Planet Mercury bike???

philstar

Just bought a brand spanking new mountain bike today. €190

The guy in the shop says its a good make.

Thing is i just did a "google" on the web and could'nt find the make anywhere not even on those wholesale websites.

So i hope its not a dud:( ........its a ....Planet Mercury mountain bike with a aluminium frame, have any of you bike people heard of such a make??

I wouldn't worry too much about it.You're never going to get a proper make for that amount of money.I could hardly find anything about the first mountain bike I bought.Turned out it was a very small Taiwanese company.The bike is still going well today despite a few minor problems.The only thing to do is bring it up 3 rock and see how well it fares on the way down

ba

for 190eur? new? maybe you should have got a second opinion on this forum, we'd all be happy to help here.

btw 190 is low, but most bikes this price have steel frames. sounds like you did well there.

Dirk Gently

is it something like this?

Planet oregon

I paid 190 for mine two years ago so the mercury could be the newest planet model after my one. They come in steel frame too but the aluminium frame is really light and much quicker compared to the steel frame one.

If so it's a great bike for the price. I got my one a couple of years ago and was using it up until a few months ago when I got a new bike. It's still out in the shed and still working grand. It's my bad weather bike now and I leave the new one at home when It's pissing rain or if I feel like a bit of off road cycling.

I've given it some abuse over the couple of years but it's great for taking on dogey trails and poor ground. Nice and light for a mountain bike but the suspension isn't adjustable so it means road cycling is slower than a bike with no suspension, having said that though I'm only 10 mins quicker commuting on the road bike so its quick enough for the price and type of bike it is.The gear shifting is starting to show its age alright but thats to be expected with cheapo bikes like this.

If it is the same make it should serve you well and stand up to a lot of rough cycling. Very comfortable cycling position too.

philstar

ok here are some pics of the bike, it looks similar to yours clown bag

does it look familiar to any of you??

the logos are labels which are stuck onto the frame (is that a bad sign)

RasTa

Those logo's look like they don't belong on that bike.

Stereophonic

clown bag wrote:

is it something like this?

Planet oregon

I paid 190 for mine two years ago so the mercury could be the newest planet model after my one. They come in steel frame too but the aluminium frame is really light and much quicker compared to the steel frame one.

If so it's a great bike for the price. I got my one a couple of years ago and was using it up until a few months ago when I got a new bike. It's still out in the shed and still working grand. It's my bad weather bike now and I leave the new one at home when It's pissing rain or if I feel like a bit of off road cycling.

I've given it some abuse over the couple of years but it's great for taking on dogey trails and poor ground. Nice and light for a mountain bike but the suspension isn't adjustable so it means road cycling is slower than a bike with no suspension, having said that though I'm only 10 mins quicker commuting on the road bike so its quick enough for the price and type of bike it is.The gear shifting is starting to show its age alright but thats to be expected with cheapo bikes like this.

If it is the same make it should serve you well and stand up to a lot of rough cycling. Very comfortable cycling position too.

Nice Bike there. Great spot for fishing along that stretch from the bridge? I see alot of MTB's going up there and back, could you tell me what is up there as I might bring my MTB along someday?

Yeh I heard bikes at these prices are mass produced. They are bought by smaller bike company's and they label them. It's what I heard, not sure if it's true

Dirk Gently

philstar wrote:

ok here are some pics of the bike, it looks similar to yours clown bag

does it look familiar to any of you??

the logos are labels which are stuck onto the frame (is that a bad sign)

The planet logo is the very same as the planet logo on mine so I would imagine it's the same make. Like I said, very decent bike for the price.

stero wrote:

I see alot of MTB's going up there and back, could you tell me what is up there as I might bring my MTB along someday?

Here's a flickr slideshow of the terrain from Croke park in the city centre out to that bridge along the canal. I took a few picks of the different surfaces you'll encounter.

From that bridge out to clonsilla is great for mountain bikes, a mixture of grass, muck, gravel with a few rocks and big tree roots sticking out of the dirt. From clonsilla to castleknock is passable but very very narrow and overgrown. I cycled that stetch at less than walking pace in places and there is also a huge drop if your not careful.

castleknock - ashtown is mostly grass / dirt trail.

ashtown to croker is all newly laid tarmac / concrete. The only surface between ashtown and croke park that is not perfect is a few minor potholes around the cabra stretch.

It's a decent sunday cycle, with only the castleknock - clonsilla stretch breaking the flow. You might want to dismount and walk parts of that stetch if your anyway unsure because it is dangerous and access is very tight.

Out of interest what's it like out beyond that bridge heading west of lexlip. Is it passable by bike?

Stereophonic

sorry for making this go off topic.

From the picture of your bike lying against the post... I traveled about 40 feet down there... not sure whats beyond it.. I seen cyclists with specialized bikes and all the correct gear, they passed us and returned about two hours later while I was fishing. It must just continue along the canal but I must try it out sometime.

philstar

Stereophonic wrote:

Yeh I heard bikes at these prices are mass produced. They are bought by smaller bike company's and they label them. It's what I heard, not sure if it's true

in some sweat shop in asia??........so i've unintentionally contributed to slave labour:o oops

anyway took the bike for a test run, its fine along the road though the ride is a bit firm...could do with a better saddle.

I don't think it a "proper" mountain bike as such, tried to climb some steep dirt tracks and it wasn't up to it (or maybe i wasn't up to it) had it at its lowest gear but no, and front wheel kept lifting as i stuggled with the climb.

Once you find your rhythm and your balance you'll have no problem.You just need to balance yourself so you still have some weight on the back wheel for traction and enough on the front to stop yourself falling back down the hill

Stereophonic

Well said, you'll get use to it. My friend bought a €99 from Dunnes Stores which took an awful bashing, but still it got up hills and through ditches but brakes snapped along with the derailer eventually. Fixing it would be more expensive.

philstar

Stereophonic wrote:

My friend bought a €99 from Dunnes Stores which took an awful bashing,

Dunnes sell bikes??.......thats the first i heard of that.

(do you get 10% extra free)

Stereophonic

Nah it was an offer last year