(...) "Is it possible to get a safe bike for 111 Euros?" The publicly appointed and sworn bike expert Dirk Zedler answers this question with a "clear no". It was not possible to build a well-working bike so cheaply. A colleague once called such low-cost bikes "brand-new bulk rubbish". Sharp words. Poor "111". It does not look that bad.
(...) Finally it is time for a ride. The "111" is the first one to be tested. The horror stories about low-priced bikes and Dirk Zedler's warnings in my head, a mixture of excitement and fear soars in me. Broken handlebars or a damaged seatpost are not excatly funny things.
(...) Other moments demand much more courage, however. Riding downhill at high speed, for example. Will the bike stand up to this test? It does. But bike expert Dirk Zedler knows about many other cases: "Brakes falling off, tubes bursting - you name it." Lucky me.
(...) "Which bike you ought to buy?" The expert advises you against the "111" and its cheap friends. Dirk Zedler recommends seeing a specialst dealer and not to spend less than 400 Euros on a bike. The money is well spent says the Ludwigsburg-based expert, because: "At a specialist dealer, you get important maintenance and service work done." Dealers assemble the bike, check it. And they invite you to come by for a first inspection after a few weeks: "They give it a new lease of life after the bedding in period", says Dirk Zedler.
He surely is right. It was an unfair competition from the beginning. (...)
By Marcus Bürzle
