Challenge 26in Blizzard Comfort Ladies Bike. Half price at Argos - £74.99.

Having commented on a number of bike threads I thought I'd risk stepping into the danger zone and posting this one myself!

Argos have reductions on a wide range of bikes at the moment but I picked this one out as particularly good value. It's a simple but nicely equipped ladies' road bike at a remarkable price. A rack and set of mudguards alone would cost £40 or more at a bike shop. I just replaced the tyres and tubes on my old MTB with nothing fancy and that was £40 for parts too!

Let's be clear up front on this one - it's not going to be the lightest or best built bike and it won't win any races, but that's not what it's about. It's not a bike for enthusiasts either. What it is is a basic bike (no silly suspension, etc) for getting to school, the shops or a little bit of gentle exercise. Six speed gears will be plenty for those purposes and they are Shimano so likely to be fairly reliable.

Take a look at the reviews. A few buyers had trouble with assembly (you need some basic mechanical competency for any bike) and a couple had damage on delivery (efficiently resolved) but the overwhelming majority were very happy (and presumably most paid £150 for it).

No doubt this post will attract its share of cheap bike haters and I do understand where they're coming from, but frankly at this price or even considerably more you're unlikely to do better (decent, branded bikes rarely come under the £200 mark, which is almost 3 times the price of this one and really in a different place in the market). The real alternative to a bike at this price isn't another bike it's the bus or walking! Maybe it'll even save a few car journeys (a couple of tankfulls will pay for it) and make the planet smile!