18
votes
Fork bent on a flat pack bike - what to do?
Your bike (27.5 Orkan 21 spd. MB) sells for less than US$150 and is shipped flat packed. This puts it firmly in what we call BSO or bicycle shaped object territory.
At US$150, it’s hard to find a ...
- 29.1k
16
votes
Why are most BSOs mountain bikes?
When shopping for BSO bikes, people are just looking for a recreational ride that is a once in while, which leads them to focus on the sticker price. Looking at a mountain bike they then get to ...
- 2,361
15
votes
Why are most BSOs mountain bikes?
Many BSO's are styled like mountain bikes, probably because the mountain bike features tend to be appealing to people who don't know a lot about bicycles. Consumers buy these bicycles even though they ...
- 2,720
14
votes
What is the origin of BSO - and is it internationally recognized?
In German, I have never heard anything similar. I think one reason is that everyday cycling is more common and many people have a cheap, battered bike to get to the railway station or the local shop, ...
- 2,172
10
votes
Accepted
What are these parts of the frame called?
Those are cantilever or V-brake bosses. In cycling, a boss is a bump or protrusion. They are usually mounting points, and in this case the brake boss holds the post that your brake caliper is bolted ...
- 29.7k
9
votes
Accepted
What is the origin of BSO - and is it internationally recognized?
Just answering the first question, google says the first use was in January 2001 in the UK:
They link to WhyCycle which refers to a page by TheCyclingExperts titled "The Bicycle Shaped Object." Since ...
- 29.1k
8
votes
Why are most BSOs mountain bikes?
It's much easier to make a chunky looking frame cheaply than to make thin tubing cheaply. The heavier everything is supposed to be the less obvious it is that the BSO is not what it looks like. One ...
- 23.3k
8
votes
Brake post broke off the boss. How do I replace it?
Is installing another rear wheel with a coaster pedal-activated brake an option? In this case, you will only need to fixate the brake arm to the chainstay for it to work. The "fix" will be ...
- 14.4k
7
votes
Is KCP a trustable bicycles Brand?
To add to the other answer, the obvious signs here are:
Unknown brand sold by Amazon
Tourney, Zoom and unbranded components
Mix of disc and rim brakes
Unified rear triangle rear suspension
Rear shock ...
- 21.8k
7
votes
What is the origin of BSO - and is it internationally recognized?
In Russia, the term for BSO is "ашанбайк" (ashan-bike).
It's named after one big supermarket which primarily sells food, but also BSOs.
There are a lot of places in Russia where it's possible to find ...
- 171
6
votes
What is the origin of BSO - and is it internationally recognized?
In Poland "BSO" term is not widely recognized, nor used. This site is the very first place I've encountered it. I guess in non-english speaking world the situation is similar.
If one will translate ...
- 2,693
6
votes
Accepted
Rear Wheel Jamming on kids bike after Training Wheels
Sounds to me like the bearings in the rear wheel are unhappy.
So normally on a kids bike, they use cheaper cup and cone bearings which have a cone nut and a locknut on each side.
Note the lock nuts ...
- 121k
6
votes
Brake post broke off the boss. How do I replace it?
Just threading what you have won't work because it's too thin.
If you can fashion a nut to slip in behind there and take your brake post and have the inside of the remaining braze-on actually hold the ...
- 81.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Why are cheap bikes so heavy?
There's a common "joke" among engineers that illustrates well the point.
- Cheap
- Light
- Sturdy
Pick 2.
Being light and sturdy requires to use more advanced techniques that you can't ...
- 17.6k
5
votes
Accepted
Is KCP a trustable bicycles Brand?
I suspect the KCP bike is a so called 'Bicycle Shaped Object' (BSO).
BSO is a popular term for rather cheap bikes that are sold, for instance, via Amazon and supermarkets and often fail after short ...
- 9,610
5
votes
Accepted
Rear derailleur hitting spokes in 4 largest cogs
Your problem is the thick sheet metal derailleur 'hanger' is in fact badly bent. On cheaper model derailleurs the hanger is built into the derailleur rather than the frame.
Don't ride it in this ...
- 75.5k
5
votes
MTB freewheel not moving back wheel after change of tyre
Halfords Apollo 7 speed bike, likely has a freewheel unit screwed onto the hub. For this repair that would be beneficial in its simplicity.
As the rear cogs are turning, while the wheel does not and ...
- 12.7k
5
votes
What are these parts of the frame called?
Weiwen's answer is correct - this is a V brake mount, and the three spring holes are part of that.
But the more-general phrase for something like this is a "braze-on" because in the days of ...
- 121k
5
votes
Brake post broke off the boss. How do I replace it?
Frame challenge: what are you going to use the bike for?
The braze-on here is welded on, and is noticeably bent, presumably by the forces when the post came out. Moreover the rear weld might be ...
- 283
4
votes
What is the origin of BSO - and is it internationally recognized?
I'm from the UK and we definitely use the expression BSO and I've certainly known the term since the very early 90's. As other posters have said, it normally denotes a very cheap bike from a ...
- 71
4
votes
What is the origin of BSO - and is it internationally recognized?
Here is an answer from India...
BSO (Bicyle Shaped Object) is a term virtually unknown here
Even hobbyists and serious cyclists are usually not aware of this term
The only people who know about it ...
- 309
4
votes
What to get? How do I know whether what I'm looking at is a BSO? (Bicycle Shaped Object); what should I do about the multiple chainrings?
That Munich "21-speed" is really a 7-speed. It doesn't have a triple chainring or front derailleur (and doesn't seem to have a planetary-gear rear hub). Not sure why they call it that.
Both ...
- 29.2k
3
votes
MTB freewheel not moving back wheel after change of tyre
In addition to @Swifty 's excellent answer, there are some short-term bodges you might use to "get home" (or to get through the 2020 C19 lockdown)
Hit it. Tap the center of the freewheel/freehub ...
- 121k
3
votes
Accepted
Cheap Apollo forks: The fork suspension feels too soft
Cheap suspension forks just use a big undamped metal spring in each fork leg. If you can disassemble for the forks and don't mind making some irreversible modifications, you can increase the sprint ...
- 75.5k
3
votes
How can you recognize a department store bike?
Since I am presently the victim of a department-store bike, I can add one indicator that a used bike came from such a place: In the time it has been owned, its operability will have declined more ...
- 621
3
votes
Why are most BSOs mountain bikes?
A lot of people think that narrow tyres are dangerous for anyone other than experts, and that the narrower the tyre, the more likely they are to fall off.
They also don't appreciate that there can be ...
- 173
3
votes
Can I replace my rear cantilever brake with a caliper brake?
You can't do this. First, by caliper brake, I assume you mean a road bike-style rim brake. To mount one of those, you need a bridge between the seat stays, and it needs to be drilled at the right ...
- 29.7k
3
votes
Can I replace my rear cantilever brake with a caliper brake?
I suspect you could do this. There is a brake bridge with a hole on centerline.
You will need a caliper brake with enough "reach" to get down to the rim brake track, and enough width to get ...
- 121k
3
votes
Suspension bike
Presumably this is your bike - it clearly has front suspension. If that doesn't work then you're either not heavy enough, or its faulty, or it is just cosmetic.
Apply the front brake while standing ...
- 121k
3
votes
Accepted
Slipping feeling (too smooth for chain skip) after shifting into the big ring
I finally managed to replicate it in daylight, on a quiet road, when I wasn't rushing for a train. It did turn out to be the freewheel slipping, but the symptoms were very different to a failed ...
- 57.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible