canali

www.redlinebicycles.com/adultbikes/925.html

I like this as it has brazeons for fenders and larger tires.
(I'd swap out the fenders for my wooden ones)

Good price, too, but aren't too familiar with components
quality as this area is new to me.

Pls advise

baxtefer

who in van is selling these? ed at mighty? cost?

anyway. redline makes nice frames.
the formula hubs are decent. they should be the low-flange version of the IROs.
rims are meh.
the 110 BCD cranks kinda turn me off.
i wouldn't be surprised if the fixed cog was a stamped POS.
the rest of the components are generic house branded bits.

DiegoFrogs

I like the concept, but it seems like canti studs would be a better match to the overall style... If it had at least canti studs on the fork I'd place an order tomorrow...

iansir

I really like it, I plan on getting one as soon as I get through taxes. Nice that it appears to come with not only fenders, but a chain tensioner too. And finally a readymade bike that has reasonable gearing (not everyone lives in the flatlands). I'd switch out the bars though. Looks to be good value for the $$ considering the good (for this price range) formula hubs.

MLPROJECT

eew.

haha it says ADULT BIKES at the top. fitting as it looks like an old man bike

Aeroplane

I really don't think you can do better for the price range. Cartridge bearing hubs, steel frame, fenders... Just swap out the handlebars, take off the rear brake, and you have a sweet machine.

I'm very surprised that it's not more popular. Maybe the moustache bars are just too off-putting for most people (even though it is the easiest part of your bike to change).

LóFarkas

Too low BB (it seems from the pic), compact geometry, moustache bars... Ouch. Sweet fork though, and fender eyelets rock.

max-a-mill

if i didn't already have a crosscheck outfitted almost exactly the same way i'd be at the shop with cash in hand!

i rode a monocog SS mtb for a while and for the money, redline seems to make really nice bikes!

lyledriver

I talked to Ed at Mighty about this, and he said they would be bringing them in in Jan.
I haven't checked recently though.

spidercyclist

One of the bike shops in my area has one.
The wheel and wrench bike shop in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio has some. But he did not have any built up when I went last. They said they would have one built up soon and could test ride one soon. The parts look pretty good for a lower end single speed road bike. The price range is about $490. If its anything like the monoclog that I have It will be a nice bike. Have a good evening.

popluhv

I don't get it folks. It loks like a repainted conversion on FGG, but lacking lugs. I know a lot of people enjoy the relaxed geometry, and room for two breaks, but it seems there are so many more who want a track frame. Are Bianchi, IRO and KHS the only manufacturers who get it, or is it me?

bostontrevor

The Mark V isn't a track frame, fyi. It's a pretty traditional road geometry with a tall bottom bracket.

What the 925 has going for it is not just geometry (desireable to many people) but the fact that it can fit cushier tires, fenders, and a rack all at a decent price point for a complete bike.

The fact is, there's nobody selling a new bike that does all that. I do like a taller bottom bracket, myself.

popluhv

Ok, so even fewer companies are making a track-ish bikes? Do you get my point though? It seems that a company could make a great deal of profit by making one. So many entry-level bikes have come out in the past two years, which to me, seem like hybrids with track ends. The custom track frame makers are doing very well, and I wonder if that is in part, due to the fact that no one "makes 'em like they used to" (mass produced that is).

yeah/neah?

bostontrevor

There are enough sellers in the low-end track bike market. How many do you actually need? What differentiates you from the competition?

There's nobody in the inexpensive-practical-everyday market.

It might be a smaller market but with no competitors...

That's actually one of the places Redline has been doing quite well for itself: the market niches that others have deemed to small to bother with.

Custom makers are doing well for the usual reasons that custom makers do well. The only "mass produced" threats to their business are small run operations like Rivendell, Bob Jackson, or Kogswell who don't do custom but still have handbuilt bikes with attention to detail. (Ok, Riv and BJ also have custom offerings, but you get the point.)

Kiecker

I like this bike. I like it a lot. Not everyone is wanting steep geometry for a commuter...thus the name 9 2 5

OneTinSloth

which complete track-oriented bikes seem like hybrids with track ends to you? the KHS flite100 (track)? the bianchi pista (track)? the specialized langster (closer to an allez than a sirrus, but not really super trackish)? the fuji track (track)? the lemond filmore (track)? if you're talking about the gary fisher, the raleigh, and this redline, then you appear to have missed the point of those bikes. none of those bikes pretend to be serious track bikes. they're town bikes. for people who don't have the time to put into building their own.

i see more people on bikes similar to those every day than on "true" track bikes. redline seems to be giving people what they want in a complete package (perhaps minus the moustache bars for most people, i happen to love them and i cannot for the life of me fathom why people don't like them but that's an entirely different rant). there's a chance that you could luck out and piece together a bike for less than what the 925 costs, but it wouldn't be all new parts. if i didn't already have 10 million bikes, i'd probably consider it. as it is, i have a couple track bikes that give me my fixie fix, and my super practical 1x8 moustache barred (flipped upright even), bar end shiftered, big fat 38c tire-d, relaxed position, long wheelbase-d, 3 bottle mounted trek 620 that i ride 5 days out of 7 on my commute, and the other two, i'm usually on my MTB. the redline is a dope bike, and i feel sad for the people who don't/won't realise it. it has just about everything i could want in a bike, except canti mounts, which is why, if decide to get a new 700c single speed bike, i'll probably end up with a 135 rear spaced il pompino.

companies aren't making track-ish bikes because that's not what people want to use them for, plus, despite what the internets suggest, track bikes on the street and fixed gear culture is not as big as you all might think.

Kogswell

It seems like there's a $599 price point for single-cog bikes. Go any higher and you're out of the market.

The 800 lb gorilla in the 'practical' business seems to be Bianchi. The Castro Valley at $799 seems to be the canonical 'practical' bike (lighting, fenders, etc). The Norava Fusion is another good example. But these bikes are geared.

If Bianchi or REI made a flip/flip version of those bikes, they could market them for $699+, I'm guessing.

Is that what you had in mind?

I guess what I'm saying is that both Bianchi and REI are big enough to squeeze the best deals out of vendors and if they have to play in the $599-799 range, then that's the current state of low-cost-ed-ness. Any lower and you're deep into KrapTown.

Speaking of REI, does anyone besides me like Novara bikes? I think they rock and I think it has everything to do with the fact that they don't play in the IBD arena. They're direct marketers who hit the same price points but reward the buyers with better value.

Oh, and one more thing. One the 925, I reject the notion that you can fit fenders and big tires under a 57mm reach brake. Especially with track dropouts. It's nearly impossible to do with verticals. Rivendell proved that with the early Rambouillets (hence the Canti-Roms). The trick to fenders and big tires is to use cantis or 63mm+ reach sidepulls.

B17

You're looking at it as a stock bike off the rack. If you remove the fenders and replace the moustache with Dirt Drops or even regular road drops it starts to look much better.

And any bike with that much clearance looks better with cantis, IMO. Cantis just sort of validate the clearance, especially in the rear where it's most noticeable.

Zonker

I've always liked the Novara Buzz. Oh, and I'd buy a Model G in an instant...if you went bigger than a 58. Why only two sizes? Good, thoughtful post above.

popluhv

That answers my question/curiosity.

Kogswell

We have a new fixee coming that'll be available in 61.6cm.

bostontrevor

Bianchi calls it the San Jose.

Like the Castro Valley, it's built on the Volpe frame and lands under the $600 pricepoint. Unfortunately, to get down there they stripped the fenders and the generator hub. Fenders are easy enough to get back, but it's going to cost a little more to rebuild with a decent hub. I'm sure they came to the conclusion that as a general rule, the bicycle-buying public isn't interested in paying $700+ for a single-speed bike with fenders and lights.

That might be, but there are exceptions to that rule and Redline is apparently happy to sell a smaller number of their bikes to those exceptions.

Plus the Redline appeals to the Grant Peterson True Believers. Fenders, rack eyelets, mustache bars? Man, this is the best thing since your old XO-1 fixed gear conversion. Arguably it could do with cantis instead of sidepulls but I'm guessing there were aesthetic considerations for when people pull off that rear brake.

I've never ridden one, but they seem like a pretty solid value and I know people who are very happy with theirs. I imagine it's like you say, they save quite a bit being the manufacturer (assembler) and retail channel in one.

Mchaz

I like it.

The 110 BCD cranks are a little disappointing, but there are still plenty of options using BMX spider rings. The tire clearance is more generous than any other big bike co. fixie I've seen. 700x30 with fenders isn't bad. Plus the gearing is perfect for crusing around campus or whatever.

Risers anyone? (I <3 Photoshop).

fatbat

110 bcd cranks are practical for high tire clearance bikes. With larger BCD, it's harder to get correct chainline, since the cranks are going to be dangerously close to the chainstays.

Mchaz

Good point.