dan.

Hey all,

I'm looking for an intro first fixed gear bike for getting around the city. I ordered a 2018 Fuji Track on the advice of a friend last week, but later discovered the highly recommended Kilo TT pro.

I realize these types of questions have been discussed quite a bit in the past, but I haven't seen any recent reviews of the fuji track.

My question is: is the Kilo TT Pro enough of an upgrade (e.g. reynolds 520 & crank) over the Fuji Track that I should pay the return shipping on the track in order to order the Kilo TT Pro? Or are the differences marginal, and would my money be better spent on an eventual upgrade (e.g. crank)?

Thanks!

TugaDude

I take it you didn't receive the Fuji yet? If not, why not try it out before making a decision? Both bikes are decent for the purpose you are interested in. Neither is particularly light nor are they heavy. Fuji uses a proprietary steel tubing that might be as good as the Reynolds at the end of the day. For "getting around the city" they will both work just fine. Then save your money and buy a higher end frame to build up how you see fit.

gl98115

#kilott

REDMASTA

i started on a fuji track having no idea what i wanted in a fixed gear. it's a decent pile to get you riding and served me just fine. kilo tt same thing. get whichever is cheaper, or flip a coin. if you stick with riding long enough you'll eventually want to build up something better.

rms13

I would say the price difference is about right. Elios 2 and Reynolds 520 are both entry level cromo with different branding so that's a wash. Kilo TT has chrome tips on fork and stays and braze on fork which is all basically aesthetics but it does look better in my opinion (which is just my opinion). Crankset on Kilo Pro is an upgrade but not a significant difference.

PeopleAreIdiots

I started on a fuji track too after just enough research to realize that anything cheaper is basically a waste of money. It has honestly served me well for the past 3 years of daily all weather commuting.

That said, I did replace the cranks and pedals after about a year, got new bar tape after a crash, and changed a couple of other things around for a better fit.

Only recently did I replace the wheels and saddle. Now the only thing original left is the frame itself, the seatpost and the bars and its still going strong every day. No complaints at all with the frame's weight or the finish quality. Ill probably ride it for another year before I finally get a new frame.

Long story short, If you ever get into riding enough to appreciate the differences in higher quality parts, you will have a great time upgrading your fuji like I did until you too finally retire its frame. I honestly dont think theres a big enough difference between the stock cranks or the steel on the kilo to get worked up about. Like I said, by the time you appreciate the difference you'll probably want better ones anyway.

Philasteve

If you already bought the Fuji track a week ago, now probably isn't the time to ask lol. They are both similar bikes, I would probably buy the Kilo TT over the Fuji. But if I already had the Fuji Track I wouldn't be spending money to ship it back just to buy a similar bike that maybe has a part or 2 better.

veganbikes

Which bikes did you try and which bikes did you like? If the answer is none, how do you know which bike to get? How do you know if you like fixed gear riding? Test riding a bike is a good way to know hey I like the bike or hey I don't like the bike.

Any of the stuff on Bikes Direct is all pretty similar quality wise. Cheap frames usually some cheap components and occasionally some really nice components on a relatively cheap frame usually with brand names that meant quality back in the 1900s at some point (usually 60s-80s) and are now just owned names by Bikes Direct and have nothing in common with the original bikes bearing their names. The Pound Sign: KiloTT is a popular bike for sure but 1" threadless fork/headset is not common and the 26.8 seatpost can be quite harder to come by (I have an old Cilo with that size and trying to find something of quality was tough and not cheap). At least the Fuji uses 1 1/8 steerer and a 27.2 seatpost (unless they have different spec for BD) it may not be quality components but if you decided to put new components on it, it would be easier to find stuff.

PeopleAreIdiots

As far as Im aware all fuji tracks do have a 1 1/8" steerer and a 27.2mm seatpost. This is a really good point.

dan.

Fair, lol. I tried to cancel the citygrounds order, but they shipped it anyways! () They told me they'd refund 1/2 of the shipping, so I'd be on the hook for the roughly $30 in one direction. That puts me at $30 + $450 = $480 for the kilo tt vs the $360 I spent on the track. What I'm hearing from folks here is that the Kilo isn't necessarily $120 better than the track (unless someone feels this way). Perhaps I save this money and spend it on better pedals / crankset in the future if needed!

Thanks all!

TugaDude

Dan, I think you are on the right path. Ride it and upgrade parts as needed. I'm sure whatever crankset it comes with is adequate. When you reach the point where you NEED to replace stuff, you will likely know what you WANT. That's the way it works.

PeopleAreIdiots

spend that $120 on new pedals, clips and double straps (if you like that setup that is) and itll feel like a new bike

either that or get yourself a helmet

veganbikes

It may still be a crap bike but features like that can put it well over the edge. Standard easy to find stuff makes a bike way more desirable then either outdated or hard to find technology. Give me a nice bike with a threaded BSA bottom bracket a 27.2 seatpost and a 1 1/8 threadless steerer keep everything f'ing metric so I can use a standard m4/m5...bolt and if you can give me a replaceable seatpost collar I am happy. I can deal with integrated stuff but I prefer something removable.

Wendell F

+1

These are parts you'd end replacing on either. Keep the Fuji, replace pedals, possibly saddle, then, moving forward, anything that breaks. A year from now you'll be an educated, experienced ssfg rider and better know what you'll want in your next bike. This would/should be the process even if you end up getting the KiloTT.

Bigpond

dan.

TugaDude

Dan, glad you posted again. I'm amazed how many folks ask questions and then disappear. We are left wondering. Hope the bike is working for you and that you ride the heck out of it.

veganbikes

Agreed glad you are here hopefully you actually stick around, this can be a very fun place. I joined a while ago and it doesn't feel like I made as many posts as I have, it is just a fun community of people with plenty of debates and normal idiots but also a ton more great people with loads of knowledge on different subjects.

However I would try going clipless, I know it is a bit scary but if you find a nice grassy field and set yourself up to know you may fall (and in my case not) and practice for a bit it will be much easier and you will have better retention with easier foot removal when properly used. Toe clips can be hard to get out of unless you leave them loose but if you do that you don't really get all the benefits of that system. Plus with today's mountain bike shoes with Michelin or Vibram rubber or the more casual SPD style shoes from companies like Chrome and various sandals from companies like Keen you have shoes you can walk around in easily but can also ride in.

PeopleAreIdiots

The setup I used on my fuji if you're interested:
MKS GR-9 pedals
All city metal toe clips
All city leather double straps

I totally know what you mean about those stock plastic track pedals. They suck. I highly recomend leather double straps, they are rock solid. Although, I did break an all city strap after about a year so i recomend getting ones that aren't stitched (like exustar ones). I think the puncture holes from the stitching on the all city straps creates strength issues.

keep having fun on that bike!

Philasteve

I have the same pedals and straps but my All City clips are the large plastic ones, are the metal ones any good? It's been a long time since I've used metal toe clips and I've only used the metal single clips.

mouse

Philasteve

Yeah that's kind of how my plastic ones feel, a little flimsy when I wear certain shoes. They are comfortable, I might have to give the metal ones a try I noticed they do 2 styles of metal clips but I'd get their original ones. Thanks for the info.

jlafitte 

track/street bike: metal All-City double strap/double gate clips, All-City standard track pedals

rando bike: nylon All-City double strap/double gate clips, MKS GR-10 pedals

The nylon clips feel noticeably more comfy and secure over any distance, though I'm pretty sure the pedals are a contributing factor.

The metal clips function ok, and are way more photogenic. Perfect look for my black and gold Big Block.

BTW both sets of "All-City" clips are embossed with the CKC logo.

PeopleAreIdiots

Yes. I think they hold they shape, and hence hold your foot, better than plastic ones.

The only issue Ive had is one time when I screwed up my bike-mounting rhythm and accidentally stepped on top of the cage and squished it. I rode the rest of my way home with my toes in a vice and it ended up being pretty tough to bend back into shape

dan.

Thanks again all for the advice. Been riding happily for about a month now

One pet peeve is that I've noticed a decent amount of wobble in the crankset. I don't quite have the terminology to describe it, but it's resulted in tightening/slackening in the chain when you pedal (the chain moves up and down), and it's clear that something about the system is a bit out of true. A couple of mechanics have looked at it and told me that it's basically to be expected with cheap components.

I'm wondering if it might be a good opportunity to replace the drive train (is this the right term? the crankset / cog / bottom bracket). Am I barking up the right tree? If so, I wonder what a decent budget would be. Ideally I could get it set up to eliminate the wobble and hopefully provide a more efficient, stiffer ride as well. I don't want to make folks do my research for me, but I have pretty much no knowledge of this space. Since it's an entry-level bike, I'd probably be aiming at something that's a significant step up, without needing to be a top-of-the-line racing component. Any thoughts?

edit - and I did upgrade the pedals to mks with toe clips, which was a huge improvement.