So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

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Rob74
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby Rob74 » Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:55 pm

Too IDRCycles,

Was riding home on my 1988 REPCO Olympic 12........past council cleanup & under the cover of darkness I spied a REPCO Torrent MTB......how bad could it be.....brought it home side saddle....

All I can say is they don't make REPCO's like they used to.
15.8kg on the Park Tools scales
Had thought the frame was Aluminium...No its steel
Steel cranks, steel seat pole, steel gooseneck, steel handlebars, steel nipples on the spokes
Pinned Alloy rims
Pressed steel Brake Arms & plastic brake levers....well they are utter rubbish
plastic body RD
plastic swing arm on FD
It says SHIMANO on the rear stay...but...it is truly CRAP.

this nunce wants $80 for one REPCO Torrent........,

I'm considering returning it tomorrow first thing before they notice it gone or try and book me for Kerb side littering on return .......side saddle of course, it is not fit for riding.

Rob,
Last edited by Rob74 on Tue Aug 13, 2013 9:50 pm, 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 » Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:56 am

Interesting, I've seen them in the local store but haven't had a chance to have a good look over one yet. There are actually 3 in the wild in Noosa, all regularly ridden and believe it or not, kept in IMMACULATE condition :shock: .
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

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

Postby ldrcycles » Thu Oct 31, 2013 11:46 am

Boy oh boy, now 29ers are getting REALLY cheap :shock: .

Repco "Sumo" for $148.

http://www.bigw.com.au/sports-leisure/b ... ntain-bike#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Place your bets people, how long do you reckon one of these would last?

(and no I won't be doing the testing, I don't like my chances of recovering even half the cost when I inevitably sell it :lol: )
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

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

Postby TMjpn » Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:28 pm

ldrcycles wrote:Boy oh boy, now 29ers are getting REALLY cheap :shock: .

Repco "Sumo" for $148.

http://www.bigw.com.au/sports-leisure/b ... ntain-bike#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Place your bets people, how long do you reckon one of these would last?

(and no I won't be doing the testing, I don't like my chances of recovering even half the cost when I inevitably sell it :lol: )
I'm waiting for a head to head review against the Southern Star Kodiac:

http://www.kmart.com.au/product/souther ... ack/115020

Or the 'premium' version of said Kodiac, if you will from a reputable tuner:

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/inner-sy ... 1030671632

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

Postby ldrcycles » Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:45 pm

TMjpn wrote:
I'm waiting for a head to head review against the Southern Star Kodiac:

http://www.kmart.com.au/product/souther ... ack/115020

Or the 'premium' version of said Kodiac, if you will from a reputable tuner:

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/inner-sy ... 1030671632
Jennay's back.... That is one seriously unscrupulous individual :evil: .

But that said, it's better than the one on the K Mart website, the forks are crooked as a dog's hind leg! :shock:

There's a schoolkid around my area who I see riding to school on his 24" Kodiak regularly, never a speck of dust or grime on it :) .
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

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

Postby Mulger bill » Thu Oct 31, 2013 7:54 pm

ldrcycles wrote:Jennay's back.... That is one seriously unscrupulous individual :evil:
Already 404'd. Shame, I've been pining for a little more lens flare in my life :(
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mattwilkinson
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby mattwilkinson » Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:21 pm

Just spotted this beauty:
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/glen-ede ... 1029659642" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Loving the handlebar alignment there, But you can't miss that backwards fork!

Image


EDIT: but wait there's more!
Someone please tell him before he kills himself :(

Image

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

Postby ldrcycles » Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:38 pm

The wife and I went to the flicks this evening and the bike rack out the front had 8 bikes, all of them Big W/K Mart jobs! One of them had the forks on backwards too :lol: .
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TMjpn
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby TMjpn » Fri Nov 01, 2013 1:06 am

Mulger bill wrote:
ldrcycles wrote:Jennay's back.... That is one seriously unscrupulous individual :evil:
Already 404'd. Shame, I've been pining for a little more lens flare in my life :(
Don't worry, there's 2 Shimáno bikes doing the rounds on gumtree being refreshed daily. One has no lens flare - in fact its a Daytime photograph with blurred people walking past. Jennay is still in business. I'm still looking out for them!!

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

Postby Mulger bill » Fri Nov 01, 2013 8:21 pm

I must be using the wrong search terms.
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
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TMjpn
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby TMjpn » Sat Nov 02, 2013 12:31 pm


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

Postby ldrcycles » Wed Nov 20, 2013 8:41 pm

Keeping the BSO love alive :) .

I was in the local Big W the other day and noticed hundreds, no thousands, of $78 Dunlop bikes stacked up all over the place. Luckily there was one assembled in the bike section that I could have a gander at. Honestly, for $78 I've seen worse, hell my own shopping bike is a lot worse!

Steel frame with huge forks so it weighs 10 tonne, the brake levers are very flexy plastic (though not the worst I've seen), the gripshifter actually felt and worked ok and everything else is standard BSO fare. I'm sorely tempted to buy one myself but I know it wouldn't get much use, and unlike the Repco Preset there is no way i'd be able to sell it :) .

The interesting thing about it though was the gearing, single chainring, just like SRAM XX1 :lol: . Only problem is the 6 speed freewheel would limit the range just a touch!
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tekapo
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby tekapo » Thu Nov 21, 2013 7:07 pm

Was at Big W Doncaster about a month back. Saw some 26" and 29" Diamondbacks with a Acera derailleur and I think Tourney shifter with disc brakes. It was on clearance for about 250 or so. Doesn't actually look too bad. Parts are probably on par with similarily priced Reid/Cells.

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

Postby GeoffInBrisbane » Wed Nov 27, 2013 1:48 pm

Poor Diamondback :( I loved the old Axis and Axis TT... :cry:
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby systema83 » Wed Nov 27, 2013 2:31 pm

You thought the Big W and Kmart ones are bad enough? Have a look at the $111 drop bar BSO from Target!

Image

http://shop.target.com.au/p/7-cm-cyclop ... e/51563585" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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

Postby jasonc » Wed Nov 27, 2013 4:59 pm

15kgs????

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

Postby outnabike » Wed Nov 27, 2013 5:28 pm

([/quote] Don't worry, there's 2 Shimáno bikes doing the rounds on gumtree being refreshed daily. One has no lens flare - in fact its a Daytime photograph with blurred people walking past. Jennay is still in business. I'm still looking out for them!![/quote]

Hi TMjpn,
They are probably just photographing bikes in the street, and if they get an offer pinch them the next day. Oops I don't want to give them ideas. :D
Vivente World Randonneur complete with panniers

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

Postby ldrcycles » Fri Dec 06, 2013 8:17 am

The latest Big W catalogue has a Repco 'Mosaic' ladies bike with the forks on backwards! I'll get a photo up asap. :lol:

EDIT: and here it is! Excuse the terrible quality, but you get the idea.

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

Postby ldrcycles » Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:30 pm

It's official, 650B is no longer cool :lol: .

http://www.bigw.com.au/sports-leisure/b ... ntain-bike" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Honestly at $250, no way. Those are some seriously spindly looking forks, I wouldn't volunteer to try out a handful of front brake on that thing :) .

In other news, there is a Repco Origami folding bike which looks ok for $150. I've got half a mind to get one :) .
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silentbutdeadly
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby silentbutdeadly » Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:49 pm

That was welded by an over caffeinated galah who picked a batch of 1" headtubes from the parts bin by mistake. Production Manager solved the question of which idiot are we going to sell these to with considerable talent.

As for the Origami...do you really want to end up folded like the bike?
Ours is not to reason why...merely to point and giggle

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

Postby Mulger bill » Mon Dec 16, 2013 11:01 am

ldrcycles wrote:In other news, there is a Repco Origami folding bike which looks ok for $150. I've got half a mind to get one :) .
Where did the handlebars go?
Image
EDIT. The pic displays bigger here than there, you have to remove the stem... :?
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
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Re: So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

Postby lobstermash » Mon Dec 16, 2013 11:10 am

I spotted the Origami in the shop the other day. It's not awful as far as the genre goes, though that's like saying McDonalds coffee is drinkable compared to most Canberra cafes...
Image

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

Postby ldrcycles » Fri Dec 27, 2013 8:15 pm

Big W have men's and ladies Dunlop 6 speed (single front chainring) "mountain" bikes on sale atm for $58 :shock: .

I'm so lucky i'm married to a woman who knows how to handle a gun, because otherwise I would be in Big W spending money I don't have :lol: .
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

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

Postby ldrcycles » Fri Feb 21, 2014 10:24 pm

Very excited to say I saw the matching pair of men's and ladies Dunlop $58 bikes in the wild the other day. Didn't hear any clattering or clunking noises as they went past but I noticed both had a solid coating of rust on the chains already :) .
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

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

Postby phineas » Fri Feb 21, 2014 11:34 pm

Bought my 9 year old a Big W 'mountain bike' about 10 months ago.

About a month in, the gear shifter lever thing stopped displaying which gear she was in, so she just has to guess.

Handle bar grip wriggled it's way off not long after that.

Bits and pieces broken and loose all over the place.

Caved today and bought her a nice bike from my LBS. Her birthday is 2 months away but neither she nor I could put up with the Big W bike any longer!


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