Tonight at 20:00 on BBC1, Watchdog will be investigating flat-packed bikes from the likes of ASDA and Argos. It should make entertaining viewing. “Friends don’t let friends buy bicycle shaped objects” is a quote from John Stevenson’s article: Watchdog gets its teeth into bicycle shaped objects – again. “Bicycle Shaped Objects” or BSOs is an industry term for something that looks like a bicycle, but really isn’t.
Update - Here’s the show.
In the past I’ve contributed to the Bicycle Shaped Object Blog Hall of Shame, to highlight some of the problems with these cheap “bikes.” These BSOs are simply not good value for money. You’re so much better off buying a good quality 2nd hand bike than wasting any money (no matter how great the deal) on new junk. Why? Because they simply don’t work. There are other good reasons not to buy these bikes:
- They fall apart, and end up filling our landfills with cheap plastic, rubber and broken components (at least the metal can be recycled).
- They decrease the perceived value of 2nd hand bikes (“I can get a new bike for that!”) meaning these bikes too end up in the same landfills
- They de-value the true cost of a good quality, workable bike. People who are not bike experts struggle to justify spending £250 on a good quality bike when they can see a BSO for half the price that “looks” the same. Then they buy it and end up spending a fortune keeping it on the road (or they just throw it away).
- They put people off cycling. The riding experience is so unpleasant, because of constant breakdowns, weight, dragging components and a poor riding position.
- They encourage the idea that bikes are disposable, worthless items that don’t need to be looked after or protected from theft. Bike theft is simply not taken seriously enough.
I once had an email from a wholesale supplier of BSOs who wanted me to sell his products. Here’s part of what he said to me: “I do make my living in the volume cheap end area of the market… …do the job,take the money and wait for the next K___head that doesn’t know how to assemble them!”
Don’t be a K___head!
