Ikea City Bike (Seriously)

[LhasaCM]

I haven’t seen any on the road yet, but do recall seeing positive reviews about them when they launched last year and thought it was fine when I tried it out in store (tires were inflated so I could roll with it).

As far as pricing – if you’re an Ikea Family member (their free loyalty program), it’s $100 cheaper, so only $399. All of the accessories they have to offer are also discounted. One of these days I’ll probably pick up the trailer because I feel like I should have a trailer and that seems like a decent price.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I can’t quite decide if this is actually a good deal or not. There’s obviously cheap-o things about it, but at the same time, it’s difficult to find reasonably-priced bikes with belt drives. Maybe if this had a 3 speed IGH instead of the two speed “automatic”, I’d even consider picking one up for guests and what not.

[Judd]

@TwoWheelsDC 164688 wrote:

I can’t quite decide if this is actually a good deal or not. There’s obviously cheap-o things about it, but at the same time, it’s difficult to find reasonably-priced bikes with belt drives. Maybe if this had a 3 speed IGH instead of the two speed “automatic”, I’d even consider picking one up for guests and what not.

Throw a basket on it and it would make a pretty decent town bike.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Judd 164701 wrote:

Throw a basket on it and it would make a pretty decent town bike.

Ikea has a basket accessory for it, but it looks a little too shallow to be truly useful. I’m kinda diggin’ the pannier/backpack though…

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/ikea_family_products/35775/

[baiskeli]

I put one of these together and had several screws and bolts left over.

Sorry, can’t believe I’m the first in with an Ikea joke.

[Starduster]

@baiskeli 164819 wrote:

I put one of these together and had several screws and bolts left over.

Sorry, can’t believe I’m the first in with an Ikea joke.

How could this be? :confused:

[Dewey]

If you’re interested in a cheap belt drive bike here’s an article comparing the Ikea Sladda to the slightly cheaper/lighter Priority Classic which has 3-speeds compared with the Ikea’s 2.

This guy in Toronto converted an Ikea Sladda to an ebike with a front hub motor, despite the motor not being connected to the drivetrain he broke the Continental belt at 2,000km and got it replaced under warranty – the trouble with belt drives is most bike shops don’t carry the belts in stock so if it breaks while you’re out on a long ride you’ll have to get the bike back home somehow – AAA carry bicycles on a tow truck.

[mstone]

@Dewey 164856 wrote:

the trouble with belt drives is most bike shops don’t carry the belts in stock so if it breaks while you’re out on a long ride you’ll have to get the bike back home somehow

I’m not sure that’s a real difference in practice, unless you happen to break a chain in front of a bike shop.

As far as AAA (beyond “friends don’t let friends support anti-bike/ped lobbying”), I’d suggest you’d be waiting a long time for a tow truck near the bottom of the priority list. If you can’t phone a friend, arranging for an uber or equivalent is almost certainly going to quicker/easier/cheaper in the long run.

[Judd]

@mstone 164885 wrote:

I’m not sure that’s a real difference in practice, unless you happen to break a chain in front of a bike shop.

As far as AAA (beyond “friends don’t let friends support anti-bike/ped lobbying”), I’d suggest you’d be waiting a long time for a tow truck near the bottom of the priority list. If you can’t phone a friend, arranging for an uber or equivalent is almost certainly going to quicker/easier/cheaper in the long run.

If you’ve got a chain tool on you (I’ve got a crummy, but workable one on my multi-tool) you can fix a broken chain in the field. Bob James had a pin partially pop out of one of his links yesterday and was back on the bike within a few minutes.

[mstone]

@Judd 164894 wrote:

If you’ve got a chain tool on you (I’ve got a crummy, but workable one on my multi-tool) you can fix a broken chain in the field. Bob James had a pin partially pop out of one of his links yesterday and was back on the bike within a few minutes.

I’m not arguing about whether you might be able to fix a chain, only about whether availability in bike shops matters if you’re in the wilds of west virginia

[Dewey]

The IKEA Sladda has been recalled due to cases of the belt by Continental snapping.

[Judd]

@Dewey 178593 wrote:

The IKEA Sladda has been recalled due to cases of the belt by Continental snapping.

Interesting recall. The site says no injuries have been reported. Only 4,900 bikes sold. I wonder how often the belts are breaking to warrant a recall.

[Dewey]

On Reddit one of the affected customers reported there were 11 cases. SRAM stopped making the 2-speed automatix IGH so the bike has not been sold for a couple of months but you can still buy the Sladda bicycle trailer at IKEA.

[Author]

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