Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - What do you think about SE bikes

I am looking for a Single Speed, and have a garage sale schwinn to work on. But anyone have any thoughts about SE bikes. Reasonable cheap for a new complete single/fixed gear bike. any thoghts.

I think most will agree that the SE Draft is not so hot. You may find some good bike options here: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=225713

I have the generic equivalent to the Lager (Dawes SST), its nice. The Draft is Walmart grade. The only ones I see outside of shops are rotting on lamp posts.

draft blows. the lager (bikesdirect dawes sst) is good for the price and i love my SST. The Se Premium Brew seems way too much $$$ for what you get.

I want to hear from someone who owns the SE Premium Brew frame from bikeisland, anyone out there?

I actually saw a dude riding a Draft down at Huntington Beach one day. I was... kinda shocked.

I bought a SE Lager in June. I love it! It came single speed but I transformed it into a fixed. I love the bullhorns as well. I am 5'11" and got a 56cm frame it just fits perfectly. The ride is great, its a chrome molly frame and really takes bumps in the rode with some cushion. I am not to fond of the pedals but I am going to switch those. I love the brown color, the stickers are very easy to take off which I did I just wanted a clean look. But I left the beer mug sticker on that is pretty cool.

Personally I don't think you will be disappointed. I notice this bike doesn't get a lot of love but I like it.

its a chro-moly frame

Fixed.

SE bikes are licensing their name on a reasonable quality Taiwan bike and have set up a decent distributorship.

SE Bikes in my youth were ALL bad *****. They had innovative designs and used exotic tubing. Now they are just a cool logo and some old skool cachet. I saw a Lager beside a Jamis Sputnik and took the Sputnik off the rack to try.

Maybe because I knew I could get it as a Dawes SST...

I actually play ultimate with someone who rides a draft to all our games. I look at it and let out this mental sigh that out of all the bikes in existance, she chose to purchase that. Then I remind myself that at least she is riding it a lot, and that makes me feel OK.

Look that bike is horrible to some but really, if the head tube angle was 74 or 73.5 it would be a decent cheap fixie for the city. If my mom bought that to hit the store quick I'd want her to be happy with the steering feel. $250 around here gets you a rusty old Apollo or Schwinn off CL.

We all get the weird optics around how what WE need or want is what others should be doing. The girl above wanted a simple low maintenance bike in modern colours and feel. She did ok as long as she paid no more than $250.

I raced a PK RIPPER from 1982-1985, so I have fond memories of SE. Their new stuff seems like every other "box bike" on the market.

I raced a PK RIPPER from 1982-1985, so I have fond memories of SE. Their new stuff seems like every other "box bike" on the market.

I wanted a PK Ripper so bad when I was 12. It is sad to see a hardcore brand like SE's name getting thrown on whatever that will sell, but that is how it is. Masi, Schwinn, SE, etc.

I wanted a PK Ripper so bad when I was 12. It is sad to see a hardcore brand like SE's name getting thrown on whatever that will sell, but that is how it is. Masi, Schwinn, SE, etc.

I had a co-sponsorship through SE, and my LBS.

Good thing because my parents were broke@ss! :D

If they made a Quadangle SS with 700c wheels I'd sell my kidneys to buy one.

Dude hook me up.

http://www.fatbmx.com/uploads3/200712/wk51/se1.jpg

I had a PK for a month. It was way too small for me. And I was 15! Haros were small too. I stepped up to redline (rl-20) and life was good.

The list of diluted cycling names is long. Many are from bmx days. SE, Redline, GT, Mongoose, Diamond Back.

So sad really. Take a brand name and run it into the ground. Short term gains, long term disgrace.

I just bought the SE Premium Frame from bikeisland; unfortunately I'm still waiting for all my parts to come in so I can't say as to how it rides : [. I do feel that for the price it's a decent frame.

woohoo keep us updated lavieest

They're owned by Fuji now.

They should make 29er OM Flyer.

The draft is a steaming pile. 1 piece cranks and single pivot brakes on gaspipe frame, in 2008? But some people want to buy a $200 bike.

i almost bought a Draft a few months ago when looking for a new bike. SOOOO glad i didn't! I do see some messengers riding them around Manhattan though. (not that it's an endorsement)

i don't.

i almost bought a Draft a few months ago when looking for a new bike. SOOOO glad i didn't! I do see some messengers riding them around Manhattan though. (not that it's an endorsement)


Go with the lager!

i almost bought a Draft a few months ago when looking for a new bike. SOOOO glad i didn't! I do see some messengers riding them around Manhattan though. (not that it's an endorsement)

Someone who's entire career is based around a bike, riding a $250 Singlespeed? :eek:


hopefully they swapped out everything but the frame. :P

I bought a SE Lager a few weeks ago.

I must confess I do love it, but I have already began to change a few of the components.

The Alexrims R500 are too flashy for my liking and are pretty low end.

Like my problem with the rims, there is seriously too much red on the bike. I have changed the saddle, the bar cover, handle bars.

Should I have simply built my own bike? Maybe, but it rides pretty well. I am new to the game, so I am learning as I go.

I built up a Lager frame and I love it. I'll transfer the components I got (Sugino, MKS etc) to the next frame I get once I have the money. As long as you steer clear of the Draft I'd say SE make decent bikes for the price.

I completely agree. The crankset needs to be changed. I just threw on a Race Face Evovle Single Speed Crank Set... I am in love.

i have a lager that i picked up for around 250 at performance and for that price i cannot complain. i changed the seat and bars and made it fixed. it is currently my polo/everyday bike. i want to know about the stout? it looks sweet, does anyone own one

The Draft and the Draft Lite are garbage. The Schwinn Cutter in the same price range seems just as worthless.

I rode my first century on a Draft, use it as my commuter ( leave it locked up in some pretty bad neighborhoods ), and generally ride the hell out of it. I just needed a cheap bike.

It could be better, but I don't think it's all as bad as you make it out to be. Mine is a 2009. While it still had the euro BB it had a 3 piece crank though it's not anything to brag about.

Over all it's a fair entry bike into SS/fixed. I have the bug now. Want to rebuild an old Raleigh frame I rescued from the trash as a fixed now. Before I wouldn't have considered it, so I guess the Draft isn't totally useless.

You guy's are ****ing tools. OMGZ THE DRAFT IS AN AFFORDABLE BEATER, LETS TALK **** ABOUT IT BECAUSE ITS NOT BLINGED OUT. Jesus, do people have to spend 1000+ for a tark bike to be cool in your eyes?

wtf is wrong with the draft? i wouldn't get it, but it's probably a better bike suggestion for total noobs than the kilo. one piece cranks are pretty much as durable as they come, hiten provides a cush as hell ride, and it's relaxed geo is more appropirate for most than track angles.

I have a 2009 Draft and I really like it. Yeah it's heavy, but it got me back into bikes and riding again. Good for losing some weight and getting back into shape before I dump money into a nicer bike. I got it for free as a b-day gift, but even if I had to pay for it I would.

Yeah, the trash talk on the draft/draft lite is pretty silly. I ride a draft lite 12 miles every day to work, sure, i picked it up because it was cheap (chaining an expensive bike up is insane imo) but my draft lite has provided a good ride every day over some pretty beat up roads.

The only downside to the draft/draft lite is that it's pretty freaking heavy(though i'm biased by the weight a little as i lug it up 4 floors every night to my apt)

all in all it's a decent little bike...is it the best bike out there...HELL NO the thing only costs like $300.00, but it's definately worth what you pay for it.


wtf is wrong with the draft? i wouldn't get it, but it's probably a better bike suggestion for total noobs than the kilo. one piece cranks are pretty much as durable as they come, hiten provides a cush as hell ride, and it's relaxed geo is more appropirate for most than track angles.

Look that bike is horrible to some but really, if the head tube angle was 74 or 73.5 it would be a decent cheap fixie for the city.

This dude's never coming back, but I find this hilarious.

se lager is pretty good, dont get the draft.

I got an 09 that I ride 10-20 miles daily on. I switched out everything but frame fork and headset. It weighs 21 lbs which might be heavy for some but its cool for me. And this thing has taken gnarley beatings and its still going.

hey the Draft is what it is. 2008's wer all one piece cranks and oddly enough that seems to be what some guys are looking for these days. in 2009 they made it with a 3pc crank. the Draft Lite crank is aluminum, the Draft is steel. the wheel sets aren't great on either, but for that price you can handle it right. otherwise buy a Lager...there really isn't a more solid bike out there for the price...similar maybe, but definitely not better. well...you could buy a Fuji ---yea they are both owned by the same people, and both bike brands are alright by me.

and hey...most bikes are made in China or Taiwan these days so there isn't much you can do but weld your own or pay someone who does.

oh and one more thing...i think the attempt to keep it real is out there with SE way more than some other companies.

ohh godd the lager is heavy as **** save your money

the premium brew i think is a waste and pretty heavy as well

you can buy much better when you save your hard earned cash just go BD

Please read when the thread was started
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j30/dontdeconstructforme/die_thread_die.jpg

Earlier this year I was riding a Schwinn Continental around as a single-speed, with the original wheels redished and as little money invested as possible. I saw the draft at the local bike shop and initially was very very interested in it. But the more I looked at it, the more it just looked cheap. And this is why I pointed out that I was riding a basically stock electro-forged Schwinn at this point. I'm not a snob. If I'm going to be paying 300 bucks for a bike, though, I expect a certain minimum quality level. The frame didn't seem like anything too special, the crank looked cheesy, and the wheels looked very low quality.

I ended up just buying a new wheel for my Continental. It costs me about 220 dollars less, and I think the result is roughly the same quality.

Old ten speed with a decent tubing manufacture > SE Draft

Or 12 speed...

And an old aluminum 14 speed with horizontal drop outs would be cool to. (Do those exist?)

Is there really any reason to hate the Draft so much? It's a bit heavy; it's got a single piece crankset, but is it that bad?

I own one and it runs pretty solidly. Swapped out the handlebars for bullhorns, and threw on a pair of flip flop Deep Vs and it's lovely now. Just a nice commuter/entry bike, nothing more, but for it's price, what's to really be expected?

I rode a PK Ripper for a while back in the day when I raced BMX (until I started getting flow from Hutch). That bike was AMAZING and I wish I still had it.

The fixed gear version of the PK is pretty awesome, based on the novelty of how killer the old bikes were. Don't know if I'd ever buy one though.

http://ibbanez.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/dc-x-se-racing-pk-ripper-fixed-gear-bike-05-540x360.jpg

haha old thread. but i'll contribute.

i don't understand why anyone would buy the draft, it's ugly as ****. but i do own the lager, now that's ****in pretty. i bought it used, but it's a trooper, and i love it.
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs240.snc1/8719_177892799749_631694749_3692260_4016455_n.jpg

OP- which schwinn do u have?

I had a PK for a month. It was way too small for me. And I was 15! Haros were small too. I stepped up to redline (rl-20) and life was good.

The list of diluted cycling names is long. Many are from bmx days. SE, Redline, GT, Mongoose, Diamond Back.

So sad really. Take a brand name and run it into the ground. Short term gains, long term disgrace.

Yes I agree way diluted.

The SE Factory was just around the corner from where I lived growing up in Paramount. The same place oddly enough where Zambonis are manufactured.