Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Buying a cheaper fixed gear bike ?

Ok I am a newbie and instead of building one from parts - does any one have opinion on WINDSOR bikes or Mercier ( Cheaper I know but decent for a starter) ? Or should I just save a little longer and get a iro single speed bike.
Or if any one knows of another fixed/single speed at a great price please speak up ...
Thanks for any input ( good or bad ),
John

it doesn't get much easier than building a fixie... no brakes, derailers, etc to mess with.

but if you really don't want to go that way... i have no experience with either brand, but good luck!

bianchi pista 05's are nice but every one has got them and same with IRO Mark V pro, both cheap and cost about the same.

save a little longer and get an iro

I think the Mercier would be a good starter but for that price poiint something will break. Get one, see if you like it then get a better one and sell it.

I will say that building one from an old road bike has many advantages. A 10 year old (or older) racer will be far better than a $350 new bike. It makes me sad to think of a bunch of amazing lugged frames gathering dust in a shop because some gram counter wanted the latest, greatest thing.
Building a bike will give you skills to repair anything yourself (if you don't have them yet).

That being said get what fits you and your lifestyle.

Just Ride

I know a guy with a windsor.Nice welds,american frame, cheap components.Rear wheel arrived dished wrong, it was off center about 3/8".Price was right, about $350 on ebay from bikesdirect auction section, I think its $450ish from their website?

From what ive seen and ridden, all the 4130 steel entry level track frames are prettymuch the same, take your pick there.They all prettymuch ride the same, and bare w/o decals most wouldnt know what they were with any certainty.I think the downtube on the soma's is a little thicker than the others.

The IRO aluminum and spicer aluminum track frames are stiff, very very stiff, dunno about the IRO steel version.The IRO's are cheaper price wise.

If your an agreesive strong rider, buy the frame and add the parts you want, if you get an entry level bike prebuilt at the $5-$600 pricepoint you will have to replace a few things fairly quickly.The difference in price tween the two ways of going here are about $200 give or take and still staying with decent but lower end parts.

I got the Mercier. It was a cheapest way to get a complete fixie. The frame is pretty nice and some of the components are decent but others are poor. There was a couple of minor assembly issues but they were easily worked out.So far with a few hundred miles the bike is holding up. I am having so issues with a loose headset that I need to solve but over all it has been a decent bike. However I think if I did it again I would buy the IRO Mark V. Everyone raves about the customer service and he seems to take pride in the product instead of being sold by a person who never even sees the boxes the bikes are shipped in.
Craig

I too bought a Mercier and am slowly swapping parts here and there. For better parts, but also learning how to take care of my bike myself. You can either get an old road bike and fix it all up and learn that way, or you could buy something like the Mercier and eventually swap parts and learn that way, or you could buy the IRO and have a decent ride and then end up swapping parts eventually, as well. :D Hopefully, even if you get the IRO, you'll want to learn how to take care of your bike yourself anyway. Buying a low end bike just makes you have to learn that much quicker because you just want to start swapping out parts.

If I had to do it again, though, I would have gone with the IRO, as well. Only a couple hundred more. You'll end up spending that on parts in no time with something like the Mercier. But having a cool older frame is fun too. Having a unique bike is just cool, which most of the converted older road bikes are, but the geometry is not as tight, of course. Still a fixed gear, though.

Another Mercier owner here. I'll be the first to admit that you get what you pay for, but you're really not paying very much at all, and I'm happy with getting the experience of being able to learn how to work on my bike with the upgrades I've done/will do.

I also bought the Mercier and came to find that I was one of the few fixed riders in Pittsburgh riding a new bike. To all of the people who are saying that the parts are poor and will fail, I say bollocks. There's an amazing bike co-op sort of deal here in Pittsburgh called Free Ride which rescues old bikes and parts and offers them up for...you guessed it, free. As long as you are nice, donate time, and get the word out, no one has any problem with you coming in there. Now these frames and parts are more than likely majorly distressed, but no one complains about the integrity of these parts.

To the original poster: Don't be discouraged by all of this bad mouthing of BRAND NEW bike parts. They've never been freaking used; they'll last you as long as you need as if you take care of them. 400 bucks is a heckuva lot of money to dedicate to a bike, so I seriously doubt some parts are just going to disintegrate before your eyes.

Yeah, my headset was loose too, but I tightened it. My lock ring was loose, but I tightened it. My chain was a wee bit slack, but I tightened it. Simple bicycle maintenence!

ok thanks for all the input - now what about this ? Does it really make a difference if your frame was built for a fixed or not?
I mean I see post saying you should have the rear axel slide in from the back instead up from an angle ( do this make sense I forget the term used - sorry newbie ).
Why would this really make a difference?
Thanks again,
john