Jonathon94

lol alright no drilling then. As for the Amazon photos, I did notice that they have a rack, and by looking at the photos it seems that they had to buy a special adapter.

Jonathon94

lol hills, dirt roads, and pot holes. I imagine I put some stress on my tire.

deeth82

I also support the "no drilling" mentality. I actually have the Kabuto (Came across it cheap - $60), and figured "Why not" for a steel beater. Drilling the seat stays will decrease the integrity of the frame. If you're hauling 15lbs or less worth of gear, you could try a Topeak QR Beam Rack (for most sizes of the Kabuto, the V-frame rack will do the trick).

If you feel you must have a mounted rack, try attaching a Sunlite Monostay Adapter to your seatpost (it looks awkward, but when tightened down will hold just fine) and use the holes at the bottom of the stays to attach the rack's lower arms.

Sektor9999

My Ride

Roody

Cool.... It needs to be bounced on its wheels a couple times!

MetalPedaler

Glad the OP got a bike! Not to be discouraging....but, next time you have about $350 in your pocket, you might consider looking the cheaper bikes on the bikesdirect website- where you can get a lighter, 24-speed road bike, which will make your commute 100% easier! (You could probably sell the single-speed on Gregslist[sic] for what you paid for it]. Having gears and losing some pounds will make a SIGNIFICANT difference!

If you're worried about maintaining a geared bike- don't be- they really are SIMPLE. watching a quick video on Youtube will make you an expert on adjusting derailleurs [It's just a matter of knowing which of the two screws to turn to accomplish what you need to do- and turning a barrel adjuster once in a while].

Seriously, if you get a slightly better, geared bike, you'll wonder how you ever rode a heavy single-speed.

And by-the-way, that is a seriously good-looking bike for $149!

Jonathon94

I bought a fixed gear bike because I got tired of the derailleur on my old bike causing issues. Granted it was a cheap bike, but I figured that remove the gears, and I will remove most of my problems.

Also Everybody, I got the rack to work with these. It works just fine also.

bhtooefr

And if you decide that you need more gears, there's always an internally geared hub.

MetalPedaler

Well, congrats on getting a great-looking bike, and a great bargain! Hey, if you can live with a single speed and have no complaints...more power to ya! But if you ever decide that gearing would make your life easier....even the lowest-level name-brand components work well. With your old bike, it may have been that whoever assembled the bike never set it up properly....or that the cable housings stretched [they do on all bikes...at first- but more so on real cheap bikes. The fix is just turning the barrel adjuster]. I have almost 3K miles on my $300 24-speed bike....and the derailleurs work flawlessly. But man, I'm envious of you, that you can ride that single speed and not even complain! I wish I could!

gerv 

In my experience, the lowest-level components work well, but don't last too long. However, a very minor step up from the bottom lands you in pretty durable territory.

For example, with Shimano parts once you get into the Tiagra/Deore or even Sora/Alivio levels, you have usually have some pretty sturdy parts. Above that you are just losing a little weight and paying a lot more. Below that, I haven't had much luck.

MetalPedaler

Agreed! Maybe I should have said: "The lowest components above Walmart-bike level"

I hear so many people ragging on Sora. Quite frankly, I see little difference between the Sora on my old bike, and the Dura-Ace on my new bike. Sure, I like the aesthetics of the D/A a little better....but they both work perfectly fine.

I'd bet if someone put better quality cables and housings on an old Walmart bike, it would even shift pretty reliably, and stay in adjustment- Of course, with the newer, even flimsier...even cheesier Walmart stuff....it probably wouldn't be so.

gerv 

The grip shifters on many of those bikes are hopeless. Often you can't replace the cables without replacing the entire shifter. Beware grip shifters that arrive with the cables already installed.

In fact, beware most grip shifters.

MetalPedaler

UUHHGGG!!! Yes, those things are an abomination! How about those twist shifters on the Denalis- where they saw apart the handlebars to install them, then solder?/weld?/braze? them back together?!

On such cheap bikes, why not just use downtube shifters? At least they'd be simple and reliable.

Jonathon94

lol it isn't that hard, just keep pedaling and keep a bottle of water on you. If I can do a 30 mile trip with the bike while dealing with some strong cold winds, I think you should be able to do just fine. The only issue I have ever had with this bike is how much of a PITA it is to get my feet back in the toe clips. Before it is mentioned, let me say that I have thought about clip-less but it is such an expensive system to get into.

MetalPedaler

No, believe me...I couldn't! I can barely ride my standard double, with 18 gears.....

Re: The clips: Yeah....clipless pedals and shoes would cost more than your bike. I use toe clips with straps, too [Some would call it heresy, if they saw them on my Klein Quantum Race! ]. They just take a little getting used to, like anything else. Then it becomes second nature. Did you try loosening the straps a bit? It's easier, too, if your pedals are smooth. If they have those little grippy nibs sticking up, it makes it harder to slide your feet in and out. I made sure to get smooth pedals for that rteason. If your bike has the little thingies sticking up, you can always bend them down or grind them off...makes life a lot easier.

Still impressed! [30 miles on a SS...with hills!]

Jonathon94

lol alright then.

I have loosened the straps pretty good and I can get back in them sometimes but it is annoying to do so when they keep going around and your're trying to watch the road, stay at a decent speed so as to not annoy drivers even more, and not look like a ****** which I mange to do anyways whenever I try to reclip. I do have the knobies on my pedals though. I didn't think that this would affect it.

If you would like to see the trip I took, here you go: https://goo.gl/maps/ieQcO.

It was a bit scary when it is pitch dark, you have no phone on you (Dead battery) and you barely know the route. Still though it was nice to know that I can do it. Makes me feel accomplished lol

gerv 

Or friction thumb shifters. Nothing wrong with those...

Jonathon94

My older bike (the one I replaced) had one of those. I found it to be irritating trying to put it in the right gear.

deeth82

I think it depends more on what trade-off you'd like to make. I'm much like gerv, in that I favor friction shifters over indexed. I can't speak for gerv, but for me I like the fact that if I change a gear and it sounds like it's slipping, I don't have to live with it all the way to my destination/stop to adjust the derailleur like I would on an indexed setup. I just give the shifter an extra nudge (or pull back a bit) in the right direction, and voila! [Relatively] smooth shifting, and less tuning.

Some prefer the ease of shifting indexed, and while I respect it, I feel like friction gives you the freedom to not need tuning-up quite so often. To each their own...btw, I have those delta clamps on my Kabuto, as well. They work just fine as you well know, and they weren't too expensive! I'd say as long as you take care of that bike, it will take care of you...the same could be said of all mechanical things, I suppose.