as of two weeks ago, my bike was unfortunately stolen. i was a naughty cyclist and relied on my kryptonite cable lock to protect it. both the bike and lock are long gone.. but i have ruled out superman as a possible suspect.

so as of a week ago, i was eyeing a brand new 2008 KHS Flite 100...

as of yesterday, it snowed here in boston... and the resulting snow, slush, etc (and the fact that we're in for much more of it) really made me think that a brand new nice(er) bike would be a bad idea until it warms up a bit.

so... any ideas on something relatively cheap, an acceptable beater, and quickly avaliable. (home-built would be an option to possibly reduce costs, but im kinda lookin to get back on the road sooner than later.) Later i plan on grabbing that khs (or anything similar) but for now i'm tryin to find a decent bike for a cheap price.

any ideas for something for my situation? motobecane messenger perhaps?

Mercier Kilo TT?

I like the Motobecane Messenger, since it has two brakes, but if you were considering the Flite 100, you should know that the Kilo TT is the same frame and is spec'ed pretty comparably. Basically, Bikes Direct has the best deals going, without a doubt.

Either bike would probably be at your door by week's end, if you ordered today.

1.Get the kilo TT
2.spend the money you save on:
sugino 75's A better headset, and a carbon Fork,
OR
Get a better set of wheels, with saved money, and put the stock ones on a conversion. and some better cranks

unless your getting some sort of a deal on the khs like 400$ or less

Is the headset that bad? I've never seen the need for anything but a cheapo headset. Honestly, it's probably the last thing I would upgrade on a bike.

I don't see the point of buying an entry level complete then putting nicer stuff on it. The crank and fork aren't going to break. It makes more sense to buy the complete bike and ride it mostly stock, otherwise just do a build from the ground up and don't waste your money on the unnecessary parts.

The Messenger comes with brakes, so if you just want something cheap, stock and ready to ride it's probably better for you than the Kilo TT. My friend has one and I love the orange color, it's really vibrant.

I say get the Kilo TT then upgrade when things break/wear out. Save $$$ for your dream build.

to sum things up:

if you like brakes and want to save a bit of money, and want slacker geometry, get the motobecane

if you like riding brakeless and like tight geometry, get the kilo.

fight someone on a bike, social darwinism...kind of.

tighter geometry?

lookin at the specs between the kilo and messenger, the only "by the numbers" difference in frame geometry is literally only a few millimeters here and there. (bb drop is 2 mm diff... wheelbase is maybe 10 mm diff... standover is a few mm diff. imo, totally splitting hairs.)

so.. if im going to be riding in snow/slush conditions at all... brakes for the win. also helps with the more utilitarian aspects i want/need for this bike.

getting a TT and later customizing it sounds intriguing, but i'll pass. I'd rather keep one stock bike in the proverbial "stable" and then bring in a nicer, more customized one, as opposed to having just one nice one. that way i'll always have something to ride based on conditions and in the future, be able to choose the "any day / work" vs the "its a treat to ride / love like a son" bike.... the messenger i'd love like... a *******-child perhaps.

wow. that was particularly mean actually... both actual ******* children, and my future bike. i love all bikes and children equally.

but yeah. sounds like a plan?

oh... last question... anyone know offhand if the messenger can maybe possibly handle cyclocross tires?

Not likely. It's pretty tight with 28 mm slicks.

If you want a cheap winter bike just do a conversion. The average road or touring bike from the 80's can handle CX or studded tires with fenders, track frames can't.

you also might want to check out simple living cycles in framingham. last i heard, he's selling fuji tracks ~300$.

edit: about a year ago, i recall he had red '06 flite 100's for super cheap also

nah, not really. the clearance on mine is pretty tight.

Are you looking for a utilitarian bike for commuting ?

If so converting an older road bike makes great sense.

Convert an old road frame (using spare parts like crank, stem, seatpost, etc) look for something with 130mm rear drop outs, its a common hub size thats easy to find/space to. The horizontal drops will allow you to slide your wheel out while keeping your fenders bolted on. Which you cant do on a track frame with full fenders. You also have clearance up to 27"x 1 1/4th or 700cx38c cx tires of your choice. All of these sizes are common and easy to source out parts for. cheapest way to build something "nice"/reliable.