Mass produced cheap bikes

There seems to be an abundance of cheap bikes on the streets today:Viking, Ammaco, Orion et al. A lot of the bikes have all the bells and whistles: Full Suspension, Disc Brakes etc but still retail for under £100. Now i'm fully aware of the dubious quality of the parts fitted on these bikes but surely someone could produce an Extremely CHEAP SS/FG for the mass market as the costs of producing the bike should in theory be less than one fitted with suspension and disc brakes?

Yeah, and they will. Just takes a bit of time for it to filter down, they can't all tool up the minute they find out about fixedgeargallery.

Ah, you've spotted a niche in the market then! I guess theoretically someone could do a basic bike cheap but they'd only do it if there was a perceived mass market, as the only way those FS mountain bikes are done so cheap is that they're made in BIG quantities in countries with cheap production costs and distributed by chains that cater to your average recreational rider/family market - I'm not sure the market for a budget fix would be that big, even though the perception to us in London etc is that there are a lot more fixed bikes around than there were - I think there's a way to go before we get the Emmelle track bike...

I think there's a way to go before we get the Emmelle track bike...

of course there is

I was thinking more SS than FG. I think that making a super cheap bike would make cycling a little more appealing, especially if the bike was of reasonable quality. I would want to aim it at the average Halfords customer.

Because they are making millions of them the bits like the springs are dirt cheap, however things like track hubs their isn't nearly the same demand

I think to get the ball rolling, halfords would need to start selling their own (carrera?) make ss/fg bike and from there, the price would drop if popular. I don't think that's something they to atm.

MTBs are only cheap now since the boom in cycling that start in the early nineties. there has been nearly 20 years for businesses to build up cheap production of mountain bike parts etc. As people have said, riding fixed/single-speed is a fairly recent phenomenon, and even if it was to continue to grow it's unlikely to persist long enough to be a viable option for a company.

Anyways, the unipack bike is essentially what you're describing, and you can get it for £170!

Hmm, I can't see it catching on.

In my home town, Basingstoke, I think I can safely say I'm the only person riding singlespeed or fixed wheel. I hardly see another road cyclist, let alone ss/fixed! The town centre racks are full of cheap halfords bikes etc. These are the towns that have the £££ spare to just pop down Halfords (there are two bike shops in my town: Halfords, and Action Bikes!)

People look at it and are totally confused. Small children mock me (yep, "hahaha are you too poor for gears?!" from some little brat!). My mates think I'm bonkers. London is flat. Basingstoke, like the majority of the UK, isn't.

In London, where it's flat, and with the trendy-types. But then again, they've got the money, and if it wasn't expensive I'd doubt they'd do it.

Cynical? Maybe.

I don't think that's something they to atm.

No tey do no.

In London, where it's flat, and with the trendy-types.

In the road, it are long, and with the naked men.

In London, where it's flat, and with the trendy-types. But then again, they've got the money, and if it wasn't expensive I'd doubt they'd do it.

Cynical? Maybe.

It's often quite difficult to know what these kinds of ambiguously structured sentences are attempting to say.

Are you saying that the 'London trendy types' only ride fixed wheel or single speed bikes because these bikes are expensive ?

economies of scale

there are, and always will be, way way more ppl wanting to ride some bling MTB than wanting to ride fixed. Despite the boom in recent years fixed wheel is still a tiny tiny niche and not something your average Argos shopper even knows or cares about. £49 Mass produced Fixed Wheel bikes are not going to happen any time soon.

to be fair I only read the first few posts and what I said was said already.

Anyways, the unipack bike is essentially what you're describing, and you can get it for £170!

That was what I was thinking too. I always think it is a shame that "bike shops*" are willing to sell stuff like this, when for less you could get a really solid second hand bike, and probably if a conversion - being put together by someone who knows what they are doing.

• = I say bike shop, but I in reality lots of people punt crap bikes - e.g. Woolworths etc
  
  

I love second hand and rarely buy anything new, might be a bias view.

It's often quite difficult to know what these kinds of ambiguously structured sentences are attempting to say.

Are you saying that the 'London trendy types' only ride fixed wheel or single speed bikes because these bikes are expensive ?

Bloody hell... my post made no sense whatsoever: writing lab reports for the last 8 hours until 1am clearly frazzled my brain. Perhaps I should proofread them one more time...

I think I was trying to say that ss/fixed is considered desirable by a reasonable number of people only in the cities. Outside of the cities, a massive Saracen full sus downhill with 38947 gears is desirable for the average Joe. They're needed for those massive kerbs. And there are more average Joes. I just can't see most people people buying a £99 singlespeed over a £99 full susser.

I'm going to stop typing; I'm getting no where :s

There are some pretty colossal curbs in basingstoke. I've seen people absail down them.

Are these any good, all i want is a cheapo bike to ride to the shops etc, Has anyone had one??

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fixed-gear-fixie-single-speed-track-wheel-bike-whiteblu_W0QQitemZ280291511547QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item280291511547&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:1|39:1|240:1318

Many thanks
Guy

No No and just to emphaise NO!!!! fecking UNicack with a sticker on it.

do a search for unipack /unicack on here and you will find lots of info on them.

They are not worth the money - chain breaking, wheels screwing etc unsafe , look around for a something else for that money.

You might be able to pick up a bargain with xmas coming up people needing money or selling unwanted xmas pressies.

Twist

check

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fort-Fixed-wheel-track-bike-with-mavic-rims_W0QQitemZ120345678083QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item120345678083&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A4|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318

around your budget and 100000000000 times better than the Unipack .

£200 buy it now add postage and you're at the same cost at the Unipack but with a bike that will last you ages

lol, do they think that buy taking a picture non-drive side, we won't be able to detect the cheap chainset?

Wrong.

turn back now, lock your doors, shut your windows.

Please no one buy the fort!

I want it. Just seeing if the fellas up for delivering to me.

Arg! I know someone who'd love the fort!