So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Taylor74
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby Taylor74 » Sun Feb 23, 2014 5:02 pm

So I was one of those fools that brought a $98 big w vector repco.
First issue is that it automatically changed gears from 1 to 4 or 5 over 1000 meters, frustrating when your going up hills. Next was the handle bars kept twisting back towards me as I was riding. Now I'm a mechanic by trade so when I say I had them tight, I mean super tight. Fixed that issue by sliding the bar from the clamp, center punching the bar and reassembling with lock tight.
The bike came with slightly buckled rims, if you use the front brakes they would wake half the neighbourhood dogs with the high pitch squeal.
The pedal crank creaks as your pedaling, compaire the crank length to any other MTB ant they are short making it hard work to ride, ohh yes, and the seat hurts your bum.

The only reason I brought one was I was not sure that I would stick to cycling so I didn't want to waist my money on a good bike if I wasn't going to keep with riding.
It almost destroyed all ideas of keeping with cycling, just lucky I met some people that loaned me a decent bike until I got my new one.

Surely there has to be a way to have these bikes taken off the market for not everyone know people that can keep them interested in cycling once there ideas are broken by these pieces of junk!
Last edited by Taylor74 on Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

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ldrcycles
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby ldrcycles » Sun Feb 23, 2014 7:45 pm

On the other hand, I bought a Diamondback Bronco for my father-in-law 2 Christmases ago and it's still going strong. The problem is they have zero QC, and if you lose the chinese lottery, you lose big time as you found.
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phineas
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby phineas » Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:18 pm

Taylor74 wrote: The only reason I brought one was I was not sure that I would stick to cycling so I didn't want to waist my money on a good bike if I wasn't going to keep with riding.
I did the same just over 12 months ago.

Bought a Diamond Back from Big W, annoyingly not the cheapest. Just under $200.

Random gear changes, pedals broke (replaced them), seat started to get a lean on it (clearly I don't sit straight).

Realised I was really liking riding and so it was worth spending more at a bike shop.

Then the pedal came completely off with it's attached metal part, couldn't work out if it was fixable, so off I went straight away to get a better bike. The Diamond Back lasted about 6 months.

Spent about $600 on a Giant Seek and 30 secs into the first ride, was absolutely kicking myself that I hadn't bought it (or any quality bike!) first.




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tekapo
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby tekapo » Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:55 pm

ldrcycles wrote:On the other hand, I bought a Diamondback Bronco for my father-in-law 2 Christmases ago and it's still going strong. The problem is they have zero QC, and if you lose the chinese lottery, you lose big time as you found.
Probably a good reason to go Aldi, if you really want to get a BSO. Hassle free return process.

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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby munga » Wed Feb 26, 2014 10:42 am

have you still got the repco preset 'fixie'?

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ldrcycles
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby ldrcycles » Wed Feb 26, 2014 3:24 pm

Nah sold it in July last year as it wasn't getting any use :( . I still miss it a bit but getting $155 for it certainly dulled the pain a bit!
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munga
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby munga » Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:00 pm

there was one at the local big w for $30.30. still didn't buy it.

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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby Marmoset » Mon Mar 10, 2014 5:41 pm

I assembled a Dunlop bike a for a friend a few weeks back and was pleasantly suprised and how well it functioned when it was together. Okay, I spent a good deal of time setting up the indexing, adjusting the brakes properly, truing the wheels and generally greasing parts that don't see grease. I've no doubt it won't last as long as a more expensive bike, but for a bloke who just wants to ride along the river with his daughter at around 10Km/h it'll do the job nicely. Certainly better than cheap bikes were 20 years ago, but not up to the (ab)use that a keen cyclist will give it. I'm not sure if I'd get any part of my bikes for $50...which puts it into persepctive how cheap these things are.

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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby koshari » Tue May 20, 2014 9:27 pm

we have an old dunlop down the beach house as we have a few extra bikes there when friends pop in, the dunlop goes OK, but given its heavy as the queen mary most opt to ride one of the old apollos i built up.

anyway anyone willing to take a punt on the "Hyper 700c Racer from BIG W"
Image Versus the Target Cyclops 700C Alloy Road Bike?

Image


BTW whats the deal with the bars on both these models being so low you would never be able to reach the brake lever if you wanted to ?

maybe its a rule in the 6speed rear freewheel racing class?

i also find it interesting they share the same livery? all the way down to the 3 stripes on the top and down tubes.
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby warthog1 » Tue May 20, 2014 10:08 pm

:shock:
Bloody hell they are a new low even for those 2 stores surely?
WTH is going on with those handlebars :lol:
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ldrcycles
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby ldrcycles » Tue May 20, 2014 10:13 pm

Hey the Cyclops has a THREADLESS stem, surely that's super all mountain power found on only a handful of advanced bikes such as you find in the Tour de France :lol: .

If i had the money i would be buying at least one of those 2 straightaway and entering a race on it for giggles :) .

Maybe the brake lever thing is getting the "tips lined up with the drops" rule a bit confused? Not too surprising about the colour schemes though, it would be pretty likely they are out of the same factory.
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silentbutdeadly
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby silentbutdeadly » Wed May 21, 2014 10:06 am

Given the Cyclops bike from Target is 'only' $49...just how broke are you? Cheap frameset if nothing else...

There's a couple I've seen now and they aren't that bad to look at. The LBS looks forward to them but the punters do tend to arc up when the basic service costs more than the bike...
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby cray- » Wed May 21, 2014 12:49 pm

So I'm guessing that's not a carbon fork considering the price. Funny how they designed it to resemble one anyway.

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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby Mububban » Wed May 21, 2014 1:20 pm

koshari wrote:BTW whats the deal with the bars on both these models being so low you would never be able to reach the brake lever if you wanted to ?
Pfft, who needs brakes? You buy a racing bike to go fast, brakes make you slow down, thus they are obviously not required :D
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby TDC » Wed May 21, 2014 3:01 pm

ldrcycles wrote: If i had the money i would be buying at least one of those 2 straightaway and entering a race on it for giggles :) .
Imagine if you won :lol:

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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby koshari » Wed May 21, 2014 4:07 pm

TDC wrote: Imagine if you won :lol:
you already have if you landed one of those babys :-)
Pfft, who needs brakes? You buy a racing bike to go fast, brakes make you slow down, thus they are obviously not required
good point.
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ldrcycles
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby ldrcycles » Wed May 21, 2014 4:44 pm

silentbutdeadly wrote:Given the Cyclops bike from Target is 'only' $49...just how broke are you? Cheap frameset if nothing else...
Crikey that is cheap! I thought it was more like $150. Even so, i am that broke at the moment :( . I'm a cyclist with a wife and a house rebuild, it's just a bottomless pit :lol: .
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby PomBike » Thu May 22, 2014 6:21 am

ldrcycles wrote:
silentbutdeadly wrote:Given the Cyclops bike from Target is 'only' $49...just how broke are you? Cheap frameset if nothing else...
Crikey that is cheap! I thought it was more like $150. Even so, i am that broke at the moment :( . I'm a cyclist with a wife and a house rebuild, it's just a bottomless pit :lol: .
$49? $49?? $49!!!
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby ldrcycles » Tue Jul 01, 2014 9:14 pm

I've had some interesting Big W bike experiences of late.

Yesterday i saw my first wild Repco Preset for a long time, fitted with BMX bars, rider wearing thongs and no helmet, and a bag of shopping dangling from each end of the bars :) .

I've been in the local Big W looking at the Diamondback 29er as a potential cheap source of a disc braked road bike for doing hill repeats (the one and only application for which discs are not the ruination of all mankind!). The only thing holding me back at the moment (besides lack of funds) is the fact the frame has a 58cm top tube, i usually take a 56 but i have got one bike that's 58 with a short stem so maybe..

And very exciting stuff, i actually found a Repco Origami at the tip a few weeks back! I've wanted one for ages but there was no way i could justify the price ($170 or something). The mudguards were a bit battered, rusty steel V brakes, bent bars and stem and the shifter was pretty much cactus. I popped on some aluminium V brakes off another BSO, Weinmann brake levers, Alps stem, some weird super narrow north road bars and an Altus friction stem shifter and pumped up the tyres.

Amazingly (especially given i'm 6'2 so i look like a clown when i'm riding it :) ) it actually rides pretty well. The front end is way too low with the current bars but i'll be swapping them for some cruiser bars soon. I was amazed to find the much feared plastic TZ30 rear derailleur actually shifts REALLY well with a friction shifter, not quite SunTour Cyclone but certainly miles better than a TY18 or the old Huret Svelto on one of my bikes. So this one's a keeper, especially if i manage to unstick the frame hinge :) .

EDIT: apologies for poor quality mobile phone picture. Hey this is the Big W thread, you shouldn't expect anything of quality here right? :)


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ldrcycles
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby ldrcycles » Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:09 pm

Oh and i forgot to add this, this was one of the bikes at my local Big W the other day. I probably wouldn't recommend buying this particular bike!


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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby silentbutdeadly » Wed Jul 02, 2014 8:57 am

ldrcycles wrote: I've been in the local Big W looking at the Diamondback 29er as a potential cheap source of a disc braked road bike for doing hill repeats (the one and only application for which discs are not the ruination of all mankind!). The only thing holding me back at the moment (besides lack of funds) is the fact the frame has a 58cm top tube, i usually take a 56 but i have got one bike that's 58 with a short stem so maybe..
Just don't. The D'back is way too heavy to justify the cheapskate cable disc brakes as reasonable hill stoppers. If you want a cheapskate disc roadie then find a 700C disc road fork that'll fit one of your frames, a disc front wheel, a 140mm disc and whack a BB7 or Hayes CX caliper on the fork and away you go.

Good pick up with the Origami by the by...
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby ldrcycles » Wed Jul 02, 2014 6:26 pm

The frame itself is actually half decent, and the discs are little different from the Tektros that i had when i was doing XC. The forks would account for a huge chunk of weight in spite of looking incredibly flimsy. But fitting a disc fork to a road frame is a great idea, i don't know why that never occurred to me. To ebay!
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby tcdev » Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:54 pm

This has got to be one of the most irresponsible threads on a bicycle forum I have ever read!

I've just spent 2 weeks convincing my wife that buying anything less than a 2015 Giant XTC Advanced 29er 1 would be akin to flushing my money down the toilet. And now this post about how sweet your $98 ride is???

If my wife ever gets wind of this, I'm coming after you, ldrcycles! :)
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby koshari » Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:00 pm

ldrcycles wrote:The frame itself is actually half decent, and the discs are little different from the Tektros that i had when i was doing XC. The forks would account for a huge chunk of weight in spite of looking incredibly flimsy. But fitting a disc fork to a road frame is a great idea, i don't know why that never occurred to me. To ebay!
bet the forks cost more than the bike did.
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby silentbutdeadly » Tue Jul 08, 2014 11:15 am

Have you seen the forks on a Diamondback 29er at BigW? They are branded 'Zoom'...and the chances that they cost more than the frame are slim!!! I think you can get them for $60 retail...

As for the frame itself being decent...it's decent in terms of being attractive alloy scrap. But a 1" head tube and scattergun machine welding do not inspire confidence in decency.
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