Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Giant Bowery 72_'09_Ya seen it?

I saw one today at the LBS. They wanted $1020 for it. Unless it has $300 hidden under the saddle I am not sure why they want so much for it.

So it has a Sugino drive train. That's worth $100. Wheels are no big deal. It comes with cages and straps, just basic quality. Look at that saddle, yuck.

Are those track drops with brake hoods on them?

sugino 75 > $100

jhaber, they are and the stem is like a 130mm or something

Wow. What a turd.

vintage style saddle on an aluminum bike with track drops and brakes hoods?

I like a lot of the parts individually, but put together it just seems confused and expensive. Also, those welds are ugly.

I rode one a couple of days ago. Felt nice, but overall looks kind of silly. The sloping top tube makes me want to vomit all over the bike. Yes, the welds on this are fugly, but I think the welds on all modern Giants are that way. The one I rode was priced at 899 and I thought that was still a little high.

Oh boy, that makes my head hurt.

That is REALLY unattractive!

blech

crappy build. can't believe they'd try to sell it that way.

i feel sick

needs bullhorns...or just different levers
they could have done better

is that a chopped B17?

okay... the stem is pretty cool.

that saddle, if it's what i think it is, is worth the extra 300.

the zen 175s are super nice too.

but aside from that, the bike can be crushed for all i care. having that seatpost on that bike is fg blasphemy.

$1,020 for a BOWERY?!?! that's just funny.

what kind of clips/double straps are those?

jeez. i have a bowery and love it but that thing looks wrong. the color, the seat, the bars and brake hoods. damn. at least i paid less than half of what that thing is going for.

I own an 06 bowery. I like it, even though it's a tank, and I only paid about 300 for it complete back in 06. I've obviously swapped out numerous parts and the way it's sitting right now is pretty ill. As for this bike, in my opinion (as most have pointed out already) that thing is FAR too overpriced.
I would MAYBE pay 600-700 for it. But it's ugly anyway.
.02

i must say, the 09 Bowery's are epic fail.

Its a Giant....what else do you expect from these big brand bike companies?

09 Langsters are $800. Ridiculous

Although I agree that most Giant products are total garbage (based on building them over and over and witnessing their terrible tolerances and quality control), I was thumbing through the '09 catalog and I must say that the '84 model Bowery caught my eye over the '72. White frame, black deep section wheelset, chrome and black accents and flat bars. Looked at least good enough to build one for the sales floor to try to encourage more singlespeeds instead of MTBs that everyone seems to think are "just perfect for ridin' around campus!"
Also, on a side note - I almost got killed by an SUV today. Everyone please ride safe!

I agree the 84' looks nice at least from the pics. I also work at a Giant dealer and we are getting one of the 84's for the floor to see if we can sell a $1K off the shelf fixed gear. FYI to everyone Giant has four Bowery models for 09'. Two (84 and 72) are $1K (+) and the other two are more basic ones and are around $600.

84:
http://www.bike4u.ru/modules/Foto/pic/Giant-MY09-Lifestyle/page_Bowery%2084%20White.jpg

Im really diggin that saddle :love:

ilikebikes, fyi your sig has a grammatical error.

and a spelling error as well

ilikebikes, fyi your sig has a grammatical error.

Wow! Thanks! let me know what it is and Ill fix it right away! ;)

is it a brooks with mutant stem?

the white one looks awesome, but that seatpost is still exponential fail.

ilikebikes, fyi your sig has a grammatical error.

All better? :p

that seatpost is still exponential fail.

Why?

the white one looks amazing. would prefer the non-compact-geometry but those pursuit bars are frikkin' hardcore.

what kind of stem is on that bike? a cinelli mutant?

All better? :p

nope, still there

I agree the 84' looks nice at least from the pics. I also work at a Giant dealer and we are getting one of the 84's for the floor to see if we can sell a $1K off the shelf fixed gear. FYI to everyone Giant has four Bowery models for 09'. Two (84 and 72) are $1K (+) and the other two are more basic ones and are around $600.

84:
http://www.bike4u.ru/modules/Foto/pic/Giant-MY09-Lifestyle/page_Bowery%2084%20White.jpg

Not where I would drop $1K, but I'm sure someone will.

Not where I would drop $1K, but I'm sure someone will.

I don't like the mutant stem, I can't identify that saddle, and there are some other components I'd like to identify before dropping the green, but overall I think it looks awesome.

Is it all steel? Name brand steel?

I agree the 84' looks nice at least from the pics. I also work at a Giant dealer and we are getting one of the 84's for the floor to see if we can sell a $1K off the shelf fixed gear. FYI to everyone Giant has four Bowery models for 09'. Two (84 and 72) are $1K (+) and the other two are more basic ones and are around $600.

84:
http://www.bike4u.ru/modules/Foto/pic/Giant-MY09-Lifestyle/page_Bowery%2084%20White.jpg

not bad for off the rack

ugly ass bullhorns though- and slightly too compact geo for me. I saw one of the black ones with track drops and brake levers- not bad but not what i would rock

I actually like it, but only about $600 worth. It's overpriced IMHO.

Is it all steel? Name brand steel?

Aluminum, hence the large TIG welds.

That's what I thought.

Then I thought, 'Aluminum fork?' Uggh.

Or is it carbon painted silver?

It's like retro Langster.

god, at least it comes with decent pedals and clips . . . . PLASTIC PEDALS???? come on people!!! i did not pay for a wallmart bike!

i actually like the seat : ) . . .
fork and track drops with hoods . . . . ???

I actually like it, but only about $600 worth. It's overpriced IMHO.

Not getting Sugino 75s on a $600 bike. It might be overpriced by $200 or so but still is very attractive.

Not getting Sugino 75s on a $600 bike. It might be overpriced by $200 or so but still is very attractive.

They could ditch the 75's as far as I'm concerned. They are great cranks, but not the only crank. I can imagine that the marketing group at Giant had a list of what is considered "legit" in fixed gear culture and just did a pick-and-choose to get to a certain price point. What these companies are overlooking is that their target audience is not looking to buy a stock bike and keep it stock; they're trying to hard to capitalize on a perceived notion of what the consumer wants and missing the mark.

A better solution would be to create a bike that is as close to a track-specific set-up as they can reasonably produce for a fair price. Think about it, get the frame geometry right, equip it with durable components and sell it with the idea that the buyer is going to swap out and upgrade to make the bike his or her own.

I don't like the mutant stem,

It does look very similar but that isn't a 3T Mutant. No idea what it would be though.

At the shop I work at the one 84' that was ordered for shop stock came and was built up. The stem is not branded, but does look very close to a mutant. The seat looks like a Brooks Swallow knock off complete with the extra tension feature in the middle. The bullhorns are super long. I am 6'6" and we had a large size built. I felt like I was stretched out a lot (w/ stock 130mm stem). I can't remember exactly, but I don't think the pedals are plastic. But, the big one is the crank is just an RD with the messenger ring, not a Sugino 75. I will say I really like the look of the deep dish lower spoke count wheels, but they would never hold up to street use especially under me.

Interesting parts break-down. I'm going to swallow what I said before and just say that I want those bullhorns (more like crazy deep pursuit bars) really badly.

According to the other thread on here: the fork is cro-mo with an AL steerer. Explains the chrome look.

My LBS has the '72 for 990. I checked it out yesterday, pretty cool but not worth the extra. Although i do love the original giant typeface.