Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Hi, I just bought 2 mountain Bikes from a well known discount store for $89.00 each. As I havent had a new bike since Christmas 1982, I'm quite happy with them except that after got them out of the box I put them together and the tyres absolutely stink.
I just went to a pro-bike store round the corner and checked out the tyres there for $20 each, they dont stink and yes it was quite embarrasing sniffing the rack...

I'm going to try washing them, failing that I'll buy new ones, but does anyone have any suggestions on what to do?? Will they stink forever??
As I live in an apartment its an issue...

Would these be the Huffy Alumina bikes from KMart?

It's likely they've used a very cheap rubber compound in the tyres which is not going to last or hold together very well. It may be a chemical treatment which can be cleaned off, it might be bacteria from damp storage, it might be a permanent smell from the compound.

If you're only going to ride these on road (and I wouldn't recommend taking discount bikes off road), grab a set of cheap slick tyres (will run to $30 a pair from here, or whatever your local bike shop has) and it will improve the ride quite a lot as well as getting rid of the smell.

Yes, 'Alumina'
Thanks for the Tip Bnej, thats a great price. I would never have thought that smell could be a factor.

Congratulations for wasting your money.
Please come back when you want to buy a DECENT BIKE!!!
*evil stare*

G'day Henry,

Welcome to the nuthouse. It'll be interesting to see how you get on with your elcheapo bikes. Typically, they aren't much chop but some lately haven't been too bad. They'll at least get you started.

The smell will be solvents evaporating out of the tyres (same principal as that 'new car' smell). Just leave them outside as much as possible (riding them works ) and the smell will fade. I don't know how quickly but it'll fade. Don't go buying new tyres, wear out what you've got. By then, you might have decided you like this cycling game and want something better/different anyway.

Richard

It would be good if you drop back and let us know how you're getting on with the cheap bikes at some point. I always wonder a bit how much riding people get out of these - the main problem is as soon as any part breaks it'll cost more than the bike to repair!

G'day Henry,

Like Bnej, I'd also like to hear of your experiences with the bike over the coming months. We tend to heap rubbish on these things, but most of us here are riding all the time and rely on the reliability of more expensive bikes. Your experience on these cheaper models will be outside the usual experience for us, so I'd be interested to find out your opinions in a few months.

Oh, and they will probably always stink. You may not be able to smell them with your nose, but they'll always stink! As is my prerogative, I'll disagree with Richard. Some road-going slicks of around 1.5" width will make a world of difference to how much you enjoy the ride.

Cheers,
Graeme

My girlfriend rides a $150 Huffy to school every day (she teaches), and she loves the thing!

It's a short ride (wouldn't be more than 2km each way on quiet roads). The thing must weigh a thousand kilograms and has some pretty dicey looking components, but it gets her from a to b and back again in the afternoon, and hence serves its purpose pretty well.

That hasn't stopped me trying to talk her into an upgrade though!

PS - I'll sniff the tyres when I'm over there tomorrow.

Whoa! A $150 Huffy? Ripped off!

lukas wrote:PS - I'll sniff the tyres when I'm over there tomorrow.

You're not allowed to discuss your fetishes on this forum

Richard

Kalgrm wrote:Whoa! A $150 Huffy? Ripped off!

Ha.. Yep.. I think she paid an extra $40 for the upgrade to the 'T Mobile Magneta' paint job.

europa wrote:

lukas wrote:PS - I'll sniff the tyres when I'm over there tomorrow.

You're not allowed to discuss your fetishes on this forum

Richard

Unless it has any of the following keywords "steel" "fixie" "bent" "carbon" "tandem"

stryker84 wrote:

europa wrote:

lukas wrote:PS - I'll sniff the tyres when I'm over there tomorrow.

You're not allowed to discuss your fetishes on this forum

Richard

Unless it has any of the following keywords "steel" "fixie" "bent" "carbon" "tandem"

They aren't fetishes, they are common sense

Richard

Error. This post can no longer be displayed..

Take the tyres off and leave them overnight in a bucket of water with some lavendar oil in it. It should get rid of the smell.

Now to the Huffy bikes. A japanese cyclist brought one in Darwin, and toured down the west cost on it to Albany. He then went on to Melbourne. The mechanic who serviced the bike for him in Albany said that the only problem he had was the tyres. I don't know if it was the smell though. They just wore out.

So they are a good bike. I have had expensive bikes and they have given me more problems than a cheap one.

Kev.

Therein lies the whole paradox with this stuff.

The Sow's Ear has Shimano gear that is so low end it's un-named ... and I'll be damned if I can fault it, and it's never needed adjusting unlike the temperamental Ultegra/DeoreLX gear on the Black Beast.

Richard

Error. This post can no longer be displayed.

heavymetal wrote:Take the tyres off and leave them overnight in a bucket of water with some lavendar oil in it. It should get rid of the smell.

Kev.

As good as it is for stopping mozzie bites itching, there's a vision I don't need...Kev with lavendar oil

moosterbounce wrote:

heavymetal wrote:Take the tyres off and leave them overnight in a bucket of water with some lavendar oil in it. It should get rid of the smell.

Kev.

As good as it is for stopping mozzie bites itching, there's a vision I don't need...Kev with lavendar oil

Oi, this is a family forum, careful with the imagery

Richard

G'day

There is an interesting project documenting the running of and running expenses of a low-end bike on aus.bicycle if anyone is interested.

Andrew

Aushiker wrote:G'day

There is an interesting project documenting the running of and running expenses of a low-end bike on aus.bicycle if anyone is interested.

Andrew

No, there are some fondly held misconceptions that I wish to hang on to thank you very much

Yes, it is interesting that the Sow's Ear costs less to run than her more expensive cousins ... but then again, she doesn't do anything like the kilometres of the others, not in terms of times ridden, but in terms of distance covered.

The Sow's Ear, a cheap, low level hybrid, is really only suitable for short rides and when that is recognised, she does a lot of short rides. You'd be a fool to consider her for longer rides, eg half an hour or more because her inefficiencies come to the fore very quickly. The further you ride, the more you need an efficient machine and that is where you spend your money (there or fashion). For local running though, going to the shops, the library, just normal life within my immediate suburbs (ie, less than 10km), the cheap bike will do very well and might be considered desirable due to less concern about leaving it lying around for dragging heavy loads. The Sow's Ear makes an admirable prime mover for my daughter's tag-along, for the dog's trailer, for riding to somewhere where you're concerned about theft. Interestingly, outside of commuting to work, those short, inner suburb distances are the sorts of distances anyone trying to live by bike will travel, even in modern cities. Therefore, it's only commuting or recreation that will lead to a cyclist travelling the sorts of distances that demand the more expensive machines.

There is no denying that you get what you pay for when you buy a bike, of any persuation. However, that does not equate to having to spend more if you plan to live on your bike, provided you are willing to use public transport for long trips and regardless of the studies, buses and trains do get you 20km away faster than a treddly in normal traffic.

As a workhorse, cheap works. Spending more just gives you a slightly longer range.

Recreational cycling (which is all the vast majority of us ever do, even those who commute) is easy. Living by bike raises so many complications it becomes a fascination in itself.

Richard

europa wrote:Living by bike raises so many complications it becomes a fascination in itself.

That is my long-range goal or at least to be pretty much self-sufficient on my bikes. I actually used the car for the first time in two weeks today ... had a bloody flat battery to boot.

Andrew

Aushiker wrote:

europa wrote:Living by bike raises so many complications it becomes a fascination in itself.

That is my long-range goal or at least to be pretty much self-sufficient on my bikes. I actually used the car for the first time in two weeks today ... had a bloody flat battery to boot.

Andrew

I suspected you were heading that way. Keep us posted. Having a young daughter in tow makes living car free impossible for me, but I like the idea of a ham fisted approximation of the ideal and I hope you can see that come through in what I'm trying to do with my bikes.

I'm a firm believer in paying for quality, but I really struggle to pick holes in my horrible hybrid ... except when you're talking half an hour in the saddle or more. On the other hand, I successfully towed my daughter for sixteen kms a couple of weeks back. The bike is heavy, inefficient, flat bared which equates to uncomfortable for me, low end equiped with regards to componetry, yet this is the bike that has never let me down. Those heavy, horrid tyres have never had a flat - every other bike I own has managed that. Those el cheapo shimano gears change quickly and easily every time, yet it's the fancy, Ultegra level gears on the Black Beast that need to be clean and properly adjusted to change properly, and it's that bike that throws chains, not the Sow's Ear who never has. The Sow's Ear is horrible but she is as horrible now as she ever was.

On the experience of my bikes, it's hard to recommend spending money on bikes that will never be ridden for more than half an hour. Once you start hitting that half hour mark, the money you spend starts to mean something and to aid your efficiency, but under that, it's amazing what you can get away with.

Richard

heavymetal wrote:Take the tyres off and leave them overnight in a bucket of water with some lavendar oil in it. It should get rid of the smell.

Now to the Huffy bikes. A japanese cyclist brought one in Darwin, and toured down the west cost on it to Albany. He then went on to Melbourne. The mechanic who serviced the bike for him in Albany said that the only problem he had was the tyres. I don't know if it was the smell though. They just wore out.

So they are a good bike. I have had expensive bikes and they have given me more problems than a cheap one.

Kev.

Where the hell did you hear THAT???

moosterbounce wrote:

heavymetal wrote:Take the tyres off and leave them overnight in a bucket of water with some lavendar oil in it. It should get rid of the smell.

Kev.

As good as it is for stopping mozzie bites itching, there's a vision I don't need...Kev with lavendar oil

It's a touring trick. Lavendar oil is good for treating the first signs of saddle sores. It acts as an antiseptic.

Kev.