Recommend me a singlespeed/fixie

mvpr

On the market for a new bike (my last one was stolen).

Thinking of going back to basics. Bike is only used round town. Had considered the following:

Giant Bowery
Charge Plug
Specialised Langster

Need a large frame (Im over 6"4'). Would like a front brake.

Any recommendations? Budget is up to €500. Second hand would be fine.

Thanks in advance.

blorg

The Bowery is cheap and cheerful and certainly does the job fine (I have one myself.)

Charge Plug looks good but is a bit heavy AFAIK.

Specialized Langster is light and nippy.

If only for around town weight is not going to be so critical. Would you want a rack and mudguards though?

The frame size you need may make secondhand difficult; your budget will make buying new in Ireland difficult- maybe consider buying from the UK.

mvpr

Cheers for the reply blorg...

Wouldnt mind mudguards. Is there no way you can attach them to a Bowery?

blorg

I have a rear Race Blade on mine which is sufficient for my needs, I wear overshoes which looks after the front. It's more the rack to be honest, I have one of them attached with P-Clips but it would be nicer to be able to attach it to the frame.

steinone

Fuji track is cheap and cheerful I have only ever heard good reviews about it other than not being able to get it other than buying it online.
Sure im buying one myself now.

blorg

Nice looking bike too although you would need to add brakes which is a downside.

steinone

Its that much cheaper than the others that a brake wouldnt make that much of a difference, just get something cheap to start with if you are worried about money.

blorg

It's the same price as the Bowery. A bit heavier but looks better (IMHO.) Certainly looks like a bargain and worth considering but make sure you do add brakes.

The other big difference (I think) is that the Fuji is an actual track bike with track geometry, raised bottom bracket, etc. while the others have a more relaxed road geometry.

steinone

I have never heard any complaints about the geometry, the only thing about the track geometry is that it is designed for being a fixed gear(pedal strike etc) and its not like it will be uncomfortable or anything, even if it is after all of that it would be the matter of getting a better angled stem for you.
I have also heard that parts are better than the Giant, im not against it or anything I had to weigh these things up too to choose between them.

mvpr

Thanks for the posts everyone.

Took one of these out for a spin this avo and was well impressed:
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-Bowery-Mashup-2009-Road-Bike_20113.htm

Nice and light, plain - just what Im looking for. Reckon the flat bars would suit me better than drop.

Opinions please!!!

kincsem

The Felt Dispatch will take proper mudguards and a carrier afaik. I got one last week and fitted SKS chromoplastic mudguards - a bit of a tight fit and I needed to use tin-snips to trim the back wheel attachment clip.

I haven't riddden the bike yet. The gearing is a little lower than other fixed/singlespeeds. Someone on boards has one (DirkVoodoo?) so as they actually cycle they might give an opinion.

blobert

Where was it that had the Bowery for really cheap a while ago.

Some place up north with free delivery?

blorg

The parts on the Fuji and the Giant are virtually identical, exactly the same crankset, very similar wheelset, etc. I am in no way saying the Fuji is worse, just trying to tease out the quantifiable differences. "Track geometry with a high bottom bracket and short cranks" is a description, not a criticism The Fuji is light for a steel bike but the Bowery would be a touch lighter again.

Both bikes are pretty similar on spec so best make the decision on trying them out (if you can) and the stuff that is actually different- which is, track vs road geometry, alu vs steel frame material, bottom bracket height/crank length, bar type, comes with brakes, etc.

The Fuji lacks cable stops for a rear brake; personally I like a rear, especially at the moment while the roads are icy, but it is not strictly necessary for riding around town. For what it's worth I think the Fuji looks better and would probably go for it on that basis if I was buying again and the prices were the same (I got my Bowery in the sales with the main motivator being price.) If price was not a factor I would get a Langster for the weight, although I still think the Fuji looks better.

OP- bars are easy enough to change although again if there is a bike that is coming set up the way you want it that is going to be a benefit over swapping everything around.

@blobert- Pearsons had the Bowery really cheap (and that's where I got mine) but it was an offer on the 2008s that has since run out.

DirkVoodoo

kincsem wrote: »

I haven't riddden the bike yet. The gearing is a little lower than other fixed/singlespeeds. Someone on boards has one (DirkVoodoo?) so as they actually cycle they might give an opinion.

At last, someone else to join my club! Although now I am no longer unique

Dispatch is a great bike, really nippy, nice gearing for short trips around town (39x16) and decent equipment spec. The pain tends to chip quite easily (watch out for this kincsem!) and my back wheel wrestled itself loose in the drops (probably my fauly, though I thought I had tightened it) and took a bit of a chunk out of one of the chainstays. The plus side is they give you a touch-up stick to gloss over these blemishes.

Its a really nice bike, I would advise getting one. I have a rear rack (two mounting points on the frame, used a p-clip two secure the two horizontal mounts and it takes race blades quite happily. Be careful with the chromoplastics kinsecm, they didn't fit on mine, i have a small frame but I suspect the felt's mounting points dont suit them. Let me know how you get on, is yours the 09 model (white)?

Also, steinone, I believe that Blorg is correct in pointing out the raised bottom bracket as something to watch out for, a lower BB on the frame will give a bit more stability for dodging through town. Also, does the Fuji have drilled mounts for brake calipers?

To the OP, this is the dispatch, it is quite the looker and a very nice handling bike that suits me perfectly for commuting (mine goes by the monicker of "Senor Feltado"):

Vélo

mvpr wrote: »

Thanks for the posts everyone.

Took one of these out for a spin this avo and was well impressed:
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-Bowery-Mashup-2009-Road-Bike_20113.htm

Nice and light, plain - just what Im looking for. Reckon the flat bars would suit me better than drop.

Opinions please!!!

I saw one of those in Cycleways the other day and was very impressed with it. I have a Specialized Langster Monaco, which is great, mind you a bit flash so I don't think it's what you're looking for. I just changed the handlebars as I didn't find the track bars very comfortable at all. It's a matter of preferance really, some people just prefer drops.

blorg

The Fuji is drilled front and back but doesn't have cable stops for the rear cabling- I think you can get tie-on ones if you really wanted a rear brake. I raise the BB (hehe) only as a difference to consider, I have never ridden one, I guess it may feel a bit funny but I am sure on the flip side reduces the risk of pedal strike in turns. I have also read the suggestion on BikeRadar that it allows easier hopping up of kerbs. I have personally managed an over-the-bars on my Bowery while attempting to hop up a kerb but this was likely more to do with me than the altitude of my bottom bracket (I think I forgot and tried to stop pedalling during the hop.)

kincsem

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

The pain tends to chip quite easily (watch out for this kincsem!)

Too late, and I haven't got it out the door yet.

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Be careful with the chromoplastics kinsecm, they didn't fit on mine, i have a small frame but I suspect the felt's mounting points dont suit them. Let me know how you get on, is yours the 09 model (white)?

Mine is a 54 frame, and I had to struggle to fit the rear mudguard in under the seat-stay (is that a word?). Another problem was the metal v shaped rod that links from two points on the rear mudguard to the seat-stay attachment point 3 cm above the rear axle. The two arms of the v shape rod were equal length, which would have been fine if the attachment point was exactly at the axle (rear wheel is a circle). I had to get a vice-grips and bend it to give a v-shaped rod with two unequal arms - short section to mudguard attachment point direct above the axle, and a longer rod section to attach to the fix point near the rear of the mudguard. It took ages. Phew.

Mine is the 2009 white model, so yours is still unique.

DirkVoodoo

Yeah mine is a 54cm too, great frame dimensions, perfect reach and height for me.

I found the front one too tricky, the bolt on part for the fork wouldn't fit. In the end I sold them here on boards.

Did they give you a white touch-up stick?

tis a great bike, best of luck with it!

steinone

Well as someone said the higher bb does make for less stability only with track geometry you are more stretched out thus lower down. I could be wrong but this seems to cancel out the other in my mind.
Also alu frames arent renowned for being built like brick ****houses like steel frames are, double buted frame and triple buted forks on the Fuji would make it definatly stronger for a slight diferance in weight. Especially since both come without a lengthy warrenty on parts/frames.

Edit: I thought we were talking about fixed riding, why is there so much emphasis on a rear brake when a front is already questionable(obviously not to new fixed riders)

blorg

I wouldn't count frame strength as a valid reason to prefer one or the other; I imagine they are both plenty solid. It is a complete myth that aluminum frames are in any way weaker than steel and I can assure you the Bowery is not using a wafer-thin ultralight Scandium frame or it would be both (1) costing a lot more and (2) weighing a lot less

http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-materials.html

Butting is generally more to do with shaving weight out of the middle of a tubeset than strength; you could get just as strong a frame as the Fuji using plain gauge tubes but the frame would be heavier (the Fuji is quite light weight for a steel frame.) The Charge Plug is an example of a bike using plain gauge steel and is a much heavier frame. Wouldn't question the solidity of the thing though.

kincsem

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Yeah mine is a 54cm too, great frame dimensions, perfect reach and height for me.

Did they give you a white touch-up stick?

tis a great bike, best of luck with it!

It had a sit on it and it feels right. There is a little bottle of paint and a brush - a bit like tippex (Mmmm thats an idea).

Nice to know you enjoy it.

I fitted all the bits, front and rear reflectors, and the bell.
Fixie = street cred. Bell = just lost that cred.

Gavin

steinone wrote: »

Edit: I thought we were talking about fixed riding, why is there so much emphasis on a rear brake when a front is already questionable(obviously not to new fixed riders)

Chains break. Chains derail.

No chain, no brake, you're in trouble !

xz

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Yeah mine is a 54cm too, great frame dimensions, perfect reach and height for me.

I found the front one too tricky, the bolt on part for the fork wouldn't fit. In the end I sold them here on boards.

Did they give you a white touch-up stick?

tis a great bike, best of luck with it!

And very nice they look on my Giant SCR;):)

blorg

Verb wrote: »

Chains break. Chains derail.

No chain, no brake, you're in trouble !

Also you can not stop as quickly in an emergency situation with only the rear wheel.

A front brake is necessary. A rear brake not so much so, as you can stop the bike quickest using ONLY the front brake. You would want to be well versed in skid stops in case you had a front brake failure.

Personally I want the rear brake as a drag down long descents as I cycle my fixie up the Wicklow mountains. I have also discovered recently (the painful way) that using a front brake on ice is a very bad idea and think a rear is pretty essential when there is ice on the road.

In dry conditions a front brake only is fine, especially for around the city.

dub_skav

Have a charge plug myself and love it. I'm a flat bars man still and that appealed to me on the plug. Feels very solid under you too.

It is supposedly heavy for a fixie (i've never tried any others), but it all depends where you're coming from - it's lighter than most bikes I've ever owned.

Lots of choice in this thread and they're all pretty decent. Probably comes down to looks and what you can get the best price on.

fish-head

The track geometry on the Fuji also makes it a harsher ride than something a little more relaxed, definitely worth considering if you have to commute every day on it.

Highway_To_Hell

Also thinking of getting a Charge Plug from wiggle (€530 delivered approx) but I like the look of the Charge Plug Racer it cost €640 delivered but you get €57 free goods discount so the cost is only €580. (€50 extra for a chrome finished bike sounds good to me)

- Are there any Charge Plug suppliers in Dublin?
- Would the spec on these be the same apart from the handlebars?
- As I am 5' 8" I presume the Medium size would be the right fit.

Thanks

blorg

Looks like there is a bit of a wait from Wiggle. To be honest the Fuji is a lot cheaper and has a better frame, if you were looking at a steel fixie. I would heavily resent the brake levers on the Charge Plug Racer, just wrong on drops IMHO.

penexpers

You could also look at the Surly Steamroller. Consistently gets good reviews and they've just recently introduced a new complete build of it

http://www.surlybikes.com/steamroller_comp.html

peterk19

havent seen those felts before very nice, were did everyone buy them im considering one for an early christmas present to myself

niceonetom

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

ok what the fuck is holding that bike up? seriously, it's spooky.

Raam

niceonetom wrote: »

ok what the fuck is holding that bike up? seriously, it's spooky.

I was gonna ask that yesterday, but was afraid too in case it was too obvious.

TinyExplosions

Raam wrote: »

I was gonna ask that yesterday, but was afraid too in case it was too obvious.

+1

Thanks niceonetom!

christeb

TinyExplosions wrote: »

+1

Thanks niceonetom!

+2 I was gonna quote until I got to pg 3! Invisible strings?

Caroline_ie

Easy ....

blorg

Photo is from the Bike Radar Review so DirkVoodoo may not know! I think it is a matter of someone just out of shot letting go of the bike momentarily.





This one looks suspicious

DirkVoodoo

Haha, nice spot Tom. Yeah as Blorg says I swiped it from BikeRadar, my wiki photo isn't nearly as nice.

Maybe they have a little stand they just photoshop out? Or what Blorg says.

Is that Storck one the like 12,000 euro bike that is under 6Kg?

EDIT: Yup, 4.8Kg

DirkVoodoo

peterk19 wrote: »

havent seen those felts before very nice, were did everyone buy them im considering one for an early christmas present to myself

Wiggle, should be a good price now with Sterling so weak.

I tried to get one in JD's but David was unsure about getting one in.

kincsem

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Wiggle, should be a good price now with Sterling so weak.

I tried to get one in JD's but David was unsure about getting one in.

Ordered mine on 2nd November, delivered on 1st December.

Message on 5th November from Wiggle -
We're sorry but we've just been informed that our suppliers are currently out of stock of this product. Our suppliers have told us that more stock is due into the UK in approximately mid november Your order will be despatched as soon as the goods arrive.

Niallface

do what i did and get yourself a frame from a skip (you get bonus points if its covered in concrete including in the seat tube). then strip it clean it paint it and spend less than 200 on bits and pieces wheels etc,
sweet custom ride with the satisfaction that you nursed it back to health..
http://flickr.com/photos/21320054@N06/3101446338/

steinone

Niall the best advice here, I did the same. Well nearly got an old wreck of a bike off my friend which had been lying in his shed for years, got the frame headset forks stem bars for a fiver, epic win. Built it up for much the same as you.
Very satisfying and it is the ultimate way to learn about bikes their parts and their maintenance.

Ghost Rider

If anyone's still looking for a singlespeed, there's a Kona Paddy Wagon for €250 on www.gumtree.ie. No idea whether it's legit or not, though...

bobtjustice

Dunno, if anyone mentioned a one of these, can't be arsed to read the full thread

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Charge_Plug_2009/5360039090/

I've been trying to resist the urge to get on a fixie, but this bike is niiiiiiice!!!!

dub_skav

bobtjustice wrote: »

Dunno, if anyone mentioned a one of these, can't be arsed to read the full thread

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Charge_Plug_2009/5360039090/

I've been trying to resist the urge to get on a fixie, but this bike is niiiiiiice!!!!

I have one and I concur it is indeed niiiiiiice.

It is heavier than other fixies, but I find it lighter than many bikes I have owned before and it is a great commuter. Not sure if you'd want to head up the mountains on it, but I think blorg is the only one who'd consider that anyway

bobtjustice

dub_skav wrote: »

I have one and I concur it is indeed niiiiiiice.

It is heavier than other fixies, but I find it lighter than many bikes I have owned before and it is a great commuter. Not sure if you'd want to head up the mountains on it, but I think blorg is the only one who'd consider that anyway

You might be able to answer a question for me so, how you do actually find cycling a fixie, like do you get to a point where your left looking for more resistance to get more speed.
Or is it more that you use it for cruising round town. I have images of my legs being a total blur, yet heading down the quays at 5 miles an hour.

TinyExplosions

bobtjustice wrote: »

You might be able to answer a question for me so, how you do actually find cycling a fixie, like do you get to a point where your left looking for more resistance to get more speed.
Or is it more that you use it for cruising round town. I have images of my legs being a total blur, yet heading down the quays at 5 miles an hour.

It's all dependent on your gearing, but I can motor along comfortably at 30kph on my fixie without my legs being a blur

blorg

bobtjustice wrote: »

You might be able to answer a question for me so, how you do actually find cycling a fixie, like do you get to a point where your left looking for more resistance to get more speed.
Or is it more that you use it for cruising round town. I have images of my legs being a total blur, yet heading down the quays at 5 miles an hour.

It depends on the gearing but you shouldn't generally find this to be too much of a problem. I have 46-17 which gives 73.1 gear inches. This will give a "normal" speed range of between 25 and 35km/h at reasonable cadences between 70 and 100 RPM. I find this works well for the flats and going up or down mild gradients. With more severe climbs you go slower (I find the fixie comfortable up to 8% or so) while the legs flying around thing happens on serious descents, but you are not then going at 5 mph

Rabbit is good for calculating this sort of thing.

bobtjustice

blorg wrote: »

It depends on the gearing but you shouldn't generally find this to be too much of a problem. I have 46-17 which gives 73.1 gear inches. This will give a "normal" speed range of between 25 and 35km/h at reasonable cadences between 70 and 100 RPM. I find this works well for the flats and going up or down mild gradients. With more severe climbs you go slower (I find the fixie comfortable up to 8% or so) while the legs flying around thing happens on serious descents, but you are not then going at 5 mph

Cheers lads, I think the Charge will be purchased after christmas.!!

blobert

Am tempted to sell my reliable Fuji Track 06 single speed and get one of the Giant Bowery Mashups, they look very nice and plain. Have had it several years without problems but feel like trying something new.

They seem to sell for about £390, any idea of where to get one that will ship to Ireland cheaply?

Also how much do you think I would get for my Fuji? Its in good condition, I fitted decent Tektro front and rear brakes, flat bars, new saddle post etc.

Also where do people find is best to sell a single speed, Adverts? eBay?

Thanks

blorg

If you are happy with the Fuji I suspect you would likely end up disappointed selling it for a Bowery, ask yourself what is it you are looking for that the Fuji doesn't do for you and you might be on a better track.

crown of storms

blorg wrote: »

If you are happy with the Fuji I suspect you would likely end up disappointed selling it for a Bowery, ask yourself what is it you are looking for that the Fuji doesn't do for you and you might be on a better track.

yea- the bowery would be a bit of a downgrade- no offence to owners- i love mine, but it isn't a proper track bike. It is nice and light though...
i'd stick with the fuji or get something better than the bowery- bianchi pista's are lovely!