UKC

I have reached a Radical Decision.

I love my red Dawes racer deeply. But it keeps needing repairs. Quite expensive ones. I can't afford to spend £100 on it every time I take it any distance in the bad weather.

There is another way. It's called Disposable Bike Theory. It goes like this: you identify a cheap source of second- or fifth-hand bikes. You buy one for (say) £45, today's price. You use it till it falls apart. Then-- and this is the clever bit-- instead of spending £90 sorting it out, you just buy another one.

I have mixed feelings about this, of course. I can see the drawbacks, e.g. the danger of having a series of really crap bikes. On the other hand, what I have at the moment is a really nice bike in really crap condition. And I can't get it out of that crap condition, which it is in because I ride it all the time, without spending a shedload of notes that I simply don't have.

Ergo, the Disposable Bike Theory is now going to get a trial.

What I'm most apprehensive about is the look on the face of my friend in the bike shop when he realises I haven't bought the nice bike he wanted me to get from him for £320, and that was a knock-down too...

I'm sorry, John. I'm sorry. I'm just broke, that's all. Even broker than my bike.

In reply to Tim Chappell: i prefer my technique called the Drip-feed. you have a rather expensive peice of equipment and I want it to last as long as possible so instead of running it into the ground. I constantly drip feed money into it!

In reply to Tim Chappell:
maybe just invest a little in a simpler bike,
say a fixie or singlespeed. far less to go wrong, and anything that does is dirt cheap to fix.

In reply to Tim Chappell:

Could any of it be to do with the qaulity of the parts you repair it with and how you maintain it at all?

It somehow sounds like you're being unluckier than you ought to be to me.

I'm not trying to suggest you're a cheapskate and inept though! ()

Cheers
Tim

In reply to Tim Chappell:

I've found that I can go through patches of needing to do things, and then I don't for a while.

Tim

In reply to Tim Chappell:
I've tried this approach over the last 18 months. I got a old peugeot road bike for £20 and put about £30 in to it to make it usable (chain, brake blocks, cables and bar tape). Since then I've had to replace all manner of things that have broken while I've been out riding and it's cost me about £50 (tyres, spokes, pedals, cranks all bought as cheaply as possible).
This all sounds good, 18 months riding for ~£100 but the issue is that I've never been able to truly trust that my bike will get me where I need to be and I've spent many many hours in the garage fixing this bike, doing the annoying tasks like re-greasing wheel/ headset/ bottom bracket bearings, replacing spokes and truing wheels, extracting stuck seat posts, straightening the forks.
I'm now on the cusp of coughing up £300 for a newer second hand bike that has a good straight set of wheels and well sealed bearings all around.

In reply to gethin_allen:
Just to clarify that loads of the stuff I put on the bike to get it usable I already had knocking about the house so aren't covered by the £30.

How much was your bike? A lot of people buy a nice summer bike and a cheaper more robust winter bike. Though I can't afford two at the moment myself. I wouldn't get a 90quid bike but it would save you a lot of money on bikes, as you'd probably never want to ride it thus no maintenence.

In reply to Tim Chappell:

The bike I use as my local runaround is/was a Claude Butler "Elite", I paid £200 for half price in 1996, I think, to do the London to Brighton bike ride on - Reynolds 531 frame, full Exage groupset and Mavic XP10 rims.

Since I got it, I've replaced the tyres and tubes, bottom bracket, rear cassette and chain and rebuilt the wheel bearings once, maybe replaced a couple of cables and replaced the skewers with anti-theft ones, so that's about £120 spent.

And that's it - not bad for ~£20 a year biking, even if the headset is a bit notchy these days

Basically, buy something half decent and look after it and it'll keep going for ever - this must have done a couple of thousand miles, easily, with 2 LtoB rides, commuting, training, 1 triathlon and everything else it gets used for.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

To give your headset a new lease of life, replace the caged ball bearings in the bottom race with loose balls, the indentations in the bearing surfaces will no longer line up with the balls since you will have to add a couple of extra ones, and it will feel smooth again.

In reply to LastBoyScout:


That was my last theory. It didn't work out, though.

I think I will take seriously this summer bike/ winter bike business, though; if I'm flush when spring arrives, maybe I will splash out on something fancy then, and keep the disposable-bike theory for the winter. It's a thought.

In reply to Tim Chappell: i just buoght a sweet 5 speed racer from the auction for £9. New tyres and tubes £20. 20 mins greasing and oiling and it's good to go.

This is my second disposable bike. My last one came out of a bin so cost less but needed a new wheel and saddle so was about the same overall cost. The previous bike ran fine for 4 years and was causing no problems when it got stolen over christmas. i expect the new one to be equally usable.

My theory about commuting or cycling as a mode of transport (as opposed to leisure) is that you should have a cheap awful bike. that way you are less likely to care when it gets wrecked or stolen. An added benefit is that if it's really chuff then it's less likely to get stolen (although as my last bike proved that depends how desperate the thief is presumably).

In reply to Tim Chappell:

My answer to this was to buy a fixie. Expenditure in two and a bit years has been replacement bar tape (once), brake blocks (once), chain lube and one inner tube.

And a Surly rear wheel positioner thing (bit of bling and lazy boy's gadget) £25

THe previous bike seemed to take in cash at one end and chuck it out at the other in a fine spray of drive train, seat clamps, wheels, bottom brackets, brake pads and discs

In reply to M0nkey:

I'd agree with that. For a short commute or getting to the shops/pub, I have always had the cheapest bikes I can find. They still get nicked in Reading though! I was astonished when a 10 speed Raleigh road bike that I got secondhand when I was 12 (so must have been at least 20 years old), and was in a terrible state got stolen from outside the supermarket. However, now that I ride a little bit further, and am not dodging city/town traffic I much prefer to have a decent(ish) bike.

In reply to Tim Chappell:

If you're in Dundee, you might be able to get good reconditioned bikes from the Bike Station in Perth. They've just moved up there (they also have an operation in Edinburgh) and do a really good job of taking knackered old bikes and making them up like new. They also have cheap parts available and access to tools at their 'fix your own bike' sessions.

In reply to steev:
i found the most common faults on my winter road/mountain/shopping/going to the pub bike, was with the gear changing .the front cogs being the main culprit. i just disconnected the front gear changing machanism and it runs on the front middle cog .who needs 24 gears anyway ..it still has 8 gears which i find adequate and gives u a good workout too (didnt even need to shorten the chain) and so far no maintenance problems whatsoever.simples !.

In reply to Tim Chappell:

What's happened to your nice Dawes bike?

Cheers
Tim

In reply to Tim Chappell:
Hi Tim, I am a car mechanic by trade and three years ago, I set up my own business fixing bikes.
Compared to the cars I worked on for 25 years, bikes have a lot asked of them. The components really get a work out, so are always going to need replacing. Chains, sprockets/chainrings, bearings,cables, brake blocks are the things I replace most (after inner tubes of course).


I think you should invest in a bicycle maintenance course, then buy a few tools and then you could repair your own bike. Internet shopping enables you to buy quality components at a good price, you can even upgrade stuff.

I have two bikes, one is my town/pub/shopping bike and was given it. I have run it for two years, after converting it to single speed (as already mentioned and def the way to go to save money), I have spent nothing on it (after conversion). Not even a puncture.

The other is a trek mtb, which goes out now and then, on the trails when I have spare time. Now this can be expensive to fix, even doing it myself.

I believe if you get the right bike and look after it, you can travel cheaply for years without spending a fortune

In reply to M0nkey:


think it depends on the length of the commute. For mine i like to know i can rely on it not breaking (in theory anyway). I would put the limit to about 2-300 though, below that and i think it might prove better to get a chain of very cheap bikes rather than one at 300. With routine maintenance though a reasonable bike keeps going.

The thieving bit is important though, if i was going to be leaving it at a railway station or similar i would buy cheap.

In reply to Crofty:
and then you could repair your own bike. Internet


Ho, ho, ho. You've obviously never seen me change an inner. It takes hours. It reduces me to gibbering fury. Quite often I puncture the inner in the process.

I am HOPELESS, you won't believe how hopeless, with mechanical jobs.

You're a car mechanic; I'm a philosopher. Every time I pick up a spanner, it becomes absolutely clear that physical objects hate me and are out to destroy my life.

I think I should probably take revenge by becoming an idealist

In reply to Timmd:
Currently in intensive care in Leuchars. Very expensive intensive care. That's how this whole thing started.

In reply to Tim Chappell: It's a good theory and depends to some extent on the type of bike. With a road/touring/hydrid a quality frame and light components, especially frame and wheels are the essence of the bike. If you've a good frame and wheelset then it's worth keeping these and replacing parts as they wear out (maybe from a disposable bike you've got for spares). With mountain bikes components like suspension forks and disc brakes cost a lot to replace relative to the cost of a new bike. As manufacturers achieve hugh economies of scale it can be a better bet to just buy a new bike rather than buying £200 forks to put on a bike that cost £400 in the first place as you can quickly notch up another £100 replacing tyres, chain, sprockets.

In reply to Tim Chappell: I have tried a similar approach for free (well nearly ~£12)

rather than buy a second hand bike, make repeated trips to scrap yards, scavanging as many usable parts as possible. I have had the most success at the tip in Oxford. on one occasion I came home with three old road bikes. once you have a complete selection of bits that fit together away you go.

first attempt went ok, got me to work and back for 3 months, second attempt was a single speed job which is ideal for riding round town.

I guess it all depends what riding you do, i might add i have quite a nice road bike which I compete on, but it drains my wallet!