I need a replacement chain, what do i ask for?

Bought my Trax bike from Halfords in Bromborough, was OK for about 150 miles then it developed a heavy clunking noise from the bottom bracket. When I took it back to Halfords they were great, they replaced the bearings in hours, very good service. After only another 20/30 miles a noise developed from the rear wheel, it sounds like bearings are badly worn, at first they told me it wasn't covered under warranty, but after protest, and saying it was only a cheap bike, they agreed to look at it if I left it with them, which I did. The wheel doesn't sound any better. Since then I,be been using it cautiously, until this week when the pedal dropped off. I couldn't refit it because the threads were stripped. Before I bought it I read the reviews and someone else mentioned the same problem. I don't think I will bother taking it back again because I can anticipate the outcome. If I can't fix it myself I will use it for spare parts. Never again.

I'm picking mine up from store tomorrow I am 5.4 will I fit on it properly

9 months on and it's still going strong!

This will amuse (the now wormed, unfortunately) troll...
I bought one! Cost me £75.

I wanted a bike for getting around Glastonbury festival - I did consider making up one from the bits I had, but for the few 9 speed bits I'd need, it'd be costing more than this entire bike buying new (very little time to get it done.)

I tested the brakes on an in-store demo (female) bike and was impressed.
That carried on when I unboxed it and was pleasently suprised with the apparent quality - I almost wrote an 'eating my hat' post then and there.

Luckily, I didn't.

I was using the bike to ride around Glastonbury - to and from my camper mostly in an external car park mostly, though I did pop to the showers on it once.
Glastonbury is known for it's mud; not it's extreme terrain. The only place I got about 10mph was on a short section of tarmacked road, I reckon; possibly occasionally on some of the bits of metal path ways.
By the second day's use, both wheels were buckled - enough that I had to significantly release off the front brake.

In setting up I had checked the spoke were ok etc.

There were a few bits of very light bumpyness, none taken quickly - and taken standing up with legs absorbing the impact.
Also, the chain broke - one side bent out. But got it bent back again and working.

The tyres seemed to have an excellent tread pattern for off-road stuff; would have been fine if it did get muddy I reckon.
Not so good for the road.

So, to conclude:
Not useful at all if you want to use off-road.
Using on road, those tyres aren't great. Also, the gearing is rather low.

I did ride too and from Glastonbury town on it and have done another (slow) 8 mile ride with my mum since.
Would much prefer a little more spent on a proper hybrid, but would probably seem ok to someone that doesn't know better.

Good bike, decent, looks solid. Cant go wrong for general leisure use. Not sure about every day use yet.

Now been using mine daily for a 7 mile round trip for about a month. Not a single problem with it. Very pleased with the bargain price for a bike that has met my needs perfectly.

picked mine up yesterday. i used the cycle2work scheme. it took longer for the guys to process to the order than for me to assemble! (30 mins).

with that in mind i would suggest not wasting £20 on those guys putting it together. its fun doing it yourself! it also fits in the car easier in the box

i managed to get a baby bike seat for it as well all for £100. and it only going to cost me £6 a month for a year. bargainacious.

unfortunately after assembling i realised i had lost my bloody pump! so i havent been able to go for a ride yet! doh!
thanks OP!

This. I never get why people skimp on a bike.. if you're going to use it a lot, then pay a little extra and get enjoyment out of it.

Forget the £1000 bike brigade....I posted a £820 deal and had some cheese merchant calling it cheap rubbish lol

Built my Trax on Saturday. It should have taken 30 mins but I took an hour and a bit to make sure everything was to my standards. Most of the extra time was taken up with putting spare lights, pump, bottle cage, lock holder etc.

Went out today with The Vikingettes for a ride from Folkestone to Hythe along the seafront. It was comfortable, shifted gears good, ride position good. No different from my Gary Fisher. Did I notice it was heavier? No. Did anyone care that I was on a £69 Trax? No. Did the jogging flanges notice? No. Did I dare take a kerb? Yes.

Best of all when I locked it up outside the Mermaid Cafe I was really really pleased that I could leave it without much thought.

...stuff I shouldn't have bought, but hduk made me /\

Anyway...back to the Trax....5 mile ride on mine last night across all sorts of terrain (mostly on road but some off-road as well). Other than the chain jumping off once which was quickly resolved with a quick gear change adjustment so my fault not for checking thoroughly enough after assembly) the bike never missed a beat.

It hasn't fallen apart, attacked my wife and kids or even barked at passing dogs yet despite costing me less than £70. It may have the wrong badge on it and not enough brand name components but I'm more than pleased with the level of quality for the price.

Still waiting for an explanation of your logic regarding the petty insult.

What exact figures are you seriously expecting me to have regarding my brakes?
Do you really think I'll have gone to the lengths of getting some datalogging kit on there to measure deceleration forces?
And then have done the same on a variety of other cheap bikes with standard pads to compare?

No, it is based on EXPERIENCE; something I'm not convinced you have in this area.

And the same with poor quality rear suspension.
The benefit is that the suspension does actually smooth some of the bumps when compared to bikes without it.
Which can thus allow you greater control and more confidence to go a little faster.

Still waiting for an explanation of your logic regarding the petty insult.

So; just to clarify, you do not consider smoothing out bumps so the bike stays in better control on fast descents a 'benefit'?

I consider myself a habitual cyclist, and thus in a different category to the people likely to buy this bike.
I do not consider that makes me 'better' or 'worse' - that whole concept for this case is rather silly to my mind - just a person with different experiences and aims.

Certainly most other bikes have a better rear brake than mine.
However, it has surprisingly good braking from the front (new pads before I got it that are actually ok) - meaning that it will still stop quicker than a lot of these cheap bikes will do when you get them. So, reasonably, it's likely safer than a lot of these cheap bikes.

No, I will not fall into your glaringly obvious 'trap' (_;)

Still waiting for an explanation of your logic regarding the petty insult.

As the full suspension; In specific circumstances, such as doing faster short sections off-road; I believe I had already clarified that.

I'd go for the rigid one because I wouldn't be choosing such a bike for this sole purpose and overall the better components on the rigid one would make up for absorbing some bumps.

If they see something they know is going to damage their car and intentionally drive it fast enough to break their vehicle, then yes, I would consider that relatively extreme.

If they saw it before and did what everyone else would do - drive slower, or avoid the pot hole, then no.

I've watched videos of someone riding a motorbike over a road bridge at maybe 7mph which I'd consider pretty 'extreme'. In this case because he was riding a trials bike over the top of the structure with river a long drop one side and cars on tarmac a still pretty big drop the otherside.
If he'd been doing it on a sports bike rather than a trials bike I'd bump that up to "utterly insane" over "extreme".

As I've explained, it's about the context.

Still waiting for an explanation of your logic regarding the petty insult.

No, it seems you DO NOT see because you did NOT read or take in what I had written.

I made it clear that it depends on the context.

If you're intentionally riding down a bumpy road fast and that break's the bike, then yes, I'd describe it as "relatively 'extreme'".

However, if you're driving a car and hit a pot hole unawares, I'd just consider that lack of observation.
But, was it a case of you intentionally pushing your vehicle to it's limits along a bad road and damage it; then yes, I believe that's often considered "rally driving" and certainly is more 'extreme' than normal driving.

Waiting for an explanation of your logic regarding the petty insult.

Do explain your logic in regards to how suggesting someone who's been riding for thirty years continuously still needs stabalisesr is NOT an insult?

To me, doing something which breaks some of the contemporary bikes makes it relatively extreme for the bike.
Similarly, if I was to have done the same things on a road bike, I'd also consider it so... while I hat Reign I had would have barely noticed it.

Also, it was a bit more than just "riding through a puddle' as you suggest.

Again, the issue seems not to be with what I'm writing, but your reading (or there lack of).

I preceded extreme with the word relatively - as for these bikes it is relatively extreme.
I also added quotation marks around the word extreme, to further highlight this point.

Petty insults based on your lack of reading comprehension doesn't really help make your point!

Go down a steep bumpy hill with and without suspension.
Even a cheap suspension bikes tend to be more comfortable and allow more control - at least when compared to a cheap non-suspension bike.

In we're talking gentle off-road over a long distance, then sure the no-suspension is going to be a better option.

But that's not what they were doing. He went at high speed down a hill. He went over small sections of relatively 'extreme' obstacles and over bumpy stuff. All places where suspension DOES help. And where a some bob just means a little longer run up, rather than doing the fun bits slower.

The cobbles reminded me of my Orange Crush, which I once rode down a very steep cobbled road as fast as I dared (was just returning home and didn't have time to find the trail that went down the same hill) - despite 6" of front travel, I was still limited by being worried by being bumped about.

I've been riding down a river path with some big stones on my cheap big with seized front suspension - it's noticable that it gets a bit of control if I up the pace a bit.
With the front suspension working, I'm sure it'd add a little bit (though not a lot) to it.

Saying that, given the choice of two bikes at that kind of price point, I'd of course always go for the one with the least suspension, to get other components better quality.

I kept going on about this point you have repeatedly refused to ignore because it is, to my mind, an excellent example of your lack of logical thought.

Seeing that you have a connection with motorbikes, I am rather wondering if you happened to be the famous troll who goes by the name of grosvner etc; you style of proving a point; by ignoring what is being discussed, refusing to answer repeated questions and trying

Anyway, page 3 for me, so I'll flounce off this thread now, as it seems you are incapable of answering a simple question with a simple yes or no.
Or, in fact providing any standing for any of your points - but there's no point doing that until you get the basics of yes and no.


Hopefully people with a little intelligence will be able to work out who has provided useful information based on their experience and who has failed to provide any useful information. :smile:

But, you can have an internet special-cookie on me for getting the last post in and do feel free to revel in what it seems is your belief that you've proved your point by failing to answer any questions on keeping on making silly assertions while failing to do anything but offer further childish insults.

Enjoy :D.

Yes.

If you had read my replies to you, you'd already know that.

Perhaps you're not actually reading my replies, which is why you're confused?


Feel free to point out which bits show a 'very low knowledge about them'.

While it'd be stupid for me to question if you'd ever ridden a bike - frankly, that's a pretty silly point as most of the UK population has in my experience - I could easily throw it back to you and ask if you'd ever had experience with this type of bike, or how the scenario typically plays out with the people that buy them.

I have been riding bikes for around 30 years I reckon and have always had some pushbike or another, if not more.
I've had a good few cheap mountain bikes (like the current one I use 'daily'), hybrids, road, cycrocross. The most expensive bike I've owned had an RRP of about £3k (Giant Reign 0) and the cheapest would be a variety of free ones, with everything inbetween.
Had new and used.

Uridium:
Possibly, but often I've found the really cheap ones with a little bit of use tend to get out of shape very quickly. Cheap chinese metal with no real quality control.

Still waiting for an explanation of your logic regarding the petty insult.

It is a quite basic question which requires a 'yes' or 'no' answer:
Do you really expect this is realistically something I would have done?
Yes, you do really expect I would have done this?
Or you do not really expect I would have done this?

I'll state my position; this is not something I'd expect anybody to have done.
This IS a situation that I'd expect most people who have ridden bikes to be able to tell the difference between 'terrible' and 'not bad' without doing.

The only time I've done something like this me and a friend did a brake test with me on a TRX850 and him in a E36 325i,
The TRX stopped in about half the distance from 60. We didn't feel the need to measure it.

Yes, or not?
Surely it can't be that hard for you to answer the simple question I've asked? :wink:

I think it more likely that plank of a presenter on the gadget show simply couldn't fathom out how to pick up a screw driver to correctly adjust the gears on the other bikes....

The Rockrider was store built so set up correctly (probably perfectly by a tech for the purpose of the test) ...the others were supplied boxed so he probably never set them up correctly.

Still waiting for an explanation of your logic regarding the petty insult.

Ignoring questions doesn't make you right - I reckon it suggests, to people thinking about it, that you HAVEN'T thought about it and don't want to - or have and realised you're wrong, of course.

You've answered one question at least; rather than using datalogging, I believe you think I'll have got a speedo set up on each of these cheap bikes I've ridden, then done stopping tests and measured out the stopping distance afterwards.

Which takes us straight back to the same basic question; do you really expect this is realistically something I would have done?

Do you think someone who's used to using a large variety of different vehicles would be able to tell braking effort when there's a significant difference? (Wheeled ones for me vary from unicycles to aeroplanes with most inbetween.)

Any cheaper bikes about? Don't want to spend much in case it gets stolen off the estate as I have to chain it outside. Thinking about £30 haha.

Thanks Fossil.

I've ordered one for collection tomorrow. Be interesting to see how it compares with my £1,500 Gary Fisher. I bought it for the pootling factor and for riding on the seafront with the kids - I just hate leaving my Gary Fisher locked up or on the roofrack.

The Trax shares a similar rear mech.
But it has a "Ningbo power industries top pull" front mech.
We presume, different cassette, front chain rings and chain.

Enough to make a big difference - especially with a few miles on the bike when the cheap ones end up with a total of four usable gears out of 18 or something.

And yes - rating a bike "because the gears work" on a new bike I think says rather a lot about the competition and why people are saying to avoid it!

I rather suspect that anyone who does actually try and 'use' the Trax with any kind of regularity for whatever use will soon find it rather frustrating as it falls apart.

whatsThePoint:
Still waiting for an explanation of your logic regarding the petty insult.

What exact figures are you seriously expecting me to have regarding my brakes?
Do you really think I'll have gone to the lengths of getting some datalogging kit on there to measure deceleration forces?
And then have done the same on a variety of other cheap bikes with standard pads to compare?

4 questions there.
And numerous others you've failed to address.

Do make an attempt to 'defend' your position rather than, to my mind, entirely failing to find any useful or realistic issues with mine however much you keep digging.

I think all that Video really tells you is not to buy a bike with cheap suspension......

.....Basically they rate the Rockrider because the gears work. The Trax shares the same Shimano gearset.

I'm not saying the Rockrider isn't a better bike...it probably is. but it's also around £40 more..and realistically for the kind of use people buying in this price are more than likely going to put the bike to I'm not sure the extra outlay is really worth it....

Okay. I posted a note two days to say that I'd bought the bike. Here's a very quick review. I've done approx. one hours continuous riding on it each day mainly on roads but some on "tow path" quality paths. As a summer bike-ist only I have to say that whilst its very early days I'm really pleased with how the bike rides. Its also nice and light, so it's easy enough for me to get it up steps on the bits I need to. So far, I feel that at the price I got it for, and for what I use it for, it was a good bargain. Thanks again to the poster.

Yet he still considered the Decathalon the winner.

It should be 'surprising' not 'unsurprising' that a non-suspension bike was considered better off road.

That's the place where you generally DO want suspension.

It was the comment about the gears particularly that matched with other people's experiences of BSO vs cheap bike.

Just dropped in to see if you're still trading punches - and you are!

I give it to whatsThePoint - on points.

whatsThePoint:
Yet the Rockrider is consistently praised and the Trax only seems to get praise on the Halfords site with the only independent review I've found criticising a similar bike.
So, I would presume stuff like the hubs, cassette, brakes are better on the Decathalon bike.

And spending twice as much may well mean the bike gets used for years to come, saving loads of money on fuel, rather than being relegated to a garden ornament.
Before my hybrid with panniers got stolen I happily rode it everywhere, carrying some pretty big loads. I got fitter, got to places faster AND saved money.

So, now we're talking about 100% more for a second hand bike. You've lost the plot guys!

But, that's the point; it doesn't seem likely it is the same spec.

Here's a comparison of the rockrider against a more but full suspension expensive Trax (so I would guess similar components)...
gadgetshow.channel5.com/gad…kes
Ok, they put them through some abuse, but just for one day.
The rockrider is considered by the far best, with comments about gears actually working, etc.

Also, the rock rider comes with 'semi slick' tyres, which makes it better for the 'around town' use - at least compared to the full mtb tyres of this Trax.
Always irksome that people buy mountain bikes and just use them in town, then don't use them because they actually bought a less than appropriate bike.

It's not about preferring Decathlon over Halfords, the difference is a better bike and a better service. Plus, if you buy from Decathlon you can be sure the bike will be properly assembled and set up, with Halfords, it's very much dependent on your individual store. Well worth the extra £40 (I see the Rockrider is no longer £99, it's now £109, though I still see it advertised at my local store for £99?). If you can't afford the extra £40, or are even struggling for the £70, see my previous post on buying a reconditioned bike.

I'm all for a good cheap deal, but you can buy a bike for a little bit more second hand and get far more enjoyment out of your ride than this. I live near a decent second hand bike shop and my Dad picked up a Trek hybrid for about £140.

I tend to agree but £40 on £70 is 57% more!

Fact is, if you only want or can only spend £70 this is as good as it gets and will save you from the folly of a supermarket 'full sus' disaster.

So other than your preference of Decathlon over Halfords (I dislike them both btw..) what else would you say sets the Rockrider apart from the Trax...seeing as the only branded part i can see on the Rockrider is a Shimano Derailleur (Which the Trax also has).

Thanks - removed. I was under the impression all the Rockriders were alu. Other half has a 2012 5.2.

Still think you'd be better buying something off ebay for £70. You can get a named, branded bike for that sort of money less than 6 years old, with decent components.

I just don't think its worth buying a new bike for £70. It's just money down the drain.

They both weigh the same

* Named components
* Support (Halfords have improved, but not to the level Decathlon provide).

You hear some horror stories of bikes in this price range ending up with bent pedals, forks knackered from new. I don't totally buy into that - delivery damage aside, surely every sale would be returned, but equally it's too consistent a story to be totally untrue.

I'm not part of the £1000 club (my bike is getting on a bit now and probably not worth more than £200 on ebay), but I am a part of the 'buy a semi decent bike' club.

It's £70 wasted in my opinion, genuinely - that bad. However, I will refrain from voting since I guess from a purely print-point POV, its decent as a DEAL, if not a bike.

No-one is denying the Rockrider is a better bike. It's also at least £40+P&P or Fuel cost more expensive.

For a simple basic bike at THIS price there is nothing better for sale...no-one has said it's a top quality MTB. It's a simple day to day use bike of far better quality than the BSO's the likes of Argos/SportsDirect/Tesco churn out.

Handy for chaining to something at a railway station for commuting or nipping down to the pub on without fear of it being nicked...

Whatever you buy you can always pay more and buy better......sometimes there is no point though.

I don't have experience of this specific bike.

But I do have experience of a lot of similar bikes.

And that is that it won't do it "with ease", not for long, anyway.

Maybe it's the exception, but I've seen no good evidence of that so far.

Not fall apart.

Even with the tenner delivery the Rockrider is still a far better deal imo.

I agree..... for only an extra £40 if you pick up instore, the Rockrider is way more the bike than the Trax. Apart from the same weight, its better in almost all, or even every, component.
The Rockrider is where the smart money would go.

If the bike is going to sit in the gearden and never be ridden; yes.
But if it means that it actually gets ridden because it's a better bike that doesn't fall apart; then it's £70 NOT wasted.

The cheapest basic bike that is worth buying is the £100 Rockrider 5.0 from Decathlon (and they will also service it/fix any problems with it for you as well). Don't bother with anything else, you are wasting your money.

If you can't afford that, do yourself a favour and either look for a local bike recycling place that sells reconditioned bikes (like The Bike Station), or if you are more confident about bikes, buy second hand.

bad bikes, steer well clear guys

It's a great price. The kind of bike you can ride around town, out on the road and rough paths. The type of bike you can leave chained up without worrying about it being half inched. Here in Cambridge, that's one massive worry... I almost bought a £500 bike but worried about it being stolen... £70 on a great lock etc - this bike costs that much and eliminates anxiety.

Deal.

It might be correct, it might not..... if it is correct, its only a few hundred grams heavier than the Carrera Subway Limited Edition, that people get excited about when its posted on here.
Not that i'm in any way endorsing this Trax..... but just putting into context the posts saying its heavy.

The fact that you've had countless bikes suggests you buy cheap bikes?

■Front Mech: Ningbo power industries top pull

I think that's the same version Mark Cavendish uses on his bike.
Good price by the way for a BSO, fine to use in the dry a few times a year. It seems quite light for a steel framed MTB, is that weigh accurate?

Personally I wouldn't dream of buying crap like this......
But in its favour at least it doesn't have suspension. Gears are Shimano Tourney, which are perfectly acceptable for this bike and I don't considider 14.5 kilos exceptionally heavy, its about the same as my Ridgeback hybrid that I used to have and I could easily carry that one handed up steps.
Its likely to have plastic brake levers and pressed steel v brakes, which are fragile and will break easy.
Its cheap, but its a BSO, and that's all you can expect for this money.

Only it's not...it weighs 14.5kg

I wouldn't buy it folks. My girlfriend bought the same one a year ago, it's really heavy and therefore very slow. She used it about 3 times and its been rotting out the back ever since