Muddyfox Energy 26 Inch Mountain Bike £95 @ Evans Cycles

I've known people who are very competent bike mechanics who use a cheap bike to commute to work, there is a risk of theft or damage where its parked up and they just want a basic workhorse bike for commuting and use better bikes for sunday rides etc. I think this is quite common practice. I doubt anyone rides a £5k CF road bike to work unless it has very secure parking perhaps inside a building. There are lots of cyclists who have zero interest in cycles themselves its just cheap transport to maintain health and save money. The vast majority of bikes sold are cheap bikes and personally where I live bike racks tend to have cheap bikes or old bikes, bikes of lower value locked up there. It's very rare you see a high value bike locked up in bike racks and it would be a magnet to thieves. Lets not forget over 100,000 bikes are stolen per year in the UK and many bike thefts go unreported so the figure is much higher and they are disproportionately higher cost bikes because thieves are looking to earn money from the theft. No point stealing a bike that is only worth £20 second-hand and you'd only get a fiver for as a quick sale when your fix costs £20 or more. No one wants to have the most valuable bike in a bike rack when thieves are looking to steal a bike.

Exactly, got this off a work mate for £120, just needed a chain,he got it on Cycle to work scheme, used it a dozen times and got fed up.

Yep, Muddy Fox used to be ok until Sports Direct (Fraser Group) bought the rights to the name. Now like most of their stuff it's cheap tat with a recogniseable branding.

How exactly is it a death trap, these are very over-built frames and forks that never fail, the wheels have a high spoke count and the V brakes typically work very well if setup properly, the tyres have plenty of grip as they have a wide surface area due to their width. The only way they can be dangerous is if someone actually uses it as a mountain bike. There has never been a recall on such a bike and probably never will be. It's a steel bike built like a tank made from conventional tubes incredibly easy to manufacture well.

When you search for recalls and click on images you can see the type of bikes that are recalled and most will be lighter performance models, made with lightweight materials or more complicated components etc.


google.com/sea….25

Over 95% of bikes sold in the world are steel bikes across Asia, South America, Africa etc, long lasting durable steel bikes. Like the Buffalo bikes used across Africa. Even in the UK the average price of bikes is £380 including ebikes. Most people buy entry level bikes. The bike is fully recyclable and will last a very long time. I don't see how its unethical to sell a less performance focused product just for day to day riding. Very little resources go into such a bike hence the price. Steel bike frames are typically made in seconds by robots in Chinese factories, its not the hours and hours of manual labour that goes into carbon fibre frames. The failure rate of steel frames is unbelievable low in comparison to other frame types. People should realise not everyone is obsessed with having a performance bicycle and slightly lower gearing will easily compensate for a bike that is a few kilograms heavier going up hills. This is a rigid bike there is no awful suspension on it. The issue for me is the poor 3x drivetrain it would be better with a 1x drivetrain geared fairly low just for reliability and simplicity of use but really that is the only issue.

The reviews are fairly 50/50 to be fair and it’s good to read that those who had an issue did return and get a refund (even if it took a while). This isn’t going to be for everyone and probably not the best for commuting etc but if you want something cheap to nip to the shops on I’m sure it will be fine for many a trip - plus comfort in knowing you can return it if there’s an issue soon after (unlike with a second hand bike).

It's not, it's tat that Sports Direct have stuck the brand name they own on.

I don't know whats up with my brain, for some reason that reminds me of the chestburster scene from Alien. It's like a BSO forcing its way out into the universe.

its a false economy. £95 for a rubbish bike that wont get used and will likely end up down the refuse centre. Much better to buy secondhand at this price point.

You were expecting a high end Muddyfox mountain bike for sub £100? I'd be very surprised if the frame and forks weren't tough though, they are typically overbuilt unfortunately its the rest of the components that can bolted to it that are very entry level but still fit for purpose. If you do give it away Halfords send basic high tensile rigid mountain bikes to Africa as they cope with the harsh environment there very well and are cheap to repair and maintain.