is there anything wrong with riding one of these? a friend of mine gave me one for free. why is this bike so hated ?
Because it's a piece of shit for ultra casuals.
Still better than no bike at all, so ride it and have fun, then stop by >>>/n/bbg when you decide you want a real bike.
>>952980
This
Actually, stick a rigid fork and seat post on it, and a better saddle, and that could almost make a decent townbike. I mean, it would still have shit tier components, but... you know.
All that cushioning is, somewhat counter-intuitively, making the bike more uncomfortable for anything but the shortest of rides.
>>953037
Alternatively, one could leave the fork and get a new stem and handle bars instead, for a more aggressive ride that actually might motivate front suspension somewhat.
>>952973
All design considerations prioritized cheapness and ease of riding
Whereas a true patrician's bike will be optimized for speed, utility, handling, durability, etc.
What you have is a practice bike. 99% of them are used once or twice a year for 3 years, before being put into a basement to rust to pieces.
Each component is lower quality than you'd find on a nice bike. They will fail (the seat post and fork suspension) if they were ever working to begin with. The brakes will be weaker, the components will probably be as well. The tires are going to have low TPI (threads per inch) which means they will make you accelerate more slowly, and get more flat tires
There are some positives on this bike. The V-brakes have good stopping power, even if they're cheap. The frame is probably fine. The shimano drivetrain will probably last a long time.
The shifters will probably crap out sooner than later, since they'll be made of plastic. The stem/bars/brake levers will last.
The wheels are probably very heavy, again making acceleration slow
The saddle is cheap and soft. It gives the impression of being comfortable on first use, but any extended ride will give you pain. The soft material is push up into your perineum which is bad for your sex organs.
If I had to work with this bike, I would replace fork, seatpost, tires. I'd wait for the wheels and shifters to go before replacing those.
But instead of doing that, you'd be better off putting that extra money in at the beginning, getting a bike without the gimmick and cost cutting.
This bike was free, so ride it into the ground. If you learn enough about bikes (and buy the tools to work on them) one day, you might have the know-how to upgrade it for cheap. Finding the right fork used on ebay for very cheap, having a seatpost that fits in your parts bin, etc. But for now, just ride it and enjoy until you have mechanical problems. Then, if it's not a cheap fix, consider buying a bike that better suits your needs
>>952973
Compared to many so-called comfort bikes the one you posted is not THAT bad. The drivetrain components won't fall apart in two seconds and the frame is decent. Replace the seatpost, saddle and fork and that would be an acceptable bike.
Just fucking ride it.
>>953037
Do this, but also replace the stem and bars.
But if you're replacing the fork, seatpost, saddle, stem, and bars... on that low end of a bike... you're better off just getting a rigid 90s mtb on Craigslist and throwing on a pair of semislicks.
>>953038
>riding terrain that justifies suspension
>on that piece of shit bike
lol
>>953119
Hey, even urban terrain can make use of a suspension fork if you ride hard but lack technique or just still want that little extra comfy.
>>953126
Suspension is for maintaining traction on uneven surfaces and absorbing large impacts, not comfort. That shit's so cheap that the small bump compliance will be terrible any way. A cheaper, more reliable, and lighter solution for more comfort would be larger tyres.
>>953126
>being this retarded
The only time urban terrain justifies suspension is when jumping flights of stairs and other reasonably sized drops (as in, substantially bigger than a curb).
>>953180
Hey look everyone, a fred!
>>953184
>Vin Cox
>fred
...
>>952973
Fuck the haters this is a perfectly decent bike. Ride the hell out of it and enjoy it
>>952980
>real bike
spoken like a true lycrafag
>>952973
Nothing wrong with it outside of the components being crap that will probably give you nothing but trouble later on. I think pretty much everyone here had a POS like that at one point or another.
I say ride the thing till parts start needing to be replaced, then just buy a new bike. For what you'd spend replacing the fork, brakes, drivetrain, wheels etc. you might as well get a new bicycle.
