What is it that makes a BSO a BSO and not a Bike? Can a BSO be elevated to Bike status with upgraded components?Is the term BSO throw around too liberally to even be taken seriously anymore?
>>2076485From my experience BSOs mostly just referred to shit like Walmart specials that used plastic cranks and pot metal chains that were basically just meant to last a year at most. I think the term kind of fell out of favor when companies like Walmart finally started offering somewhat competent shitbikes
>>2076486I feel like people will call those bikes BSO just because they're from Walmart despite being equipped with real groupsets from shimano or microshift and being fully serviceable and upgradeable bikes.
>>2076486There was a time way back when a year would be considered very optimistic for a generic store bike, really bad examples broke on the first ride
>>2076485Below bottom tier quality components. Infamously bad/dangerous designs, like the pacific bikes dual suspension frames that got recalled multiple times for failure, plastic wheels , or MTB designs with exploding elastomer forks.Combine this with Walmart employee level assembly with things like backward forks, and it's a recipe for disaster. >Can a BSO be elevated to Bike status with upgraded components?Rarely. BSOs tend to have weird, non standard parts or fucked up fit so that standard components will not fit. It's consistently better to go with a used actual bike, or a low end mail order complete. Frames are not that expensive to begin with.
>>2076485BSO imitate whatever shape or style is cool at the time, (.eg a Trek Y Series Mountain Bike)(motocross bike)(ten speed roadbike)(Harley Davidson WLA)but skimp on quality and function. mostly they are 70 to 100% over weight, and made of weak materials in every part.>upgraded components?most of the time this is not possable, BSO uses cheap obsolete parts that real OEMs gave up on decades ago.best you can hope for is to franken bike some mid rage MTB and BMX parts onto the bike.it will still be way too heavy and have weird unproportional.>BSO throw around too liberallyyes, people are jaded. they dont know how good things are, and how much worse they can get.
The modern shartmart pacific cycle BSOs are all pretty much using mtb BB and caliper mounts making them easy to upgrade.
>>2076487they do. anything that isn't a 12,500$ track bike with proprietary everything hand-fitted to you by some dude with a fake australian accent is a "BSO"
>>2076511Even on those, with ass quality and quality control. Why bother over used or better mail order? There's no good reason to ever aim below Microshift and Suntour except in the most desperate financial situation.>>2076515>>2076487Sure, people will use it unfairly, but a quick check of the physical stock at the local walmart and target, and I'm seeing completely unambiguous BSOs. 130 for a "Shimano equipped" huffy with elastomer suspension fork. Pic related for 200.
Would a northrock xc29 fall into BSO territory or is it an ok entry level MTB? It comes with a freewheel so right there it's loses points straight away but but everything else on it seems alright. It is a QR frame and not bolt through and weighs a ton because of the suntour fork but apart from that it seems pretty ok to me.
>>2076523It's low, but not BSO tier. 20 year old tech. Bottom end Shimano. Comparable with lower but not rock bottom mail order. I'd be wary of Costco assembly. If you have no used market, it's not a bad choice, but don't overspend. Also, don't try to upgrade too hard. 7x3 will not give you good options. Save up for a better bike. See also the Suntour exchange program if you ride real offroad and need a fork upgrade.This is like the "shimano, but not bso" that anon talked about earlier. Frame: all-aluminum 6061, • Fork: SR Suntour XCE 73.6 cm (29 in.), preload, 80 mm travel• Headset: sealed integrated threadless• Crank: Shimano FC-TY501, 42/34/24T• Bottom bracket: sealed cartridge• Rear derailleur: Shimano Altus M310• Shifter: Shimano Altus EF-500 rapid-fire (21 speeds)• Cogset: Shimano (14-34T) • Chain: KMC-HV500• Brakes: Tektro mechanical dual disc• Brake levers: Shimano Altus EF-500 integrated with shifter• Front hub: 32H alloy with quick-release• Rear hub: 32H alloy with quick-release• Spokes: stainless-steel• Rims: alloy double wall• Tires: Maxxis mountain, 73.6 cm x 5.6 cm (29 in. x 2.2 in.)
>>2076525I feel what limits me more is the rear wheel than the 3x7. I was thinking of just getting an AliExpress 1x chainring and finding a used deore 10-11 speed but with a rear freewheel I need to also replace the whole rear wheel.
>>2076526The two are directly related. If you're thinking of drivetrain upgrades start from a different bike.This is fine enough as an entry level XC that coudl double as a shitty hybrid.
>>2076548I got one for free. I think I'll just fix it up and sell it
If a bike is too old does it become a BSO by modern standards?
BSO is just how non-4channers call eachother poorfagsa bike's BSO-ness is directly and solely related to its cost at release MSRP. If it costs less than the max the speaker is willing to spend on any bike, it is a BSO.
I'm thinking about buying this bike but the geometry doesn't seem good for a road bike or gravel bike. should I pass?
>>2077232What the fuck made you think this is the thread to ask that in?
>>2077233please help dude I was really happy to see a response and what you've given me is a huge disappointment. should I buy that bike for $200 and put some drop bars on it or not
>>2077233it looks as if it's made of sticks with some sort of tape at the joints, but he said it will ride a 30 mile commute which is all I need.
>>2077232>>2077235Is that the calfree bamboo laminate? If so stay the fuck way. >>2077227Don't be a dipwad. You can find an undisputed BSO at any Walmart in america.
>>2077227There are coping weirdos like you on every board. On /ck/ they claim that La Fuerza tastes identical to Vega Sicilia and anyone claiming otherwise doesn't know SHIT about the judgment of paris
>>2077248case in point. this the type of nigga to hit up /alck/ and complain that people are drinking Boris Slam instead of some local xxxtra hoppy IPA. brother you are not understanding the USE CASE
>>2077323/alck/ threads have been outlawed for like 10 years now, how old are you
>>2076485Reminder that cyclists get into more accidents than bikers and drivers combined. You will fuck up your wrist or break an arm so you can... move 3-4x faster than walking? Just jog nigga.
>>2077327old enough to remember Boris Slam. brb cracking open a Colt 45 right meow
>>2077329[citation needed]automobiles are the biggest non-disease killer in the world
>>2077344>3% are cyclistscycling chads stay seated, for we are comfy
>>2077344>>2077349>not per capita>implying every time a cyclist crashes someone writes it down for statisticsYou will crash. No, I'm willing to bet a nut that you already crashed at some point. Am I wrong? Personally I had at least three accidents on my bicycle when I was a kid, I face planted twice at 9-10 years old and one time my tire slid from under me because I tried to cycle in the rain like a dumbass '90s kid. Probably none of those crashes were recorded even though I needed stitches for my palm after the rain crash.
>>2077372>anecdotescome back with some evidence.
>>2077372it's listing specifically only fatal crashes on public roads, which are generally investigated and well-recorded>not per capitait's using percentages or rankings for everything except the raw number of all deaths.https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2019/2019179/index.asp
>>2076495I think you're on the right track with the lack of standard parts. Really dated geometry or suspension layouts like >>2076521 are definitely good signs too.I will say, though, that the used market fucking sucks these days, at least for MTBs. It took me MONTHS to find anything worth buying under a grand in my area. Admittedly it's a pretty small city (100k plus a few smaller towns nearby) but it's also a huge MTB destination with tons and tons of high-end bikes available, just very little in the way of good newish entry level bikes.
>>2077432>lack of standard parts.i have never seen a "BSO" like this. walmart/crappy tire/etc specials always have entry level shimano slopproprietary nonsense is more of a Spesh thing
>>2077433Nah BSOs have weird chinese derailleurs. If it has Tourney it's at least serviceable.
>>2077435name one(1) big box retailer bike that does this
>>2077436Walmart in Canada
>>2077437nope
i thought maybe CCM (Canadian Tire house brand, for ye yanks lucky enough to not have to suffer the continued crimes of Canadian Tire) might still do it since they have always been the absolute bottom barrel retardo brand for poor kids but even this has Shimano on it, albeit in an absurd mockery of cycling technology in such deeply protestant penny-pinching that it's a little gauche even for CCM. nigga they stole like two or three links out of the chain, cant have SHIT in >checks websiteMoncton, according to crappy tire's geoip resolution (I do not live in NB i have never even been to NB and i dont want to ever be in NB, NB niggas stole my fucking IP)
>>2077440i do absolutely dig the blue cable sheaths and this paintjob overall thoughbeit and would absolutely fucks with this bike if it weren't made by CCM and thus guaranteed to explode. the suspension is even almost competent. almosthowever, let's see what crappy tire has to offer in another common BSO brand, Supercycle. Or SuperCycle. or SUPERCYCLE. depends on the yearimage is too low res but the datasheet on their site tells me it's a "Sunrun" groupset. Their site goes to a blank page and the only other resource I can find is "Disreali" who says it's chinese and not even in shenzen or something cool. Just a 90s-founded chink low-output workshop that makes incompetent not-even-bootlegs. tsk tsk supercycle, making me look like a fool.that said i almost bought one of these used for 60$. same paintjob and everything. i'm just a sucker for neon on white or black. i'm now glad I didn't. oddly enough I actually DO have a SuperCycle mtb that I bought off a former crackhead for 15$ and that shit had shimano so idk wtf
imo a BSO is inherently a mountain bike or "hybrid", "hybrid" meaning just a really shitty mountain bike with no or minimal suspension. for kids and commuters, you see. them niggas have no money so if you wanna make a cheap bike make it an "MTB" for their >USE CASE. and most of its design decisions are transparently for cost reasons. no grabble or road bikes because normies hate drop bars.as in it's gotta have a pretty low top tube and short seatpost, because the frame can't be big because of shipping and material costs. but they get away with it because it looks vaguely like a proper mountain bike from an old VHS tape and the upright seating position is comfy for normies. they usually have too-thin wheels for the tires mounted on them. they almost always have rotary shifters, or if it has indexed lever/button ones, only one is actually indexed and the other just clicks to make you feel better. once again they cheap out on total material so usually every cable is a little too short and as seen they like to steal lengths of chain from you. to comply with federal regulations, they always have a million reflectors, and usually a type that are hard to remove. ease of setup and maintenance for retarded floor workers, DUI riders, and harried parents is a must, so quick releases everywhere on everything and using antequated parts everyone has seen before is pretty much a design requirement. likewise, everything that isn't a mostly sealed unit will use an M6 bolt with a 4mm hex head, every time. and it will be countersunk or dome head so poorfags can't fuck em up with pliersand it has to have a bunch of genuinely baffling design decisions (nonsensical suspension layouts, usually) but at least a couple of really actually cool pieces that you wish would show up on an actually competently made bike from a reputable manufacturer. and they usually have really wild paintjobs or other decoration (like the wacky swooshy plastic wheels on >>2076495)
>>2077439I'll go take some pics at my Canadian Tire tomorrow to see what gems I can find. I'm certain I will find stuff that isn't Shimano.
>>2077449I meant Walmart, I've been drinking
>>2077440I'm an MTB guy so I can actually point to some stuff that makes that a BSO. -The long, straight head tube is a big one, it makes it effectively impossible to upgrade the front fork, and judging by the style of stem it'd be hard to install better bars too - and those ones are comically high and forward, ironically making it appropriate for someone with ape-like proportions.-The seat tube looks like it'd be difficult to put a dropper in, especially because there's almost certainly no routing for a cable.-It's a 2x or 3x drivetrain, which is obsolete for MTBs, and there's a good chance the bottom bracket isn't a common size that would allow you to swap to a more modern drivetrain. -It's QR front and rear, which makes it difficult to install better wheels or anything related to them and is arguably dangerous on an MTB with disc brakes, especially on the front.-Good luck getting a replacement derailleur hanger when you bend/break it. I mentioned dated geo in my early post, but really I guess I'd say that dated design in general is a big sign, and that's basically a poorly made copy of a bike from the early 2000s and if it conforms to any standards it'll be ones from back then, and even when stuff is available in those sizes it's usually just OE replacement, as I learned the hard way when I tried to modernize an actual good '90s MTB a few years ago.
why did i check this thread after i brought my $400 LTWOO-equipped BSO
>>2077690we told you not to buy it in the other thread and you bought it anyway, dumbass
>>2077690looks perfectly cromulent to me
>>2077703>anon teaches me a wordDoesn't happen very often. Many thanks.
