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Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

ikea.com

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Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#241

Post by stusmall »

mrfusion wrote: post #18

I have a 30yeae old bike and I've never done anything special with the chain. Should I be worried?

Not really. All the parts that would be damaged by that are designed to be replaced. My girlfriend did the same to her bike not too long ago. I spent about $80 and an afternoon to get it back in shape.

I've never tried to find parts for a bike that old before, so that might be the challenge. I did have a late 70's Schwinn that I converted to a fixie and had no issues there, but that was a much more invasive job. At the end of the day, I'd replaced almost everything on that frame, so I had less compatibility concerns.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#242

Post by david-given »

castratikron wrote: post #205
david-given wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My elder brother used to build bicycles out of bits he pulled out of a river. Like, literally. He once built a bicycle that was so awful that it lasted him a complete undergraduate session at university, then a complete postgraduate session at a different university, and then I got it and it lasted me a complete (four-year) undergraduate session at a third university, and didn't get stolen once . I only managed to ge…

Back in college I got rid of my old bike by just leaving it unlocked outside. It was gone in a few days.

Tried that. Turns out, even bike thieves have standards.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#243

Post by dpark »

peller wrote: post #233
dpark wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no papers for the bike I bought brand new at full retail from a bike shop. Who keeps "papers" for a bike?

They probably just mean proof of purchase. The other important bit is the serial number (analogous to a car's VIN), often found under the bottom bracket.[0] You can (and should) register it with the local police, and there are a few online registries too. It's not an effective deterrent[1], but it's better than nothing. (I've had a bike returned to me because I registered it. That was before I learned to always use K…

Yeah, I didn't keep any paperwork or proof of purchase unless it's in a random box of junk somewhere. It didn't even occur to me to do so. I probably kept the sales papers for a little while in case I needed it for a warranty claim, but if I have them now, I don't know where.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#244

Post by dpark »

MagnumOpus wrote: post #240
peller wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably just mean proof of purchase. The other important bit is the serial number (analogous to a car's VIN), often found under the bottom bracket.[0] You can (and should) register it with the local police, and there are a few online registries too. It's not an effective deterrent[1], but it's better than nothing. (I've had a bike returned to me because I registered it. That was before I learned to always use K…

> always use Kryptonite U-locks Don't. My bike was stolen by rapidly sawing (dremeling?) through a Kryptolok in broad daylight in a place with some of the most heavy law enforcement presence in Europe. Their locks are much weaker than their marketing.

What locks are stronger?

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#245

Post by analog31 »

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-...

To me, it seems like a marketing and branding exercise.

Mainstream bikes are generic. You send a list of frame dimensions, colors, and components, to a factory in China, and they make some bikes for you. It's like getting circuit boards made.

It may seem expensive unless the value of the Ikea brand is considered. In fact, this would be just another of many "city" bikes to emerge on the market, and is only newsworthy because it's Ikea. They may be able to tap into a market for people who wouldn't go into a bike shop, but who would look through the Ikea catalog. I remember LL Bean selling bikes many years ago.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#246

Post by analog31 »

owenversteeg wrote: post #88
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…

Boy would you love the Netherlands. Here, almost everyone rides a used bike that's had many owners, each of which changed it in some "improper" way. Wheels the wrong size for the bike, duct tape holding the bike together, half of the spokes broken, etc., etc. But you know what? That's what the whole country uses for transportation, every day, and it works fine. It turns out that, in your day-to-day usage of a bike (a…

The US has something like 10x the number of cycling fatalities per mile. It is more dangerous here, though I grant you that the main hazard is not the fronts falling off our bikes.

I ride a Franken bike that my dad picked out of the trash. It's in good working condition, but in my defense, I simply enjoy tinkering with mechanics as a hobby.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#247

Post by owenversteeg »

curveship wrote: post #121
owenversteeg wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boy would you love the Netherlands. Here, almost everyone rides a used bike that's had many owners, each of which changed it in some "improper" way. Wheels the wrong size for the bike, duct tape holding the bike together, half of the spokes broken, etc., etc. But you know what? That's what the whole country uses for transportation, every day, and it works fine. It turns out that, in your day-to-day usage of a bike (a…

The difference is that cheap Dutch bikes are super simple: no gears and a coaster brake. The Walmart bikes aren't. They've often got 21 speeds, shocks, etc etc, all of which is pure crap and fails after minimal use. There's also the infrastructure to consider. If your bike fails in NL, you curse and coast to a stop on the bikeway. If it fails in the US, you may be in the middle of trying to cross a 6 lane road with n…

Interestingly enough, at least where I live in the Netherlands I find that most cheap bikes have handbrakes, and a lot of bikes have 3 speeds.

I agree that the infrastructure is a big thing too, though. If there's a chance of you failing on a snowy hill on the side of a highway, you're going to pay a bit more for something that won't fail as often.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#248

Post by TarpitCarnivore »

aluhut wrote: post #203
exDM69 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chains might not be what they used to be but the multi-geared sprockets with tight tolerances definitely aren't. It's cheaper to change the chains sooner than to wait until they wear out your sprockets badly enough that you can't fit a new chain on it and need to change both. 2 years of life out of chains sounds reasonable to me if you drive a lot . Exposure to dirt, salt (from de-icing), moisture, etc can shorten th…

I'm up to 900km (559miles) per year again. It this "a lot"?

600 miles a year is relatively low. Most people replace chains around 1500-2000 miles but it can really vary.

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#249

Post by peller »

MagnumOpus wrote: post #240
peller wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably just mean proof of purchase. The other important bit is the serial number (analogous to a car's VIN), often found under the bottom bracket.[0] You can (and should) register it with the local police, and there are a few online registries too. It's not an effective deterrent[1], but it's better than nothing. (I've had a bike returned to me because I registered it. That was before I learned to always use K…

> always use Kryptonite U-locks Don't. My bike was stolen by rapidly sawing (dremeling?) through a Kryptolok in broad daylight in a place with some of the most heavy law enforcement presence in Europe. Their locks are much weaker than their marketing.

Sorry to hear that. It's the strongest lock I've come across[0], but yea, once power tools come into play I can't imagine much of anything standing up to metal cut off grinder. What do you use now to secure your ride?

[0] http://www.kryptonitelock.com/content/kryt-us/en/products/pr...

Re: Flat Pack Chainless Bicycle from IKEA

#250

Post by dpark »

revelation wrote: post #234
dpark wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no papers for the bike I bought brand new at full retail from a bike shop. Who keeps "papers" for a bike?

Well, not you? The receipt typically has the frame number and it's your proof of ownership. You should keep it just so you can get your money back from insurance if it is stolen..

I never even registered my bike for insurance. It didn't occur to me and I'm not sure it really crosses the threshold of value/hassle for me.

The bigger point is that it's unreasonable to paint all people who buy used bikes without papers as supporting bike thieves. Anyone buying my bike would not get paperwork with the sale, but the bike is not stolen.

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