Off the peg Singlespeed/Fixed Gear poll

electrogrimey

Ok, so I just sold a Raleigh Airlite 300, and am looking to replace it with an off-the-peg SS/fixie. Mainly looking at the 2010 Langster Steel, but wouldn't mind being steered towards something else in the same price-range, if there was something better out there.

So, I thought a bit of a poll of the most popular stock fixies would do the trick. List is basically robbed from that LFGSS thread.

If I left any out tell me and I'll pop it into the poll, or a mod can.

DirkVoodoo

No "other" option?

electrogrimey

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

No "other" option?

Was thinking instead of an other option, people can just say the bike they mean and it can be put into the poll. Just realised I left out the Kona Paddywagon...

blorg

They are very different bikes. I have a Bowery and a Tricross (and a Planet X Carbon track bike incidentally, they have some of them on clearance for £699 at the moment.)

But point is, deciding whether the Bowery or the Tricross is a "better" bike is ridiculous. One is basically a fixed road bike, the other a fixed cross bike. One is lighter and nimble, the other is heavier but can take big knobbly tyres for off road, a rack and mudguards.

It's like I came on here and asked which is better, a Scott Scale or an Addict.

Chips Lovell

blorg wrote: »

It's like I came on here and asked which is better, a Scott Scale or an Addict.

An Addict. Clearly.

DirkVoodoo

el tonto wrote: »

An Addict. Clearly.

Not if you're on it, then the scale is clearly better.

electrogrimey

blorg wrote: »

They are very different bikes. I have a Bowery and a Tricross (and a Planet X Carbon track bike incidentally, they have some of them on clearance for £699 at the moment.)

But point is, deciding whether the Bowery or the Tricross is a "better" bike is ridiculous. One is basically a fixed road bike, the other a fixed cross bike. One is lighter and nimble, the other is heavier but can take big knobbly tyres for off road, a rack and mudguards.

It's like I came on here and asked which is better, a Scott Scale or an Addict.

The Tricross is very different alright, but as I said, I basically took the list from that LFGSS thread.

penexpers

Like every other "best bike" thread, the answer is "it depends".

DirkVoodoo

Well, my vote would be the Felt Dispatch purely because it is the only singlespeed/fixie I have ridden and after 1.5 years I still love it. Needs a new freewheel cog (managed to sort out my back wheel problem) but other than that it's great.

I think you would need a 56cm frame, 671 euro from wiggle, might find it cheaper if you look around.

The stock gearing of 39x16 is a bit on the light side but it's a good starting point. I quickly swapped it out for 44x16 which I find a good compromise for cycling around Dublin. I've taken it as far as Johnny Foxes in terms of altitude and longest spin was about 130km. I actually find the geometry perfect for me, suits me better than my road bike.

blorg

Maybe if you post up what you want from the bike, what is necessary etc. we could advise on what would be best for your needs.

E.g. do you want to stick on a rack and mudguards?

If you want to go offroad the Tricross is the ONLY option on that list.

What does "best" mean to you? Aesthetics? Weight? Many of the best looking bikes on that list are also the heaviest.

"Best" is simplistic and meaningless without some context of your priorities. They are all decent bikes.

Caroline_ie

I picked the bowery, because that's what i have and i love it but i have changed, bars,saddle,break,fork,both wheels ... so far.

electrogrimey

I realise it's near impossible to find the 'best' bike there, as they're all better at different things, but once the votes come in the leaders will come out at least.

Important things to me in a bike are efficiency/speed, I like to zip around town as fast as possible, as normally my journeys are quite short, 10/20 minutes or so, so weight is pretty important in that regard. Aesthetics are important I think too, not for looks, but for how you feel cycling the bike, and how much it makes you enjoy cycling it.

DirkVoodoo

The only leaders will be the most popular. You would be best off asking people their opinions rather than just going with what the most common singlespeed on boards is. Most popular does not equate to "best".

For example, I'm not a cycling journalist so naturally I can only recommend my bike, which I did.

If you want something fast, excluding the tricross then in the bikes you listed speed will mostly come down to your own ability. If you want something that handles well at speed, which is something more to do with the bike, then the Genesis flyer gets some great write ups (Raam has one) and the 2010 one comes in a slick baby blue finish.

Review.

blorg

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

The only leaders will be the most popular. You would be best off asking people their opinions rather than just going with what the most common singlespeed on boards is. Most popular does not equate to "best".

For example, I'm not a cycling journalist so naturally I can only recommend my bike, which I did.

Exactly, everyone will just vote for their own bike.

The best advice I could offer based on your priorities (speed and low weight) are to avoid all the steel bikes (as they will be heavy, as is the Tricross, it is like "a sofa atop a tank"), and get a standard Langster.

The Tricross is currently well ahead in the poll which is ridiculous as although a lovely bike (I commute and have even done overnight touring on it) it is utterly unsuited to your priorities.

flickerx

For that price you can get a flickerx special.

abcdggs

flickerx wrote: »

For that price you can get a flickerx special.

Shameless!

electrogrimey

blorg wrote: »

Based on your priorities (speed and low weight) are to avoid all the steel bikes (as they will be heavy, as is the Tricross, it is like "a sofa atop a tank"), and get a standard Langster.

Weight of a 56cm Langster is 8.78kg, weight of a 56cm steel is 10.44kg, would you really notice the difference of 1 or 2 kilograms?

DirkVoodoo

Yes, going uphill it will make a difference, around town not so much. There is also other factors to consider, the "steel is real" argument: steel makes for a more "springy" ride, the large diameter tubes of an aluminium bike tend to suffer from resonance problems, making the ride more jarring, but this can be mitigated somewhat by a carbon fork.

The langster is a solid singlespeed, but if I had the choice I would pick something like the Genesis (I linked a review in my previous post, I don't know if you saw it) or a Fuji Track. As I said before, I really like my Felt Dispatch, reasonably light, great frame, wheels could be better but the finish is good.

electrogrimey

Those bikes are much more geared toward a single-speed racer style of bike, whereas in a fixed-gear I like them to be more 70s frame, Brooks saddle kind of style. I'll hopefully get a geared racer alongside the fixie, so I'd like to have the fixie a bit different.

Edit: Wondering how far €130 go in a Pista over a Langster Steel, would it be worth it?

DirkVoodoo

electrogrimey wrote: »

So, I thought a bit of a poll of the most popular stock fixies would do the trick

electrogrimey wrote: »

Those bikes are much more geared toward a single-speed racer style of bike, whereas in a fixed-gear I like them to be more 70s frame, Brooks saddle kind of style. I'll hopefully get a geared racer alongside the fixie, so I'd like to have the fixie a bit different.

You'll have to forgive me if I appear confused. Was the poll then a list of bikes you were not interested in? If so, I apologise for referring to 2 of them and suggesting a 3rd similar one.

If you want that retro look I suggest talking to flickerx.

flickerx

abcdggs wrote: »

Shameless!

Yeah, yeah... I know. But I am finished doing builds now I think, for sale for myself anyway. I might do them for Rothar in the future.

electrogrimey

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Was the poll then a list of bikes you were not interested in?

Nah, the poll was just for curiosity, to try and see what the forum thought about the different stock bikes.

I'm kind of between the Langster Steel, the Bianchi, and the Charge Plug. Would I be right in saying in terms of quality those three bikes would go Bianchi, Langster, Charge?