I wrestled with hi ten vs cromoly. I have 2 Fuji's for just riding & exercise purposes, rather than ride and make a day of it as a tourist. The Fuji's could be the tourist too, but I'd be paranoid if either were locked unattended and out of sight for more than it took to buy a cold drink at a convenience store. Both the hi ten and cromoly frames are virtually indistinguishable to me. I avoid aluminum as I understand it's stiffer, but also because I don't like the fact that it's softer metal than steel. If I lock the bike to a rougher steel pole or a parking meter, I definitely don't want someone knocking it around or it falling over while attached to steel that is significantly harder and may even gouge the aluminum. Carbon, that's simply out of my price range. I used to say that about graphite shafts for golf clubs, even avoided purchasing them because I felt they weren't as durable or strong as steel. But again, there's a difference between golf culbs and bikes. And as I understand Carbon is a very stiff frame, like aluminum. So that leaves me hi ten or cromoly. Hi ten saved me a few bucks. Since I was after one that would be less attractive to theft, a lesser known brand made of perceived inferior components and materials works fine. Would I have liked to have bought it from WalMart for $ 150 or so, sure. But after RBO and BD, Republic and the $ 400 plus track bike outlets are the next step. And those are about the same as a BD track bike. And after that, you get into the $ 600-800 range track bikes of the more commonly popular name brand bikes. So $ 239 for a Vilano is very price point enticing.

As for the shill reviews, I found the reviews at RBO very similar to what I experienced, so they are candid and sincere for the most part. There were some that indicated superiority over Surly's Steamroller. But I took that claim as puffery. RBO's reviews tell some horror stories, even throw out a lot of the upgrade suggestions to get it to a BD track bike. The horror stories, I took those as worst case scenarios, they may be a little more common & frequent ? My experience was more of a horror story, but I found that customer support was exceptional for resolving any issues that I've had. So in that regard, RBO gets 5 stars. It's not pleasant to have to wait or do the email back & forth (even an 800 number) for any on-line purchase, but when the issues are identified, they get resolved eventually and within reason. That's the same with anything done over the internet. A similar example, if I build a computer and NewEgg sends a defective motherboard or cpu, I find that whole process isn't any less enjoyable, yet NewEgg does resolve those problems too. I'd expect the same from BD or any other on-line vendor.

I found the components aren't nearly as lacking in quality from lowest end Shimano or Sugino parts you find on BD track bikes, almost a matter of preference. The Tec 9 hubs and crankset don't have the name notoriety that Shimano & Sugino, but after a month of riding these components, they function, the finish remains as close to new as one could ride without incident to damage them. For a lower cost item, they are an option. Whatever is Neco on the Vilano also works and has retained finish after miles of riding. Take care of it, lubricate and clean them and there are no issues. The chain and Dicta freewheel are properly lubed and adjusted, no problems there. The brake components, levers and calipers are properly adjusted and low and behold they have zero issues.