"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

"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.