besides the ability to put a rear rack on the TT, how does this different from the Windsor The Hour in terms or quality and components?

geometry of the mercier is tighter, thus to me, higher quality.

slap some good components on that baby and people will ride it and say "Holy ****"

then tell them the frame only cost you $300

Actually, according to their respective websites, the geometry is almost identical with a difference of no more than a few mm in almost all regards, and when one is "tighter" than the other, it's the Windsor/Fuji. Not that any of this would be remotely noticeable to someone riding their track bike on the street with riser bars, moving up from their first conversion. Lots of people have complained that the Windsor has too much "flex" in the frame, which seems like a much bigger concern in regards to power-transfer, but both are very good bikes for the money, it would seem.

Strange, both of their frames seems to be made exactly the same, and the only difference between their forks, it seems like is one is aero and the other has a flat crown. Does the TT have a lot of flex in it too?

I just recieved my brandy-new Windsor The Hour, and lo-and-behold...it also has the rear rack mounts, just like the Kilo TT. Go figure!

Actually, I was going to buy the Kilo TT instead of this one, but they sold out too quick. I'm not dissapointed in this choice either.

For the Rustoleum inclined- the decals on the Windsor are not decals at all, but rather silk screened onto the frame, so if you wanted to spray the frame, you don't have to worry about the raised surface from frame decals.

Another thing I can notice right off is that the headset (Chinhaur ?!) needs to be loosened a bit. I suppose everything needs to be gone over and tweaked before hitting the pavement.

I got the matte slate color, so the frame lettering (black) doesn't show up too much (that's why I picked the colr). I'll post some pics on a different thread when I get a chance, as I'm actually here at my cube at work, trying to get some work done, yet a brand new ride is trying to get my attention behind me...looks like not much work today!

:^)

Yeah, this is also true of the Pista vs. the Mercier on paper. But in real life, the clearances (at least up front) of the Mercier are much tighter and it looks steeper overall. Either the specs are wrong, or the fork on the Mercier makes all the difference.

Let me just say one other thing: I have two kids, and so recently had to spring for a new double stroller to tote them around in. that thing set me back about $500! It's a really sweet double stroller, mind you- double shock suspension, all that j***, but $300 for a new bike feels quite nice indeed!

The frames are different. The Mercier/KHS has a teardrop cross section downtube, the Hour is straight round tube. perhaps ovalized slightly at the BB.

You think it might be possible to remove the logos without destroying the paint? Just to have an all white frame?

I believe the following is correct:

The Windsor Hour is approximately a Fuji Track.
The Mercier Kilo TT is approximately a KHS Flight 100.

I don't think any approximation is needed. The general consensus seems to be that they are made in the same factories with the same materials, and simply branded different. It's a very common practice with bicycle frames. So yeah, same frames, at the least.

I don't think you can easily remove the frame lettering without damaging the underlying paint job. I just gave it a go with a razor blade, and the lettering is pretty durable. I'd suggest sanding of the entire frame with a high grit sandpaper and spray that mutha as you like. It's just a $300 bike, have at it!

I actually think the Mercier logos are fairly classy, and among the least offensive of modern bike branding.

I love the logo, actually have it as the background of my computer.

I just wish it didn't have the down tube sticker and fork stickers

:( BD are sold out of my size... i might go with the hour now

electrical tape works well in covering 'em

you know i switched the bars from this bike onto a different stem and it is still making that same noise you are talking about. I think its the way the bars are built, with that extra sleeve going over the bar. I think that noise is coming from the bars wiggling a little bit inside this sleeve.

I've seen people do that, but I am either a. going to just leave them or b. repaint it when I get all the parts I want to add.

i've been considering repainting and using flite 100 decals

If I repaint, probably will stay decal-less and go either grey or flat black. My bmx bike was flat black and I loved that color

yea, that was my initial desire but there just seems to be something MISSING from my bike and i'm afraid it's the decals :(

I wonder if mercier will sell or give some of those decals up for free. If I repainted I'd throw the logo on front most def. and some other ones

Really? I can't stand the decals on my KHS. I don't suppose anyone has found any of that vinyl tape that matches the orange KHS?

what kind of chain ring can i use on the truvativ setup the mercier comes with? are they mostly universal?