Should I build a bike or buy off the peg?

a) unless money really is a limiting factor and you can't beg/borrow/steal spare parts off anyone.

-Would need to invest in some bike specific tools
-I might suck at it

It's not that hard, although I did dethread my cranks cause I didn't know how to use a crank extractor properly. I see it as a learning experience. And now I've got enough tools and knowhow so if stuff goes wrong I can fix it myself instead of taking it to a bike shop.

Well, I know I'd probly build myself, but all the logic still says:

If you don't have the parts lying around, or Veloswap happening nearby (it's up the street here next Sunday), buy it whole. It's just a better deal.

Seriously, Veloswap has kerrazy good deals. At least used to.

The biggest reason I bought a frameset for my new commuter rather than say, a San Jos8, is that the only thing I needed to buy was the frame, and the hub,rim,shifter. I've got bars and headsets and brakesets cluttering up junkboxes.

I would be thrilled if my roommates made our apt into a workshop.

Can you take a class somewhere, or do a volunteer night, or is there an "open shop" night anywhere local? You should go into it with *some* knowledge, you don't want to need a babysitter, but at least your chances of accidentally ruining anything would be a lot lower.

Also then when something starts rattling in a few weeks, you can diagnose it by knowledge of the components & assembly, and start the fun ("fun") part of wrenching: tinkering.

I don't think it's possible to suck at it, btw, if you keep ego out and just want to learn. And go slowly, it's the whole "measure twice, cut once" thing all over again. Fortunately lots of things (cables, housing, nuts & bolts) are cheap tho I would not want to do like ledge and strip an actual part.

Make friends w/ your local shop though, whichever shop has the best vibe to you. My brother did in CA and now he takes them parts to get them pressed on or machined, anything you can't really have the home tools for, and they like doing it, because all the bikes they sell these days are so samey and already done.

one thing i don't understand about the "if you didn't build your bike you are a poseur" crowd is that i, personally, have no idea how a frame and fork would feel/ride by looking at it... when i got hit and my vintage track bike got run over, i decided to take a look at new bikes (quieter, more solid feeling) and i test rode my current bike and loved the feel of it.

I guess people rely on reputation and word of mouth in choosing a frame. I would probably go for an IRO frame just based on what I've heard. It's a good point.

Maybe you have to either be much less demanding, like me, or way informed, like SC said...? For me, a basic new steel frameset would be a playground of possible good things, whereas for someone v in-the-know maybe they'd already have stuff in mind, have borrowed a friends or tried at a store or whatever. Plus I think people just accumulate the small stuff (ie everything but a frame) and keep it around, so if you don't like "x" bars, just try something else from yr stash.

Well, the cx frame I bought earlier this year off the net is a good example of the frustration of buying w/out trying.

The frame is pictured in the ILTRMB thread in ILE. Buying online, with no actual product available to inspect, I checked what I could. The TT length, head tube length, angles, fork rake. I can make a good guess as to what it would feel like riding based on my prev. rides. And when I got it, did it ride like that? Yup, it was nice, but a little long. With a 1 cm shorter stem, it fits great, but the steering is little less immediate. But also, less likely to push on soft corners (less weight on front wheel). Fine.

However- for racing:
The compact frame is not as comfy to get on the shoulder. S'ok, don't shoulder much anyway.
The frame tubing is triangular, with the pointy side down-diabolical, gah, I hate.
The pully on the front derailler is RIGHT where a chaindrop guard goes, no way around it. GRR, esp since I hate top tube routing for cx anyway.
Chainstays are WAY wide, for some reason. Heel strike.

It's a fantastic deal on a cx frame for what most people do on cx. I like to ride it. It's just not a good race bike, and I wouldn't have bought it if I'd tested it out.

What are other options for an off the peg fixed bike for a neophyte fixed rider? Paddywagon, Surly...?

Surly, Soma, Bianchi, Fuji....

specialized

WHATS YR BUDGET BRO.

AND WHAT KIND OF RIDING ARE U GOING TO BE DOING?

If you want a bargain, check out bikesdirect.com

Mercier Kilo TT and Windsor Hour both get much love.

Basically every major (and many minor) bike maker has at least one SS/FG model. Do you want a track bike or more of a road bike?

WAIT, DIDNT U START THIS THREAD?

I ARE CONFUSED.

Super Cub is FAKE

BIKES DIRECT SPAMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what did I do? I was responding to caek.

AND I"M NO SHILL

everyone needs to buy me a bike

ASK PEG.

who is "the peg?"

SHADY

you mean the pegging FG subculture?

Yaow. No bitching in the clubhouse!

I have a two mile daily commute, which I currently do on the 2003 (!) model of this: http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f%5FProductID=7835. I've done some running repairs to this thing over the years, so I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I don't feel like I know enough to select parts for a good self-build. I'm in Oxford, UK, which is a cycling town and pretty much totally flat. I guess my budget is no more than £400. I have never ridden fixed before, so I guess I should get a bike with a flip-flop hub in case I suck at it -- and really have a go on a fixed bike before I even start worrying about geometries, etc.

bikesdirect.com is attracting my mighty £ right now.

I think bikesdirect.com is a US operation, and you'd have to pay for shipping to UK. That would negate any savings.

If you really want the trackbike FG experience, then something like the Bianchi Pista would be the way to go. You'd want to install a front brake and I'm not sure if the frame is even drilled for a back brake. It has a flip-flop hub, but it wouldn't be very wise to go freewheel without a back brake (although some people do it). You'd need to buy and install the freewheel.

Something like the Paddywagon might be a better bet. It comes with a flip-flop hub too, but actually has the freewheel and is set up as SS. Front and rear brakes too. The geometry is not as aggressvie as a track bike. If you ended up not liking FG, you'd have a really nice SS bike.

FIXED GEAR IS OVER-RATED, GO STRAIGHT FOR THE CYCLECROSS BIKE, IT'S GONNA BE HUGE IN 2009. OR FIXED A CYCLECROSS BIKE.

fixed recumbents

I predict the next trend will be industrial bikes

No internal hub trykes.

Fully faired HPVs for 2010

FREEWHEEL UNICYCLES

http://patentpending.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/capture7192005102602_pm.jpg

My gf is currently looking at the Bianchi Camaleonte III Tiagra Triple 2008 Hybrid (she has to buy from Evans cos of how her work subsidises the purchase), but I can't find much useful feedback on the internet. Anyone know much about it? Here's the Evans link.

Thanks for the advice guyz (esp. Super Cub)

I'm fine so far with freewheel + front brake but I'll bet I don't ride v aggressively compared to most here. Also my bike is relatively heavy (old) so probably lifts up less than a newer road version.

Altho in the rain with steel rims is not the place to find yr front brake not grabbing, for sure.

I'd actually put a rear brake on if I could find one with a short enough reach, everything I tried at the shop was way too long.

I just looked at the Paddy Wagon -- am I a bad person for not liking the sloped top tube?

A lot of people don't dig on the sloping top tube. Paddywagon is better than some though. Check out Specialized Langster for some really fugly sloping top tube action.

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=22153

Langster: Gak gak

Question: so quill stems are the modern alternative to threadless, I take it...but they must be better than the old ones, bc it is NOT POSSIBLE to screw mine on tightly enough that the bars can't be twisted. Mine has the hex-head bolt, though, not the recessed allen.

OTM about the fuglyness of sloping top tube.

I thought quill stems were old tech and hard to find now.

Quill stems are old tech but there's still a lot of them around.

SLOPPED TOP TUBES ARE THE OPPOSITE OF TRACK BIKE GEOMETRY. BUT I GUESS THEY ARE GOING FOR THE COMMUTER TRACK BIKE ENTHUSIAST.

THREADLESS IS THE MODERN ALTERNATIVE TO A THREADED QUILL STEM....LAUREL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE EXPANDER?

I dunno! I noticed graceful narrow stems on the ANT bikes and lots of other nice ones in photos, and I thought: wow, if people are using those by choice on pricey, hand-made bikes, they must have gotten better along the way, b/c mine SUX. And it seems like there should be an alternative to threadless, cos those things are some ugly monsters.

FYI, from Bikes Direct:

Customers from outside the USA get their bikes picked up by DHL
after wiring us funds
DHL helps with all paperwork

You can get quote from DHL from Houston Texas 77023 to your location
package is 54x8x28 inches and weighes around 40 [bike & packaging]

We can send you exact instutctions after you decide if you wish to purchase
just tell us the Make & Model you want -- plus the size

We can then send you wire instuctions

Threadless stems = improvement that's actually a big improvement (perhaps except for aesthetics)

Sloping geometry = improvement that's a dubious achievement

You could do a whole thread of these types of statements

even the $3800 carbon pro Langster has a slightly sloped top tube.

i have a threadless stem but want to go threaded for aesthetic reasons.

I've heard that sloping top tubes are an effort on the part of bike makers to reduce the number of sizes offered. Sloping top tubes make it easier to find a decently fitting bike, so they only have to offer 4 sizes instead of 6. The manufacturers claim that sloping top tubes give the frame more "stiffness" and "responsiveness" or some such thing. Whatever. It looks kind of ugly, but a slight case of slope isn't a deal breaker or anything.

sloping top tubes are horrendous looking, and quill stems are v v pretty, btw

also langsters, esp in their current "regional" incarnation are icky

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/images/Charge-Plug_side_hi.jpg

Your thoughts? http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article/mps/UAN/2599/

it's a nice looking bike and seems to be true track geometry, rather than just a road conversion. my only concern is that 42:16 seems pretty low for a gear ratio. most mass-consumer track bikes i've seen are in the 48:16 range.

The 2008 plug is being split into two. One will have drops and the other looks like this:

http://chargebikes.typepad.com/photos/cycle_2007/10.jpg

Special edition of 25 Titanium frame for £1000 instead of £400 for the complete steel bike:

http://chargebikes.typepad.com/photos/cycle_2007/9.jpg

Also, that price seems a bit steep. I don't know how much UK bikes generally go for, but I feel like that bike should be 50 pounds cheaper. It sounds like kind of a boutique company, so maybe you pay a bit for the novelty factor.

But it looks great (except maybe for the decals). The pink version is silly looking.

£400 is pretty much the going rate for an entry level complete fixed road bike: http://www.evanscycles.com/dept.jsp?dept_id=4217&subdept_id=4281. (This is why I'm looking into bikesdirect, etc.)

I don't like the branding either. Those decals are on all their bikes, and they looked like ass in 1999. I think I'm going to wait for the two 2008 Plugs.

that geometry looks a little slack?

Powder-coated rims are so beautiful and candy-like. Sad, so sad.

Caek, the Plug got a great review in Cycling Plus, if you're interested. And personally I love the bullhorn bar/suicide brakes setup.

Carrera fugs

I'm in favor of requiring doods on cowhorns to accessorize appropriately, with dual discs:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/8129/mosermh8.jpg

Maybe a ponytail:

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/2980/fignonlr7.jpg

No, the image is flipped.