Cycling UK Forum

Right - it has come back from the bike shop where a professional had a look at it. He fitted different brake blocks and it works well.

But, he said that the tyres were not properly seated in the rims. Apparently the tape that had been used was very thick, preventing a proper seating. He said that if the bike had been ridden into a tight turn at speed, an accident was the most likely outcome. I did not realise that you could get tape in different thicknesses.

£200 to buy. Plus another ~£100 to get it ride-able and roadworthy


Raleigh child's bike : What a pile of crap.


I'd be interested to hear what you folks ahve to say about the tyres.

Very interesting points from you all (no offence taken, either ).

This is a small bike.

When I purchased this I was looking out for a bike that would suit my 12yo son. He's had a couple of BMX bikes which are rubbish for the longer rides we go on - they are simply not designed for road use - but he has out-grown them. I got this because he would be able to start to enjoy the rides without struggling against those knobbly tyres I choose the bike based on leg-length, which was the only size information available. His leg length was fine. I'm not going to pay more than I did for a bike that will be owned by a child. If I had bought a similar sized bike for a (small) adult, I would have paid much more because I know they would look after it.

I bought it with the reasonable expectation that he would out-grow this one too. But, not for at least three or four years. Never expected it to be so poor.

And, for the record, my present bike, a Dawes Karakum, was purchased online and it is great. Fits in all the right places and works

Anyway, the bike is being taken to a reputable bike shop this week, and I hope they can sort it out, which judging by the very helpful comments in this thread, should be quite an easy task.

Thanks again to everyone for your input.

531colin wrote:

Meeky wrote:..................... I'll never buy anything Raleigh again..............

Its nothing to do with me, of course, but to avoid future disappointment "only buying from a proper bike shop where they encourage you to take a test ride" is probably a better strategy than "never buying Raleigh again".

Yes - you are quite right - I'm pretty angry about this, and let my emotions dictate my response.

Again, Thanks a lot to everyone for their input. It is refreshing to hear some honest opinions. I am truly gutted. I really thought this would be a great first 'adult' bike for my son. I'll never buy anything Raleigh again.

For those who are interested, these are the original brake levers that came with the bike:

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/4723/st5o.jpg

I was very interested to read the comments about the wheels - when I unpacked the bike I thought that the surface looked remarkably smooth, and when the brakes did not work I thought it was a major contributing factor. I will go back to my local dealer and talk about the suggestions made in this thread.

Thanks again

So, not being a techy, are the brake levers correct for the type of brakes fitted? The handlebars are now at the correct height and reach so they are no longer an issue - it's just the braking I need to sort out. It's cost me £80 on top of the purchase price of the bike so far, so any further help will be appreciated very much

Many thanks for the replies.

Thanks very much for the responses, folks.

I bought the bike via Amazon. I contacted them but they said they could not offer support because the supplier no longer 'supplied' the bike. They did offer a full refund, but this was after I had the handlebars changed. And to answer the other question, the brakes were like this on the drops, too. I thought Raleigh would be a good choice.

The bike was sold on the basis that it would be suitable for anyone with that leg-length upwards, so I bought the bike after measuring my sons inside leg assuming it would be suitable I also never expected them to use an aheadset on a small road bike that is designed for younger people - how are you supposed to adjust it as that person grows? If it had a regular fitting, it would not have been a problem as his reach was just short of that required. I think a little adjustment would have fixed it.

These are the brake levers that are now on the bike:

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9798/st4r.jpg

Hi, Folks

I bought my son a Raleigh Pursuit.

I have a big problem with the brakes. Essentially, they are extremely poor. When the brake levers are pulled there is hardly any give in them. Pulling as tightly as possible, the bike barely slows down. I tried adjusting the cable at the brake without any difference.

I have taken it to my local bike mechanic, and he was unable to do anything with them. I took it in because the bike has that aheadset setup - on a bike that is designed for young people(!) So, I had him exchange the drop handlebars for wide handlebars (because although my lad's feet easily reached the pedals, he did not have enough reach for the brake levers on the handlebars and the height could not be adjusted...), put on a riser so that handlebars could be raised and in the process he put on new brake levers and cables. Even doing this made no difference to the poor braking performance. He also tried different brake blocks with the same (non) result.

The wheels look to be made from some aluminim alloy. I have no idea what else to try. Has anyone else had this issue and managed to fix it?

These pics show the brakes and wheels:
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/5982/brakes1.jpg
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4215/brakes2n.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8426/brakes3.jpg

Thanks

I use butterflies on my Dawes Karakum and think they're great. Three main hand positions allow for a flexible posture. Only drawback, as mentioned already, is that gears and brakes are only accessible from one position. What is really good is that you can adjust the position of the bars by rotating them to suit your personal taste.

Thanks

I've gone for some overshoes:

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/17203/Gor ... rshoe.html

Seem to be durable, flexible and don't rely on a zip.

Resurrecting this one...

Does anyone have any experience of how durable/usable some of these things are? I've just spent the last half hour wading through many reviews of overshoes and two common complaints are that they are difficult to get on, and that those that have zip fasteners, often the zip breaks, rendering them useless.

I use a size 45 shoe (UK size 10-11) so I reckon that in order to minimise the problem of getting an overshoe on I'd need to buy an XL size (I assume this is the case as there is a distinct lack of information on what S, M, L and XL convert to in UK shoe sizes). However, I would prefer to get a pair that has a velcro or strap fastening. I'm really not concerned about 'minimising drag' (LOL) as some of the reviewers were. My main concern is keeping my feet dry on my daily commute to work.

What do you people wear and are you satisfied with the product?

I bought SPD pedals and cleats when I bought my bike last June. The cleats don't matter, it's the shoes that matter. I got it wrong first time and bought road shoes not realising that the cleats would be proud of the sole - it was impossible to walk with them. I then bought some cycling shoes which have a recessed area for the cleat - easy to walk on. Last week I spent the whole day in those shoes (Exustar) at the office and have no complaints. No soreness or anything.

Regarding getting used to them - I too was quite concerned when I began using them. As mentioned already, practice in your home clipping in and clipping out. Keep the pedal tension at its lowest setting so you are not 'locked' in and it is easy to unclip. I fell off three times when stopping simply because I forgot to unclip. Took me about three weeks to gain enough confidence to begin enjoying the bike rides more than worrying about being able to unclip when needed. I rarely think about it now. If your new to this, unclip in plenty of time before you need to remove your foot from the pedal. As time progresses and your confidence grows you'll eventually realise that you will be unclipping at a shorter and shorter distance before stopping.

As for a fashion thing - man, cleats make a massive difference. Once you get used to them you can really keep a good solid cadence going. You get used to your feet being in exactly the same position on the pedals everytime you ride your bike. So long as the cleats are positioned correctly you will find that your pedalling with them on is more efficient than without them. It is worth going to a reputable bike shop and asking someone to check them for you, or search on the net - there are plenty of resources out there that enable you to do a good job yourself.

I almost gave up on these because I was scared of not being able to unclip in time and having an accident. I am very glad that I persevered. I would not go back to ordinary pedals.

The one I bought was very cheap - Etc is the brand name. I've always re-used drinks bottles in the past which are fine. I was pretty astonished at how strong the taste was.

Hehe - 1001 uses for an innertube

Thanks very much to everyone for your valuable comments!

I've had the water bottle less than a month and always rinsed it out thoroughly at the end of the day. It was rubbish from the start

I'm going to get a 750ml Glogg.

Cheers!

Hi

I recently purchased a plastic water bottle. Problem is, the water takes on the taste of the plastic to such an extent that I can't drink it, it's horrible.

Anyone know of any bottles that don't 'pollute' the taste of the water?

Thanks

Yes, it was the Winkku - looks horrific. It screams 'I'm just waiting to break!'

My butterfly handlebars are nearly vertical and I only use the top and bottom grips. That leaves the sides free. I'm very reluctant to add more width to them by installing extra bars, but thanks very much for the tip.

The bycygnals look OK, but I'm after something that has independent lights for each side so that they sit on the outside edge of the handlebars indicated by the arrows in the attachment.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions so far