Newb bought bicycles from Makro, how bad is it?

[Spaffy]

Hello everyone reading this.

As a recently turned 40yr old man I realized I am unfit and my life is boring and I need to do something about it.
I've been wanting to take up cycling for years now and as this ticks the bored and unfit boxes it was a no brainer.

Wife and I went to peruse MTBs at CWC and we almost quit cycling before even starting when we saw what these things cost.

However googling MTB for sale the first bicycle I see is the one pictured, and it's reasonably priced, so off to Makro we go. Two mountain bikes, helmets and all the accessories they had later and we have been cycling a little over three weeks and loving it. I've been joining FB groups, watching Youtube vids and have opened a Pandora box I didn't realize is so vast. The cycling community is awesome, I've had a stranger drive past in his car and stop just to tell me my wife's seat is too low and she's going to hurt her knees after which he proceeds to help adjust her seat to a better height. Most cyclists are super friendly and always greeting etc. I love it.

What I am worried about though are these bicycles. I've now seen numerous posts here where people in the know say that one would regret buying bicycles from stores like Makro and Game etc.
My question here is why? What am I missing out on, having nothing to compare it to? What is a brand new budget cyclist supposed to do, not yet at that time knowing if this is really something they'll enjoy doing? If these cycles are that bad what should I look to improve without buying other bicycles, as numerous posts indicate a ~R10k budget for beginners?
Lastly why are bicycle parts so expensive? I'm almost 1.9m and this bicycle is a "one-size-fits-all" type design with a frame probably between a medium and large.
My seat height has been adjusted based on numerous Youtube recommendations and the seat is also as far back as it will go. I want to replace the stem for something taller but these things start at R800 and I've seen some at over R3000. Why is this small extension so expensive? 

Anyways thanks for reading and any tips or advise for a new cyclist would be appreciated.
At the moment we're sticking to tar to learn but I'm eyeing some offroad tracks for beginners, like Polkadraai, in the near future.

 

 

[Dexter-morgan]

Firstly, look at second had stems here on Bikhub, search for a forum called "I need something you might throw away" most people will swap or even gift you one.

Then if you dive deepen into these bikes and look at the bearings used on the hubs and bottom brackets you will notice why they are cheap and the next big thing is the wheels, these "cheap" bikes come with really bad wheels, if you want to go tubeless, these cheap wheels will give you headaches and if you hit some off-road trails you need something you can trust.

Look at some secondhand bikes here on bikehub and again ask for advice, Bikehub is very helpful.

Great to see someone enjoy Cycling.

 

 

[Jimmy 2.0]

this is coming from someone that works in the the industry.

If you want to buy a bicycle go to a small Bicycle shop and tell them exactly what your budget is and what you're wanting or expecting to ride, play open cards with them.

Stay away from Makro and Sportsmans as the salesman are only that they are salesman for everything in the shop from tennis, soccer, swimming and so on and have probable never done any of those activities as the are trained to be a salesman. ounce you walk out with a bicycle from there you're on your own sometimes you walk out with you bicycle in a box from there you're on your own and have to assemble it yourself and it isn't as easy as you think. The bike you have pictured is a nasty bike all it is is a bike built as cheaply as possible with with a design team of 1 guy. The materials are cheap, no thought of ergonomics and so on. it will probable give you a usable life span of about 5 off-road rides before you go to a actual bicycle shop cause you cant go to sportsmans or makro because they don't service bicycles. That kind of bicycle screams the "Buy Cheap Buy Twice" phrase

A Small bicycle shop has character, you walk in every staff member rides a bicycle, half of them probable cycled 25+ kms to work its run more on passion than turn over. the salesman knows bicycles and bicycles only, they will sell you a bicycle not only because he wants to make money but to share passion for the sport and grow the sport. He will sell you a bicycle that suits your needs and budget maybe with a bit of deviation from your budget. from there you will walk out with a decent bike, kit  and maybe even a new pal that has given you advice on everything, where to ride and has probably convinced you to ride the Argus.

Come your 1st service you go back to your new favorite shop cause that's where you bought your bike from, have a long conversation and so on.

If you want to be a cyclist, you aren't just buying a bicycle here you're buying into a sport, a hobby, life style, new friends and community

Edited December 5 by Jimmy 2.0

[Eugene]

To answer your question as to what is wrong with Makro bikes. 

A friend of mine bought one from Game, against my advice. 

Both wheels were out of true, the fork was on backwards, both pedals broke within a month, the gears never shifted properly (even a bike shop could not get it right) and the chain kept falling between the chain rings and each time we had to remove them to get the chain out. 

Rust started to appear within a few months. 

Having said that, Makro sells a bike called a Raleigh Pro 1 and a Volcan (they are identical). They are semi decent and do their job. 

[Mamil]

1 hour ago, Spaffy said:

Hello everyone reading this.

As a recently turned 40yr old man I realized I am unfit and my life is boring and I need to do something about it.
I've been wanting to take up cycling for years now and as this ticks the bored and unfit boxes it was a no brainer.

Wife and I went to peruse MTBs at CWC and we almost quit cycling before even starting when we saw what these things cost.

However googling MTB for sale the first bicycle I see is the one pictured, and it's reasonably priced, so off to Makro we go. Two mountain bikes, helmets and all the accessories they had later and we have been cycling a little over three weeks and loving it. I've been joining FB groups, watching Youtube vids and have opened a Pandora box I didn't realize is so vast. The cycling community is awesome, I've had a stranger drive past in his car and stop just to tell me my wife's seat is too low and she's going to hurt her knees after which he proceeds to help adjust her seat to a better height. Most cyclists are super friendly and always greeting etc. I love it.

What I am worried about though are these bicycles. I've now seen numerous posts here where people in the know say that one would regret buying bicycles from stores like Makro and Game etc.
My question here is why? What am I missing out on, having nothing to compare it to? What is a brand new budget cyclist supposed to do, not yet at that time knowing if this is really something they'll enjoy doing? If these cycles are that bad what should I look to improve without buying other bicycles, as numerous posts indicate a ~R10k budget for beginners?
Lastly why are bicycle parts so expensive? I'm almost 1.9m and this bicycle is a "one-size-fits-all" type design with a frame probably between a medium and large.
My seat height has been adjusted based on numerous Youtube recommendations and the seat is also as far back as it will go. I want to replace the stem for something taller but these things start at R800 and I've seen some at over R3000. Why is this small extension so expensive? 

Anyways thanks for reading and any tips or advise for a new cyclist would be appreciated.
At the moment we're sticking to tar to learn but I'm eyeing some offroad tracks for beginners, like Polkadraai, in the near future.

 

 

We all ask "Why is this stem / tyre / sprocket / chain /  so expensive" all the time!!!! IT's an expensive sport.

I justify it to myself by saying when I'm smashing down some rocky path at 35kmph Im entrusting my life to a piece of equipment that it built to be as light as it can be without sacrificing too much strength and durability and that takes design, quality material and manufacture. 

Ride your MXR until it lets you down and then, if the bug has bitten, take the second hand and small local bike shop advice given above.

Also, that MXR will allow you to ride on a smooth surface - as soon as you subject it to the strain of a rough dirt road or a mountain bike trail, I think it will break. 

[Spaffy]

1 hour ago, Dexter-morgan said:

Firstly, look at second had stems here on Bikhub, search for a forum called "I need something you might throw away" most people will swap or even gift you one.

Then if you dive deepen into these bikes and look at the bearings used on the hubs and bottom brackets you will notice why they are cheap and the next big thing is the wheels, these "cheap" bikes come with really bad wheels, if you want to go tubeless, these cheap wheels will give you headaches and if you hit some off-road trails you need something you can trust.

Look at some secondhand bikes here on bikehub and again ask for advice, Bikehub is very helpful.

Great to see someone enjoy Cycling.

 

 

Thanks. Should I be looking for a stem though, or should I rather replace the the bar with a high rise?

[The Ouzo]

48 minutes ago, Jimmy 2.0 said:

this is coming from someone that works in the the industry.

If you want to buy a bicycle go to a small Bicycle shop and tell them exactly what your budget is and what you're wanting or expecting to ride, play open cards with them.

Stay away from Makro and Sportsmans as the salesman are only that they are salesman for everything in the shop from tennis, soccer, swimming and so on and have probable never done any of those activities as the are trained to be a salesman. ounce you walk out with a bicycle from there you're on your own sometimes you walk out with you bicycle in a box from there you're on your own and have to assemble it yourself and it isn't as easy as you think. The bike you have pictured is a nasty bike all it is is a bike built as cheaply as possible with with a design team of 1 guy. The materials are cheap, no thought of ergonomics and so on. it will probable give you a usable life span of about 5 off-road rides before you go to a actual bicycle shop cause you cant go to sportsmans or makro because they don't service bicycles. That kind of bicycle screams the "Buy Cheap Buy Twice" phrase

A Small bicycle shop has character, you walk in every staff member rides a bicycle, half of them probable cycled 25+ kms to work its run more on passion than turn over. the salesman knows bicycles and bicycles only, they will sell you a bicycle not only because he wants to make money but to share passion for the sport and grow the sport. He will sell you a bicycle that suits your needs and budget maybe with a bit of deviation from your budget. from there you will walk out with a decent bike, kit  and maybe even a new pal that has given you advice on everything, where to ride and has probably convinced you to ride the Argus.

Come your 1st service you go back to your new favorite shop cause that's where you bought your bike from, have a long conversation and so on.

If you want to be a cyclist, you aren't just buying a bicycle here you're buying into a sport, a hobby, life style, new friends and community

[RobertWhitehead]

To answer your question on "Why" 

According to the description next to the image you at least have a headset and a QR front wheel but no back wheel is mentioned, I think that may be the reason

 

But seriously: The materials used are sub-standard and will fail over time. You will also notice that a rider with even a well specced 26er will give you a hard time if you were to cycle against him / her

[ChrisF]

2017 I bought a Makro bike.

 

Got home checked it out ..... stand in front of the bike, front wheel between your knees .... now turn the handlebars ..... WOW !!! the amount of flex in that bike !!!!

 

I took it back the next day and showed them the flex .... they refunded me.

 

 

EDIT - I see you already bought the bike.  ENJOY it !!  Attend to noises or loose items ASAP  ....  ideally strip and rebuild the bike to make sure you get the best possible service out of it.

 

 

 

KIDS bikes ... we bought one, then did a strip down and rebuilt it properly.  Making sure all bearings are lubricated properly, and everything is adjusted correctly.  7 years later that bike is still working perfectly !!

Edited December 5 by ChrisF

[thebob]

5 minutes ago, Spaffy said:

Thanks. Should I be looking for a stem though, or should I rather replace the the bar with a high rise?

Why do you want a higher rise stem?

[RobertWhitehead]

4 minutes ago, Spaffy said:

Thanks. Should I be looking for a stem though, or should I rather replace the the bar with a high rise?

No, the bike is too small for you. You mention that it is between a M & L, you need an XL so no matter the length of the stem it will still remain too small and you'll carry on feeling cramped and eventually start getting issues like knee and lower back pain

[Spaffy]

3 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

But seriously: The materials used are sub-standard and will fail over time. You will also notice that a rider with even a well specced 26er will give you a hard time if you were to cycle against him / her

At this point in time my neighbor's 6yr old will probably give me a hard time and she has training wheels.
But we'll get there. Currently I can't wait to go cycle.

[Dexter-morgan]

Look out for test days at some of the trail parks in your area and test ride something decent and feel the difference, then be prepared to part with you hard earned cash or sell a kidney. Trek and Scott have them on a regular basis. 

[JPD]

Rule of thumb in the cycling industry:

Cheap, strong, light... pick 2.

Ie: if you pick strong and light, it won't be cheap

[rampies]

Like anything you will learn a lot but just starting. You have a bike and started. Now you are asking questions. Just keep going, because it sounds as if the current Makro bike is performing within your current ability and it gets you out there. 

In a year's time you will understand why not to buy a Makro bike, and then you will be empowered to make the right (better) choices...only to find two years on that there was more you should have known. And as you go on, ability will improve, knowledge will build and the need will improve.

Welcome and keep cycling.

Ps. best way to get into a good bicycle is 2nd hand if you have someone to help you with the buy and good at keeping to the hard limit on the budget.

[Tomik]

You've started. Well done. I also started on a makro bike, It broke within a year, but I did get some enjoyment out of it. Was fixing things often though. Pedals, cranks, you name it. Built cheap.

You're probably a heavy guy being so tall. The Makro bike won't last very long, especially the wheels. But enjoy it while it lasts and enjoy researching a new bike, which I would venture would be a hard tail 29er. Something like a Merida Big Nine would serve you well.