Honda Mountain Bike Quality?

[Don Shaull]

Hello all- I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the Honda mountain bikes that are available at
the local mass retailers, are of decent quality. I will just be using it for exercise around my
neighborhood and bike trails, nothing rough. I have done a search on the net, and have not seen any
reviews at all. Thanks in advance! Don

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <FvFsa.707594$3D1.390146@sccrnsc01>,
"Don Shaull" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hello all- I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the Honda mountain bikes that are available at
> the local mass retailers, are of decent quality. I will just be using it for exercise around my
> neighborhood and bike trails, nothing rough. I have done a search on the net, and have not seen
> any reviews at all. Thanks in advance! Don

I think I've seen the bike you're referring to. They fall into the general category of
"department-store quality."

Essays can and have been written on department-store bikes, but let me sum up for you:

-your suggested uses are very modest. Any bike, including whatever ancient single-speed you find in
a dumpster, would probably handle it, unless you have a lot of hills.

-department store bikes are the bottom of the bike-component food chain, but they're not nearly as
bad as they once were. Most "mountain bikes" and comfort bikes sold there have V-brakes and aluminum
rims, which means the brakes can be made to work reasonably well. If this Honda has steel rims
(shiny, chrome-like finish, magnets stick to 'em) or uses some sort of U-shaped caliper brake, run
away. Caliper brakes are actually quite good in their high-end forms, but seem to be made terribly
on cheap bikes. There's less you can screw up on the design of a V-brake, I guess.

-aside from the general mediocrity of the components, a greater concern with department store bikes
is the quality of assembly. Most of these bikes arrive at the store in boxes, partly assembled. You
are then reliant on the bike-assembly skills of Stuart, 16-year-old Wal-Mart trainee whose
mechanical experience consists of doing that lawnmower assembly project in shop class last year. He
got a gentleman's C. Do you want him to put together your bike? It's not a trivial operation, and
has a lot to do with how well your new bike will work.

My advice: if you're mechanically inclined, buy a used bike (don't spend too much) and go from
there. If not, go to your LBS and get a low-end bike from them, either a hardtail or rigid mountain
bike, or a hybrid of some sort. Either way, unless these bike trails you describe are more rugged
than packed gravel or bark mulch, you will probably want knobby-less (road) tires........

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

[Grl]

It's hard to imagine Honda allowing their name to be used on ANYTHING that is not at least high
quality. Everything else they sell (cars, motorcycles, lawn equipment) is uniformly excellent, so if
one may extrapolate at all, you are utterly safe buying the bike in terms of its quality and
reliability for the task.

How much does the bike cost and who are the mass market retailers? If we are at around $200, the
bike has aluminum wheels, maybe an aluminum frame, side-pull "V" brakes, and name brand components
(and I'll bet it does) and the retailers are sporting goods stores who have somebody trained to
assemble/adjust to your size, that would be very encouraging. I bought a bike like that (Mongoose
brand) from ****'s three years ago, have put over 5,000 miles on it (near daily street/bike path
use) and have no reason to regret by choice. Only thing I'm "upgraded" are tires.

Set-up would likely be better at a bike shop, but you would pay a lot more for that and it
might/might-not be any better done than at a sporting goods store. With a little library research,
you can set up your bike yourself, anyway, and actually learn something useful and worth knowing.
It's not rocket science, after all.

- GRL

"It's good to want things."

Steve Barr (philosopher, poet, humorist, chemist, Visual Basic programmer)
"Don Shaull" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:FvFsa.707594$3D1.390146@sccrnsc01...
> Hello all- I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the Honda mountain bikes that are available at
> the local mass retailers, are of decent quality. I will just be using it for exercise around my
> neighborhood and bike trails, nothing rough. I have done a search on the net, and have not seen
> any reviews at all. Thanks in advance! Don

 

[Matthew Reed]

If you are not in a huge hurry, and you are not afraid to use a wrench, you might want to go
hunting. A lot of city's have shops that deal in used bikes and sometimes you can find crazy deals
at Goodwill. I have a friend who has all of $200 invested in a mid 80's Cioc with Campi drivetrain.
The bike rides like a dream and feels great it is made from some pretty nice Columbus tubing. It is
also stinking beautiful. It will take some time to learn about what you are looking for, but you
might end up with a much higher quality bike when it is said and done. If you are the type who would
enjoy the adventure of hunting and fixing a nice bike vs. buying something that has little
character, it might be a way to go. Just a suggestion.

I am convinced it is worth an extra few bucks to buy bikes from a good bike shop. Ask if they have
any older models in stock. You might find a nice 2000 or 2001 well built bike that is much nicer
than a Walmart Schwinn.

Matt "Don Shaull" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:FvFsa.707594$3D1.390146@sccrnsc01...
> Hello all- I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the Honda mountain bikes that are available at
> the local mass retailers, are of decent quality. I will just be using it for exercise around my
> neighborhood and bike trails, nothing rough. I have done a search on the net, and have not seen
> any reviews at all. Thanks in advance! Don

 

[Luigi De Guzman]

"GRL" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> It's hard to imagine Honda allowing their name to be used on ANYTHING that is not at least high
> quality. Everything else they sell (cars, motorcycles, lawn equipment) is uniformly excellent, so
> if one may extrapolate at all, you are utterly safe buying the bike in terms of its quality and
> reliability for the task.

The bicycle, if properly assembled, might be adequate; just don't go riding off any cliffs.

>
> How much does the bike cost and who are the mass market retailers? If we are at around $200, the
> bike has aluminum wheels, maybe an aluminum frame, side-pull "V" brakes, and name brand components
> (and I'll bet it does) and the retailers are sporting goods stores who have somebody trained to
> assemble/adjust to your size, that would be very encouraging. I bought a bike like that (Mongoose
> brand) from ****'s three years ago, have put over 5,000 miles on it (near daily street/bike path
> use) and have no reason to regret by choice. Only thing I'm "upgraded" are tires.
>
> Set-up would likely be better at a bike shop, but you would pay a lot more for that and it
> might/might-not be any better done than at a sporting goods store. With a little library research,
> you can set up your bike yourself, anyway, and actually learn something useful and worth knowing.
> It's not rocket science, after all.

Hey, give the bikeshop guys a fair shake--my dad bagged a nice Fuji Supreme for US$170--a quick
google reveals the honda to be in the US$150 range. The fuji has nicer components and had excellent
support--and the bike shop was only three miles away. *shrug* twenty bucks--shucks, that just means
no beer for a week; i'd trade that for a nicer bike. At this end of the market, there's nothing to
be gained by ignoring any availble option.

-Luigi

 

[Fritz M]

"GRL" <[email protected]> wrote:

> It's hard to imagine Honda allowing their name to be used on ANYTHING that is not at least high
> quality.

http://aspiremart.com/proddetail.asp?prod=630-861951&from=27

"HONDA Racing® Trail Pilot 26" Bicycle"

Features include:

* Plastic MTB Pedals
* Rear mounted Kickstand

$149.95, unassembled.

--
To reply, translate domain from l33+ 2p33|< to alpha. 4=a 0=o 3=e +=t

 

[Grl]

I wonder if this Honda Racing is related to THAT Honda company?

--

- GRL

" It's good to want things. "

- Steve Barr (philosopher, poet, humorist, graphic artist, Visual Basic programmer) "Fritz M"
<[email protected]+> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> "GRL" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > It's hard to imagine Honda allowing their name to be used on ANYTHING that is not at least high
> > quality.
>
> http://aspiremart.com/proddetail.asp?prod=630-861951&from=27
>
> "HONDA Racing® Trail Pilot 26" Bicycle"
>
> Features include:
>
> * Plastic MTB Pedals
> * Rear mounted Kickstand
>
> $149.95, unassembled.
>
> --
> To reply, translate domain from l33+ 2p33|< to alpha. 4=a 0=o 3=e +=t

 

[Mike Kruger]

"Fritz M" <[email protected]+> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> "GRL" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > It's hard to imagine Honda allowing their name to be used on ANYTHING that is not at least high
> > quality.
>
> http://aspiremart.com/proddetail.asp?prod=630-861951&from=27
>
> "HONDA Racing® Trail Pilot 26" Bicycle"
>
> Features include:
>
> * Plastic MTB Pedals
> * Rear mounted Kickstand
>
> $149.95, unassembled.

You missed this feature:
* Simano Rear Deraileur

I'm submitting this to the "Ryan Cousineau Academy of English Spelling" to see if this is some newly
acceptable variation of "Shimano"

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <d2d96ccbc42c6b63f3f6f6cf35f31f36@TeraNews>, "Mike Kruger"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> "Fritz M" <[email protected]+> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > "GRL" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > It's hard to imagine Honda allowing their name to be used on ANYTHING that is not at least
> > > high quality.
> >
> > http://aspiremart.com/proddetail.asp?prod=630-861951&from=27
> >
> > "HONDA Racing® Trail Pilot 26" Bicycle"
> >
> > Features include:
> >
> > * Plastic MTB Pedals
> > * Rear mounted Kickstand
> >
> > $149.95, unassembled.
>
> You missed this feature:
> * Simano Rear Deraileur
>
> I'm submitting this to the "Ryan Cousineau Academy of English Spelling" to see if this is some
> newly acceptable variation of "Shimano"

Not acceptable, but very probable. Of course, the really funny typos happen when the cheap bikes are
equipped with Microshift components.

Ryan Cousineau, BA (Engl) SFU '99.
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

[Mad Monks]

On Sun, 4 May 2003 08:19:24 -0400, "GRL" <[email protected]> wrote:

>It's hard to imagine Honda allowing their name to be used on ANYTHING that is not at least high
>quality. Everything else they sell (cars, motorcycles,

you'd think BMW would have donw the same

 

[B Yen]

In article <[email protected]>, "GRL" <[email protected]> wrote:

> It's hard to imagine Honda allowing their name to be used on ANYTHING that is not at least high
> quality. Everything else they sell (cars, motorcycles, lawn equipment) is uniformly excellent, so
> if one may extrapolate at all, you are utterly safe buying the bike in terms of its quality and
> reliability for the task.

I read somewhere http://www.mountaincyclegroup.com licensed the name from the real Honda in Japan.

http://aspiremart.com/proddetail.asp?prod=630-861951&from=27

I have one of these bikes, I got an assembled one for $99 from K-mart last December (I was stuck far
from home, & bought it to get me home).

The official website is

http://www.cyclesourcegroup.com/

except I can't find Honda MTBs, only Jeep MTBs (I guess they're doing the same licensing thing
for Jeep).

It certainly looks *COOL* -- aero style tubes, Shimano componentry (yes, it IS Shimano..not a
faker Simano).

I have been test riding my

- Trek 850 (med-hi end bike back in '84) from LBS, $500
- Honda fully-suspended $99 from K-mart
- Mongoose Revolution ($110) from Sport Chalet (closeout)
http://www.epinions.com/pr-Bikes-Mongoose_Revolution_Mountain_Bike

The Honda has raised handle-bars, & the padded seat is decent.. I find it comfortable. (the
Mongoose, I have to hunch over). Index shifters work decent. Like someone on the newsgroup pointed
out to me, for street-riding over 20miles the inefficiency of the rear suspension will get to you.
(I did a 15 mile ride last Dec, & I'm pretty sure I experienced the fatique from the
rear-suspension) For short jaunts in the city it would be OK.

The Mongoose I just found out has a fork which is welded up from pieces (not forged), & the LBS even
pointed out a hole in the weld. They were saying it should never be taken off-road. It has an Al
frame, Shimano componentry (low end).

I just did a 6 mile ride in the Trek 850 (got a new gel seat by Serfas), & I prefer it over the
above 2. The quality is evident.

I'll keep the Honda & Mongoose to mess around with in the city. I'm beginning to understand from
comments on the newsgroup, that they are

so cheap. Face it: people buy on *impression*. Mongoose & Honda are going for mass market. (I read
that years ago Mongoose & Diamondback were losing money selling in LBS, so they sold out to the
mass market).

"People don't buy good products, they buy good marketing" -- business saying

>
> How much does the bike cost and who are the mass market retailers? If we are at around $200, the
> bike has aluminum wheels, maybe an aluminum frame, side-pull "V" brakes, and name brand components
> (and I'll bet it does) and the retailers are sporting goods stores who have somebody trained to
> assemble/adjust to your size, that would be very encouraging. I bought a bike like that (Mongoose
> brand) from ****'s three years ago, have put over 5,000 miles on it (near daily street/bike path
> use) and have no reason to regret by choice. Only thing I'm "upgraded" are tires.
>
> Set-up would likely be better at a bike shop, but you would pay a lot more for that and it
> might/might-not be any better done than at a sporting goods store. With a little library research,
> you can set up your bike yourself, anyway, and actually learn something useful and worth knowing.
> It's not rocket science, after all.
>
>
> - GRL
>
> "It's good to want things."
>
> Steve Barr (philosopher, poet, humorist, chemist, Visual Basic programmer)
> "Don Shaull" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:FvFsa.707594$3D1.390146@sccrnsc01...
> > Hello all- I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the Honda mountain bikes that are available
> > at the local mass retailers, are of decent quality. I will just be using it for exercise around
> > my neighborhood and bike trails, nothing rough. I have done a search on the net, and have not
> > seen any reviews at all. Thanks in advance! Don
> >
> >