Sports Direct - Muddy Fox

Tashman

Brand spanking new to all this. Out of interest i looked at Sports Direct to see their offering.

Would this be bad value?

http://www.sportsdirect.com/muddyfox-ra ... e=93330944

imposter2.0

Nothing particularly wrong with the bike itself, but it's quite possible you will find a better spec than that for similar money...

Tashman

Thanks, thought that might be the case

mrb123

Wouldn't pay full price for it in a million years. Possibly not too bad at the current price, but I'd rather have something like this...
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540-r ... 50480.html
or this...
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/ultra-700-af ... 24331.html
or if you must have a carbon frame...
https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-fus ... 84195.html

davebradswmb

It looks amazing value, all-carbon frame & forks and Tiagra groupset for £750. The only thing that would worry me is that Muddy Fox is owned by Sports Direct. Karrimor are now owned by Sports Direct and the quality of the products really stinks these days. I took a look at the Muddy Fox shoes once and stayed well away. To be honest the components shown in the picture don't look like Tiagra to me - the shifters should have all concealed cabling, and the chainset looks wrong.

mrb123

davebradswmb wrote:

It looks amazing value, all-carbon frame & forks and Tiagra groupset for £750. The only thing that would worry me is that Muddy Fox is owned by Sports Direct. Karrimor are now owned by Sports Direct and the quality of the products really stinks these days. I took a look at the Muddy Fox shoes once and stayed well away. To be honest the components shown in the picture don't look like Tiagra to me - the shifters should have all concealed cabling, and the chainset looks wrong.

Cos it's old Tiagra, not the new one.

macleod113

My O/H works for a famous sports brand that supplies to Sports Direct and all they are interested is the cheapest old stuff they can buy and then sell it on for a massive profit.
i'm not sure i would trust them with a bike. i'd suggest you try other bike specific retailers or even a local bike shop as that way you get expertise and a come back. I've never tried SD's customer service but something tells me it wont be plain sailing if there is an issue

daniel_b

mrb123 wrote:

Wouldn't pay full price for it in a million years. Possibly not too bad at the current price, but I'd rather have something like this...
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540-r ... 50480.html
or this...
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/ultra-700-af ... 24331.html
or if you must have a carbon frame...
https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-fus ... 84195.html

This completely and utterly.

Moda also have some cheaper carbon framed bikes reduced on occasion, and planet x are bound to have a sale soon, or a code that brings one of their bikes down to this value.
Boardman might be worth considering too from Halfords, and if you have BC membership, you can get 10% off both there and CRC.

Edit: That Merlin bike looks excellent value and spec.
Don't forget cashback sites like topcashback and quidco, tcb currently have 4.2% which knocks a tidy £33 off that bike.

Jerry185

With the Tiagra gears (not bad tho'), the 12 kilo weight (heavy) and the supplier, this looks like a £700 bike reduced to £750.

I've had a Decathlon B'Twin Triban 540 for over a year and ridden it in Mallorca bike camp plus some sportives inc. Dragon Ride - Media Fondo. A 'pro' on the camp said my steed was 'a perfectly reasonable bike.'
Uprated 105 gears, cartridge brakes, Mavic wheels, carbon forks and weighs at 9.5 kg
The only thing I changed for performance was the Hutchinson tyres for Continental (very cheap to upgrade tyres rather than, say wheels)

Currently selling at Decathlon for £500

MiddleRinger

Don't touch that Sports Direct bike. If you want cheap but still good, go for the Decathlon range.

Guanajuato

Jerry185 wrote:

With the Tiagra gears (not bad tho'), the 12 kilo weight (heavy) and the supplier, this looks like a £700 bike reduced to £750.

12kg for a carbon bike? My old £250 Carrera TdF bike weighed less than that. :roll:
I'd buy from a bike shop (even if it is Halfords or Decathlon) rather than a clothes shop. I know with SD they don't properly refund you - you only ever get store credit. Not a chane I'd be willing to take.

napoleond

Muddy fox used to be at the forefront of mountainbiking in the mid 80s. I still ride my 1986 Muddy Fox courier.
The current 'Muddy Fox' brand has absolutely nothing to do with quality any more. It's way-below-standard tat that puts people off cycling.

daniel_b

napoleond wrote:

Muddy fox used to be at the forefront of mountainbiking in the mid 80s. I still ride my 1986 Muddy Fox courier.
The current 'Muddy Fox' brand has absolutely nothing to do with quality any more. It's way-below-standard tat that puts people off cycling.

It's sad isn't it, used to be a very well regarded brand in the late 80's, and now reduced to this.

vpnikolov

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-r872/

Take a look at Ribble. Better value for money defo.

imposter2.0

Guanajuato wrote:

I know with SD they don't properly refund you - you only ever get store credit. Not a chane I'd be willing to take.

SD is goverened by the same distance selling and sale of goods regulations as any other retailer. So if you are entitled to claim a refund in accordance with consumer law, you should get one.

daniel_b

Imposter wrote:

Guanajuato wrote:

I know with SD they don't properly refund you - you only ever get store credit. Not a chane I'd be willing to take.

SD is goverened by the same distance selling and sale of goods regulations as any other retailer. So if you are entitled to claim a refund in accordance with consumer law, you should get one.

If you order online and return it online, you will get a refund.
If you buy online, or instore, and then return instore, you will only be offered a credit.

reformedfatty

For extreme value for money, you could also try and find one of the argos (bear with me) carbon fibre bikes - ventura cp50. These were retailing for £400 so I took a gamble and was pleasantly surprised to find it decent. Mostly sora with a mix of other kit - iirc ritchey finishing kit but a cheap crankset, unbranded brakes. Also a decent weight with an easy upgrade as most of whats left was in the 501 wheelset.

dave35

This for £100 more
http://www.dolan-bikes.com/road/road-bi ... -5800.html
£150 less
http://www.dolan-bikes.com/road/road-bi ... -4700.html.
Wouldn't touch the sports direct bike shaped object with a barge pole.

fenix

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPRIV ... -road-bike

This for £100 more from a company that do bikes. SPorts Direct don't -so any problems - what would they do ?

MiddleRinger

Guanajuato wrote:

12kg for a carbon bike? :roll:

My alloy bike weighs almost 4kg less than that! :shock:

The PX Pro Carbon linked above - while a quite dated frameset now - is excellent value & a quality bike!

deejaysee

About the last Brand and last shop i'd ever buy a road bike from

Tashman

Thanks everyone, good to see that my first thoughts weren't far off the mark. i guess you can dress a donkey like a race horse, but underneath, it's still a donkey!

daniel_b

Tashman wrote:

Thanks everyone, good to see that my first thoughts weren't far off the mark. i guess you can dress a donkey like a race horse, but underneath, it's still a donkey!

Well said!

MisterMuncher

It's probably so OK it's average. Old OEM open mould frame, a groupset that's basically remaindered and a lot of no-name finishing kit. Probably assembled by a sub-contractor and stacked in a warehouse somewhere, or a rebadge/respray on someone else's NOS.

Jerry185

Annnd....I see Decathlon have just pushed the Triban 540 up to 650 quid, which is more expensive than when they discounted it

daniel_b

Jerry185 wrote:

Annnd....I see Decathlon have just pushed the Triban 540 up to 650 quid, which is more expensive than when they discounted it

That's cos it has swapped from 10 spd 105 5700 to 11 spd 105 5800.

Anonymous

I will always steer a newbie in the direction of ebay or a second hand sale than any cheap n nasty brand new p.o.s. they are nearly always poor quality ride. Just cos its 'carbon' does not make it a bargain. It could be 99% resin and the cheapest fibre on the market. Zero stiffness or ride quality. There are untold amounts of top quality well maintained and looked after used bikes out there which are also minus the 20% VAT on top of the new bike.And if you ever decide you either don't want to keep it cos its not for you or even if you fancy an upgrade you can still shift it yourself without leaving yourself with an unsellable bike.

carbonclem

Every element of Sports Direct is horrible and should be avoided at all costs. They buy out brand names and remanufacture the goods at lowest quality reducing brands to junk - such as Karrimor. The refund policy is strictly to the letter of the law and only credit notes are offered unless there is a manufacturing fault - most companies refund for goodwill but not SD. I beleive the company thoroughly exploit minimum wage laws and zero hours contracts too.

If after all that, you fancy shopping there, then good luck to you.

Tashman

just to say I avoided like the plague in the end. Now waiting on a second hand Defy 1 to be redied by a friend who has upgraded. Bonus is i'll also have a riding buddy

Jerry185

Daniel B wrote:

Jerry185 wrote:

Annnd....I see Decathlon have just pushed the Triban 540 up to 650 quid, which is more expensive than when they discounted it

That's cos it has swapped from 10 spd 105 5700 to 11 spd 105 5800.

Good spot, DB. Unless I read this wrong tho', what you get at the moment is another gear most people won't use, for an extra £150

mrb123

Jerry185 wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

Jerry185 wrote:

Annnd....I see Decathlon have just pushed the Triban 540 up to 650 quid, which is more expensive than when they discounted it

That's cos it has swapped from 10 spd 105 5700 to 11 spd 105 5800.

Good spot, DB. Unless I read this wrong tho', what you get at the moment is another gear most people won't use, for an extra £150

The popular consensus on this forum seems to be that 5800 is a huge improvement over 5700 though.