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Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

ikea.com

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Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#71

Post by kyberias »

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 link doesn't provide any explanation why front wheel breaking is superior. Only states that it is superior. Why is it?

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#72

Post by chrisper »

cbr wrote: post #48
yupyupp wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like others said, the frame material is a huge part of the cost/value difference. But I'll also point out the fact that the IKEA bike is powder coated, has a belt drive, a coaster break, a disk break, and an internal gear hub. That combination of components makes this bike basically maintenance free. If this bike was left on a bike rack outside a college dorm for a school year it would be perfectly fine; the same can…

If this bike was left on a bike rack outside a college dorm for a school year it would be perfectly fine To be fair, it would probably be stolen.

Not really. At my school they have bike cages. Basically, the bike racks are inside a cage that you need a key for.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#73

Post by mwill »

bane wrote: post #63
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 grew up with a slew of craptastic second hand, thrift store and K-Mart level bikes since it was all we could afford (and as I grew, the bikes grew). We used to beat the living snot out of those bikes and I don't remember any of them costing more than $150 new and they either never broke or were easy to repair. I would expect to pay no more than around $300 for a similar quality of bike these days. The last time I w…

Me and my friends used to buy the cheapest bikes we could out in rural Australia, as low as $50 AUD. We would flog them in the ground for a month or so, when they finally gave out left them right where they broke, and went bought another one.

No one wanted a good bike because a good bike was too good not to fix, and no one had the money to fix a good bike.

It was also the kind of town where if you had a good bike, it would get stolen for sure.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#74

Post by slewis »

bane wrote: post #63
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 grew up with a slew of craptastic second hand, thrift store and K-Mart level bikes since it was all we could afford (and as I grew, the bikes grew). We used to beat the living snot out of those bikes and I don't remember any of them costing more than $150 new and they either never broke or were easy to repair. I would expect to pay no more than around $300 for a similar quality of bike these days. The last time I w…

There were expensive bikes back then too. There are cheap bikes now. It depends where you look.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#76

Post by xapata »

bane wrote: post #63
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 grew up with a slew of craptastic second hand, thrift store and K-Mart level bikes since it was all we could afford (and as I grew, the bikes grew). We used to beat the living snot out of those bikes and I don't remember any of them costing more than $150 new and they either never broke or were easy to repair. I would expect to pay no more than around $300 for a similar quality of bike these days. The last time I w…

I ran a volunteer bike repair shop for a while. The big box store bikes, like Walmart, Target, etc. have terrible parts. Brakes that fail. Wheels that bend. A girl at my school was killed because she rode in front of a garbage truck. Bystanders said it looked like she was trying to break and couldn't. Sometimes this is because the big box store employees put the brakes on backwards, with the pads facing away from the wheel. I've seen it.

If you want a cheap bike, buy a good one used. Craigslist is an excellent resource. A quality frame lasts forever (unless misused or left in the rain) and decent replacement parts aren't crazy expensive.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#77

Post by tritosomal »

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 a bike from Target over the summer for $100.

It has:

  broken one chain

  suffered multiple rear brake failures 

  unfastened the handle bars so they dangle from the fork
All of these things happened while miles from home, and required tools for repair.

When one thing was fixed, another thing broke. The brakes failed repeatedly, and warranted full replacement.

The handle bars are especially treacherous, because putting weight on them risks failure, and then steering becomes impossible.

Accessories and repairs now outweigh the original cost of the bike, meaning I'm looking at over $300 all-in. Meanwhile, this thing feels like it will eventually cost me some teeth.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#78

Post by crazygringo »

Unman wrote: post #59
crazygringo wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I "simply don't know how to ride a bicycle?" That's a big assumption you're making there, buddy.

I don't know how your particular weight is distributed on your particular bicycle or what, but you're spreading dangerously wrong ideas.

If you're going downhill and a child runs out in the street from between cars and you need to stop, and you're a normal person on a normal bike, you need a rear brake, end of story.

If you modulate your front brake to not lock up, that simply means you stop far too slowly, and hit the kid. Even at what seems like otherwise a safe speed, things (like children, or soccer balls) can run out in front of you at the last second and you need to stop suddenly.

You absolutely need a rear brake for safety. Just because you could get by without one in most situations doesn't mean you can get by without one in all situations.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#79

Post by alkonaut »

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-...

Fancy looking? The IKEA one has an Al frame with 25y warranty. A belt drive (more expensive than chain), front disk brake and internal rear gear hub (more expensive than cheap external derailleur).

If you look closer the IKEA bike looks much fancier. It's not hard to make a bike at $250, it's hard to make a good bike at $400.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#80

Post by woodruffw »

alistproducer2 wrote: post #36
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…

>completely unsafe to ride at any speed I can attest this is not the case. All I,and everyone who are not cyclists,have ever rode are cheap Wal-Mart bikes. Even when I used to do stupid stuff like jump them and fly down hills, I've never had a structural failure occur.

I'm obviously exaggerating. One of the things I recommend when a friend or acquaintance buys a box-store bike (after ignoring my initial recommendation not to buy one) is to immediately take it to a bike shop to be reassembled and re-tuned. With a proper tuning and assembly, they become substantially safer.

That being said, your experience is a fortunate one. It takes only half a turn in either direction on the headset washers to result in a failure that can break your collarbone. I've seen it firsthand.

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