Scraping the bottom of the barrel - B'Twin Riverside 120

ayank
ayank Posts: 41
edited January 2018 in Road buying advice
Hi,

My wife needs a bike for just 6 months. Does any one have any substantial comments on the B'Twin Riverside 120. Can't find a decent review even one by a rider.

Comments

  • alan_sherman
    alan_sherman Posts: 1,157
    Wheel bearings look like they have no seals.

    Halfords have an alternate that looks stronger with better components for the price: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -18-frames
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Just buy her the same bike as yours.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    Matthewfalle wrote:
    Just buy her the same bike as yours.

    Give her yours and buy yourself something nicer
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    Matthewfalle wrote:
    Just buy her the same bike as yours.

    Give her yours and buy yourself something nicer

    Give yours to a poor person and both buy something nicer. It just happens that yours is slightly nicer than hers.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    The Riverside 120 is a great ‘starter bike’ it’s never going to set the world alight, but if she just needs a new bike to ride about on, it’ll do the job, and take a fair bit of abuse. It’s cheap as chips, so it getting nicked / crashed isn’t going to cause a lot of heartache either. And it comes with a lifetime guarantee on frame and forks, and a limited warranty on other bits.
  • trivial_poursuivant
    trivial_poursuivant Posts: 1,136
    Plenty of sub £100 bikes on Facebook eBay etc that are probably better than buying a bike new that you’re wasting 20% on VAT when you purchase it.
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    Trivial poursuivant wrote:
    Plenty of sub £100 bikes on Facebook eBay etc that are probably better than buying a bike new that you’re wasting 20% on VAT when you purchase it.
    True, as long as you know what you’re looking for, and are willing to put up with the pitfalls of buying used bikes.
  • trivial_poursuivant
    trivial_poursuivant Posts: 1,136
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    Trivial poursuivant wrote:
    Plenty of sub £100 bikes on Facebook eBay etc that are probably better than buying a bike new that you’re wasting 20% on VAT when you purchase it.
    True, as long as you know what you’re looking for, and are willing to put up with the pitfalls of buying used bikes.

    Agree, but at this price the risk is minimal. I’d be a bit unsure doing so on a £1000 plus bike but under a ton it’s a reasonable risk
  • ayank
    ayank Posts: 41
    Thanks. I'm in France.

    Has anyone experience with the bike?

    I'm only here for six months so no point getting too expensive bikes
    alan sherman wrote:
    Wheel bearings look like they have no seals.

    Halfords have an alternate that looks stronger with better components for the price: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -18-frames

    How did you work that out?
  • alan_sherman
    alan_sherman Posts: 1,157
    Re the seals. There is a picture on the website of the front quick release!
  • ayank
    ayank Posts: 41
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    Trivial poursuivant wrote:
    Plenty of sub £100 bikes on Facebook eBay etc that are probably better than buying a bike new that you’re wasting 20% on VAT when you purchase it.
    True, as long as you know what you’re looking for, and are willing to put up with the pitfalls of buying used bikes.

    Thanks I'm very familiar with bikes and buying bikes. The problem is that it could take weeks (even months) to find a good bike in the sub $100 category. Many people sell junk described in glowing terms!

    My time is worth something so I wanted to just buy one and be done with it.
  • lakesluddite
    lakesluddite Posts: 1,337
    Even more of a bargain if you're buying in Euros - €130 equals about £115 as opposed to £159 here, so your budget might stretch to something further up the range? Although looking at the differences in prices, the 500 is much closer in price to the one on sale in the UK.
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    Is it just the picture, or does that bike have a plastic crank arm? :shock:

    PP
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    Pilot Pete wrote:
    Is it just the picture, or does that bike have a plastic crank arm? :shock:

    PP
    Plastic encased crank arm, the arm is metal.
  • ayank
    ayank Posts: 41
    Pilot Pete wrote:
    Is it just the picture, or does that bike have a plastic crank arm? :shock:

    PP

    My God you guys have good vision. Seeing plastic crank arms, lack of seals :-)

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