Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

ikea.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 298 posts

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#51

Post by crazygringo »

brndnmtthws wrote: post #35
xgbi wrote: post #27

It is me or there's no rear brake? Without suspension at the front, this asks for front flips whenever I touch the brakes too hard..

90% of your braking 'power' comes from the front brake. Under hard braking in ideal conditions, this is closer to 100%. You can safely remove the rear brake from most bikes. This is a common misconception [1]. The same is true for motorcycles. [1]: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

That is not a misconception at all, at least not for bicycles, and it's highly dangerous to suggest so.

Have you ever tried braking while going down a steep hill? (e.g. San Fran hills?) You know, to stay at a safe speed? Front brake will flip you over in an instant, I know because I've done it, even at slow speeds, when my rear brake cable snapped. After a couple tries I walked home, since bicycling without a rear brake was clearly suicidal.

And your linked article just talks about the rider flying over the handlebars because the rider isn't "bracing themselves against deceleration" -- whatever that means. I'm talking about the bike itself flipping.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#52

Post by Unman »

cbr wrote: post #46
woodruffw wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart and other big-box store bicycles are infamous in the cycling community for their poor quality and assembly, often to the point of being completely unsafe to ride at any speed (Nader reference intended). They often use the cheapest high-tensile steel they can find, off-brand rims, mix-and-match groupsets, low-quality brakes, and so forth. The bike you linked exemplifies that - mixed Shimano/SRAM components and…

mixed Shimano/SRAM components Is this an actual problem, or just something someone only would do if they were heavily trying to minimize cost?

Depends on the specific parts mixed. There's no question that it can be fine...e.g. see http://www.velonews.com/2013/09/bikes-and-tech/drivetrain-co...

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#53

Post by woodruffw »

david-given wrote: post #49
woodruffw wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart and other big-box store bicycles are infamous in the cycling community for their poor quality and assembly, often to the point of being completely unsafe to ride at any speed (Nader reference intended). They often use the cheapest high-tensile steel they can find, off-brand rims, mix-and-match groupsets, low-quality brakes, and so forth. The bike you linked exemplifies that - mixed Shimano/SRAM components and…

Disc brake --- the rear brake is a back-pedal job, unfortunately, which makes it a write-off from my perspective; years of cycling ordinary bicycles mean that I tend to automatically move the pedals backwards while coasting to a comfortable position, and doing this with a back-pedal brake leads to unhappy experiences. I'm impressed by the add-on bicycle trailer, obvious being sold as a first-class citizen. A lot of I…

Coaster brakes are somewhat common on city cruisers, but it is a little odd that they've chosen to go with the combination of the two.

I reset my pedals when I'm coasting as well, and it's probably fair to say that we're not the target market. My guess is that it'll be popular among (shorter-distance) city commuters and college students who would've bought a Huffy or something equally shoddy instead.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#54

Post by fulafel »

brndnmtthws wrote: post #35
xgbi wrote: post #27

It is me or there's no rear brake? Without suspension at the front, this asks for front flips whenever I touch the brakes too hard..

90% of your braking 'power' comes from the front brake. Under hard braking in ideal conditions, this is closer to 100%. You can safely remove the rear brake from most bikes. This is a common misconception [1]. The same is true for motorcycles. [1]: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

You want to cover the non-ideal circumstances too. Wet leaves, gravel, snow/ice will make the front wheel slip out from under you if you only have a front brake.

(This bike does have a rear brake too, so it's fine)

Edit: About winter biking, cables tend to freeze in the winter if you're not meticulous about maintenance. So automatic gears and coaster rear brake are good for this reason too.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#55

Post by ch4s3 »

legodt wrote: post #19
dsr_ wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...which is presumably why there's a 10 year warranty on the belt.

Nice, good looking out. I assume Ikea isn't about to staff a mechanic for a low-occurance problem for a single product, so I wonder how they will handle warranty for the labor of replacing it.

probably contracts with local bike shops

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#56

Post by Eridrus »

mtdewcmu wrote: post #12

Can anyone figure out why it's so expensive? Here's a fancier-looking 26" bicycle on walmart.com for $79.97 - $249.00. [1] [1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/26-Roadmaster-Granite-Peak-Men-s-...

I bought one of those cheap bikes for Burning Man with the expectation it would get trashed. The steering screws came apart every day and I had to carry a screw driver with me to routinely fix it. It was fine for burning man, but I would not have driven that thing on a road.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#57

Post by dripton »

david-given wrote: post #49
woodruffw wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walmart and other big-box store bicycles are infamous in the cycling community for their poor quality and assembly, often to the point of being completely unsafe to ride at any speed (Nader reference intended). They often use the cheapest high-tensile steel they can find, off-brand rims, mix-and-match groupsets, low-quality brakes, and so forth. The bike you linked exemplifies that - mixed Shimano/SRAM components and…

Disc brake --- the rear brake is a back-pedal job, unfortunately, which makes it a write-off from my perspective; years of cycling ordinary bicycles mean that I tend to automatically move the pedals backwards while coasting to a comfortable position, and doing this with a back-pedal brake leads to unhappy experiences. I'm impressed by the add-on bicycle trailer, obvious being sold as a first-class citizen. A lot of I…

"we did have a few niggles about how it had been assembled which much to our amusement on our first test ride the handlebars went one way while the bike carried on going straight"

This is enough reason not to buy a bike from a non-bike store, unless you have the skill to reassemble it yourself.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#58

Post by Eridrus »

crazygringo wrote: post #51
brndnmtthws wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

90% of your braking 'power' comes from the front brake. Under hard braking in ideal conditions, this is closer to 100%. You can safely remove the rear brake from most bikes. This is a common misconception [1]. The same is true for motorcycles. [1]: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

That is not a misconception at all, at least not for bicycles, and it's highly dangerous to suggest so. Have you ever tried braking while going down a steep hill? (e.g. San Fran hills?) You know, to stay at a safe speed? Front brake will flip you over in an instant, I know because I've done it, even at slow speeds, when my rear brake cable snapped. After a couple tries I walked home, since bicycling without a rear br…

Can second this; flipped my bike going down a ramp while I was young; learnt my lesson.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#59

Post by Unman »

crazygringo wrote: post #51
brndnmtthws wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

90% of your braking 'power' comes from the front brake. Under hard braking in ideal conditions, this is closer to 100%. You can safely remove the rear brake from most bikes. This is a common misconception [1]. The same is true for motorcycles. [1]: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

That is not a misconception at all, at least not for bicycles, and it's highly dangerous to suggest so. Have you ever tried braking while going down a steep hill? (e.g. San Fran hills?) You know, to stay at a safe speed? Front brake will flip you over in an instant, I know because I've done it, even at slow speeds, when my rear brake cable snapped. After a couple tries I walked home, since bicycling without a rear br…

> Front brake will flip you over in an instant, I know because I've done it, even at slow speeds

That's because you simply do not know how to ride a bicycle. In such a situation you need to get your weight back behind the saddle and modulate the application of the brake.

O.P. is one hundred percent correct that you do not need a rear brake -- and I speak as someone that rode for several years in without one including in SF.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#60

Post by owenversteeg »

crazygringo wrote: post #51
brndnmtthws wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

90% of your braking 'power' comes from the front brake. Under hard braking in ideal conditions, this is closer to 100%. You can safely remove the rear brake from most bikes. This is a common misconception [1]. The same is true for motorcycles. [1]: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

That is not a misconception at all, at least not for bicycles, and it's highly dangerous to suggest so. Have you ever tried braking while going down a steep hill? (e.g. San Fran hills?) You know, to stay at a safe speed? Front brake will flip you over in an instant, I know because I've done it, even at slow speeds, when my rear brake cable snapped. After a couple tries I walked home, since bicycling without a rear br…

My personal strategy for front-wheel braking is to apply as little as possible, and "pump" the brakes like you have to do in a pre-ABS car. You're much less likely to flip.
Post reply on HN