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Raleigh Chopper Bike
by SoadFan Back in the day when flares were something that got in the way of your bicycle chain and shoulder pads were quickly becoming the in thing, I had the pleasure of having a Raleigh Chopper Bike. Not only did I ride it using the handle bars with great aplomb, but I also fitted it with some funky side tassels (lol, who remembers those?) which ... hung down from those same handle bars with a great amount of style. My Raleigh Chopper Bike was a hand me down at the time, but that didn't matter at all. It may not have been brand new when I got my paws on it, but it was way cooler than my previous Raleigh Shopper Bike which had never been a style icon, although it did have a very fetching real white leather bag. The Chopper had a number of revisions during its lifetime and mine was the MkII, which had been slightly tweaked for safety reasons. ********************************************************** What was there to like about the Raleigh Chopper Bike? Well apart from everything, the seat for one thing was much more comfy than many other cycle saddles. It had a nice padded feel and a super comfy back rest to it that offered great lumber support. You had to sit in a rather upright position to ride a Chopper, so this added back support was a great bonus. Although the front wheel on the Raleigh Chopper Bike was smaller than the wheels on many other bikes, I found that my Chopper could still pick up speed with a bit of effort. In fact the back wheel being much larger seemed to be a real powerhouse when combined with lots of frenetic peddling and certainly meant that anyone else had to peddle hard and fast to keep up with the Raleigh Chopper. ********************************************************** At the time when I had my Raleigh Chopper Bike tank tops were just about still cool and they kind of went with the over all nerdy look and feel of this iconic bike. The simple gearing system was operated via a lever which was more like an oddly shaped T bar gear knob and was located in the centre front section of the cross bar. This was something that was a real feature at the time. I thought it was so much cooler than a normal handle bar gearing system, although it didn't perform much better it looked and felt cooler and that was all that mattered at the time. When I wanted to get off my bike and pop into the shop to buy some penny sweets I was lucky enough to be able to flick out the built in kick stand and then park my Chopper where ever I liked. This was another thing that was great, as your bike wouldn't get chucked on the floor when you got off it. I could nonchalantly kick out the stand with no effort at all and my bike stood proudly without falling over...most of the time. ********************************************************** My Raleigh Chopper Bike may have had thicker tyres that meant it took a bit more effort to push the bike along, but that didn't matter. As the Chopper was the height of coolness and sophistication at the time the fact that you some times had to secretly peddle a bit harder to keep your street cred didn't matter at all. There may be more modern bikes such as the BMX and the almost all terrain mountain bike that have come along since the Raleigh Chopper Bike stopped being made, but none have ever been as cool as this. There is only 1 rating for the Chopper and that as to be a full 5 stars. Original versions may be hard to come by these days, but you can still pick up the newer copies that were made around 2004 which are nearly as cool (ish). However to any previous original Chopper owner they aren't quite in the league of an original model. Read the complete review |
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Proteam Sp1055 Folding Bike
by litangmu The Proteam SP1055 Folding Bike, at first glance, appears to be a very wise choice for someone looking for the convenience of a bike, the flexibility of being able to store and move said bike easily, and a low price point. I am not 100% sure whether the old adage 'you get what you pay for' applies here, but I'm sure you will make up ... your own mind as we go through the details. 1. Appearance On the outside, this is a very attractive little bike. Little is the word however, with 16 inch wheels, the whole bike itself barely came up to my navel, and I am not that tall a guy! The bike I purchased was white in colour, and I must say, it looks a lot more expensive than it is. I must say I do prefer the black colour though. I will also say that the low centre of gravity of the bike may appear odd to some, but you will find that the vast majority of folding bikes are, out of necessity, very similar in shape. Overall, I would describe the appearance of this bike as very 'commuter-like', in other words, I can certainly see a business executive riding this bike. I'm not sure someone in skin-tight cycling shorts would really look fitting atop this bike! 2. Design This is by no means a mountain bike or racing bike. The one position you will be able to sit on this bike is upright - there won't be any heads down, blasting through traffic riding to be had whilst atop this little thing! As you'd expect with any bike, the seat and handlebars are both adjustable, allowing for optimal user comfort. The handlebars seem to be somewhat shorter in length than you may find on other bikes, but again I believe this is due to necessity and design constraints of a folding bicycle. The seat is reasonably comfortable, and the pedals seem very well placed in relation to the seat. The whole bike feels moderately sturdy, as sturdy as something that folds can be! I never felt 100% secure on this bike though, I must admit. Having put it together and then riding it, in a sense I 'knew from whence it came', and it was somewhat unnerving. As I've touched on it, let's look at... 3. Folding Folding bicycles are often touted as the pinnace of convenience and portability, but I don't find that the Proteam SP1055 really fits this description. The bike folds at the centre, just beyond the peddles. The seat can be pushed down, all the way down, so that the end of the seat post goes beyond the bottom of the back wheel. The handlebars retract, and then fold forwards and twist sideways. The main folding joints are all secured by metal release clasps, which do provide a good deal of resistance if you try to snap them open. The seat and handlebars are kept propped up by small handles which, when pushed closed, tighten a mechanism around the supporting pole holding it in place. I never felt 100% happy with these particular joints, they really did not feel as secure as they could be. Overall however, you will end up with a bike about 1/3 of the size. And it is not light. It is at least a 10-15 kilograms (I shall explain fuzziness about weight later) and if you do not fold it correctly, if you carry it as-is you will find yourself getting pricked and prodded by cogs or other bits of mechanism. This will also serve to soil your lovely new jeans you just had washed and ironed. If bought new however, I believe this bike comes with a carrying bag - I think that's quite a good idea. Bear in mind however that the bike will still be bigger than a fairly large rucksack. Despite this, I have happily taken this bike, folded, onto buses, trains and on the London Underground without any hassle at all. Thumbs up in general, but a little finger down at the same time. 4. Rideability As I have already alluded to, I never felt particularly secure on this bike. I was constantly anxious about the seat falling through to the floor, or the handlebars collapsing back down. The seat did give way on a couple of occasions, but I do believe this may have had something to do with the fact I had an extremely heavy backpack on that probably tipped my overall weight over the 100Kg mark. A word of warning: Do not ride this bike if you are heavier than this. I'm sorry, but I had a friend try, and the seat gave way instantly. 100Kg is the maximum the bike is designed to hold, and you won't get away with trying to push beyond this. Speed wise, with 6 Shimano gears I found I could zip quite nicely around town. The gear changes were all smooth and clean, despite the bike being disassembled and reassembled on a daily basis! I wouldn't want to take it off road or on a long mountain bike trail though, I just don't think the bike could handle the punishment. Overall, an enjoyable riding experience, if a little tense! Conclusion You can buy this bike brand new for about £135, I got mine for half that from a local seller. Because I got it from a local seller, I did not have a manual with this item and cannot exactly confirm the weight - but 10-15Kg is certainly about right! Brand new however you get all the documentation and a very useful carrying bag which I think will make the world of difference when travelling around, as I have suggested above. I parted with this bike as I no longer had use for the little thing, but for what you get for your money, I was quite impressed. It is not the most sturdy, nor is it the best quality folding bike you will ever own, but if this is your first foray into the world of portable cycling, then this bike might just be for you. Read the complete review |
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Trek Allant 2010 Women's Hybrid Bike
by missniff It's a Ladies bike, for Ladies. Actually the man in the shop said 'its a very elegant bike' my reply? 'Er yeah, I'll do my best'. I bought my gorgeous bike in April as part of the 'Cycle2Work' scheme that allows businesses to buy the bike and then employees to pay for the bike directly from their pay packet on a ... monthly basis over one year, at the end of the year the employee then pays a nominal amount and the bike becomes theirs. This scheme saves VAT on the bike and you get to spread the cost over 1 year. This is an excellent scheme and since I was involved in the set up for my small company I know it is EXCEEDINGLY simple. Go to www.cycle2work.info - there is an helpful and easy calculator so you can decide your budget, you can find a bike shop that is a member of the scheme (Halfords are if you really can't find a local stockist that is involved, but please try to use your local shops!). There is also a section for the employer to apply to, this took about 30mins! You get a quote from the bike shop, include your helmet, reflective clothing, bike lock etc as well, apply for the voucher (your boss does this) and bingo! a voucher appears within 3 weeks. Go get the bike of your dreams. The bike has a strong aluminium frame, although it is not the lightest bike on the market, I can carry it up the short flight of stairs to get out of my basement flat. For someone less confident I wouldn't recommend this though, I do often get a couple of bruises or scrapes on my way up. The advantage however is a solid, stable ride, as someone who is not overly happy on the road I do feel safer than on my bike than one with a lighter frame. The saddle that comes with this bike is lovely, brown leather and specially designed for girls bums it is wider and rounder than men's saddles (like girls bums!). The handles are ergonomically shaped rubber and very comfortable to use (both saddle and handles are Bontranger branded). From there, the gears are easy to flick through with your thumb, the manual display is simple to understand and clear to see. The gears are Shimano 7 speed. I only cycle in the city so I tend to stay on the middle cog. They change very easily, although it's worth remembering to change gear before you put too much pressure on the pedals as the gear shifts can struggle with too much torque - resulting in clicky-clicky-getting-nowhere-fast-opps-I'm-a-bit-scared-now. The tyres and alloy wheels are quite thin, perhaps only about an 4cms, although I was worried about this having only ridden mountain bikes previously, I had no trouble adjusting, I may have struggled had they been any narrower though. Since this is a road bike there is almost no tread and if we have another winter like the last one I'll look into getting some better tread (or teeny tiny snow chains). Since April I have managed to puncture both of them (same morning) I'm blaming this on glassy streets though. Can't comment on how easy they were to change since I just paid the man in the shop to do it! The brakes are by Tektro, and seem to work fine! The pedals have good grip, I've not slipped despite wearing all kinds of ridiculous heels and slippy shoes. On the front of the bike is a strange grey frame, but once you have a lovely basket on board (it is a bracket for a basket) you don't notice it at all. There isn't a rear wheel bracket though, but you can get one fitted. I do only use my bike for my daily commute, love passing static traffic, hate grazing knuckles on wing mirrors, but I do know someone with the same bike who cycled Land's End - John O Groats last year and Barcelona to Rome this summer, so its safe to say this bike is reliable! But why this bike? Because I feel like Miss Marple of course! When riding you are in a very upright position, I feel like I should have flowers woven over the handlebars and a cat in the basket (he looked murderous when I tried it). The classy pistachio colour (with matching mudguards!) is wonderful and my favourite aspect of my bike (shallow I know, but that's me). My bike makes me feel good, I am proud to ride it. I have had many comments from random people in town as it really is striking, other people love my bike too! £400 - check online for your local stockist, mine is from John's Bikes in Bath, I'm sure they'd be happy to help you! www.johnsbikes.co.uk £30 - Basket, essential for champagne, fags and cats. £30 - Helmet, if you don't wear one, you are one, damaging to hair quiffs however. Read the complete review |
Bikes |
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1 review Brand: Apollo / Bikes / Type: Junior Bicycle / Size: 16 inches |
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1 review Brand: Carrera / Bikes / Type: Rear suspension mens' mountain bike / features: Hydraulic disc brakes |
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1 review Brand: Claud Butler / Bikes / Type: Hybrid bicycle / Frame size: 17 or 19 inch / Gears: Shimano 6 Speed |
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1 review Brand: Flite / Bikes / Type: Bicycle / Size: 16 inch / Tyre size: 16 x 1.9" / Model: FL003 |
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1 review Brand: Flite / Bikes / Type: Bicycle / Bike size: 12 inch / Tyre size: 12 x 1.9 / Model: FL002 |
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