Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Which bike is the best choice? Madison Vs. Mongoose Cromo Vs. MotobecaneTrack...

Thinking about getting one of these bikes. The first two are from "performance bicycle" and the other one I found while browsing a website called "Bikes Direct" not sure if either are legit though. To my understanding all three have flip flop hubs and brakes. So I guess low weight and overall sturdiness would be my determining factor. I appreciate other suggestions but if you had to decide between these...


EDIT: I Shall specify 2009 Mongoose Maurice CrMo, 2009 Schwinn Madison, and the 279.99 track not the team track.

I like the Madison

Madison FTW.

Both are legit, I bought a bike from performance, know at least 15 people who have bought bikesdirect.

Madison.

madison is definitely the nicest on the list.

Windsor hour ?

Thanks for responses. It is truly unanimous then. Its a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I rather spend now than worry later. I am bit put off by their sizing methodology though. According to road bike size chart I am 50-52cm and there's simply says xs, small, etc. I know this is a dumb question but do the standard sizes go by seat tube length? Because the xs is 50cm and the small is 52cm. A friend (he is the co owner of a bike shop) told me that due to my shorter stature 51cm is the sweet spot for me. Should I round up or down?

i personally like the motobacon better

Madison +1.

Go to a performance and see whats best.

Should I round up or down?

The Madison has a pretty short top tube. If I were in your shoes, I'd size up with that particular bike and go for the size small.

i personally like the motobacon better

Mmmm. Bacon.

Ha! I missed that.

Ha! I missed that.

You're more of an ice cream guy, while I find that bacon goes great with scrambled eggs...

Yeah...you're right. Good morning, Brian!

And good morning to you too.

Why go with the Madison when the Kilo is roughly the same price on bikesdirect?

It's okay to be a newcomer and not ride a Kilo.

oh... yes, i guess it is. i'm digging my iro hd... short people unite!

oh... yes, i guess it is. i'm digging my iro hd... short people unite!

How tall are you, again? Inseam? I'm thinking of getting my GF an HD, and she's barely 5'-0", 27" inseam (very short torso and arms). Also, did you get the standard or custom wheels? How is quality of cranks, BB, wheels etc? What tires came on yours? I expect to change the saddle to a lady's type but hopefully nothing else. Also, is the saddle decent, I could use it on one of my bikes to replace one of my beat up ones? I've send a message to IRO with questions, but no answer. Did you deal with them directly or through a dealer, how good is their customer service?

OP, sorry to get off-topic, but I figured this might be of interest to others. OK, returning to your normal channel.

note the lack of mongoose s'port here lol.

How tall are you, again? Inseam? I'm thinking of getting my GF an HD, and she's barely 5'-0", 27" inseam (very short torso and arms). Also, did you get the standard or custom wheels? How is quality of cranks, BB, wheels etc? What tires came on yours? I expect to change the saddle to a lady's type but hopefully nothing else. Also, is the saddle decent, I could use it on one of my bikes to replace one of my beat up ones? I've send a message to IRO with questions, but no answer. Did you deal with them directly or through a dealer, how good is their customer service?

OP, sorry to get off-topic, but I figured this might be of interest to others. OK, returning to your normal channel.

Yeah, sorry OP, but us shorties gotsta stick together...

I'm about 5'4" but guys have shorter legs than girls (inseam is about 27.5"). I actually didn't get the complete through them; my friend and I built it up ourselves, which was waaaaayyyy more expensive, but I like the final product. In terms of their customer service, yeah, good luck with that. Tony isn't the best about returning emails. The questions I needed answered got that way because I put their phone number on speed dial and tried at all hours of the work day for about two weeks. When they did pick up the phone I got Tony, and he was very helpful. I do know their wheels are velocity areo, not deep v (if that matters), and both are machined (again, if that matters). That's one of the reasons I decided to build up my own. Which might be a stupid reason, but hey, when it comes to fixies, function follows form, right? ;)