Tesco BS0

Moonbiker

What does this bit mean? :shock:

The rims of the Vertigo Piccadilly have a double-walled structure to give you extra durability and added puncture protection.

http://www.tesco.com/direct/vertigo-pic ... d=211-7006

monkimark

That must be quite some rim.


Not sure about the shifter arrangement - For another £65 you can get one with gripshift! http://www.tesco.com/direct/vittesse-sp ... d=215-0205

supermurph09

"14-speed Shimano gears with thumb shift for quick gear changes" LOL!!

chris_bass

just for the record i hate the term BSO

florerider

it means it is slow and heavy and will be the object of mirth to anyone in this forum.

Giraffoto

The Tesco bike I saw in my local shop cost £89.99 and weighed 18Kg - about £2.25 a pound, which compared favourably with their strawberries at the time

dilatory

Going against the cycling circle-jerk here but presumably for your average non-cyclist who will pedal this bike with their heels, push it up hills and leave it outside in the rain but want something for going to and fro slowly then these terrible bikes will do their job for not very much money.

drlodge

Saw this in the Metro today. I really wonder who Asda employ to put these bikes together especially when its being photographed for an advert. Makes Halfords look proficient!

chris_bass

dilatory wrote:

Going against the cycling circle-jerk here but presumably for your average non-cyclist who will pedal this bike with their heels, push it up hills and leave it outside in the rain but want something for going to and fro slowly then these terrible bikes will do their job for not very much money.

thats exactly how I feel, and banding terms like BSO about just makes cyclists look like arrogant to55ers!

ManOfKent

drlodge wrote:

Saw this in the Metro today. I really wonder who Asda employ to put these bikes together especially when its being photographed for an advert. Makes Halfords look proficient!

At least the fork is the right way round... although whether it would be possible to turn the bars without wrenching the cables I'm not sure.

Moonbiker

thats exactly how I feel, and banding terms like BSO about just makes cyclists look like arrogant to55ers!

Yeah agreed sorry :oops:

cookeeemonster

Chris Bass wrote:

dilatory wrote:

Going against the cycling circle-jerk here but presumably for your average non-cyclist who will pedal this bike with their heels, push it up hills and leave it outside in the rain but want something for going to and fro slowly then these terrible bikes will do their job for not very much money.

thats exactly how I feel, and banding terms like BSO about just makes cyclists look like arrogant to55ers!

I disagree. I had a Tesco BSO for my first bike since my bmx in my youth around 3 years back. I knew 100% it would be rubbish and wouldn't last but for various reasons I ended up with it and it was just...awful.

18 'shimano' gears of which 3 were usable, mega heavy, brakes barely worked, loads of minor things went wrong including seat post which wouldn't stay up (or is that a major thing?) and on it's 11th ever ride, the cassette fell apart leaving me with a 4 mile walk home 11pm at night through a lovely part of east london.

yeah they're ok for a few miles a year fairweather riding in the park with the kids - but no good for literally anything else.

If I didn't know better thanks to friends letting me know in the past that would've been my experience of cycling - and I wouldn't have liked it.

Best thing was I got full refund and put it towards a proper bike

EDIT: People do need to know how terrible these things are, and how unsuitable they are for daily riding. I'm not saying we should take the pee out of anyone riding them though, but they need to be educated somehow to ignore the marketing BS that comes with these. To many people who havent owned a bike since they were kids, £100 for a bike is about right for a quality bike in their eyes...

Tjgoodhew

ManOfKent wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Saw this in the Metro today. I really wonder who Asda employ to put these bikes together especially when its being photographed for an advert. Makes Halfords look proficient!

At least the fork is the right way round... although whether it would be possible to turn the bars without wrenching the cables I'm not sure.

I actually saw somebody a week or so back riding one of these bikes with the bars like that in the picture

arthur_scrimshaw

Tjgoodhew wrote:

ManOfKent wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Saw this in the Metro today. I really wonder who Asda employ to put these bikes together especially when its being photographed for an advert. Makes Halfords look proficient!

At least the fork is the right way round... although whether it would be possible to turn the bars without wrenching the cables I'm not sure.

I actually saw somebody a week or so back riding one of these bikes with the bars like that in the picture

There's someone on the forum who has their bike set up like that, the reason was they found it comfortable. Would love to find the picture but I can't remember where it was posted.

craker

Tesco wrote:

Both the seat and the front wheel are quick release, making it easier to secure your bike when you are locking it up

How does having bits easily removable make the bike more secure?

Monty Dog

The photo shows the bike set-up for downhills ;-)
As a shop bike mechanic, you'd dread someone bringing-in a BSO - something they'd bought in the catalogue for 99p a week than needed some 'assembly'. Often the frames were mis-aligned, spoke tension like spaghetti and bolts that were made from plasticene and tyres coated in dog poo.

Anonymous

Lightweight compared to what? a car?

Why do all sh1t bikes say they are lightweight?
Where are the heavy ones and what do they weigh?

Anonymous

Giraffoto wrote:

The Tesco bike I saw in my local shop cost £89.99 and weighed 18Kg - about £2.25 a pound, which compared favourably with their strawberries at the time

Did it say it was lightweight? (see above post).

neilo23

Sorry, but I just had to copy this review of one of the Tesco "Road Racers"

"after reading the reviews and getting a few replies back after posting I decided to get this bike .......so glad I did it took next to no time to assemble although the instructions are for all this manufacturers bikes in one booklet it was simple to piece together had a slight issue with gears catching the derailleur but watched a few how to's and sorted that also the brakes required tightening, having a fellow cyclist look it over and check it over in a couple of weeks to make sure I have done everything up to standard, I am 6'2" and the bike is very comfortable to ride the seat I have had to set to maximum to get my position right for my leg length the handlebars are comfortable and can be adjusted to tilt as you require tightening these and getting them central can be a pain when doing it alone, for the price you are getting a fantastic road bike with what looks like expensive appeal its lightweight and can be lifted with a couple of fingers its easy to ride and it has actually converted my cycling friend to get 700 by 28 tyres on his road bike as he has 23 and 25 and finds them quite skittish and often uncomfortable on long treks, the steering is very light and often Waverley but with practice the handling is great, I would highly recommend this bike to anyone wishing to get into road cycling at on a budget. it looks great rides really well your not gonna break any high speed records but its a great way to start out, just a note for any newbies to cycling on the roads do your research and get the right gear you will find other road users will give you the respect on the road if you wear the correct gear when out cycling. Great bike great price great times ahead"

Waverley steering! Doesn't matter as you'll get respect with the right gear

DavidJB

Excellent those bikes cost the same as one of my cycling shoes I spend too much on cycling!

chris_bass

CookeeeMonster wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

dilatory wrote:

Going against the cycling circle-jerk here but presumably for your average non-cyclist who will pedal this bike with their heels, push it up hills and leave it outside in the rain but want something for going to and fro slowly then these terrible bikes will do their job for not very much money.

thats exactly how I feel, and banding terms like BSO about just makes cyclists look like arrogant to55ers!

I disagree. I had a Tesco BSO for my first bike since my bmx in my youth around 3 years back. I knew 100% it would be rubbish and wouldn't last but for various reasons I ended up with it and it was just...awful.

18 'shimano' gears of which 3 were usable, mega heavy, brakes barely worked, loads of minor things went wrong including seat post which wouldn't stay up (or is that a major thing?) and on it's 11th ever ride, the cassette fell apart leaving me with a 4 mile walk home 11pm at night through a lovely part of east london.

yeah they're ok for a few miles a year fairweather riding in the park with the kids - but no good for literally anything else.

If I didn't know better thanks to friends letting me know in the past that would've been my experience of cycling - and I wouldn't have liked it.

Best thing was I got full refund and put it towards a proper bike

EDIT: People do need to know how terrible these things are, and how unsuitable they are for daily riding. I'm not saying we should take the pee out of anyone riding them though, but they need to be educated somehow to ignore the marketing BS that comes with these. To many people who havent owned a bike since they were kids, £100 for a bike is about right for a quality bike in their eyes...

I dont disagree in most cases the money would be better spent elsewhere, its just calling them BSOs makes people think cyclists are elitist and arrogant, just mention that term on a non cycling forum and see what happens.

ugo.santalucia

Giraffoto wrote:

The Tesco bike I saw in my local shop cost £89.99 and weighed 18Kg - about £2.25 a pound, which compared favourably with their strawberries at the time

Stainless steel floats roughly at 4 pounds per Kg in billets at the stock market... so we know what is NOT made out of...

MiddleRinger

drlodge wrote:

Saw this in the Metro today. I really wonder who Asda employ to put these bikes together especially when its being photographed for an advert. Makes Halfords look proficient!

Garmin Edge 200 for £69 is a good deal though!

Anonymous

MiddleRinger wrote:

Garmin Edge 200 for £69 is a good deal though!

I would agree but a lot on here would say the £63 Crane 'GSO' watch is better to put on your bike :shock:

Maybe we are both elitist?

I find it odd having a bike computer next to a bike that is not even twice its cost.

ben@31

I bet Marcel Kittel, on one of these bikes, could beat most of the forum users.

The only thing I find annoying about these bikes is the deliberately misleading advertising such as "Shimano 14-speed gears". In my eyes the advertisement is trying to make punters think they are getting a good group set for £125. Not quite Dura-Ace standards is it?

ugo.santalucia

There should be a minimum level of reliability. Bikes like that will fall apart after 100 miles... yet the carbon footprint to build them and scrap them is huge.

Giraffoto

ugo.santalucia wrote:

There should be a minimum level of reliability. Bikes like that will fall apart after 100 miles... yet the carbon footprint to build them and scrap them is huge.

They don't always get scrapped. At my local recycling centre there's always a huge choice of these cheap-but-way-too-heavy machines available, and if they get bought by someone who rides it to work (or school) instead of driving, it's still reducing car use. And maybe they'll even get to like cycling as well.

Anonymous

ben@31 wrote:

I bet Marcel Kittel, on one of these bikes, could beat most of the forum users.

Yaaaaaaaawn

Anonymous

Giraffoto wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

There should be a minimum level of reliability. Bikes like that will fall apart after 100 miles... yet the carbon footprint to build them and scrap them is huge.

They don't always get scrapped. At my local recycling centre there's always a huge choice of these cheap-but-way-too-heavy machines available, and if they get bought by someone who rides it to work (or school) instead of driving, it's still reducing car use. And maybe they'll even get to like cycling as well.

The thought of young or poor people cycling around happily with a glint in their eye on the way to becoming an olympic champion or fit adult who will not be putting a burden on the NHS is a nice one, but probably not very realistic.

Most of these bikes will be hated and end up rusting in a shed or bottom of a lake because the owners do not actually make it to the dump!

Reducing car use? If the potential owners of these bikes have a car they could afford to buy a better value for money bike that would do the job much better.

How BSO does a bike need to be before you guys agree its a BSO?

ugo.santalucia

Yeah,

Before manufacturing moved to the far east there was a minimum standard of quality, simply because no one wanted to put their name on something that was falling apart. When the manufacturer has no name and Tesco is simply a retailer, whose name is not likely to be damaged by a crap bike, things change. At this point the legislator has to introduce some minimum standards. Ticking the "safety features" box, like a bell or lights is not enough... products should pass a road test and be certified as road worthy.
If basic bikes did cost 200 pounds instead of 89.99 it means people wouldn't throw them away. I don't think a society that only buys if it's cheap is something we should keep endorsing. In other European countries you don't see many "Tesco bikes" around

Initialised

Giraffoto wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

There should be a minimum level of reliability. Bikes like that will fall apart after 100 miles... yet the carbon footprint to build them and scrap them is huge.

They don't always get scrapped. At my local recycling centre there's always a huge choice of these cheap-but-way-too-heavy machines available, and if they get bought by someone who rides it to work (or school) instead of driving, it's still reducing car use. And maybe they'll even get to like cycling as well.

Yes but they only become reasonable bikes after they've had the once over from a competent mechanic and most of the bits that'll fall off/apart have been replaced with old but functional bits.

Back to the OP: Do they call it the Vertigo because it'll scare the crap out of you if you point it down hill at anything more than walking pace?