Hawk Cycles / Cycle King

[Colin Reed]

Has anyone on the ng had experience buying bikes from Hawk Cycles or Cycle
King? There's a Hawk Cycles factory shop here in Newark and when I first
moved to the area I was warned away from it by someone saying that they were
very dodgy bikes. However, I've no other reason other than this one comment
to think that they're bad, and they do often have excellent prices on bikes.
The website suggests they're bigger and more reputable than this bloke
thought too.
I'm just looking for something that will cope with a bit of trail riding,
but that I can add paniers and mudguards to for general shopping/commuting.
Currently have an old Apollo from Halfords that has done really well for 10
years but really isn't worth spending too much money on any more. I know
the new Apollos are nowhere near this quality (I think the Carrera brand are
now closer), but some from Hawk Cycles look to be so much better priced that
I thought I might give them a try.

http://www.hawkcycles.co.uk/

Cheers

Colin

 

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, Colin Reed wrote:
>Has anyone on the ng had experience buying bikes from Hawk Cycles or Cycle
>King? There's a Hawk Cycles factory shop here in Newark and when I first
>moved to the area I was warned away from it by someone saying that they were
>very dodgy bikes.

I've used my local Cycle King. They vary from cheap and nasty to cheap
but not too bad for a cheap bike.

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 1, 3:07 pm, "Colin Reed" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Has anyone on the ng had experience buying bikes from Hawk Cycles or Cycle
> King?  

Took me a while to recognise the name, but I did actually own a Hawk
for a few years at a time when I didn't cycle much. It eventually got
stolen and I replaced it with something better.

I did up to 1,000 miles per year on it and it basically worked - gears
changed on request, brakes stopped it on steep hills. But it was heavy
and never the sort of bike you'd look forward to riding. ISTR the back
wheel went out of true and couldn't be straightened.

> I'm just looking for something that will cope with a bit of trail riding,
> but that I can add paniers and mudguards to for general shopping/commuting..

That's what I did with mine, it coped.

> Currently have an old Apollo from Halfords that has done really well for 10
> years but really isn't worth spending too much money on any more.  I know
> the new Apollos are nowhere near this quality (I think the Carrera brand are
> now closer)

A Carrera would be much better than the Hawk I had.

> but some from Hawk Cycles look to be so much better priced that
> I thought I might give them a try.

I think they're probably worth the asking price compared to other new
bikes, so if your budget is fixed and you'll only buy new, then I'm
sure you could do worse. But you'd do much better second hand at the
same price, or if you want new, spend a bit more.

Rob

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>, Colin Reed
[email protected] says...
> Has anyone on the ng had experience buying bikes from Hawk Cycles or Cycle
> King? There's a Hawk Cycles factory shop here in Newark and when I first
> moved to the area I was warned away from it by someone saying that they were
> very dodgy bikes. However, I've no other reason other than this one comment
> to think that they're bad, and they do often have excellent prices on bikes.
> The website suggests they're bigger and more reputable than this bloke
> thought too.
> I'm just looking for something that will cope with a bit of trail riding,
> but that I can add paniers and mudguards to for general shopping/commuting.
> Currently have an old Apollo from Halfords that has done really well for 10
> years but really isn't worth spending too much money on any more. I know
> the new Apollos are nowhere near this quality (I think the Carrera brand are
> now closer), but some from Hawk Cycles look to be so much better priced that
> I thought I might give them a try.
>
Hawk always used to be really nasty bikes - they'd quote a high SRP and
a big discount so people thought they were getting a bargain. I doubt
that things have changed much.

 

[Tim Dunne]

Colin Reed wrote:
> Has anyone on the ng had experience buying bikes from Hawk Cycles or
> Cycle King?

Not personally but I've dealt with lots of the fallout. They're cheap,
shitty BSO's for the ride it once and let it rot in the garage market.

There's one near me in Cradley Heath. Stacked to the rafters with cheap,
nasty bikes of all descriptions - last time aI actually went in they even
had a penny farthing type of thing. They had a few low-end road bikes, but
mostly it's the kind of tat you find in Aldi or Woolworths. I get them
brought to me by the local kids who often want repairs - usually the kind of
processed cheese they're made of breaks at any attempt to tighten or adjust.

If I was at that end of the market, I'd get a ecent brand second hand.

Tim



--
Sent from Birmingham, UK... all about me at www.nervouscyclist.org
'Now some people say that you shouldn't tempt fate, and for them I
cannot disagree - but I never learned nothing by playing it safe - I
say fate should not tempt me.' - Mary Chapin Carpenter

 

[Colin Reed]

"Tim Dunne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Colin Reed wrote:
>> Has anyone on the ng had experience buying bikes from Hawk Cycles or
>> Cycle King?
>
> Not personally but I've dealt with lots of the fallout. They're cheap,
> shitty BSO's for the ride it once and let it rot in the garage market.
>
> There's one near me in Cradley Heath. Stacked to the rafters with cheap,
> nasty bikes of all descriptions - last time aI actually went in they even
> had a penny farthing type of thing. They had a few low-end road bikes, but
> mostly it's the kind of tat you find in Aldi or Woolworths. I get them
> brought to me by the local kids who often want repairs - usually the kind
> of
> processed cheese they're made of breaks at any attempt to tighten or
> adjust.
>
> If I was at that end of the market, I'd get a ecent brand second hand.
>
> Tim
>
>
>
Well from the comments here I think I'll be avoiding Hawk then. I thought
this might be the case (especially since they are currently selling Penny
Farthings again) but just wondered in case there really was a bargain. I
was originally looking at something like a Carrera Subway 1, as up to £200
is around my budget for the main bike. I noticed this Reflex hybrid on
Amazon (never thought of looking there for a new bike before) and wondered
if this is an offer that's too good to be true as well.
http://tinyurl.com/2p54yq They don't give a huge amount of technical info on
the bike!

Colin

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>, Colin Reed
[email protected] says...
> I noticed this Reflex hybrid on
> Amazon (never thought of looking there for a new bike before) and wondered
> if this is an offer that's too good to be true as well.
> http://tinyurl.com/2p54yq They don't give a huge amount of technical info on
> the bike!
>
More info here:
http://www.discountbicycles.co.uk/biz/product.php?xProd=4052
It looks like a pretty good deal for the money, and the seller has good
feedback. Just bear in mind that you'll need to assemble and adjust it
yourself, which can be tricky to get right if you're not familiar with
the job and is safety-critical. A bike shop will usually charge a
fairly hefty whack to set up a bike not supplied by them, while you'll
get the setup and some after-sales support FOC if you do buy from them.