Brands to avoid?

Qrt

This question has probably asked (and answered) to death on boards but I thought I'd ask anyway. Are there any brands of bikes to avoid at all costs? I'm basically a complete newcomer, but absolutely fed up with the buses for short journeys and want to get one. I've heard mixed things about Raleigh; classic well known favourites, but some might just be a licensed model? i.e. not authentic. I saw a Jupiter one too and it looked fairly sturdy. I'd love a Gazelle, used one in Germany and it was phenomenal but I don't exactly want to break the bank. I've seen a few brands from looking at the college bike racks when passing but I've told myself I better stop before I get accused of something...

Answers would be much appreciated.:)

Wishbone Ash

It's a difficult question to answer as it depends on what you need the bike for and the quality often depends on the components rather than the frame itself (e.g. a similar frame could be used on a €1,000 bike or a €3,000 bike but the wheels/groupset etc. make the difference).

The problem with very cheap bikes is that when you go to replace a component, the price including labour will often cost more than what you paid for the bike.

CramCycle

Depends what you want. By the sounds of it your looking for a short run around, in which case, hard to buy something that would not do the job.

I wouldn't buy specialized but now that I have said it out loud, I am worried they will sue me :pac:

Qrt

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It's a difficult question to answer as it depends on what you need the bike for and the quality often depends on the components rather than the frame itself (e.g. a similar frame could be used on a €1,000 bike or a €3,000 bike but the wheels/groupset etc. make the difference).

The problem with very cheap bikes is that when you go to replace a component, the price including labour will often cost more than what you paid for the bike.

I guess that's the same for many things! I'm the type of person who barely knows the components of a bike. I know you multiply the front number by the back number to get the amount of gears, I know a derailleur is the hangy-thing at the back, and that cross-chaining is bad. I only really need one that will get me from A-B and grapple the mild slopes of South Dublin.

CramCycle wrote: »

Depends what you want. By the sounds of it your looking for a short run around, in which case, hard to buy something that would not do the job.

I wouldn't buy specialized but now that I have said it out loud, I am worried they will sue me :pac:

I've noticed they've opened a shop nearby, looks fairly advanced though.

Qrt

Just seen a Jupiter Vermont there, decent price too. Anybody have experience with them?

py

CramCycle wrote: »

I wouldn't buy specialized but now that I have said it out loud, I am worried they will sue me :pac:

Have seen this sort of thing mentioned a few times around these parts. What gives?

Cee-Jay-Cee

Without knowing your budget I’d recommend avoiding Castello, Viking and Jupiter.

If you stick to the known brands then you won’t go far wrong.

Trek
Giant
Specialized
Scott
Focus
Felt
Boardman
Cube

CramCycle

Qrt wrote: »

I guess that's the same for many things! I'm the type of person who barely knows the components of a bike. I know you multiply the front number by the back number to get the amount of gears, I know a derailleur is the hangy-thing at the back, and that cross-chaining is bad. I only really need one that will get me from A-B and grapple the mild slopes of South Dublin.

How long is A to B, how often will you do it and when you say slopes, do you mean the Wicklow mountains or the climb out of Nutgrove to Barton Road

Qrt wrote: »

Just seen a Jupiter Vermont there, decent price too. Anybody have experience with them?

Cheap and overpriced, if you get my doublespeak. If you are not leaving it outside, doing very short distances, not very often it will be fine. If your doing 20km every day, it will be quite short lived in regards parts and require more money than the bike is worth to keep it going.

The more specific info you provide the better, whats your budget, what distance, how often etc.

CramCycle

py wrote: »

Have seen this sort of thing mentioned a few times around these parts. What gives?

The brand price seems to be to support a team of lawyers who sue all and sundry over the most tenuous links to their brand, even when no such link exists. My favourite is the small Canadian bike shop they tried to put out of business for calling itself Roubaix, which they claimed was copyright infringement. The city of Roubaix and the judge in the proceedings both disagreed with the lawyers :pac:

Qrt

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Without knowing your budget I’d recommend avoiding Castello, Viking and Jupiter.

If you stick to the known brands then you won’t go far wrong.

Trek
Giant
Specialized
Scott
Focus
Felt
Boardman
Cube

Cheers! I've seen a few boardmans, abbeit used, but I'll look at them.

CramCycle wrote: »

How long is A to B, how often will you do it and when you say slopes, do you mean the Wicklow mountains or the climb out of Nutgrove to Barton Road


Cheap and overpriced, if you get my doublespeak. If you are not leaving it outside, doing very short distances, not very often it will be fine. If your doing 20km every day, it will be quite short lived in regards parts and require more money than the bike is worth to keep it going.

The more specific info you provide the better, whats your budget, what distance, how often etc.

It would definitely be in the Nutgrove to Barton Road territory. Cheap and overpriced is a scathing review so I do think I'll avoid it. Budget is around €350, and honestly it'd be around 5-10k at the weekends, the walk to the Luas is a mere 10 mins so I don't see much point using it for that with the added risk of leaving it at the Luas stop.

CramCycle

Qrt wrote: »

It would definitely be in the Nutgrove to Barton Road territory. Cheap and overpriced is a scathing review so I do think I'll avoid it. Budget is around €350, and honestly it'd be around 5-10k at the weekends, the walk to the Luas is a mere 10 mins so I don't see much point using it for that with the added risk of leaving it at the Luas stop.

The good news is that with the small mileage (in comparison to others here) you don't need anything overly fancy. The only thing I will warn you about is that locking at a LUAS, you'd want to be spending something decent o locks (although Aldi seem to have OK ones this week for dirt cheap (the giant U locks)

At 350, second hand may not be a bad choice.

Qrt

CramCycle wrote: »

The good news is that with the small mileage (in comparison to others here) you don't need anything overly fancy. The only thing I will warn you about is that locking at a LUAS, you'd want to be spending something decent o locks (although Aldi seem to have OK ones this week for dirt cheap (the giant U locks)

At 350, second hand may not be a bad choice.

Yeah, I feel a tad silly with the mileage :pac:. Essentially, I just want something that won't fall apart while using it!

Qrt

Has anybody had any experience with Lapierre bikes? Local store is selling a city bike for around €425.

Canis Lupus

Qrt wrote: »

Has anybody had any experience with Lapierre bikes? Local store is selling a city bike for around €425.

Brand is fine I believe, unsure about value for money. Like people said the devil is in the componentry really ie shifters, chainset and all that jazz.

If you've a Halfords nearby their Carrera range is perfectly fine if you're just looking for a cheapie for small stuff, I had a Carerra in London for commuting and it was great. As above you could also get a bit better potentially from a second hand purchase. Have a look on adverts or see if there are facebook cycling groups and put a request up.

Unless the bike is stored in your house I'd still firmly believe in a decent lock. Kryptonite Orange u lock (don't buy cable locks) is worth the money vs finding your bike missing from where you last put it.

fryup

Canis Lupus wrote: »

If you've a Halfords nearby their Carrera range is perfectly fine if you're just looking for a cheapie for small stuff, I had a Carerra in London for commuting and it was great.

yep, have a carrera TDF and its a fab bike

terrydel

Qrt wrote: »

I guess that's the same for many things! I'm the type of person who barely knows the components of a bike. I know you multiply the front number by the back number to get the amount of gears, I know a derailleur is the hangy-thing at the back, and that cross-chaining is bad. I only really need one that will get me from A-B and grapple the mild slopes of South Dublin.


I've noticed they've opened a shop nearby, looks fairly advanced though.

I think the issue many have with Specialized is one of principle.
Not a very pleasant bunch by all accounts, especially in how they treat small retailers.

Macy0161

My first bike on the journey to where I am now was a viking from amazon. The definition of a Bike Shaped Object. The Carrera Zelos I upgraded to was a massive step up! The only slight pain was the freewheel versus cassette, but it took me years to realise you could actually source 7 speed cassettes!

That Zelos is still going strong, after serving as my commuter for a number of years, it's now set up permanently on my direct drive turbo trainer! I use TrainerRoad with erg mode, so seven speed cassette with spacers is working fine so far.

Qrt

Macy0161 wrote: »

My first bike on the journey to where I am now was a viking from amazon. The definition of a Bike Shaped Object. The Carrera Zelos I upgraded to was a massive step up! The only slight pain was the freewheel versus cassette, but it took me years to realise you could actually source 7 speed cassettes!

That Zelos is still going strong, after serving as my commuter for a number of years, it's now set up permanently on my direct drive turbo trainer! I use TrainerRoad with erg mode, so seven speed cassette with spacers is working fine so far.

I'm going to be honest and say that I see these words but I have no idea what they mean, even after a google... I do like the "Bike Shaped Object" description though!

Hungrycol

Get yourself a hybrid bike, like a "racer" but with flat handlebars and tyres wider than a racer but not as thick as a mountain bike. Stay away from suspension at a cheap price point if you can. You get what you pay for. If you can go for an aluminium framed bike all the better as this will be lighter to handle.

I think the most important thing with a bike that you don't want to fall apart is to get it serviced regularly (or learn to do this yourself) and get a decent pump to be able to pump the tyres up to the suggested pressure as denoted on the tyre wall. If you look after your bike it will look after you. Build up a rapport with your local bike shop.

Macy0161

Qrt wrote: »

I'm going to be honest and say that I see these words but I have no idea what they mean, even after a google... I do like the "Bike Shaped Object" description though!

Basically, a Bike Shaped Object (or BSO), looks like a bike, but that's about it. They're no fun to ride and you'll lose interest.

The only caveat I'd say is, you say you're going to be using it instead of buses. What's security like either end of your proposed journey. A BSO might be just the thing if it's being left on the street to be honest.

Pigeon Reaper

Qrt wrote: »

Has anybody had any experience with Lapierre bikes? Local store is selling a city bike for around €425.

Good reputable French brand. Most of the bike is made in Taiwan like other brands but they're generally well made.

Cee-Jay-Cee

OP you haven't said what your budget is because if for example its €1000 then you wont be looking at any of the cheaper brands such as Viking Castello etc and most likely anything priced in around that range will be of reasonably good quality with decent spec. if you are on a lower budget then my advice would be to find out what size you need and buy second hand. This time of year is a great time for buying, people are looking to upgrade to 2019 models and looking to offload older bikes to free up cash for Christmas etc.

_Brian

I bought a Trek2 Hybrid over the summer and it’s a lovely bike, I had to add an adjustable stem but other than that it’s was perfect.

€600 or there abouts

Wishbone Ash

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

OP you haven't said what your budget is ....

He/she did in post 10 (€350).

CramCycle

Qrt wrote: »

Budget is around €350, a

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

OP you haven't said what your budget is
........
if you are on a lower budget then my advice would be to find out what size you need and buy second hand. This time of year is a great time for buying, people are looking to upgrade to 2019 models and looking to offload older bikes to free up cash for Christmas etc.

I'd agree with the second hand if your comfy with that, or if you have a friend who knows what to look out for to come with you if your not comfy with that, you will get better bang for your buck. On the same note, by the distances described, I think there is nothing wrong with the budget.

If it were me. get a Vitus Dee from CRC for about 380, If your around South Dublin, happy to meet up and make sure it is put together right (I work in South Dublin). Pick up a set of lights from Aldi and two decent locks. All done. It has 29er wheels so a bit of comfort, decent range of gears for the area. All Shimano so replacements will not be impossible and not quite bling enough to be a number one target for thieves.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/vitus-dee-29-city-bike-2018/rp-prod159717?gs=1&sku=sku586938&pgrid=55940684541&ptaid=pla-425507084399&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA+All+Products&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid|sjJoH9Czt_dc|pcrid|294740729972|pkw||pmt||prd|586938IE

comanche_cor

CramCycle wrote: »

If it were me. get a Vitus Dee from CRC for about 380 ..

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/vitus-dee-29-city-bike-2018/rp-prod159717?gs=1&sku=sku586938&pgrid=55940684541&ptaid=pla-425507084399&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA+All+Products&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid|sjJoH9Czt_dc|pcrid|294740729972|pkw||pmt||prd|586938IE

I was just about to post up a link to this... can close the thread now

Qrt

Thanks a lot for all the responses. I think I'll either have a look at the used section of CycleSuperstore or get a Carerra Hybrid from Halfords. Storage wise, I'd be the likes of The Square, Lidl (yes, that Lidl) and a run along the Dodder Greenway when it's actually, know, built properly.

Canis Lupus

Qrt wrote: »

Storage wise, I'd be the likes of The Square, Lidl (yes, that Lidl) .

If you're leaving it outside, anywhere, at any time then a good U lock is required in Dublin. As I mentioned before I like Kryptonite orange, yellow would be complete overkill for a bike your price. I'm sure the lads here can give you advice on other quality locks at good prices.

I can't stress enough to not cheap out and use a cable as a main lock if you think about going that way.

CramCycle

Two locks, minimum two locks.

Qrt

Canis Lupus wrote: »

If you're leaving it outside, anywhere, at any time then a good U lock is required in Dublin. As I mentioned before I like Kryptonite orange, yellow would be complete overkill for a bike your price. I'm sure the lads here can give you advice on other quality locks at good prices.

I can't stress enough to not cheap out and use a cable as a main lock if you think about going that way.

CramCycle wrote: »

Two locks, minimum two locks.

I saw a bike theft segment on Crimecall last week, definitely getting two locks (and avoiding cable locks like the plague).

Wishbone Ash

CramCycle wrote: »

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/vitus-dee-29-city-bike-2018/rp-prod159717?gs=1&sku=sku586938&pgrid=55940684541&ptaid=pla-425507084399&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA+All+Products&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid|sjJoH9Czt_dc|pcrid|294740729972|pkw||pmt||prd|586938IE

Looks like only 2 tiny sizes remaining - hence the price probably.