Help me pick a bike, please
Hey all,
I know this has probably been beaten to death, but searching wasn't much help as I suck at teh internetz.
At any rate, I'm looking for an inexpensive commuter to piddle around town on and that I wouldn't think twice about locking up outside after dark, but I don't want something that's complete crap either. I've narrowed it down to a few options: Windsor Hour, Purefix, SE Draft Lite, and possibly the SE Lager. Whatever I get, my preference would be to ride fixed.
To me the Windsor stands out as potentially being the highest quality bike of those listed. However, I would have to assemble it myself (which means buying some tools) or pay to have a bike shop work on it. I feel like the price would snowball a fair bit more than the listing price with the BD option.
I can get the Purefix and SE bikes locally. The SE dealer in particular will go over the bike to make sure the bolts are properly tightened and the wheels are true and what not before it leaves the shop, and I think there's a lot of value in that. Plus, either shop will offer the standard free maintenance for a year with bike purchase.
Given all that, what would you recommend for me? Should I get the Windsor and learn how to work on bikes myself, or are the Purefix and SE acceptably decent enough that I'll be ok with saving some hassle and buying locally?