khs flite 100
the hour
fuji track

what bike in the 300-400 range?

this is going to be my college commuter and it will get the crap kicked out of it, it will not be taken inside ever and most likely be burried in snow for half the year. maybe that was exxagerating a bit but you get the idea i suppose

if your not looking to take care of a bike then why even spend that much on a bike. you'll end wasting even more money on getting it fixed. i say go to your local thrift store and look for some beater. then take the money left over and buy yourself a butt-plug cause its gonna feel like someone just took advantage of you after you have to pay those college prices. peace.

haha, yea, i found an old ross eurotour 5 speed the other day, but i guess i may have came off a little to harsh, the bike wont be totally abandoned, but surely it will not receive a great deal of attention (not as much as my road bike). i guess i really wanted to know, all of these bike are rather similar, whether it be a motobecane or fuji or what have you, what do you guys reccomend? are all these frames made in tiwan, or are some better? i guess i am looking for the best of the worst in this situation

i'm going to be building up a commuter over the next month with a frame i got from my landlord for free.

i guess my priorities are a sealed bearing headset, hubset, and bb, a rust proof chain. i'm also going to put full fenders and some decent tires on it. the rest will be an amalgam of used parts. i might even spring for a can of rust proofing spray.

i wouldn't go the absolute cheapest route for a commuter. you're going to depend on it to get you around in conditions that you wouldn't subject your other bike to. if your bearings are beat to **** and never maintained, then the riding's going to be like tredging through a swamp. same goes for the chain. a little extra scratch up front will go a long way with a bike that is going to see harsh times.

there's a difference between a beater and a commuter.

Heres my ideal fixed gear commuter. Its somewhat of a beater, and gets more use than any of my other bikes, but its well maintained and a pleasure to ride.....old frame with fender mounts and space for big tires...laid back geometry, old 105 road cranks, used drops, old diacompe brake, and a saddle off a Redline monocog. All these parts give it a beater look, but with the hand built bomb proof surly/sun CR-18 wheels it doesn't ride like a beater.

Slayer guy is write...theres a difference between a beater and a commuter...you need to invest the money where it counts, like with hubs and chain. Its got to be able to take a beating, and you've got to have a versatile frame for fenders and the like. The cheapies mentioned by the OP don't fit in that category.


Also..another thing about laid back geometry; I know most people around here are into steep angles, but getting on a frame like this and seeing that front wheel way out there in front feels really cool..like in a very old school sorta way, especially if you have some burly tires on there.