Lycosa

Hello Everyone,

I've been researching a good SS/FG bike for around $650 max and to say the least, it's been frustrating. I've looked at so many different bikes, but when I go and find reviews for them, it's not pretty. State Bicycles for instance.. they look nice, but I can't find anyone on a forum that has a nice thing to say about them.

The Mercier kilo tt pro seems like a pretty decent bike. At a $449 price point, it seems like a really good deal. Reynolds CroMo frame, decent wheelset and crankset. I can't seem to find much better for the price.

I found a Bianchi Pista on CL for $550 in really nice shape, but I'm wondering if the bike is really worth it or is it just sort of 'hipster' hype?

Others that seem decent and close to the price range are:

Fuji Feather or Fuji Track Classic
Specialized Langster
Motobecane FantomCross Uno

And then of course there's sooo many online 'My bike matches my Cynical T-Shirt' dealers out there it's a confusing mess.

Am I on the right track with my selections? (excuse the poor pun)

Are there anymore that I should consider?

Help is appreciated!

SpeedofLight

The Kilo pro is a nice bike but if your looking on the bikes direct site, they have zero kilo's of any size in stock I emailed them about it. If you find anywhere else that stocks them willing to ship, do let me know.

Lycosa

hmm.. it says on their site they have the SharkGray Pro in 55cm. Are you saying they don't update their website and they're out of them? That'll suck...

Nagrom_

This thread is so meta.

bmontgomery87

Yes.
When you try to complete the checkout, it tells you then.
Website is very poorly designed.

Scrodzilla

fixed lyfe.

Lycosa

great....

Well I guess I could buy the regular kilo tt. I added one to the cart and they seem to be in stock when I did a false checkout.

I had a guy from CL say he'd reduce his price for the Pista to $500 and it looks like it came off the showroom floor. I'm guessing the pista is the better buy between the kilo tt and the Pista?

And no... I'm not buying the bike to be a hipster. In fact, at 41, I believe I'd be excluded on age alone. I just want a fixed gear to try out and if I hate it, it'll become a SS bike.

Philasteve

Instead of paying $500 for the Pista, if it were me I would buy the Kilo tt and use the rest of the money for a new saddle, handlebars and pedals. The Fantom Uno Cross is more like a Surly Cross Check than it is a track bike. You can run fat knobby tires on it though if you wanted to. I guess it depends on what kind of riding you plan on doing and what kind of terrain you're riding on.

Lycosa

I'll likely be riding between 10-20 miles on less than ideal roads.. mainly back roads that aren't fixed or repaved that often. I'm not much for trail-riding so I don't need to be equipped for that. Occasionally, I do centuries down to south Florida from central Florida. Hills are pretty scarce here and on that century, 50 miles is down the Withlacoochie bike trail which is about as nice as it gets. I mainly want the bike for city cruising, running with a back pack to local stores, that kind of thing. I'm not into racing, more like casual touring. I just want to try it on a fg/ss bike. Sounds like fun and people sure remark about how much fun they're having... figured it would be worth the money to give it a shot.

TejanoTrackie 

If you ride a lot of crappy roads, then you want wider tires that you can run at lower pressures. The Kilo TT has precious little clearance for wider tires, and you could get just the same SSFG experience from a Kilo WT, that is the same quality as a Kilo TT Pro for $50 less. It is also a better quality frame and wheelset than the Pista.

Lycosa

Thanks for the advice. After reading some reviews, I'd have thought that the Pista was God's gift to cycling. I was looking over the Kilo WT, but I was worried about rolling resistance and whether I would notice it or not. Some of the roads are pretty bad that I have to ride on, not to mention curb jumps in places throughout the city. I'll really have to rethink this.. sounds like pretty good advice.

TejanoTrackie 

It's a myth that wider tires have higher rolling resistance. The only difference is that they are heavier, but unless you are racing it's hardly noticeable. More important is the quality of the tires, rather than their width. The stock Kendas on the Kilos are just fair quality and not particularly puncture resistant. I replaced them immediately with Panaracer Pasela TG tires and they rolled much better and in 3-1/2 years I've yet to get a flat on crappy roads with glass and other debris. If you need something even tougher get the Panaracer RiBMo.

Lycosa

I think you just sold me on the Kilo WT. I was just thinking of a few hard pack short cuts that I never take on my road bike because... well... I tried it once and in the sugar sand, those narrow tires just barely cut it. Having a little more heavy duty rim wouldn't hurt for some of the places I ride either. I'll check out those tires and see if maybe I can order a set and have them arrive at the same time as the bike. I'm considering a Brooks saddle too.. I've never had one, but they sure seem to make people happy. Any advice for a handlebar upgrade? I like drop bars and am used to them, but I'm trying to make this a new experience and try out new things. Changing up the handlebars to something new sounds fun.. Why not? I've always wondered if there were any advantages to bull horn bars.

TejanoTrackie 

I'd suggest starting out with the stock drop bars and then deciding if you want to change after riding them for awhile and playing around with adjustments of height and tilt. Drop bars are the most versatile, because they give you the most hand positions (top, hoods, drops), but bullhorns are good too, and I've got both types of bars on my various bikes. The main thing is to get the proper stem length, such that your riding position feels natural and comfortable for your anatomy.

Philasteve

I mostly ride my Surly Steamroller which is almost the same as the Kilo WT. I'm using 32 Soma Everwears right now and don't notice a difference in speed between these and my 25c Maxxis Detonators.

bmontgomery87

Doesn't the lower pressure that you're running in wider tires lead to lost energy though?
I've noticed it's a bit harder to get up hills now that I'm running a 28c with 80 psi as opposed to my 23c with 110 psi.

prooftheory

TT just told you that this is a myth.
This could be entirely do to the difference in weight/momentum. You'll notice a similar difference if you just go from gatorskins to gp4000s for example, even though the tread profile is identical.

bmontgomery87

Maybe that's it, or it could be entirely in my mind. I'm not a fan of the 28 just doesn't seem to feel quite as good when I'm riding.
Trying 25's next.

rms13

I tried two and was never happy. Felt like a torture device whenever I rode. Saddles are very personal and unfortunately you don't know which one fits your ass comfortably until you try one

Philasteve

Damn bro, you just broke my heart. I thought a brooks was the answer for my steamroller. I'm not feeling my San Marco Ischia, I guess I just have to try one myself before buying. I guess I thought I would love a Brooke since I see everyone and their moms riding them, I guess street cred before comfort in some cases.

Scrodzilla

You know it literally takes years to break in a Brooks saddle, right?

gogotheyogrtman

Here's the thing...

Recently I've taken a new viewpoint about this subject. When it comes to choosing a frame model, brand, and/or material, it all comes down to personal preference. Some people will tell you that state bicycles are complete and utter **** while others think they're not half bad. Others worship the Kilo TT (which in my opinion is one of the best bikes money can buy). Some people live by the classic Bianchi super pista. If you were to do a search on... lets say... the leader 725, you would get countless opinions. "Oh this frame is garbage, don't even think about it!" "Oh the 725 is all I've ever ridden since 2000 and whatever! Get it!" "Ah... it's ok, give it a try, see what you think!" I promise you, at the end of the day, it comes down to personal opinion. You half to look around, talk to people at your LBS, keep posting on here! You are definitely going to throw some money down the drain here and there on some crappy part like the Royal Flush crank from paul components or something like that. But that's just part of the long haul. You just gotta find your groove and stick with it. Like I said, it all comes down to personal preference. The geometrics of the bike, the materials, the feel, everything.

Sorry for the length :/ and best wishes, hope I helped. And my opinion, go with the Special Langster or the Kilo.

rms13

Exactly! Who has that much time? I need to ride every day.

prooftheory

In that case, are you sure that it is the saddle that is breaking in and not your rear? The reason I ask is the Birkenstocks used to have this same "breaking in" cult about them, so I wore a pair of these things for like a year before they were comfortable. I dreaded it when they wore out and I was going to have to see whether I wanted another pair or not. I went to the shoe store and put some on and they fit perfectly. My tarsals had been spread apart to fit the shape of the hippy sandals. I wonder if something like that isn't happening here

SpeedofLight

I have a Brooks B17 narrow on one of my vintage bikes, I like it for that bike alone, only problem I have is that the leather is super slick to sit on and you slide all over the place on it really easy.