Comments on: OSO Bike: First Impressions

By: Johnny

Johnny — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:43:24 +0000

Interesting exchange here.

As a Champion of the Coaster Brake, I’m proud of Shane for getting out there and building his own bike even if he doesn’t have all the answers.

At the same time Jack made some good points about chainline. Throwing a chain on a Coaster Brake bike without a front brake is No Joke. At Coasties we always say more brakes is better than less brakes, and most folks that buy a Coaster Brake wheel set from us ride a front brake too.

Osobike is for sale…any takers?

By: Nadeem

Nadeem — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:57:02 +0000

Hi mates!
I have recently been working on a task called “extended essay” Its a compulsory task to be done by every student doing the International baccalaureate. My subject is physics and I have decided to do my EE with a bike. The task is supposed to be a minimum of 3000 words and must involve some experiments. I am not sure if this is the right place but is there anyone who has an idea of a good reseach question. any comments or reply would be appreciated. I thought about doing “how would the air pressure in the Tyre affect the breaking distance?” or something similar?

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:26:19 +0000

The crankset used on this bike is a modified Lasko mountain triple crank. It has a specified chain line from the factory of 47.5-50mm. The bottom bracket on this bike is 110.5mm. Even changing the bottom bracket to a 103mm will only correct the chain line by about 3.5 mm. A single speed specified crank set will usually give you a 42-43 mm chainline with a 110mm bottom. Again, I do not think it is the bottom bracket! This is just a mismatched crank set for this application.

By: Eric M

Eric M — Mon, 25 May 2009 01:45:16 +0000

I personally would take this bike and support a smaller enterprise than buy something similar from Bikesdirect.com. Babau and Rick Burton: You guys are making a very personal argument against the manufacturer of this Bike. It’s very insulting to hear you speak about a man’s integrity, ambition and intention after knowing very very little about him. It makes your argument seem more juvenile and smaller than it would be it you were to stick to facts. If you people would have read the initial review you would see that it is very positive in most points. So what if he’s not an expert (Shane), this is an option. None of you can really say that this bike wont get you to point A from point B in a safe, efficient, speedy , stylish way. That is the point.

By: Phil Kratz

Phil Kratz — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:00:13 +0000

youfolks ar harsh n the guy, I’m sure getting a bussiness like this up and going inst the easiest thing to do on a normal guy’s budget . I made made minor adjustments on my osobike and i love it the frame is sweet and its a very comfortable fun ride. I like the fact that is a bike from a small guy rather than some huge company.

By: Bike to Work: day 4 « The Unbridled Joy of Cycling

Bike to Work: day 4 « The Unbridled Joy of Cycling — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:38:54 +0000

[...] *note: this bike may not be the one. First Impressions. [...]

By: Rick Burton

Rick Burton — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:58:23 +0000

Shane,
You said, “(your) point is that no matter who reviews this bike, they are bound to find different things they like and dislike about it”

Shane, a 10 mm chain misalignment on a single speed bicycle can’t be chalked up to personal preference. It’s a manufacturing defect.

I recently purchased a single speed Bianchi, which had a chin line misalignment of about 1.5 mm. I was able to remedy the problem by shifting the bottom bracket outboard by using a $2 spacer. Had the chain line been off by another mm, I would have expected Bianchi to remedy the defect, which is exactly what you should do for the unfortunate few who have purchased your product. I somehow doubt you will do this. Perhaps my doubt is fueled by the fact that you intend to continue selling a defective product until you current inventory is depleted. This exemplifies your lack of integrity.

It amazes me that a man who admits to being less than an expert in the realm of bicycles can so fervently discredit the opinions of actual experts.

Shane, you need to read this: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html#chainline

Furthermore, that crankset looks familiar. It’s Identical to a crankset that Nashbar.com was trying to sell for $11.00 a year or so ago. When they finally dropped the price to $9.00, I bought a pair and fit them on a single speed bike for my brother in law… although I didn’t grind off the granny gear mount… and it was a mountain bike.

By: nat

nat — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:38:28 +0000

I’m surprised no one has mentioned it here yet, but a hugely important reason to put an extra link in the chain is to facilitate wheel removal. with track ends like the oh-so’s, unless you have a solid two centimeters of space to move the axel forward, you can’t take the wheel off without breaking the chain. and when it’s flat time, breaking chains sucks more balls than haters do. hopefully the oh-so-badly-put-together bike’s chain has a master link. but then, if the chain’s as tight as the reviewer states, most master links, which require bending the chain a bit to get the retainer plate to pop off, won’t work. foiled again. and shane buddy, there’s no need to ram that axel up against the track end to avoid “adding to the risk that the chain might become accidentally loose.” my grandmother can torque axel nuts down enough to keep that sucker in place. i’ve never had an axel move. ever. if axel slippage was such a problem, horizontal dropouts wouldn’t have lasted until now. i mean seriously shane, should we disassemble the rear triangle and fit chain stays of a new length every time we want to change gear ratios, which will be soon after buying this over-geared monstrosity?

By: Babau

Babau — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:02:35 +0000

Shane, please don’t take this the wrong way but if you:
* Know nothing about bikes
* Don’t know much about singlespeeds
* Have no background in marketing or understanding of consumer behaviour

Maybe being a bike company just isn’t the best strategic fit for you. I know it can be really hard to pass by what you see as a profitable opportunity. I struggle with it too in my business. However, if the opportunity doesn’t fit any of your core competencies and you can’t build any kind of sustainable advantage, maybe it’s best to let someone else exploit it and keep looking.

If you’re determined to pursue this, though, it’s time to do some serious research. At least read through all of Sheldon Brown’s material on singlespeeds and fixed gears. It’ll only take you a few hours, and that’s nothing considering the money you’ve poured into this thing. Also, you need to find a new supplier. The ones currently building your bike have screwed you. Seems like they had a container load of cheap mtn triples hanging around and were desperate to unload them. Shoddily grinding off a few rings does not a good crankset make.

By: Totalchaud

Totalchaud — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:49:18 +0000

SENSE: SHANE STOCK MAKES NONE.