Suggestions on what bike to purchase
 

I just moved to Hawaii, island of Oahu, i live in Honolulu and my work is about 10 miles away from where i live. Im trying to purchase a single speed road bike to ride to and from work. What bike should i go with???

1. Specialized Langster
2. Bianchi Pista
3. Mercier Kilo TT
4. Motobecane Fantom Cross UNO

Opinion wise which one would you guys suggest?? Which bike is lightest and the fastest, w/ good performance????

Thanks guys, and yes i am a newbie.

If you just want a decent road-worthy bike, but aren't worried about versatility (ability to add fenders, racks, larger tires, etc.) then any of the first 3 bikes you listed will do.

However, if the primary funtion of the bike is for commuting then versatility is important. You should look into the following....Redline 925, IRO Rob Roy, IRO Jamie Roy, Bianchi San Jose.

The Phantom Cross Uno has potential as a good commuter, but the stock tires and gearing are more for offroad riding, though these could be easily changed.

Good Luck!

I would go for one of the three following:

The relevant IRO model

The Salsa Casseroll:
http://www.salsacycles.com/casserollCompSS08.html

Or the Surly Steamroller:
http://www.surlybikes.com/steamroller_comp.html

I've never paid much attention to the Salsa Casseroll, but it is really nice. Not a single component on there is generic and the frame is practically a swiss army knife...meaning that it could be just about anything. It'll even take gears and downtube shifters. Very cool.

http://www.salsacycles.com/images/zo...llCompSS08.jpg

I've had my Salsa Casseroll SS for several months now and can't say enough good things about it. The build is great and I use it for commuting 20+ miles and it doesn't miss a beat when I take it on long limestone/gravel adventures. In fact, I know a guy that rode his Casseroll SS for Dirty Kanza, 200+ miles of gravel in Kansas in a single day.

I wanted to try riding fixed gear and ordered the parts necessary to convert my Casseroll when I decided to test ride a Surly Steamroller at my LBS. It was different enough and I liked the more track like geometry with the higher bottom bracket that I decided to get the Steamroller for my fixie and keep the Casseroll setup for SS. Glad I did as I've ridden the heck out of both bikes in the week since I picked up the Steamroller (~150 miles) and love being able to quickly choose between both bikes without making any changes.

I highly endorse both but the Casseroll is what I would choose at this point if I could only have one or the other.

I would get an aluminum framed bike if I were you.

Rust just loves Hawaiian humidity (I know, I grew up there.)

If you really want to single speed it back and forth to work I would say you should check out the
Surly Steamroller, or a Cross Check frame build up SS. For a ten mile commute the slightly more relaxed
geometry of the Steamroller or a SS Cross Check would do ya fine. If you are worried about rust
then apply framesaver liberally inside the tubes. If you want a twitchy bike that is easy to skid and skip
as a fixed gear then go with something with more true track geometry. KHS Flite 100 etc. If you can find a decent 80s vintage road bike you can make a good single speed out of it easily. Look for a Miyata
or Bridgestone. Look around on the classic and vintage forum. horizontal-ish dropouts are good for keeping single speeds, etc. Read Sheldon Brown's pages. Do you want a fixed-gear or a SS with a freewheel?

Im looking for a single speed w/ a freewheel, but eventually i would want to try to ride a fixed gear. I had one back home in the bay area it was an old 80's schwin, but when i tried out the specialized langster free wheel, there was a major difference with performance, speed, and man that bad boy is super light. What would be the difference, pros and cons of free vs fixed??? I am also on planning to use the bike around town, i dont like to use my car, i hate wasting gas just to go to the grocery store out here. There is hardly any parking in the Honolulu area.

Just a matter of preference. Having a fixed wheel
gives you a bit more control rather than just pedaling
to go and braking to slow down--this is if you are comfortable
controlling your bike directly through the drive train and it
can be offset if you don't run brakes and aren't good at
skipping and skidding. Lots of roadies ride fixed
conversions for training and such. Have you considered
buildign a conversion.
If you want to be able to go back and forth
try the Kona Paddy Wagon--budget priced, fixed
and freewheel come stock, has two brakes
for when you are running a freewheel. Looks decent overall.
Get someone to show you what proper chain tension
is and how to adjust it. Don't get your fingers caught
in the drive train.