cyrano138

...by a couple of road guys who've never even ridden one. I'm not trying to start an argument about the merits of fixed bikes versus geared bikes because I understand there are merits to both and everyone has their preferences, but it seems lame to discourage someone from trying it if you've never ridden one, yourself.

I don't really care if he gets a fixed or geared bike, but for the fact that he's only willing to put about 3-400 into it, so we went from looking at nice (in my opinion) bikesdirect fixed bikes to the Windsor Wellington 1.0, which is about the only road bike they have in that price range.

I don't want to jump to any conclusions, because I've never ridden a bike like this, but it seems like he'd get a lot more fixed bike for 300 bucks than geared, and be less likely to deal with the hassle of cheaper components and upgrading them. Maybe it doesn't really make a difference--I don't know.

crushkilldstroy

at 3-400, your friend should be looking used. You could get a pretty nice used road bike for that kind of $$$, rather than that borderline Walmart Windsor.

Yaktizzle417

Truth. $3-400 will get you a pretty nice conversion.

Or he could get a nice old 10spd and restore it. Shimano 105 groupe road bikes are going for pretty damn cheap now.

Ep3licious

i gotta say for 3-400 you can find a fairly nice road bike.

300-400 bucks on a fixed gear will buy you a off the peg bikesdirect bike. or a overpriced conversion

Yaktizzle417

I dunno. I enjoy riding fixed more than I enjoy riding my Bianchi Eros. Even for distance rides, my brakeless fixed puts a bigger smile on my face than the Bianchi.

cc700

if you're going to have one bike, better it's a road bike with gears and brakes.

Yaktizzle417

This is also true.

cyrano138

I should've mentioned that he's really short, and finding a used bike for him is like finding a needle in a haystack. I've been keeping an eye out for one for a while, and have only turned up one or two, but he wasn't ready to buy at the time.

For what it's worth, I only have one bike, and it's fixed.

themandillon

His choice might also be made on location. If you live in a place with a lot of hills it might e better for his first bike to be geared. But if it is relatively flat, then fixed will be more fun.

cyrano138

There isn't a much flatter state than Florida.

palu

How short is he? I see 48-52CM bikes on craigslist quite frequently. And I agree on getting a used road bike, especially if he's just starting out. You can find some decent ones. I'm about to unload my '05 Giant OCR3 w/Sora for $3-400 on craigslist (it's a Large, so won't fit your friend).

And FWIW, I have a singlespeed 29er mtn bike as my only mtn bike in the stable and I'm quite happy with it. I feel no need for a geared version. Many people have a singlespeed road/mtn bike as their only bike and are content. Just depends on the person.

kwena

Where do you find these "cheap" 105 group bikes? Maybe I am just not looking in the right places but I see it mentioned over and over on BF, that you can get a good second hand road bike for 3-400 from CL. On CL (bay area) I look daily and I only see two categories of used road bikes: Old 70-80s era "10-speeds" that usually go for $80-150 and then fairly recent low end road bikes like Trek 1500 and Specialiazed equivalents that are a couple years old and go for $700 upwards. I never see anything in the 3-400 range. To me I would rather buy a new Windsor Knight or Windsor Fens in the $500-700 range than the $700 upwards 2004 model Trek 1500 on CL.
Seems like a big gap in the road market in the 300-500 range.

Yaktizzle417

Well around here there are numerous Cannondales and Bianchis with 105/equivalent for roughly $350. 70's-80's 10 speeds are going for like $75 for a pristine/restored. Maybe your area sucks?

aMull

Sure, if where you live is hilly. Otherwise i disagree.

sp00ki

make yr friend read this
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=529696

kwena

You are right, Bay Area is pretty much overpriced in everything. Try buying a house here lol. Anyway seriously though, which CL city/are site are you looking on? I would pay for shipping if I could get a decent bike in that price range. As far as the 10-speeds go, yes you can occasionally pick one up for as low as $75 here too but it definitely will not be "pristine".

jblaze25

I wanna know this too...

icyclist 

Why is it, OP, that people who have never ridden fg bike can influence your friend, yet you, who have ridden fg, have less influence? Why would your friend listen to the voices of inexperience? Or have you never ridden a geared bike?

That said, having ridden both road bikes and now a fg bike (which I love), I would definitely recommend to any of my friends who didn't already have a bike to go with a road bike, if and only if they could only have one bike. I'd make that recommendation even if any of my friends live on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Like olives, fg should be an acquired taste.

Why not tell us what the roadies had to say that was so compelling to your friend to dissuade him from going fg?

sp00ki

i would recommend the opposite. most who are new to riding tend to ride locally; a ten or eleven speed drivetrain is not only overkill for short distance commuting but can be unnecessarily involved for someone who only wants to ride four or five miles crosstown a few times a week.
in the rare occurrence that one lives in an especially hilly area, a road bike would make more sense-- but most of us don't, in which case a fixed gear bike is a perfect choice (and frankly, if you live in an especially hilly area you aren't going to ride casually).
fixed gear drivetrains are not complex or difficult machines; as soon as one gets over the silly mystique of danger and difficulty they seem to have developed over the years (a myth most frequently propagated by those who not only have never ridden a fixed drivetrain, but rarely ride whatever bike it is they claim to feel is "better), one can see that a fixed gear is actually a more logical choice than a road bike in most applications, which is really just to quickly get from point a to b conveniently.

timmhaan

yeah, i never understood why people feel the need to persuade someone either way. just talk about what you know and what you like and let people make their own damn decisions.

cyrano138

Wow, I thought I'd worded my initial post carefully enough to avoid controversy, but that's bikeforums for you, I guess.

I assume because they're both seasoned triathletes, he gave them more credence. And yes, I've ridden a geared bike. I found myself riding in the same gear all the time. And yet they convinced him that fixed bikes are impractical, which is hard to believe since I use mine for the same things they do, including smaller triathlons, and more (they all drive their cars to work).

Like I said already, I think in that price range you can get a lot more bike if it's fixed. If I'm wrong about that, I'll be the first person to congratulate him on his geared purchase; I don't have any personal interest in his choice. I'm just excited that he's finally going to get a bike. I just hope he doesn't wind up with something so cheaply made that it requires a lot of maintenance and sours him on riding.

Because I'm trying to help him get the most bike for his money, according to my understanding. Again, my objection is not that they tried to talk him out of something, but that they'd never even tried the thing they were trying to talk him out of.

Also, you do realize the last sentence of your post is the very type of hortatory remark you're condemning, right?

malpag3

Interesting conundrum. It is indeed lame that people who have never ridden a particular kind of bike would dissuade him from it. That's like me giving real mountain biking advice. But, more importantly is why would your friend let them dissuade him!?

Honestly, this has been hashed and rehashed $3-400 will not get you much "new" bike of anything really. Road or a SS/FG.

My first nice bike was a used 1999 Kona Kapu (full Ultegra) for $400 on eBay. It was a steal for sure, but it required another $100-200 of time/work/parts to get into nice riding shape.

Go used for sure. You can get a splendid ride for that kind of money used.

Well there's your problem right there =p.

A new bike in this price range will require some more regular TLC than a "nicer" used bike. Sure there are fewer parts on a FG/SS but even so, $400 is not a lot to spread around.

Do some sleuthing for sure. Craigslist is good for bikes, as you can actually check the bikes out and test ride them.

Warn him of tri-atheltes as well.

cyrano138

I'm glad I posted this. I think the best thing to do is take your (and the people above who said the same thing) advice and just tell him to be patient and scan ebay and craigslist for a good used bike. Thanks for weighing in.

crushkilldstroy

Why does everyone think that geared road bikes are only really worthwhile when you're in a flat area? It's nice to drop down a few gear inches when you get to a red light, and kick up to 53/whatever when you have a nice long straightaway. It's also nice to have lower gears when you come across a headwind/tight traffic/etc. Fixed gear is fun and all, but don't discount derailleurs just because there aren't any climbs on your commute.

solbrothers

this