Up to 50% off bikes at halfords

Thanks for the heads up mikewot

Hi I am currently looking at bikes for my daughter. When I went into Halfords to look at the Shockwave bikes which are supposedly 50% off the guy said that he wouldn't buy one as they are really poor quality and were not really worth the pre sale price it was just a sales ploy. He had one in for repair that was quite new and all the gear cogs were messed up he said they were like chocolate! and not very strong. OK if you just want a cheapie bike but don't expect it to be up to much.

melcarroll u are correct at what ya saying, shockwave bikes are poorly built and the components on the bike are rubbish, the bike itself states its a aluminium frame but it weighs a TON! AVOID these bikes at all cost, i am a professional bike mechanic and these shockwave bikes come back for repair alot, "You can buy a better quality bike at the same price..." if you want a basic bike apollo are ok for the basic bike. Just send a message if you have any queries

Thanks Sledge42

Do you have any good recommendations for reasonably priced bikes, Kids wish list is dual suspension and double disc brakes (they don't want much eh!)

They want an education about; decent bikes, not following the crowd

My advice would be to buy a proper branded bike secondhand, ie giant, gary fisher, kona, specialized, raleigh, dawes, maybe carerra, trek, scott in the appropriate size. Look in your local trade it or freeads paper.

Any really decent kids bike won't have either of those- its like trying to buy a s/h ford fiesta for £500 and expecting satnav and electric seats.
Have a look at:
http://www.nationalcycles.co.uk/rale...t-fs-boys.html
which is a Raleigh bike, full suspension, looks the part, costs £151 here. If youre going to buy a mass-produced bike, it may as well be a good brand with a decent warranty thats easier to service. Now, on the downside, this weighs over 41 lbs. My ADULT race bike weight 23lbs! Can you imagine how little fun riding a bike that weighs so much will be for a kid? Decent full suspension is only needed for proper woods riding, and disc brakes only for very steep off-road downhills. Have you considered a BMX? they are the best value for money at the moment, and fun to ride as well as pretty cool in the playground.

Oh don't get a full-sus bike for a kid, thats just mad lol.
I got one when i was younger, and the thing was destroyed in no time. It was stupidly heavy as well, even more so for a kid.

Cant go wrong with a BMX btw.

Full-sus bikes for these kind of prices are just shoddy attempts at following the fashion.
Cheap chinese made copies of the real quality expensive bikes, which most people cant afford, but then they generally dont need them anyway.
Commuting or going along cycle paths doesnt require suspension, yet people see it and want it for the "ooh look how fancy i am" factor.

It's weird how the Chinese thing works too. They wouldn't get away with plasmas that last a week but sell for £100, but with bikes they do!
Have you seen those copy PSPs they sell, that only play one really rubbish LCD game that would have been outdated in 1980? mad stuff- cheapo but crappo!

yeh shockwaves weigh a ton! ahhhhh

first of all depends on how tall the person is and what sort of bike they are looking for, the carrera cross country and town and trail bikes for £150 are great buy with disc brakes, special alloy frame, light-weight,great shimano gears, raliegh tundra, raliegh freeride, or basic apollos. have a look on the website or check availibilty instore. any more queries feel free to message me.!

I can't find this bike on any site, can you help? Please

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryrn_60956# thats for the apollo

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...tegoryrn_60956 carrera subway