rms13

Anyone have any first hand opinions on their bikes? They are about the same price as the fabled Kilo TT. I'm wary of companies that specialize in custom fixies in endless color combos. But I've read a few reviews that make them seem like they are a step above some of the other junk.

SlamThatStemBRO

Run away!

TejanoTrackie 

Junk is junk.

Scrodzilla

I'm pretty sure there's a new thread every three months with this exact same title.

TejanoTrackie 

More like every 3 weeks.

rms13

Kilo TT!

/Thread


(there I did it myself)

gregjones

You might try here.

If that is too hard, try this.

Training.Wheels

I built one up a week ago. My first impression was that it was of higher quality than the sub $300 offerings on bikesdirect since the welding looked comparable to my girlfriend's Motobecane Track. While I still think the components are more presentable and polished looking on the State, the frame itself had some pretty bad flaws. First off, the dropouts weren't even. This, in addition to them giving you cheap axle nuts without rotating washers that didn't exactly spin smoothly onto the axles, made tensioning such a time consuming, low quality experience. No wonder they come with free chain tensioners, but they are useless once you add a couple of teeth on your cog or chainring - as in my case - unless you add more chain links. The wellgo pedals didn't spin on their own at all, making strapping in bothersome. Also, the headset was definitely bottom of the barrel, but it's not as noticeable while riding. I wouldn't recommend someone to not buy State Bikes if they're going for a very specific look for cheap, but I really feel like they cut some corners on their product.

TLDR; They're aight, but overpriced for what they are.

Stuka

I recently picked up one. I am not disappointed so far. There are some flaws like Training says, but in my opinion, they are forgivable for the price and appearance options. I looked at "name brand" frames and bikes, and could not see anything comparable for the price. I refuse to pay road bike money for a ss/fg. Especially, as this is meant to be my beater to twaddle around with the girlfriend. I like the State better than the SE Draft I bought her. Everything spins or rotates fine on both of them after some fiddling. My biggest complaint is the freewheel is clunky and not very concentric and the chain has a sticky link.. all fixable though.

If there is better for less than $600 complete, I did not find it.

cobrabyte

Generic, corny, unimaginative. Their whole marketing scheme is to market to n00bs since anyone that actually knows anything about bikes would stay away from anything to do with State Bike Co.

jared1988

I have one, I like it (got it 6 months ago). I just rode it 80miles with 11,000ft of climbing and made it home without an issue. Maybe someone can tell me what to look at to determine whether its a hunk of junk or not. But I probably wouldn't be able to make a credible determination being that I am a "n00b."

My humble observations, I'll be the first to admit I don't know a lot so below is information from just a regular guy;
My dropouts were straight, no fancy axel nuts but meh to me (I don't expect my things to stay perfect for forever), the pedals were tight at first but they loosened up. My seat tube came slightly dented, but I fixed it, probably due to shipping by USPS from AZ to Japan. Front tire bead just separated from the casing last week, chainring bolts needed to be tightened to stop a popping noise. Pedals have a little little bit of play, possibly from trying to do too much climbing with 75gi? I, for some reason, get caught up with roadie friends going into mountain areas... Wheels seem pretty true still. Chain is stretched, just checked it today.

So far I've rode at least 1,049 miles and gained 45,056ft (according to Strava). So is a stretched chain, ruined tire and slight play in the pedals acceptable for the afore mentioned milage?

TejanoTrackie 

No. The bead doesn't separate on a good quality tire. Good pedals don't develop play. A good quality chain doesn't wear out in 1000 miles, unless it isn't properly lubricated. The gear you are using is irrelevant. Much more powerful riders than you or me ride good quality bikes that don't fall apart. Also, a bike costing that much should have sealed cartridge wheels bearings, which I suspect your's doesn't. If I were in your position, I would have bought a Wabi Classic for $695, which you can customize for no extra cost and had it shipped directly to Japan.

One more thing. Tire bead separation can lead to a blowout, which can be nasty if you're bombing downhill at 60+ kph.

jared1988

Ah, well lesson learned. KMC D101, Shimano r540, and Michelin Dynamic Sports (I think) are in my future.

cobrabyte

a better bike should be in your future.

Scrodzilla

Unless you love fixing flats, do yourself a favor and buy better tires.

Also, your chain is fine.

rms13

Good feedback. I think most of the negative comments are from people that have too high of expectations for a $400 bike. So, for $400 I will be expecting the Kilo TT to be equal to my friend's Bianchi Pista or my Surly since that is what BD tells me to expect

TejanoTrackie 

No, you can expect a Kilo TT Pro at $450 to be a much better bike than a State El Toro at $429.

mjfarsi

Hi, this is Mehdi Farsi, co-founder of State Bicycle Co.

Since establishing in 2009, we have made leaps and bounds in our product offerings, quality, and customer experience. We ship for free, offer free returns, and warranty all of our products. Our bikes have put riders on podiums at events such as The Wolfpack Hustle Crash and we've competed in international level events such as the Red Hook Crit.

We sometimes get "lumped in" with our competition due to our price point, but I can assure you State Bicycle Co. is head and shoulders better than the rest of the "entry level" fixed gear products. We use 4130 Chromoly rather than hi-tensile steel on our $429 bikes.

I have posted some 3rd party reviews for you to check out. Please let me know if you have any questions.


Urban Velo:
https://urbanvelo.org/state-bicycle-c...s-bike-review/

Pez Cycling News:
https://www.pezcyclingnews.com/page/l...5#.UcskLOsd6mI

MASHAFIX:
https://mashafix.com/product-review-s...-co-contender/

Bicycle Radar:
https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/articl...to-head-36100/


And some videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVur3jv9zVI

iTripped

I love it when this happens.

Wut

Can someone explain what is wrong with state bicycle bikes. Is it the components....frame design...wheelset? Why is a kilo tt better?

mjfarsi

I was asked to respond by an administrator from BikeForums.net

TejanoTrackie 

time capsule

mjfarsi

Another thing I forgot to add, we are NOT only online. Our bikes are sold by over 250 IBD across the US. That is our biggest endorsement of quality IMO.

Nagrom_

no brands vs brands.

rms13

According to most people on this forum I am guessing the answer is "it's not a Kilo TT". How many people here have rode a Kilo and State or even seen both in person or many of the other lower end bikes out there? Kilo TT has a Reynolds frame which makes it infinitely better even though Reynolds is just a name branded crmo frame from what I know