261–270 of 298 posts
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They exist - I have one; and very nice. Mine is made by Lekker.
No problem with the variator ? too heavy ? lack of efficiency ? maintenance or frailty ? Just curious, one guy on reddit said he didn't trust the thing much.
but he said in the comments; it seemed an exception, got a fix and ride thousands of mountain abuse miles with no issues since
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Maybe that's it? Maybe the shitty bikes I remember from my youth were actually just better than the equivalently priced bikes of today? I sold my last bike for $50 after a decade of really hard city and trail riding, even taking a couple dives off the edge of a 20 foot fall and getting in a minor car accident. That owner kept it for another decade and outside of normal part wear and repair, used it well for some pret…
Do bear in mind inflation. $200 in 1987 is approximately equivalent to $430 today [1]. So we could reasonably predict, ignoring technology changes, that your $200 bike was at least twice as good as a $200 bike bought this year. [1]: http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=20...
My first bike (the Chromoly Huffy I mentioned a couple of posts back) cost a little less than $100 in about 1983. That same $100 is $242 today. $242 will actually buy an all Chromoly BMX bike today ( http://a.co/5vAYzBc ). So, I guess we're keeping pace with inflation, and I need to tie an onion to my belt, as was the fashion at the time. We just need to re-arrange our expectations to match current reality.
Ordering a replacement belt will take several days, if not weeks.
Removing the broken link from a chain takes a few minutes with a portable tool that I carry with me. I can still get to the office on time.
Failure-mode operation is more important to me than keeping my hands clean. Sure, my bike's noisy and dirty, but it's a whole lot faster than walking.
I've been keeping an eye on this bike's development for a while, and I'm not disappointed with the outcome. It's still more expensive than a box-store bike, but I hope that availability at IKEA will make it more appealing to college students. Internal gears and a belt drive will make for more interesting maintenance, but anything beats the hi-ten 18-speed monstrosities that currently dominate college campuses.
My favorite bike for daily short commute -- jump on, jump off, no special gears, no maintenance, dirt cheap: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/g29ss.htm The wheel size and choice of fixed gearing largely just works, like a BMX was all you needed as a kid.
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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…
It still seems expensive compared to what I can get at a local bike shop. I got a Trek 7.2 from a bike shop for that price and it was assembled and came with some free tune-ups. Similarly, one can get a Fortified Bike 1-speed for $399. Both seem like better bicycles than the Sladda. I agree that big-box stores often sell crappy bikes. But one can get a really nice bike from a bike shop for $400-500. If IKEA were sell…
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Tried that. Turns out, even bike thieves have standards.
In Brooklyn, I got rid of half a bike (missing front fork and seat) by setting it outside for about 20 minutes. I guess you could say I got rid of the first half by setting it outside overnight, poorly locked to a post, but it was unintentional.
It holds alright until little things start to get missing, after which the rest of it quickly gets stolen.
It's two gear, so it's not great for inclines, and the belt and frame are less durable. I'm not sure it's worth the money once you learn bicycle maintenance (but you could say that about a lot of IKEA furniture and woodworking/metalworking)
What makes you say the frame is less durable? It says that the frame is powder coated. Powder coating tends to last a lot longer and survive more abuse than paint does. Also its a aluminum frame so it is not going to be rusting either.
If you leave your bike out in the elements and don't maintain it, any parts that do not survive prolonged exposure to heat cycle, water, oxidation, salt, etc will deteriorate. But that isn't even metal durability, that's just plain weather. Any bike will deteriorate outside.
Another downside is aluminum is stiffer than steel, making for a rougher ride unless you add suspension, get softer tires or significantly change geometry.
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Usually belts don't require grease... and to tell you the truth I don't see why they put that white belt guard on top...
In addition to keeping your pants clean, the chainguard also helps keep your pant cuff from getting caught in the chain.
It's two gear, so it's not great for inclines, and the belt and frame are less durable. I'm not sure it's worth the money once you learn bicycle maintenance (but you could say that about a lot of IKEA furniture and woodworking/metalworking)
If the belt is like standard belt drives (I need to look further into this, not sure if Ikea cheaped out or not), it should actually stand up to time better than a chain would. Belts are simply carbon cord embedded in a molded casing of nylon and polyurethane, and, more importantly, do not have any moving parts or linkages. It's just a belt! So you don't have to worry about the metal pitting over time or road salt se…
Belt with two internal gears lasts much longer than a mountain bike 18 speed chain drive, but then you're comparing apples and oranges.
This is a bike designed for the Apple user, basically, except that it seems inexpensive, which is nice. If you never want to think about how a bike works, this seems fine. But my original point was to learn how to maintain a bike.
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-...