Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Torker U-District or Motobecane Messenger?

Hey,

I've been commuting 3 miles (flat roads) everyday from my house to my college on my mountain bike. I would like to get a fixed/single speed bike under $320. I'm not very familiar with fixed gear bikes so please forgive me for all my questions.

I was deciding between the Torker U-District or Motobecane Messenger. These two bikes are around the same price range. Which bike is better in regards to the quality of the parts, weight, durability, etc?

Any other suggestions for a bike under $320?

not really. windsor hour...



between the two i would pick the messenger but the u district is an awesome bike, and can be warrantied through a shop.

The only other choice really is the windsor hour. However, if you raised your price range just like $150-$200 bucks you would be able to look at 5 times as many bikes in your price range.

But the choices you listed arent that bad. In fact, torker is known to make a great bike and have been around for like 50 year. Also, you can usually get one through your local bike shop really easily. That means you probably will get a warranty either from torker or from the LBS and those usually come in handy. So if its my $320 bucks I buy the Torker over and over. (oh, and I heard some hipster say "steel is real." torker=street cred from the steely gang. )

OP - Something to consider when you buy from a reputable LBS, the bike will be assembled, tightened and adjusted properly and if anything is defective out of the box they will replace / fix it. Also, the LBS will make sure the bike fits properly. Finally, most decent shops will re-tighten / adjust / fix problems for the first year of ownership w/o charge. This will not be the case if you buy online from bikesdirect, and I speak from personal experience as I own 2 bikesdirect bikes.

I have several friends that own u-districts, and they all like them. The one I rode felt really sturdy.

My friend has a U District and likes it, but it feels super duper heavy to me. Did Torker change the frame material they use some time between model years, or are they all that heavy? I see some sites listing the frame as Hi-Ten and some listing it as Chromoly.

My friend has a U District and likes it, but it feels super duper heavy to me. Did Torker change the frame material they use some time between model years, or are they all that heavy? I see some sites listing the frame as Hi-Ten and some listing it as Chromoly.

Torker specs the frame as chromoly and the fork as hiten. However, the fact that it is chromo doesn't necessarily mean that the tubing is butted, and it could be straight guage, in which case it would just as heavy as hiten.

the pros about the torker is that is has more mtn geo if thats what you would prefer and has clearance for some fat tires.

however, that being said, i would pick the motobecane. and then pick it again and again :)

the pros about the torker is that is has more mtn geo if thats what you would prefer and has clearance for some fat tires.

however, that being said, i would pick the motobecane. and then pick it again and again :)


Well, until it breaks and you have to spend 1/2 of what you paid for the bike to fix it because theres no warranty. So, more than likely you would just buy it once, and replace your broken parts with the money you were going to buy the second one with.

Thanks for all the input..

After browsing around through the forums, i think i might go with the messenger or dawes sst al. Is the dawes sst al better than the messenger?

Also, what frame size do you suggest if i'm 5'5?

One of those bikes is definitively and objectively better than the other by a significant margin, and there is one universally perfect frame size that we can determine based solely on your height....but we're not going to tell you.

Really unrelated, but torker makes some nice unicycles.