I've just taken delivery of "Britain's cheapest new bike".
Sold by Asda for the recession-busting price of £70, it's a 26in British Eagle 18-speed women's mountain bike. Naturally, being a bicycle for ladies, it is bright purple. Quite why so many bike manufacturers assume that everyone lacking a Y chromosome is programmed to prefer anything on the pinky-purple spectrum is a topic for another time. Today, I would like your help.
I want to put this bargainous bicycle through its paces. I want to find out what you get for £70 of bike – and, perhaps more importantly, what you don't. So far, having carried it upstairs to my flat, I have discovered that it is a lot heavier than my dainty racer, but what else should I be looking out for? What are the pitfalls of buying on the cheap?
I'll report back in a week or so on how I get on.
