Originally Posted by
prooftheory
If you buy online you might be able to get something like the Dawes SST steel from BikeIsland if they have it in your size. The Schwinn Cutter is at $167 from CityGrounds. But you would probably want to take them to your local bike shop to get them built which could add to the expenses significantly.
Make sure that you know the size that you should get. You can use a
fit calculator and compare the results to the size chart of what you are looking at but you are probably still growing so it might be best to err with getting a bike that is too big.
Yeah, I got the Dawes SST last year and I've put around 2,600 miles on it. I ride it singlespeed, though. Other than the wheels being pretty badly tensioned (nothing horrible but still sort of a pain), and having to replace the freewheel at around 2,500 miles, not much else has been wrong with it. Keep in mind that this has been my first 'real' bike, though, so my idea of wrong could be optimistic. The bike has worked well for me, though.
I did buy a size too small, so be sure to use the fit calculator. Don't pick a size based on the standover height.
