Reid Cycles Vintage Ladies 7-Speed Classic

Ongoing issues – Bought the baby pink version of this bike 10 months ago. It was already assembled by the store as that is their policy. The issues started after a couple of months with the gears not changing as I was clicking through. I would have to go up or down a couple of gears to come back to the one I was after. Then the chain started falling off the front… Read more

cog when changing gear. I took it back to the store and they gave it a gear tune and said it would be fine. I had it back to the store 3 more times for the chain falling off every few weeks. They ended up replacing the chain for me. A couple of weeks later it starting making an alarming clunk through the pedals on every rotation. It sounded and felt like something was going to break. So back we went to the store. I’d lost track of the amount of the times I’d taken it back so 8 weeks ago they replaced it with a new magenta version of the bike. I’ve just had it back at the store again with the chain having fallen off mid-gear change. They have once again ‘fixed’ it but I no longer trust this bike and will be selling it and purchasing a different bike elsewhere. Gorgeous bike but just not reliable

Pretty bike for very casual riding only – I purchased one of these bikes (in pink) 2 years ago. At the time of purchase, I wasn't certain how often I would ride it and I admittedly bought it due to a combination of price and looks. I ended up commuting on it quite regularly up to 4 times a week. After riding this bike more regularly, it become clear it was fairly cheaply made and… Read more

wasn't quite going to cut it for a long term bike. I have since upgraded to a Lekker Jordaan and it just feels so much nicer to ride and has much higher quality components.

This bike in summary is good for a casual rider, who intends to ride a short distance maybe once a month and isn't concerned about the longevity of the bike.

Positives: Looks pretty and comes in a wide range of colours Basket (although not a standard option) is an okay size, and is handy for carrying things. 7 speed gears helps maintain a good pedalling speed and get up hills Comfortable seat

Negatives: Tyres are too skinny to be practical, makes for a bumpy ride and and I had two flats - not fun! Rusts easily - even though my bike was kept garaged and rarely got wet Noisy, made odd squeaky sounds and just not a smooth ride It's a fairly heavy bike - fine for most but something to consider if you intend to go fast

❤️ VINTAGE LADIES CLASSIC PLUS ❤️ – I purchased the charcoal size L bike & i am 164cm tall, the charcoal helmet to match & a combination bike lock all from Reid Cycles. Delivery was within 2 days. Assembly was easy & I had no trouble putting the bike together without help. I love my new bike & purchased the baskets elsewhere. I’ve ridden this down my local streets & have got… Read more ·  1

compliments & neighbours asking where did I buy the bike from. I look forward to my spring/summer rides & also to get fit along my journey. Looks like my car will be used less this summer. Thank you for an awesome looking bike.

Esprit Superlite. Good but not worth the extra $100 – Product: Reide Esprit SuperLite. Packaging: It seemed OK. no visible dents, so good courier. Weight: with Basket= 13.65 KG (Advertised as 11.9 KG without basket <no way basket ways 1.75 KG> ) Assembly: Fairly easy (no cable cutting required), just screwing in bits. I had to bend the basket in order to get it on which felt a little dodgy. The… Read more

hardest thing to install was the mud guards which took a little fiddling. Adjusting the gears also took some time to get perfect but no more than 5-10 mins. Overall i think i spent under 2 hours putting it together.

No Quick Release Components: Annoyingly the bike doesn't come with any quick release wheels or seat (which may be the classic look, but it is not practical in anyway).

Bike Quality: The back wheel was slightly warped so I wasn't impressed with that (something you expect from a Kmart bike). Paint Job also seems to scratch easily (overall compared to my previous experience buying a HASA Bike, I think Reid bike quality is not quite as good as the HASA).

Ride: Its actually a really smooth ride. Gearing works well. Bike behaves well.

Overall: I purchased the "Esprit Superlite" a couple of months ago. Bike is smooth and works well. It was fairly easy to put together and adjust the gearing. looking at the specs however I don't think there is a difference between the "Ladies Esprit" and the "Esprit Superlite" so I would recommend the "Ladies Esprit" if you are looking to purchase a new vintage bike.

The wheel having a slight warp was really annoying (I have purchased my previous bike from cycles online for less money and it came with quick release components and both wheels were perfect).

However my biggest gripe is that it is advertised at 11.9 KG (ex basket) when it's actually no lighter than the "Ladies Esprit" at 12.7 KG (ex basket)

Nice style but built out of the wrong materials – Oh the irony, if you see an actual vintage bicycle around you know it lasted because of a quality build, most of these vintage styled Reid bikes will probably be in the landfill within a decade of their life. My bikes tyres, rims and pedals all broke within the first two years use ( pretty minimal use too). All the exposed chrome was rusting… Read more

within six months and it was stored in a weather proof bike shed, the arms to the mudguards were the worst, the outer chrome coloured coating fully flaking away from the bristling rust. I see these bikes around town occasionally and they are all rusting.

The front basket with the removable inner basket is one of the better design features and very practical.

Drives me up the Wall – I adore this bike - I have for four years. However, I have been dealing with the front mudflap coming loose for a large majority of this time. Between my bike mechanic and I, we have tried everything to keep it in place and I cannot find the black plastic "hole thingy" that the metal prongs insert into anywhere. It so embarrassing and… Read more

incredibly annoying to be stopping cycling every time I go over a bump to put it back into the hole - because if you don't it clangs SO loudly. I'm at the point where I want to chuck it over a bridge - but unfortunately, I need it to get to work.

I am writing this review because I have seen on the other complaints that Reid cycles appear to have helped the situations people are having with this bike. So if you are reading this Reid Cycles - Please help me by telling me where I can buy the black plastic "hole thing" that the metal prongs insert into... before Sydney Harbour acquires a new bike.

Regards,

A woman at the end of her patience.

You get what you pay for – I bought this bike in white, from the Reid store on Victoria St, Melbourne (4 years ago). It looked very nice and the price, $300 was very appealing to a poor uni student with no car (probably the main demographic of Reid) It rusted after 2 weeks, even though I kept it inside at night. The fragile wheels could not handle cobble stone or bumps in… Read more

the road and buckled. I got puncture too easily. The wheel started making a very embarrassing "clunk" (busted ball bearing in wheel?). I rang the store and to their credit they said bring it in and they would fix it, but without a car it was quite inconvenient to get the bike into the city so I just let it sit in my spare room and eventually sold it for $25. If I had invested $600 on a decent bike with good quality parts, instead of the poor quality bike, I would still have a decent bike today. These bikes are expendable and not built to last.

Beautiful and graceful bike! Ride in style! – I bought this bike partly because she had the right mix of features and price, but more than that: because she was the most gorgeous bike I could find at any price! Since buying her 16 months ago, we've covered 5,000km, including 100km on the 2015 Brisbane-to-Gold-Coast ride. (And I plan to ride her again in this year's event). With her… Read more ·  3

bright, cheerful, red paintwork and classic good looks, she gets lots of nice comments. Once, when returning to where I'd left her tied up in a park, I found a photographer taking pictures of her. A friend also borrowed her as a prop in her wedding photos! I particularly enjoy riding her in "Style over Speed" events, where she completely looks the part among genuine vintage, classic bikes.

To ride, this bike is stable, tame, and very comfortable, and a perfect mount for even a very inexperienced rider like I was when I started. The combination of her weight and gears did make Brisbane hills a challenge at first, but a few weeks of commuting got me past that. When getting started, it's no crime to get off and push for a bit anyway.

The only reason this isn't a 5-star review is that the quality of some of the components is very poor. A few other reviews here have already called attention to the chainguard, which is extremely flimsy and will be bent out of shape in no time. Fortunately, it's just as easily bent back into (something like) shape -- but if you look at the chainguards of any of these bikes you see on the street, they're almost all warped and bent, so it's a common flaw. I've also had to replace the saddle, grips, and a rear wheel whose spokes broke. That probably sounds like a lot, but I bet many of these bikes never travel the kind of distances we've travelled: it's the equivalent of many years of casual, weekend riding.

In short -- a beautiful bike at a great price! Highly recommended!