5 ms·
What's wrong with the hi-ten 18-speed bikes? Less elegant design?
by lolptdr 10y ago
What's wrong with the hi-ten 18-speed bikes? Less elegant design?
- Eric_WVGG 10y agoSelling the wrong bike to the wrong person. A casual cyclist should have something that is simple, comfortable and reliable. High-tensile steal will equate a rough ride. 18 gears and a transmission has a hugely larger number of points of failure, that's just math. And requires regular maintenance, which casual cyclists don't/won't do. IMO most riders would be best served by Dutch style built-like-a-tank cruisers (which the IKEA is) or lightweight, ultra minimal single speed "hipster" street bikes. But the typical new rider gets a mountain bike for the road, or something designed to look like a racing bike that will be rattling and rusty after one winter.
- 21 10y agoI'm not sure what you mean by regular maintenance. For 10 years I've been casually using an $800 Kona flat-bar bike, 24 speeds, and I didn't need to change anything on it. It was pretty much maintenance free. I did last year took it in for checks, just to be on the safe side, but they said that it is fine and nothing needs fixing.
- woodruffw 10y agoI was referring to the fact that most box-store bicycles are made out of cheap hi-ten steel and have 18-21 speeds. There's nothing particularly wrong with either, they're just indicators that the bike is overall of low quality.