Why do some people refer to some bicycles as BSO?
 

Bike-Shaped Objects?

After all, I would not expect a bicycle to be shaped like a vampire bat.

Should a grand piano be referred to as a PSO, piano-shaped object?

Now it's true that most new "automobiles" these days are WSBSO. Worn-soap-bar-shaped objects as they have no distinction or individual style as cars made in the 1950's did.

Due to the modern trend of obesity, many "people" these days are HSC, hippopotamus-shaped creatures.

I don't know if you're asking in earnest or doing a shtick, but it's to insult the product by saying it's not really a bicycle, it just looks like one.

I just recently saw this re bicycles. I've seen it for cheap violins for many years.

Well, I'm serious. Cheap violins = VSO?

I don't know if one violin is better than another as they all can sound horrible if a horrible "musician" is trying to play them.

To me any grand piano only sounds as good as its player provided the instrument is correctly voiced, tuned and regulated.

I do agree that some products marketed as "bicycles" leave much to be desired.

Because to the uninformed they can look like quality bikes with desirable features("Gee, it's got those shock things on da front!") but if the BSO is ridden in the manner that the bikes they are emulating are ridden, the results can be disastrous.

They are fine for tootling around which is all that many folks care about.

They are many examples out there of why BSO ≠ "real" bike in some situations.

Exactly. It's a pejorative term used for department store bikes, which are typically made from sub-standard parts and assembled by a kid using a screwdriver and a crescent wrench. If any component needs replacing, it will cost half the price of the bike to replace; such is the low quality of the original parts. Thus, it's cheaper for the manufacturer to replace the entire bike outright than to pay to have it fixed. You already have experience with that aspect, getting a whole new wheel instead of a spoke replacment. As far as assembly goes, forks get put on backwards, parts are missing, spokes are under-tensioned, bearings are dry and improperly tightened, ... the list goes on and on.

Well they could be called POS, would that be a better moniker?

A bicycle is not a roller coaster. That guy is doing crazy suicidal stuff. I ride along the flat paved bikeway and just the tree roots coming out of the asphalt by the river bank can kill my back unless I stand up off the seat or slow to a crawl.

What would you think about a grand piano that cannot be correctly tuned, and which always sounds like the sustain pedal is pressed because the damper doesn't do anything?

I don't think you understood this:

"They are fine for tootling around which is all that many folks care about."

Yes. AAMOF.

All those Amazon violins? 95% of them cannot be made to sound decent by professionals...forget about amateurs. The fingerboards aren't even glued on straight. They are literally "violin shaped" objects....that have all the best acoustic properties of a 2x4, a snow shovel, and a chalkboard. And no one on earth can make them pleasant to listen to.

Because some people refer to some bicycles as BSO.

As well ask, "Why do some people call that round, orange citrus fruit an 'orange"? That's the word which was coined to describe that specific object.

And the violin example is on point.

Only bicycle enthusiasts know about the term "BSO," and bicycle enthusiasts are the people most likely to realize where those big-box bikes fall far short of what actually works. Only bike enthusiasts would ever see the kid next door with a bent or broken brake lever on his or her "Brand new Bike--Wheeee!!!" and see the sadness ... and then the greater sadness when the kid hears that, that part is so cheap it cannot stand the stress of normal use but is so expensive it cannot be replaced---or much more likely, simply is not available for sale anywhere, for any sum.

A lot of people ride BSOs without any issue ... they are fine light-duty bikes, just very cheap, often shoddily and sometimes incorrectly assembled. A lot of kids think they are cool with all the cheap plastic moto parts which last about a week ... but they outgrow the bike almost as fast as it breaks down.

I am sure people who play violins and know violins see someone all excited about getting his or her own "first violin," and suppress a wry smile when they see it is a "Brand X," which is notorious for never staying in tune, being ridiculously susceptible to the slightest humidity changes, are too weak to hold the tension of the strings for long and thus warp, have cheap, poorly finished fretboards which grab the strings, and quickly create high and low spots, almost creating frets of a sort, and produce hideous sounds even when played by a master.

An "XSO"--a whatever-shaped object---might become the new terminology for the absolute lowest-quality, poorly constructed, zero-qality-control products in any given range. Maybe not. But the idea exists, that there are some things which Look just like the real thing but are so cheaply and poorly made that they simply cannot do the job of the thing they are designed to look like---Walmart flat screwdrivers, the blades of which which bend right over and philips-heads which strip themselves on the first use. The flashlights you pick up at the checkout counter which last until you shake them hard and then never light again. Anything bought off TV at three a.m. which advertises, 'And for s separate fee, we will double the offer and send you Two of these ... ."

Some people can be completely happy playing a $1 plastic recorder from the Dollar Store, which is whistly, hissy, out of tune, has no sharp- or flat-holes, and can barely produce a scale. I got a Yamaha for a few bucks more and anyone can tell the difference in a heartbeat. But for parents who have next to no cash and whose kids have next to no talent or interest in music, when the kid comes home and says "We are supposed to have a recorder for music class," the dollar recorder is fine.

Heh. I had to take recorder lessons one year in elementary school. I had a Yamaha.

It was originally a derogatory term. But it is often used now affectionately.

And, I heard a nutritionist doctor on tv say: food like substance (for processed food like junk food)

It's like taking a Honda Civic on black diamond Jeep trails...and then complain the car is POS when the wheel falls off.

A Civic isn't dressed up to look like it should be able to handle gnarly jeep trails. If the BSO in that video was trying to be more like a Civic, it would be a considerably less-terrible bike.

I think it's kind of mean. All bikes matter.

The difference being....A Honda Civic is a perfectly serviceable vehicle that will last a very long service life if maintained, and presuming it fits the users needs.

A $100 (PRIME!) GMC Denali "road bike" off Amazon...will last 6-months to a year before the all bearings are junk, the wheels are blowing spokes because of never being stress relieved, etc...just from casual funsies bike path riding once a week or two a mile. Much the same WalMart cheapo bikes will fail in the same way--presuming it was even assembled properly to start with.

I have a coworker on his 6th El Cheapo BSO off Amazon in 6 years. Because it is cheaper to buy them and throw them away than fix them. All he does is ride a mile or so to work and back.

Bike rental from Walmart..
 

Bottom line ... Save your receipt, for a refund..

You thought correctly. I don't know about "tootling".
All I know is I ride my bike slow, safe and sane. If you want to
ride your bike off a cliff and kill yourself that is your prerogative, not mine.

I did exactly that for a POS Walmart was peddling for $185 called "Mongoose" I bought in 2017.
Was returned 8 days later. No questions asked.

In 1977, Mongoose was The "Sh_t" among young American boys who were into that BMX sort of thing
which was never my bag. Some would praise Mongoose while saying Schwinn sucked. The ten-speeders
were most commonly Schwinn Varsity fans. I guess Schwinn had their own version of BMX in the 70's too.

I always liked "adult" bikes for on-road use: ten speeds, five-speeds, 3-speeds,
touring bikes, coaster brake cruisers, etc. Never much desired to do it in the dirt.

Poorly built wheels are SOP equipment on BSOs. They'll break spokes under the conditions you describe, in short order. And the cost of repair will exceed the value of the money you paid for the bike. Because it was cheap junk to start.

Names were bought for their past reputation and then applied to a cheaper product .. it happens ..


@ LBS 1 week after newest Wally opened mom broughr the broken bike to the shop ,

Shop owner said 'go back , get a refund' .. ( they do that then Dumpster it.)




...

This should help you understand...

https://bicycleshapedobject.wordpres...hall-of-shame/

https://www.whycycle.co.uk/buying-a-...shaped-object/

https://www.thecyclingexperts.co.uk/...shaped-object/

A relative of mine has been using a Walmart bike, for his daughter I think. It then needed a new chain.
He then correctly deduced that the right way to fix it is a NEW Walmart bike...... LOL