starter bike I bought in 1997 and just sold last summer (it was a mistake to sell!), a steel Fuji I rode for 9 years, an Orbea I rode for 9 years before passing off to my son (it was pretty expensive when new), a Ridley I bought on clearance for $800, and now my really nice Pinarello. People here love bikes and tried to give you options / advice in the price range, one of which was, "if we can't persuade you, buy 1 and try it before buying 3."

Again, I hope it works out for you! My experience with a bike that had similar equipment was that it didn't work well and was soon discarded. It wasn't this exact bike, but one with similar components.

One last bit of advice - if you seek advice, listen to it. If you have no intention of listening, don't ask. And yes, I realize the irony of this bit of advice.

motopokep

Next time you're outside, if you see someone riding a cheap bicycle, if you see one in your neighbor's driveway, if a distant family member or a friend bought a cheap bike, if you're a man of your word, come up to them and tell them their bike is trash. That should make you feel good about your 2014 Taiwanese Giant TCR composite, most likely made in China.

Reflector Guy

Only if that person asks for our thoughts on their bike. You know, sort of like how the thread title here asked.

Mojo31

Cool bike!

growlerdinky

Look, you asked. I would never tell someone that they are riding a piece of trash. Now, if somebody says "Hey, I'm thinking of buying this piece of hot trash" I will tell them it's trash. Do better.

BTW Taiwan isn't the same as China. Either way, I still feel good about it.

WhyFi

What would D'Artagnan say about someone riding a mule and calling it a horse?

These two sentences do not compute.

mstateglfr 

Well this is quite the illogical argument.

If my neighbor told me they want to take their $300 bike and replace the wheels, tires, saddle, derailleurs, and whatever else you mentioned- I would suggest thst they look at simply buying a better bike to begin with.
if they then said they like the bike they have because it reminds them of their motorcycle, I would scrunch my face in confusion and tell them to do what they want.

At no point would I ever just walk up to a neighbor unprompted and speak poorly about anything they own.
That's a totally different scenario than what's happening here. Do you actually think that situation is akin to this thread?

smashndash

I guess I'll be the devil's advocate here.

I've owned a walmart bike. It was great for what I did with it - ride it around my apartment complex.

My friend owned a GMC amazon bike - basically a walmart bike. It was great for what he did with it. Ride 3-4 miles a day between classes in college. I rode it. Not exactly confidence inspiring. The headset kept coming loose. He probably should have taken it to a shop to get the headset adjusted. Oh well.

I had a friend ride a $4500 2021 Stumpjumper and call it "a crappy bike".

I think concerns of low end bikes spontaneously falling apart are somewhat overstated. I wouldn't abuse those bikes or buy them with the intention of riding thousands of miles, but I bet with proper assembly and maintenance (just like with our Bugatti bicycles) they'll be usable.

$400 is really cheap for a new bike. Especially a bike that you like the look of. If you're only riding a few miles for family fun, I say you're not missing out on much. But it's not conducive to getting deep into the sport - if that's the goal.

I love my bike because every time I hammer on it, it goads me into going even harder. That's what makes good bikes good. They reward you for pushing yourself. They make suffering fun. They let you FEEL the power you're making. It's the main reason why I'm slightly strong on the bike now.

If you live in a flatter area, I would highly recommend looking at single speed road bikes from aventon or similar companies. Those are fairly high quality. Pretty similar to what you get on an entry-level road bike. But you don't get gears. That's how a lot of collegiate cyclists (including me) get into the sport. They buy a cheap fixie for commuting and realize that a proper bike can actually be tons of fun and then want to invest in a road bike of equal or higher quality. I would NEVER have considered road biking to be fun if I hadn't tried out that fixie. But that bike made me realize how rewarding it was to put down big power. I haven't looked back since.

That's my rant.

Here's something nice:
https://www.statebicycle.com/product...r-single-speed

This bike with bullhorns or drop bars and low-profile wheels will probably be a blast to ride.

Eric F 

I remain puzzled by people who are so steadfastly determined to remain ignorant, despite having knowledgeable people being willing to spoon-feed them good information. The OP was only looking for someone to confirm a decision he had already made, and was not at all open to learning anything new.

growlerdinky

the decision matches the motorcycles.

Eric F 

What you seem to be intent on ignoring is that the very low quality of the bikes you've chosen is readily apparent, and actually riding that particular bike it isn't necessary to make that determination. The high weight and terrible quality of the components pretty much guarantees a short life-span of usability, low-level performance, and a poor experience. Many people have tried to steer you in a better direction, where the likelihood of you and your family having a better cycling experience is greater, but you have been completely resistant to doing anything other than what you have already set your mind to. Good luck with your decision.

growlerdinky

Here is another review, and it really got me thinking,

"4.0 out of 5 stars The correct weight is 37 lbs not 28lbs
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2020Love the style... however the main reason I bought this...it's information said the bike weight is 28lbs...when it arrived I had it weighed...it's actually 36-1/2 I ...but I like the setup and it's design...now the screw up is the video of the female riding this bike..you can see she can't ride , then she not dressed like a Cyclist... actually put someone in proper gear...on a street riding this bike..not some bad dressed female who can't ride a bike... wobbling around... please remove and put a better video...that one sucks...but the bike is basically 37lbs in weight...make the new model lighter..."


Let's split the difference, and agree the the bike weighs around 32 lbs. So, $400.00 gets you a 32 lb bike. Thats the weight of 2 nice bikes! You basically get 2 bikes worth of mass for much less than the price of 1. I'm going to hold out for the XC8000, though.

Jack Tone 

As Smashndash said, "I think concerns of low end bikes spontaneously falling apart are somewhat overstated". More than likely, the cheaper the heavier. But fall apart? I bought a $325 full suspension mountain bike from Bikes Direct years ago. Bottom of the line groupset and suspension. Granted, it needed a lot of adjustment to get it working perfectly. But after several off road rides, and several years of commuting, including some winters of riding through bottom bracket deep creeks, nothing has worn out or broken. One person's experience.

Eric F 

You don't get kudos for multiplying a poor decision.

Mojo31

You realize don't you that in a crash you are better off with more mass. Would you rather be in a crash in a Suburban or a Miata?

Eric F 

But, you aren't "in" a bicycle.