dmiller

Hello Everyone!!

1.So I grew up ridding a BMX bike from age 11-17
2.Well I'm 26 now and am looking to get more active again, I recently starting looking up local bike trails/paths and there are way more in my area they I knew of.
3.So I love the idea of a single speed bike like my BMX bike growing up for there simplicity ( something I can manage to maintain myself without all the gears). Not really looking for a fixie but rather a single speed ( the simpler the better, don't care for front suspension but its not a deal breaker, don't really care for disk breaks)
4. My Question
What am I looking for and where can I find options.
I want a frame that doesn't have a flat top bar, but rather a slanted one like a BMX or MTB
I'm not sure but I think I want a 29er as they are the size of 700c road bike wheels I think, maybe a 27.5 I'm not sure
I want hybrid tires and MTB style flat bars.

I've attached pictured of what I'm looking for, I just dont know what they would be called of where to find them, adult BMX, single speed mountain bikes...? i don't know, any help would be greatly appreciated, Thank You!!!


I'm also knew to this forum and was wondering if there a better place to post this where i'll get more responses?

seau grateau

Sounds like a single speed mountain bike if what you're after. Do you have a budget?

There are a few here low-cost ones here: 29er Mountain Bikes Save Up to 60% Off | Full Suspension 29er | Hardtail 29er Mountain bikes | Titanium 29er Mountain Bikes | Singlespeed 29er Bikes
Check out Surly too if you have a more robust budget: Bikes | Surly Bikes

dmiller

My budget is limited...for now, The more I sell on craigslist the more my budget grows. It really depends on what I find. I've seen this website and am curious of the quality of these gravity bikes, I've never heard of the brand before.Im looking for a bike with a slight slant rather than a bike with a sever slant. The problem with this site as well is, that the single speed bike selection is limited.

dmiller

My budget is limited...for now, The more I sell on craigslist the more my budget grows. It really depends on what I find. I've seen this website and am curious of the quality of these gravity bikes, I've never heard of the brand before.Im looking for a bike with a slight slant rather than a bike with a sever slant. The problem with this site as well is, that the single speed bike selection is limited.

TimothyH

Note sure about slope of the top tube but here's a leftover 2015 Cannondale SL Trail 29 at REI.




Cannondale Trail SL 29 Singlespeed - Men's - 2015 Closeout - REI.com

Bair

Gravity bikes are pretty good from what i've heard.

dmiller

Hey the cannondale is about double what I'm looking to spend, so I suppose my budget is around the $500 mark. I may have found a used Gravity bike for a decent price, How about a list of links to online bike retailers. I really only know of bikesdirect and now REI, can anyone ramble out a list of online bike retailers for me? BTW thank you for all of your responses!

dmiller

Also can any bike regardless of rear dropouts be converted easily to a single speed as long as you add a chain tensioner?

ceelint

Save up to 60% off new 650b and 27.5 Mountain Bikes - MTB - Front Suspension Gravity 29 SS Single Speed new 650b and 27.5 Mountain Bikes

non-suspension fork
Save up to 60% off new 650b and 27.5 Mountain Bikes - MTB - Gravity 29 SS Single Speed new 650b and 27.5 Mountain Bikes

Fat bike
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...e-ss-3inch.htm

veganbikes

You might consider getting your hearing checked or listen to different things. Those gravitys the dude listed parts wise aren't such crap as the many I have seen but aren't all that great either.

OP: If you want a big kid BMX try finding an All City Junkyard Dog. Those things were designed as a big kid BMX basically but with a little more usefulness for dirt riding. You would have to build it up or find one built up but it would be a better investment than cheap crap from Bikes Direct.

Bair

The OP said his budget was $500. Please let me know how you can do a complete All City JYD build for $500. For $500 the single speeds on bd are just fine.

veganbikes

Sure it might be out of budget but it would be a better investment. Also Gravity's still aren't great. I am not saying the price point is too bad but honestly I would maybe only buy it for the parts on it and those aren't that exciting.

dmiller

Hey guys I'm not trying to start an argument! I found a gravity bike on craigslist for around $200, Its the one in the pictures I first posted 2015, I just wanted to see what else was out there, I plan to ride mainly on paved paths and sometimes on smooth unpaved bike paths so I didn't want to get a road bike, so a hybrid was perfect, still maintain some speed but with the option to go off asphalt...a lot of trails around here also go back and forth from paved to dirt to crushed gravel to wooden bridges over wetland etc.... I also found a Raleigh 2015 misceo 2.0 for the same price as the gravity.

My dilemmas:

Gravity bike = buying hybrid tires

Raleigh bike = not being sure if I can even put a chain tensioner on it because of its odd positioned back dropouts, removing all gearing and replacing it with a single speed cog, and hoping I can find a front singlespeed sprocket that fits on it without rubbing the frame because I know its not designed as a single speed bike.

I like the idea of not having a chain tensioner and just having horizontal back dropouts for easy adjustment like the Gravity bike, and the Raleigh( not to crazy about that new frame look, the top tube does slant downwards sort of but rises up in the front ( that part is just personal preference )


So raleigh vs. gravity ( gravity retail $400 raleigh retail $550 ) I just feel like I would have to put more money into the raleigh to make it what I want it to be.

dmiller

The Raleigh is probably the better buy.

Regulatori

I'm sometimes bad about reading threads and missing details but what about a Charge Plug 0?

Plug 0 - Charge Bikes

dmiller

now this is what Ive been looking for, I'm definitely going to consider this bike, I'd like it to have hybrid wheels though and not street tires, but good bike, good price, simple, its sites like these I'm looking for links too. All I know is bikes direct and my local bike shop is Zanes which only has top of the line high end well known brand bikes, I'm trying to see what else is out there that I wouldn't find at a store like zanes.

Regulatori

Not sure exactly what you mean by hybrid wheel. Something that can take dirt tires too?
That bike comes stock with 38mm wide tires stock which are pretty big. You could always email them and ask what's the largest tire that will fit.

I know what you're looking for....basically a Brooklyn Machine Works Tour Boro/Gangster Track but a lot less expensive.

Example...

dmiller

yeah I realized the tires on the plug 0 where bigger than road slicks when I looked at it again, but yeah I want something that is smooth that will be nice on paved bike paths, but that I can also take on a bike path that changes from paved to dirt to ground up gravel to wooden bridges... even though not slicks, the plug 0 tires are still a little slick for what I'm looking for.....

now...
this bike you just posted pictured of......EXACTLY what I want ( right down to the larger front sprocket )....Where do I find bikes like this?



If I wanted to find bikes like this on google, what kind of bike would I search for?... single speed MTB/tour bike.... thats my main question for this thread as well as where can I find them. Thank you for your replies!


P.S. what size are those tires 29/27?

Regulatori

The bike above is not cheap...I believe they go for around $1400 just for frame/fork.

I'm willing to bet if you emailed Charge, they would tell if off road tires would fit. The tires on the orange bike are just typical cyclecross tires. I'm almost positive a set of tires like that would easily fit on the Charge.

Don't get hung up on small details like a "large front sprocket." You can pick up a larger chainring for cheap but you may have to replace your chain ($10) because it most likely won't have enough links.

I would mainly focus on the frame since that's the foundation of any bike. That Charge fits 95% of your criteria/price point and only a few add-ons will get it perfect. I honestly don't think you're going to find a better deal. I'm on a UK forum where Charge's are more common and a lot of the members have Charges and some have later upgraded to Gangsta Tracks (the orange bike) since they are similar geometry. I've heard overwhelmingly positive things about Charges though...it's hard to beat it at the $500 price point.

The orange bike just has standard 700C wheels with CX (Cyclecross) tires. Do a search for 700C CX tires on google and you'll find tons of these types. That's why you shouldn't be so concerned with wheel sizes...there are tons of off road tires available for 700C wheels.

Here is the same orange bike ridden on the street (BTW..if you've seen Premium Rush, the rider in this video did most of the actual riding in that movie). I believe he recently changed to a carbon fork but it's the same bike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFes40A-gbo

Bikes with some tire clearance are very versatile. Don't get too hung up on having the *perfect* bike out of the box unless you have a fat wallet. The add-ons you want are all inexpensive.

seau grateau

^^ I thought that price sounded bonkers, so I looked it up, and the BMW Gangsta Track is indeed $1400. It's a cool frame, but that price is ****ing absurd.

dmiller

I'm debating between these two bikes at the moment because I found them both for $200 used but in basically brand new condition, i just cant decide and am wondering if a larger single speed front sprocket chainring will fit on either of these bikes without rubbing the frames... i know the raleigh is the better brand but will require a chain tensioner because of its vertical dropouts and i dont really like that ( takes away from the simplicity ). but what would you guys choose?.... also, if these bikes do sell on me for my procrastination... the charge bike will most likely be my final choice.

Regulatori

Yeah, they've become popular with the hypebeast/Supreme type crowd and the prices have skyrocketed. I believe the first versions (which now go for big bucks) were like $7-800 and had an awesome fork...now the good version cost $1400 and the lower end version (unicrown fork) cost $900.

They used to be built in Brooklyn too but I'm not sure how many of their line are actually made in the US anymore. Now a lot of their bikes are built in Taiwan like everything else (possibly even the $1400 version).

I personally don't like the look of them. Supposedly they ride really nice though but I hate sloping top tubes and the look of their front fork...looks like it has suspension fork level clearances.

Regulatori

Just skip the used stuff, bite the bullet and buy the Charge. You'll be much happier with a new bike that is almost exactly what you want from the beginning. With those used bikes you'll end up sinking way more money into them to get the bike you're after. If you plan on doing a lot of riding and keeping the bike for a few years, a few extra hundred is well worth it.

Plus with those used bikes, you can't even be sure how many small wear and tear items will need to be replaced.

prooftheory

In answer to the original question: Reliable online dealers

dmiller

Hey thanks for the link man! I'll have to check out these links when I get back from class.