Argos road bikes ( i.e. Argos the utility shop )

[Brucey]

On these catalogue-shop bicycles, is the rear hub cassette or freewheel?

Freewheel.

cassette

screw-on freewheel (certainly on the £250 bike)



the more expensive model has a cassette hub I think.

cheers

[thelawnet]

Freewheel.

cassette

screw-on freewheel (certainly on the £250 bike)



the more expensive model has a cassette hub I think.

cheers

Hmm.

Bit of an embarrassing association on the part of Cycling+ I'd say.

Looks like specs:

0.1 £200
PYC chain
Microshift R8 F/d
Microshift R8 r/d
Microshift 7-speed brifters
50/34 chainset
Double rim bolt-on wheels, alloy frame, steel fork
bolt-on wheels
7-speed freewheel ?
Caliper brakes
tyres?
Claimed weight 12.4kg/12.6kg 54cm/58cm

0.2 £250
KMC chain
Shimano Tourney FD-A070
Shimano Tourney RD-A070
Shimano Tourney ST-A070 7-speed brifters
50/34 chainset (NOT Shimano)
Shimano Tourney MF-TZ21 14-28 freewheel
Double rim q/r wheels, alloy frame, steel fork
Caliper brakes
tyres?
Claimed weight 11.9kg/12.1kg 54cm/58cm

0.3 £320
KMC chain
Claris 2400 F/d
Claris 2400 r/d
Claris 2400 brhifters (8 speed)
50/34 chainset (NOT Shimano)
Double rim q/r wheels, alloy frame, carbon bladed fork
Caliper brakes
Cassette, presumably either 11-28 or 12-28
tyres?
Claimed weight 11.1kg/11.3kg 54cm/58cm

[Spinners]

I've got the 'middle' one...

Which has a freewheel. So I see no reason for Cycling Plus to be embarrassed.

[thelawnet]

I've got the 'middle' one...

Which has a freewheel. So I see no reason for Cycling Plus to be embarrassed.

Well I was thinking the lack of documentation of basic specifications, the spelling error in the model name on their website, the lack of sensible information about sizing, among other things, should be a source of embarrassment to a cycling magazine.

[Cyril Haearn]

I've got the 'middle' one (steel fork and 7-speed Shimano) as, at the time, the carbon fork version wasn't on sale - I might have bought that one although the colours on that one are a bit naff.

My thoughts too; both on following the above link and viewing the argos catalogue, the colour scheme of the "top" bike is quite incredible!

That said, if I could really justify it I'd love to buy either of the first two in the range to see what they're like. I've absolutely no need for another bike and generally never suffer from the desire to buy stuff (Quite the reverse, judging by my 30 old rucksack, 40 year old dictionary et al), but somehow the temptation to buy a cheap bike is tempting at present And it looks quite fantastic for the price (Nb. Though I wouldn't like that huge drop from the outter chainring to the granny ring, obviously the pedals would be binned......)
..

Justify? You mean thoyle*

Go on, buy one, you could sell it again on this thread. You might well want to keep it

* thoyle: Yorkshire word meaning 'I can afford it but cannae justify it'

[gbnz]

Go on, buy one, you could sell it again on this thread. You might well want to keep it

* thoyle: Yorkshire word meaning 'I can afford it but cannae justify it'

Yep, but my years in Yorkshire may have had an effect

Have to admit I'm planning on a 80 mile round ride to Halfords if there's any decent weather; motivation isdriven partially by the thought of having to pay £1.99 postage, on a £6.00 part (Nb. My preferred cheap bike computer is no longer made, thus a Halfords one will have to do)

[robgul]

Is Argos offering any after-sales service and/or warranty work . . . ?

The late Toys R Us dabbled in low-end bikes and even had stores with a mechanic (or in reality a boy who had seen a bike before) and customer service was non-existent.

Rob

[bigjim]

That £200 would be worth a punt. I reckon there is £150 of parts on it at least. I'd not care about after sales. It's a simple bike to maintain. Put some mudguards on it, a bigger Freewheel and a Brooks saddle gives you a lightweight Tourer. No too many worries about damage in transit. It's relatively heavy I suppose, but maybe they are being honest about it unlike some others. The £300 one is getting into Btwin territory. Argos let you return stuff within 14 days for a full refund so at least you can try it.

[Greystoke]

The January sales may see that price drop a bit too.

[Spinners]

That £200 would be worth a punt. I reckon there is £150 of parts on it at least...

Agreed, although I was put off by the nutted wheels. Mind you, for a commuter bike that might be preferable to the more easily nickable QR wheels.

Being an ex-Campag man, I feel quite at home with the inner button on the Tourney brifters.

[gbnz]

Hmm.....and these are now down with 50% off at £114.99

As said elsewhere at the £220.00 price (NB. Last years price, presume they're now £230?) they'd be a useful source of spare parts; at £114.99 I could see myself using it as a "scrap" winter bike, prior to removing the saddle, fork, frame and who knows, brake pads, chain for use elsewhere

[Darkman]

Cheap commute bike, too, if you don't want to get your "proper" bike covered in mud and salt and other road crap this time of year.

[peetee]

My major concern with any purchase from a box is the ability of the buyer to competently assemble the thing inside. It's not unusual for partly built machines to display partly comprehensive quality control and assembly standards and partly descriptive assembly instructions. Many of the cheapest BSOs can be made to last much longer with the application of a bit of lube and a grease monkey.

[GOHughes]

All three models are currently on offer at half price on the Argos website so you could get the top of the range model for £174.99. Note that models 2.0 and 3.0 are the same bike - the models number refers to frame sizing.

A lot of LBS now offer an assembly from the box service for about £20.00 - £30.00. Some will even allow you to have the bike in its box delivered to them. They will also be able to check the bike over for any possible manufacturer's defects, sell you some more suitable pedals and I'm sure once you have experienced their expertise and knowledge you will return to have the bike serviced and buy accessories, tyres and tubes etc.

It's hard for an LBS to compete on price for new bikes but for servicing and expertise they are still the best there is.

[djnotts]

At 179 quid, that's the Claris shifters and a 100 quid for all the rest. Not bad surely?