cheap bike

owenchis

I ride downhill and have a bike that as you can imagine is not easy to ride around anywhere apart from down a steep hill. I also live in Manchester and after having my last two bikes stolen im also very pissed off. I have searched everywhere for a bike I can use to commute to work but cant find what im looking for in my budget. I don't understand why the simple bike sort of bike I want costs so much. I want a single speed fully rigid bike that wont get nicked from outside my work place (or shed). The only one I can find under £500 is a charge duster and i don't need anything that good. Please help!!!!

UnworthyPapaLazaru

For an uber cheap bike it might be worth checking if Manchester has a BikeStation or something similar.

See link to Edinburgh one

http://www.thebikestation.org.uk/

They recycle donated bikes and you can pick up a hack from about £50.

el_presidente

look for beaters on eBay. My mate got a Spesh Hardrock for £40 that he leaves at the station everyday. Alternatively Giant Bowery for about £320 I think?

ride_whenever

the bowery is the cheapest fg/ss bike, but tbh any fg/ss is pretty nickable as there is a good second hand market at the moment. Are you looking for a roadbike or something a little tougher?

bedraggled

The Edinburgh Bike Coop in Rusholme have their own brand single speed Revolution Courier which is £229.

owenchis

ride_whenever wrote:

the bowery is the cheapest fg/ss bike, but tbh any fg/ss is pretty nickable as there is a good second hand market at the moment. Are you looking for a roadbike or something a little tougher?

Something a bit tougher than a road bike that I can depend on. If I get knocked off by a bus I dont want to have to buy an new bike aswell!!

dafruk

bedraggled wrote:

The Edinburgh Bike Coop in Rusholme have their own brand single speed Revolution Courier which is £229.

Courier is a nice enough bike, I got one when they first released it back around '97-98. It had issues with some non standard part sizes making maintainance a bugger but the later models sorted that out.

Version I had was not the single but a single front chain ring and 8 at the back, it'll set you back an extra £20 sheets. Still got the remains of it in my shed but it's a wreck now after being thrashed to bits.

el_presidente

owenchis wrote:

ride_whenever wrote:

the bowery is the cheapest fg/ss bike, but tbh any fg/ss is pretty nickable as there is a good second hand market at the moment. Are you looking for a roadbike or something a little tougher?

Something a bit tougher than a road bike that I can depend on. If I get knocked off by a bus I dont want to have to buy an new bike aswell!!

You are used to downhill bikes but road bikes are pretty tough. A bus will smash up an mtb just as easily as a road bike.

passout

I would've thought a touring bike (think Dawes) would be both suitable and pretty unattractive to theives. Mudguards and a rack would help too. Flat handle bars, disc brakes, nice paint job and sus. forks will make your bike look more attractive and so should be avoided.

Or just go into a bar in Manchester and ask around until you find someone to get a cheap bike for you. That way you are at least benefitting from bike crime. :?:

the_hundredth_idiot

Given the surprisingly high number of young men I see riding around Lambeth estates on the most inappropriate bikes, I'm not sure how much thieves care about desirability.

If my plums weren't so shrivelled and about to fall off due to riding (off-roading?) on Lambeth's p1ss poor quality roads, I might have the courage to ask one of said young men why they are riding what appears to be their sister's/mum's bike. :?