Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
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Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby aldifan » Tue Apr 06, 2010 9:39 pm
Put the seat post in and tightened the quick release (poor hold) screw lever.
Put in handle bar post and tightened with allen key.
Put front tyre on after fiddling with quick release mechanism to make it fit just so.
Bung on the pedals.
Checked all the bolts and nuts. A little disturbingly the only bolts not reasonably tight were the ones holding the front disk for the disk brake on and most of them were not even finger tight - hanging out 5 mm or so. Front brake needed a fair amount of adjusting as I assumed it probably would (The front wheel needed to be fitted after all ). I also changed the position of the brake handles and tightened up the reflector and bell mounts.
After tightening everything and pumping up the tyres I jumped on and went for a ride. The chain almost immediately popped of the front I guess I should have expected that. Easily fixed - I also adjusted the front derailleurs so it would not happen again - the rear derailleurs had the reverse problem as neither top gear nor bottom gear were accessible with the out of the box settings. This was particularly dissapointing as I found the top gear a little low when going down hill. On reflection is probably a safety measure .
Made sure I had my helmet on tight and a pocket full of shifting spanners, screwdrivers and allen keys and took off for a longer ride. Pretty soon in that quick release adjuster on the seat post began to self release just a little, which I found annoying but fixable without tools. 20 minutes in the front handlebars decided I had not cleared the fork tube enough or the small lump in the cast plug in the end of the handlebar post decided to give way so the handlebars decided to move around a bit. Glad I had that allen key in my pocket. At this point I also noticed the handlebars were not quite centred on the post so I adjusted that too.
I have had a couple of five or ten minute rides to the shop and back since then and nothing has fallen off or come loose since
56 days of my 60 day satisfaction guarantee remaining and counting.
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby Redbull » Tue Apr 06, 2010 9:54 pm
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby Chaderotti » Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:23 pm
+1Redbull wrote:enjoy
Mistress = Pinarello Opera, Ultegra SL
Mistress #2 = Drag Bluebird
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby Nobody » Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:55 pm
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby hartleymartin » Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:57 am
http://raleightwenty.webs.com - the top web resource for the Raleigh Twenty
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby AUbicycles » Wed Apr 07, 2010 5:55 am
Cheers
Christopher
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby thomashouseman » Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:54 am
What the!!aldifan wrote: The small sticker on the frame saying "Not suitable for off road use" was not something I expected on a mountain bike.
That's just stupid!
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby kukamunga » Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:38 am
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby Chanboy » Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:18 am
thomashouseman wrote:What the!!aldifan wrote: The small sticker on the frame saying "Not suitable for off road use" was not something I expected on a mountain bike.
That's just stupid!
Any bike less then $1000 or there abouts should have a warning saying "Not suitable for off road use - safely"
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby human909 » Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:24 am
Actually for a while I believe that was a standard sticker on many US mountain bikes, even decent ones. It some liability thing.thomashouseman wrote:What the!!aldifan wrote: The small sticker on the frame saying "Not suitable for off road use" was not something I expected on a mountain bike.
That's just stupid!
Certainly I wouldn't be taking an aldi bike on you yangs single track.
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby jtrippa » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:11 pm
cheers
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby tomns » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:51 pm
I bought a repco for a friend and picked it up ready assembled took it home and had a look look at it.
It was assembled with no grease at all - none.
Nothing on the seat tube, handle bars, in any bearing, and no chain lube at all.
Fixed all that packed everything with grease and re-assembled took it for a few short rides
as a shake down and it was good to go. Said I would look at it again in a month or so
to make sure it was all still ok
Tom
Peugeot Versailles - Fixie
Peugeot U08 - Poser
Repco Nishiki - Single Speed
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby hartleymartin » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:54 pm
http://raleightwenty.webs.com - the top web resource for the Raleigh Twenty
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby aldifan » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:25 pm
Comments relating to lack of grease lead to a few openings of axles and fork head which were found to contain amounts of some form of grease like lubricant, if not as much as I would have used. If I had been packing them myself I would have used the proverbial you can never use too much. The group set and chain were hosed down with Nulon spray silicone lubricant (at least I didn't use wd40 ). I am still left waiting for disaster .
The add and the box claimed the derailleurs were shimano but only the back one is. The front one is Falcon no idea what brand the groupsets are but the front hub is Quando and the front disc brake is Promax.
How many brands can one bicycle carry? No wonder people complain about the weight of these things. As a point of reference the whole thing weighed 15.0 Kgs according to my digital bathroom scales. This is not as light as the claimed weight of a lot of "pro" bikes but may be closer to their actual weight. I did read on one site that people were finding their 23 lb bikes actually weighted 27 lbs in real life so a 33 lb bike may not be as heavy as it may sound.
The actual text of the warning sticker is
"WARNING
This bicycle is
not designed for
offroad use,
competition
or Stunting"
I only have 50 or so days left of my 60 day satisfaction guarantee and all I can see is that the wheels are marginally (1 or 2 mm) out of true. I may be stuck with the thing .
Sorry Harleymartin - I have not got round to counting the teeth on the sprockets at the back (or the front) but they are smaller than a breadbox if that helps.
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby trailgumby » Sun Apr 11, 2010 12:35 am
That's because it's actually a Bicycle Shaped Object. It's not really a mountain bike at all. Mountain bikes are meant to be used off road. No serious mountain bike carries that sticker.aldifan wrote:The actual text of the warning sticker is
"WARNING
This bicycle is
not designed for
offroad use,
competition
or Stunting"
As for counting teeth, I'd be counting the ones inside your mouth - if you do continue to use it off road you want to be sure they're all still there when you finish your rides. Frame and fork failures have a habit of removing teeth unexpectedly. Hence the warning sticker.
Real mountain bikes also come in different sizes. Why is this? Might be something to do with the fact that people just occasionally come in different sizes, and when that happens it's a bit difficult adding or removing bits to make them fit the bike.
As to the lack of catastrophe... be patient. Persevere and it will come.
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby Nobody » Sun Apr 11, 2010 7:39 am
So are you usually a member of these forums under another name?aldifan wrote:The group set and chain were hosed down with Nulon spray silicone lubricant (at least I didn't use wd40 ).
So have you used good disc brakes before? If so, have you bedded in the Promax brake and is it any good? (I doubt it would be, but you never know.)aldifan wrote:The add and the box claimed the derailleurs were shimano but only the back one is. The front one is Falcon no idea what brand the groupsets are but the front hub is Quando and the front disc brake is Promax.
My MTB, commuter and utility bike weight about 13 to 14Kg and it hasn't killed me yet. I'd say weight is the least of your problems unless you need to lift it above your head.aldifan wrote:No wonder people complain about the weight of these things. As a point of reference the whole thing weighed 15.0 Kgs according to my digital bathroom scales. This is not as light as the claimed weight of a lot of "pro" bikes but may be closer to their actual weight. I did read on one site that people were finding their 23 lb bikes actually weighted 27 lbs in real life so a 33 lb bike may not be as heavy as it may sound.
Most kids bikes come with this label. The Surly frameset I recently bought didn't.aldifan wrote:The actual text of the warning sticker is
"WARNING
This bicycle is
not designed for
offroad use,
competition
or Stunting"
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby kukamunga » Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:31 am
Hope you didn't get any spray on the disc brake rotors or calipers - it might make the bike go faster !!aldifan wrote:The group set and chain were hosed down with Nulon spray silicone lubricant...... the front disc brake is Promax.....
Wonder if this 'one' had a warning sticker.....nobody wrote:Most kids bikes come with this label. The Surly frameset I recently bought didn'taldifan wrote:The actual text of the warning sticker is
"WARNING. This bicycle is not designed for offroad use, competition or Stunting"
(Sure, it weighs less than 15 kg.....)
Any of these 'department store BSO's' may give you reasonable service if they receive regular service - including a complete rebuild from the start
The amount of pleasure received in ratio to the amount of work input to keep them running may be way out of balance, though they could be a good educational tool in bike maintenance for children and young adults
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby Nobody » Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:03 am
Don't know what you are trying to say here, but I wouldn't like to own a frame that breaks like that. All the Surly crash results I've seen so far are bending.kukamunga wrote:Wonder if this 'one' had a warning sticker.....nobody wrote:Most kids bikes come with this label. The Surly frameset I recently bought didn'taldifan wrote:The actual text of the warning sticker is
"WARNING. This bicycle is not designed for offroad use, competition or Stunting"
(Sure, it weighs less than 15 kg.....)
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby hartleymartin » Sun Apr 11, 2010 12:03 pm
http://raleightwenty.webs.com - the top web resource for the Raleigh Twenty
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby Nobody » Sun Apr 11, 2010 3:26 pm
You know they've gone too far when they start coming out with plastic discs for disc brakes.hartleymartin wrote:I'm worried about the number of these BSO's coming out with plastic derailers and very low end disc brakes.
Seriously though, I thought they already went too far when they brought out suspension BSOs. Without suspension the bikes are were use-able, as we know though suspension BSOs are pretty poor even for basic use-ability. In about 2006 I bought a very low spec Avanti for my wife with a BSO fork on it and the first thing I did was to replace it with a rigid fork then chop it up and put it in recycling. I thought even giving it away was going to be a dis-service to whoever I gave it to.
A friend of mine has a dual suspension BSO and I've ridden it occasionally. I nicked named it "the pogo stick". The brakes on that thing (linear pull rim) were dangerous (before we updgraded them). I don't even want to insult Shimano by calling them V brakes.
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby hartleymartin » Sun Apr 11, 2010 5:38 pm
http://raleightwenty.webs.com - the top web resource for the Raleigh Twenty
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby flammer » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:15 pm
SynapseLiquigas Mt Fuji Pro
CAAD 7 Reborn as Cyclocross Gazelle AA Special
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby kukamunga » Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:07 am
Tell his nipples to HTFU !!!flammer wrote: A mate bought an Aldi jersey, wore it once and gave it away due to sandpapered nipples!
There is still stock of those reduced price 'Montana MTB's * available at my local Bayswater Aldi, along with reduced price gloves and socks.....
(*can't remember if they were $119 or $99)
http://www.aldi.com.au/au/html/offers_20100225.htm
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby Dr_Tony » Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:25 pm
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction
Postby Mulger bill » Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:59 pm
Shaun
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