Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Does this seem like a decent deal?

I don't have the money to shell out for a brand new fixed gear, so I've been searching around craigslist and stumbled over this one today. An old Univega that's been converted with a new orange powdercoat (I love orange :D).

http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/bik/486363728.html

rip off

That's a 1 for 'no'

for 340 u can get a mercier kilo tt.

seriously. no more than $120 for the conversion.

kilo.

I'd try and get him down to $175 and then only if it's in really good shape. Try and find out what hubs it has. It's not that bad, but not that great.

eh, id hold off even at 175, just because of the 27" wheels. And even then, make sure its not a suicide hub.

eh, id hold off even at 175, just because of the 27" wheels. And even then, make sure its not a suicide hub.

27" wheels aren't a big deal. You can't even tell the difference until it's time to buy tires.

^and thats a pretty big deal.

buy this

http://bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/images/tt_big.jpg



mercier-kilo--tt (http://bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/kilott.htm)

$349 shipped

^and thats a pretty big deal.

+1 haha

Not at that price. maybe at 175 but your going to be frustrated with the 27"s. More importantly the geometry on that isn't one I would imagine your going to want to have forever it's fairly stretched out. I say save for a Kilo or keep looking.

Junk, nothing more than junk.

i agree 225$ is too much for that bike, for reasons you wont fully understand untill you have put 1000+km on the kilo TT you are going to buy, The geo is slack, 27"tyres are 30% more, The brake levers BB and headset are likely rubbish. if you can get him down to 150 it its a suicide hub, MAX 170 if its a track hub, and even then only if you "have to have it" for some reason.

The ad was deleted before I got a chance to see it, but I disagree with the posters above.

I convert old bikes to fixed gear and flip them all the time. At least where I am, a decent old road bike that looks good and has been set up with inexpensive but usable parts can go for $200 to $300. Even with suicide hubs. I would think that one with a fresh professional paint job would sell immediately at that price.

Sure, if you know what you are doing, you can do your own conversion for next to nothing. But there are plenty of people who want to ride fixed but do not want to bother figuring it out for themselves. Its not the way I would handle it, but that is the way they want to spend their money.

jim

^and thats a pretty big deal.

Not really. There are plenty of good tires available, just maybe not at your LBS. It's a consideration, but not enough of a problem to make me pass on a decent bike at a decent price in my size and price range.

The ad was deleted before I got a chance to see it, but I disagree with the posters above.

I convert old bikes to fixed gear and flip them all the time. At least where I am, a decent old road bike that looks good and has been set up with inexpensive but usable parts can go for $200 to $300. Even with suicide hubs. I would think that one with a fresh professional paint job would sell immediately at that price.

Sure, if you know what you are doing, you can do your own conversion for next to nothing. But there are plenty of people who want to ride fixed but do not want to bother figuring it out for themselves. Its not the way I would handle it, but that is the way they want to spend their money.

jim

and we're here to steer unsuspecting cyclists away from your overpriced POS. How can you take the gears off of a $120 CL bike and sell it for $225 just because the type of bike is trendy at the time without feeling like a dick? Especially if you're selling people suicide hubs. They might be fine for you, but i wouldn't sell one to anyone else.

Not really. There are plenty of good tires available, just maybe not at your LBS. It's a consideration, but not enough of a problem to make me pass on a decent bike at a decent price in my size and price range.

yeah, but the bike being overpriced as it is, i wouldnt want to spend extra money on tires just because theyre a hard to find size, especially when you consider with each passing day the 27" inch rim becomes just a bit more obsolete.

and we're here to steer unsuspecting cyclists away from your overpriced POS. How can you take the gears off of a $120 CL bike and sell it for $225 just because the type of bike is trendy at the time without feeling like a dick? Especially if you're selling people suicide hubs. They might be fine for you, but i wouldn't sell one to anyone else.

The tone was not necessary.

A good 20 year old lugged steel road bike is not always a POS. A conversion made out of one of them can make for a pretty good ride. The only point you make that I will accept is about the suicide hub. I tend to agree that any bike built around a suicide hub is at best a comprimise. However, sometimes comprimises are not such bad things. Depends what you want.

jim

Sorry about the tone, but if you had actually seen the bike you were defending, you might agree it was necessary(eh, maybe not, but i apologize). I agree about quality old lugged steel road bikes. I love em. But, the bike in question was an "eh" 20 year old lugged frame and at that price point was simply not worth it. So, sorry for taking it out on you, but otoh you shouldnt defend things so blindly. Cheers mate, :beer: sorry if i seemed harsh.

edit, now that i think about it, the seller was probably just trying to recoup a 150 dollar powdercoat job he realized he just wasted on a bike he didnt really like(or was rusting through from the inside)...

How can you take the gears off of a $120 CL bike and sell it for $225 just because the type of bike is trendy at the time without feeling like a dick?

$120 for the bike, $60 to build the wheel with a flip flop hub (at least), $50 for new tires and the guy is losing $5 plus whatever he spent on the powder coat. I could have sold that bike 4 times in SLC in the time this thread has been going.

Not really. There are plenty of good tires available, just maybe not at your LBS. It's a consideration, but not enough of a problem to make me pass on a decent bike at a decent price in my size and price range.

Pfft. Why buy into a problem? 700c tires are much more widely available in much more variety than 27" tires. It'd have to be a really good deal for me to buy a bike with 27" wheels. Especially considering the cost of a replacement wheelset is a huge part of a conversions cost.

It'd have to be a really good deal for me to buy a bike with 27" wheels.

That's cause I assume you already have a bike that fits, right? I personally wouldn't buy it either, but if I needed a bike, wanted to spend about $200 and that one fit me I would not pass it up over 27" wheels. I understand not wanting to deal with it, just like some people don't want to deal with converting a bike.

so am I to believe that the price cap for any.. conversion with formulas that is ready to ride is $300?

I would honestly pay for a well made proper sized conversion than a bikes direct bike. they are both going to be on par so long as you have a good road frame