Everything from fixing a puncture to a full respray. re:cycle your bicycle How to tell a good bike from a bad bike


We are often asked this question. If you know nothing about bikes, then it's hard to tell. If this is you, don't worry. Most people in the UK have no idea either, which is why shops are able to get away with selling such complete junk. In countries where there is a cycling culture, like Holland, there are far fewer bad bikes.

If you are buying from km bikes, then it will be a good bike. We don't waste time with rubbish. Also, as our primary aim is a pleasant theraputic experience for the people who attend, we choose bikes to work on that can be made to work and don't cause frustration.

If you already have a bike, here a few ways to tell

What it says on the frame.
All bikes have some writing on them, usually the make and model, though this may have been removed or painted over. As a general rule, the more aggressive and exciting the name of the bike, the worse it is. Examples of really bad bikes with exciting names include Silver Fox Fury, Hardcore, Disk Demon, Scorpion Crush, Optima Corsa, Stealth Harlem, Raleigh Activator, Alpine Challenge (or Challenge Alpine, it hardly matters).

Good bikes have names like Dawes Double Blue, Equinox, Diana, Diploma, Horizon and Galaxy, Raleigh Wayfarer, Merlin, Medale, Caprice, Chiltern, Classic and Randoneur. Really good bikes have even more boring names, like Holdsworth, Ellis-Briggs, Tony Oliver, Major Nichols, Norwid, Hetchins, Alves, Freddy Grubb, Condor and M Steel. More great names are on the Classic Lightweights website.

Shimano make parts in many different price points, and you have to be really scraping the bottom of the barrel not to fit their cheapest rear mech to a bike. Bikes with good shimano parts (Deore and above) don't say so on the frame.
Stickers saying "hand made" or "hand assembled" are meaningless. All bikes are put together by hand as robots are too expensive and apes get the ball bearings lost in their fur.
Sometimes there will be a sticker indicating the frame material. This is good. At least the manufacturer is trying to make the bike appeal to people who care about this important factor. Raleigh 18-23 and Peugeot 103 Carbolite are nothing special. Reynolds tubing goes from 453 to 953, the higher the number the better, with 531 being the classic tubeset. 753 is a special racing grade which the inexperienced are advised to leave alone. Tange and Columbus are also good tubing makers and come in a variety of grades.
Aluminium alloy has been used extensively recently. To tell alloy from steel, get a magnet. Alloy comes in various grades, which I won't go into as it's all a bit pointless. Aluminium alloy frames will break, and attempts to repair them will fail. There are very few old alloy frames about due to stress fatigue. They are harsh to ride and not significantly lighter when built up.

Titanium is used on some bikes, and has it's merits.  Carbon Fibre reinforced plastic can make a light, stiff frame, but one crash can shatter it like wood. Both Titanium and fancy plastic are pointless for commuting and touring bikes.