ProParadox

Hey all,

What bike do you think rocks out the most for a commuter, and why?

The 05 KHS paint is kinda ugly, but supposedly it's spec'd better. The Chrome Pista is pretty sexy if you remove the brandizizing...

Any opinions? Tell me what you all think!

Alexi

iro, or soma...

Judah

IRO Mark V = the ultimate commute beast...

Cheap, good stock paintjob, good stock components, small business, great (and I mean amazing) customer service.

KHS is a nice bike, the older ones had better components.
Pista is shiney, but that fork is so ugly and the parts are so so.

boots

IRO Mark V

keevohn

A converted road bike, preferably with fender mounts.

ultra-g

A cheap used beater road bike, even if it has gears, you don't have to shift, then it'd be a singlespeed... plus when it gets stolen you don't have to cry.

ProParadox

Does anyone know if it'd be difficult to pull the stickers off the KHS Flite100?

yojimblab

Nothing a grinder can't take care of

fixedpip

Decals are under the clearcoat on Flite's, makes em hard to remove.

Wouldn't pay full price for a Flite without the Sugino 75 cranks (yellow 2005s come with the same Truvativ cranks found on the Pista/Fuji/Mercier). Other new bikes such as Pistas, IROs, Merciers etc are all better value for money.

Seen a few of the bluish/purpley 04s in LBS around here (SF), so you may be able to find a deal on one with the sugino crank (great cranks and justified the price IMHO - see previous rant on this issue).

stinkyonions

my khs stickers were a total pita to try and remove. the headbadge sticker is half scratched off since i got so fed up with it. apparently onetin's friend scratched hers off with her fingernails. dedication!

ProParadox

So they weren't under the clear coat?

I should just leave them, they'd probably improve the resale value...

Mr. Shadow

For a new fixie it's hard to beat a Van Dessel Country Road Bob.
They kick butt on and off road. Mine was the last year with curved tubes.
https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/c/kresge.htm

Otherwise, conversions work well enough for all of my riding.

no-1

okay so i have a question now which one....
the IRO Track or the Soma Rush... i have all the parts
what frame and why...?
track worthy!?

Alexi

i love my soma rush, want to buy it? IRO is better priced, but i really love my soma, and i bought it for the price of an IRO frame.

Ken Cox

I looked hard at the KHS but finally decided on the Pista.
I've never ridden a KHS, but I love the way my Pista handles.
I'd probably like a KHS if I rode one.

Aesthetically, I prefer the looks of the Soma Rush over the IRO and the KHS, but not by much.

https://www.somafab.com/rushpix.html

I like the way my Pista looks, white panels and all.
But then, I like all the variations on the theme.
I never get tired of visiting the Fixed Gear Gallery.

the_loin

yes, I did it to a 99 aero track (obnoxious orange, but if you look close there's tiny metal flake in it, interesting, anyhow).

all you need is a heat gun for removing house paint, looks like a hair dryer. just take your time, don't get too close, don't sit with the gun aimed at one spot for a long time, keep it moving a bit, don't overheat I guess, pick at it with your finger nail, when it starts just keep heat on it and slowly remove. get some goo gone to get the residual goo off and that's it. Don't get impatient though, take your time. I got my bottom decal off in mostly one piece per side. There is a very slight indentation where the stickers were, so there was some clear coat over the stickers, maybe one coat, and thin at that. You really have to look hard for where my decals were. Please ask some others before trying it, or try it on some piece of cr** first, I don't want any hate mail. Really though, it worked great, no super nasty chemicals (unless goo gone is nasty).

Grunk

Are you saying that you can hit the decal that's under the clear coat with a heat gun, and get it to peel off?

marcusbandito

I think it just gets a bit more complicated. If you could manage to get the decals up through the clearcoat, you would be left with a area of the frame that would no longer have the clear over it compared to the rest of the frame.

So what is the consensus: Does a chrome frame need a clear coat or is it just too vulnerable at that point?

Ken Cox

Marcusbandito asked:

"Does a chrome frame need a clear coat or is it just too vulnerable at that point?"

Some hard chrome finishes defy damage and removal.
My wife as a beautiful lugged Nishiki that I have refinished more than once.
It has a hard chrome finish under the paint, and all the paint stripper and wire-brushing in the world won't effect that chrome.
However, I think Bianchi put the chrome on the Pista using a different process, and I imagine it will come off easily with abrasion.
I would clear coat it.

ink1373

Iro! Iro! Iro!

ProParadox

So is there clear coat under the sticker?

andrew young

I personally choose the Pista, as I just put a down payment on a '04 model last week. I've test ridden the KHS and the Pista before and the handling of chrome dome suited me better. I'm probably gonna put another $400 or so into it for tubulars and stuff 'cause I wanna ride it at the drome in Blaine. GO PISTA!

Ken Cox

I originally got my Pista thinking of it as a cheap intro to fixed gear bikes.
I thought at a later date I might put together a more expensive bike, say two years down the line.
However, now that I've ridden the Pista I have come to like the handling so much I can't imagine improving on it.
I mean, I didn't know a bike could handle like this.
So, now I think I might stick with this frame and fork and just upgrade as things wear out.
And then again, if the present components give me reasonable service, why even upgrade?
Maybe I should spend my money on tools, instead, and actually maintain my Pista as needed with cost-effective parts.
Will I really feel a difference with Phil Wood and Chris King components?
Or would I feel more of a difference with money in my pocket instead of on my bike?
Perhaps I should start a new thread on this subject.

stuart

just get the pista, its cheaper and the components are more or less the same. i've seen the downtube on the flite 100 buckle when it shouldn't have. spend the extra money on a lock.

Yuppie

I have a 2003 KHS and I would recommend against it. It's a nice ride, but there are some problems. The BB shell is not fully threaded so the BB rings and flanges get stripped in the installation process. I've also seen the picture of the buckled downtube. Not cool.