Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - What bike do I want?

Ok, so I'm heading off to college in a few weeks and I'm needing a bike. I want to go fixed, but it needs to be a dual purpose bike. So I'm trying to decide between an IRO Rob Roy - a sweet do it all commuter that I could also race some cross on, or some comparable $500-800 track bike that will commute well but I can also take down to the velodrome and race some track. FWIW the cross racing is gonna be much closer to me, and probably what I'm leaning toward. Obviously nothing too fancy with that budget, but I want something that can hold it's own. The other option is a 2006 Gary Fisher Triton for ~$500. You tell me.

Youre gonna want a Panasonic.

You always make me laugh DH.

Awesome. Very helpful. Maybe I should have put hipster in the title. Or Tarck.

bump http://i26.tinypic.com/dc3gg0.gif

^^^ Lol...

You might want to check out this current thread: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=451639

For what it's worth, if you think you're going to do more cyclocross, perhaps the Rob Roy would be more to your liking. If you check out the thread I posted, check out Gyeswho's bike to get an idea of how functional the Mark V really is (love that guy's bike).

Also, you may want to wait a week to see pics of the Phantom Cross Uno from bikes direct. According to him they should be up next week:

Should have those next week

It's supposed to be a singlespeed cross bike. May be worth checking out.

THERE IS ONLY BIKESDIRECT AND IRO ON BIKEFORUMS! ONLY THOSE! ONLY!

San Jose.

If you're going far from home/don't expect to visit your parents at all you might as well wait until you get there. Shipping times for IRO/Bikesdirect are pretty long (longer than 2 weeks) and colleges reject packages until kiddos are actually moved in.

Maybe you should wait till you get on campus and see what all the cool kids are riding.

No love for the Bianchi San Jose? :(

I loved mine when I rode it cross. Held up like a ****ing tank, and was quite responsive. The wheelset has taken abuse I never expected it too.
It's also a great commuter, and does great on the road with the right tires.
For the money I got mine for I was very impressed. Although I did change out the stem first thing for something a tad shorter, and with out a rise or drop.

It's a totally unhip bike though and you will get mocked by the cool hip kids on their cool hip bikes that are obviously hipper than you on your unhip bike.

San Jose is a sensible bike. But you're right, the 1 or 2 I saw when living at school always cowered in dark corners to avoid looking tragically un-hip.

There aren't any bianchi dealers near me. But I do like the san jose. I already have some parts for the build that could go either way, so I was looking more at just the frameset options.
And sorry DH no $ for teh pista concept arrospok combo. #1 cool kid bike everywhere.

Surly cross check or steamroller complete. Both great bikes. You can presumably do light cross and lots of track with the steamroller but probably not vice-versa.

agreed, if you're commuting, http://www.bianchiusa.com/08_san_jose.html san jose. . . or if you're racing more pista with a front brake for commuting.

I've got a langster. if you race at all, i don't think it's for you, it's PERFECT for commuting around town though : )

surly i hear are good too

And sorry DH no $ for teh pista concept arrospok combo.


What? Well, good luck getting laid without one. :cry:

I got laid in the dorms because of my concept before. Removing all of my normal e-sarcasm here, it's a True story.

The steamroller looks pretty good. I could get that really quick too.
Anybody know what size tires it will fit with fenders?

fatties fit fine (TM) on most surly models. if you want fat tires with fenders, surly is it

I got laid in the dorms because of my concept before. Removing all of my normal e-sarcasm here, it's a True story.

Haha :lol: respect.


And yes the Steamroller would be my second choice for you sir.

I got laid with a rusty and rackety old 3-speed cruiser.
(Or was that with Smirnoff?)

This is gonna be my only transportation, and it gets pretty nasty in milwaukee in the winter.
Sucks my bike won't get me laid though.

San Jose seems it fits most of your use.

steamroller or crosscheck

Specialized Tricross Singlecross

The steamroller looks pretty good. I could get that really quick too.
Anybody know what size tires it will fit with fenders?

With fenders you'd probably have to stop at 30s or 32s. They say 38s with fenders, but that'd be pushing it a bit. In the rear you can just pull the wheel way back and be fine, but in the front a brake would start to get in the way if you run one. It's an awesome bike with big tires on it...

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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2221/2281188878_43d5970092_b.jpg