I want to start riding more into work and I need a bike that I can just lock up in Manhattan and not worry about it. I love my Capo too much to lock it up all day and risk the chance of something happening to it. Yeah I'm a *****.

Anyway, wanted see what my options were. I know when looking at budget frames, they won't be the best in quality but I still want something that is decent and won't buckle under my 200lbs arse. I know about the Kilo and I'd buy it right away but they seem to all be sold out. There is also the Pista which I can get for around $550 online, that seems like the higher end of the bunch. Then there is the Pake frame of which I know nothing about. Any good? Then there is the IRO. Anything else out there that I'm missing?

the pake frame would be great for you. Strong, reliable straight guage tubing. Pretty cheap as well.

Thanks. Seems like a Pake frameset can be had for less than $300. The issue with building up a bike myself is that it ends up being a lot. I just prices a simple build with cheap parts and it came out to over $1000 using the Pake frameset.

Buy renters insurance with the lowest deductible you can find, and ride the Capo. If it gets stolen, $250 for a new Capo. No point living in fear.

the target bike. muah ha ha.

Well the Capo frameset was a lot more than that and after I built it up it's a lot more but that is an interesting idea.

Roll on a Huffy baby!

isnt this the job people make conversions for? it seems like kind of a waste to buy a new frame, even if it is a low end piece of poop, and build it up just to treat it like crap. and $250 is the deductible you would pay to have your insurance company buy you a new $450 capo if it got horked. just to clarify.

Well I wouldn't treat it like poop. I guess beater is the wrong word to use. Just wanted something with low value that I wouldn't stress about all day long. I could get renters insurance and ride my Capo but it would get a little beat up out there.

buy a dawes

or this

where do you work?

with a good lock and some basic common sense, you've got little to fear.

POS conversion?

I work in midtown. The area where I would lock the bike would be right in front of the lobby of my building. The area gets a ton of foot traffic and there are a bunch of bikes locked up out there, including a carbon Bianchi. I'm definitely considering to just use my Capo. Whats the point of having a nice bike if I cant ride it?

Anyway, what lock would you recommend? Krypto Fahgettaboudit Ulock and chain or is that overkill? And what would be the best way to lock it up? I tried searching but this search seems to be down.

get a chain, and leave it locked where you lock. lock up both wheels. if you want to, put a leash from yr saddle rails to your seatstays. other than that don't worry too much.

midtown's a big place. where do you work?

I had this in mind when I said "target bike" above.

i never thought of my Pake as a beater : / a conversion is a beater if anything.

you didnt use bottom of the line components if you ended at 1000. I would just pick up a kilo TT or Windsor. If you want to do the pake. look into bulletproof cranks, and cheapwheels at bicyclewheels.com. Also source as many parts as you can from a local bike co-op.

Well I picked items like a $30 stem, $20 post, $80 cranks. If you know of anything cheaper than that let me know.

If the Kilos were available I would buy one right now. They are sold out.

I personally would check craigslist for the majority of your parts. from there you can check nashbar or google a certain part you need. bulletproof cranks are only 30 bucks. You could also find a cheap bike in a thriftshop and take a majority of the parts off that if you want.

I am willing to wager that there is a huge amount of truvativ touro cranks out there to be had for real cheap that were taken off from Pistas, Kilos, etc. Stems can be had on craigslist and eBay for $5.

There's always a Windsor Hour that can be had for $300, same as a Pake frameset.

here and on the nyc forum you can find good deals for a buildup. if you really want a commuter, get a cheap frame that fits you - track, conversion, whatever - and build it up slowly with simple, used parts.

consider that you might want this other bike of yours to be able to fill all-around duties, so consider brazeons for racks, fenders, and brakes.

exactly.

How about a Windsor Hour?
Or, get the Kilo frame from Bike Island and build it up yo'seff.