The cheap/cool town bike conundrum

[Gruffy]

At ~£200 is there a better option than Mango for a town bike that I can leave locked up in London? Probably looking for a durable single-speed with bull horns. Should I give up on finding something I actually like and just go for the cheapest, most undesirable POS possible? I've no experience of leaving a bike locked up in town.

[TwistingMyMelon]

I would just get on ebay and filter down to everything that is within 20 miles of you @ your price point

I used a single speed for a similar purpose, thought it would be great no maintenance, blimey it was the opposite! st cheap nasty parts, even a brake lever snapped off in my hand!! Punctures that take 3 spanners to get the wheel off! PITA to tension and straighten the chain when you have the wheel off etc.. I wasn't expecting miracles but was surprised how poor a £300 bike was. TBF it did lead a hard life down muddy country lanes, I bet London would suit the bike lots better, I also loved the feeling of riding fixed or Single Speed, but as I had a short but decent climb every day I ended up with muscle imbalances in my legs and then knee pain that took weeks of physio to correct

The above wasnt a Mango but A Raleigh

I would buy a Triban or other chead SH road bike , try and find one thats been riden a few times then the owner has lost interest. I saw a few honest looking Scott £500 basic road bikes that were around £200 with minimal use on them

Or a cheap 90s/2000s rigid mountain bike with some wide slicks, an old Kona Lava Dome/Fire Mountain, that was a good fun commuter I had

The beauty of a cheap road bike is you can filter down parts from your other bikes, where as fixes/single speeds are often specific and unusual parts

[joshleb]

Muscle imbalances? From cycling up a hill?

Second hand is a winner market, looks a couple of years old and a bit tatty, even better!

[TwistingMyMelon]

joshleb said:

Muscle imbalances? From cycling up a hill?

Second hand is a winner market, looks a couple of years old and a bit tatty, even better!

I commuted 80 miles a week , first bit included a steepish 4 minute climb on a fixie/single speed. Was doable/hard on legs

Anyway my Outer quads got bigger and powerful and overpowered inner VMO according to Physio as you obviously cant pick an easy gear

Wasnt just that, other lifestyle factors as well

[Gruffy]

One criticism I've read of the Mango bikes are the cheap components. The bike isn't going to do huge miles but I hear what you're saying about maintenance expectations. I kept searching last night and found a second hand bike shop in Elephant & Castle that I may pay a visit to.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Yeah I was suprised by some parts on cheap singlespeeds, I guess i am used to cheap Shimano, where even an old Sora Groupset can last years and years

[citizenmtb]

I bought a Mango bike and I was lost for words on the quality of the components. I mean, it literally has nothing on it... where does the money go?

First thing I did was change the handle bars as they were terrible, really wide and thin. I've not bothered changing anything else. The BB clanks and rattles, the wheels are miles from true, the brakes are pointless.

Although, it does directly solve one issue. I don't give a toss if someone steals it!

If you can find a used one, a Charge Plug is much nicer.

[battered]

Get a used MTB or hybrid from the usual places. Check the guy out to make sure it's not stolen, get a receipt. A geared bike is not harder to maintain than a single, as said earlier the parts are easier. QR wheels mean no spanner for wheel change. Etc. Get 2 decent locks. Then just ride it.

[Barchettaman]

There is a lot to be said for milding pimping an old rigid steel MTB with better rubber and a decent saddle.

As long as it looks like st, rolls really well and has mahoosive locks it should be OK.

Oh, and on the subject of Sora - I put ca. 10,000km on second-hand Sora STI levers in all weathers, and they were still working perfectly when I upgraded the commuter to 2x10 Tiagra. I highly recommend them for that application.

[battered]

I've just looked up Mango bikes on the net, I wouldn't park one of them on a London street for 10 minutes without an armed guard. They are seriously good looking bikes, if you mean that you'll leave the thing outside overnight in London then you'll have it for about a week before it walks. Get something less pretty.

[Mark83]

I bought one of these which I leave in London - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-plug-0-2016/