Kilo TT vs. The Hour vs. Lager
 

i'm torn between these three bikes.

i'm new to the biking world, and dont know how to judge bikes.


i got some good feed back on the SE Lager.

but i just discovered bikesdirect.


so which is better?

from my understanding, the Kilo TT comes with better forks then The Hour.

but does the Kilo TT have anything i should change right away?


also, do the decals come off easily on these bikes?



please excuse my being a n00b on the matter.

if you search, you will find all your answers.

Having owned all three, i can provide some insight. Note that the SE Lager is the same bike as Dawes SST also offered on bikesdirect.

Tubing:
All three bikes are CrMo. Kilo is Reynolds 520, Windsor Hour is 4130 (same as Reynolds 520), and the SE Lager/Dawes SST is just listed as CrMo but they are all pretty much the same alloy.

Weight:
My Windsor and my Dawes SST feel like the weigh about the same (the SST is of course probably heavier since it comes with 2 brakes and levers). The Kilo TT I owned was much much lighter than both. Besides my Kilo TT having a much smaller frame than my Hour and SST (50cm Kilo, 54cm Hour/SST), the Kilo TT's frame felt a bit more hollow or thin if that makes sense. Whatever the reason, it felt much much lighter than my Hour and SST.

Geometry:
The Windsor Hour and the Dawes SST have a more relaxed geometry than the Kilo TT. The Kilo TT is the tightest with the generally steeper angles and the fork with the lowest rake. That being said, the Kilo TT suffers from the most toe-overlap. My 50cm Kilo TT had mucho toe-overlap, while my stock windsor hour in 54cm and my stock SST in 54cm have no toe overlap what-so-ever. Not even close, both bikes have about 2-3cm to spare even. The Kilo TT Has the nicest fork of the three, but i wouldn't necessarily consider it "better". It looks cooler and has less rake, which is neither better or worse, it just depends what you prefer.

Components:
All three bikes will have pretty similar components, but the Dawes SST has the nicest wheelset, imo.

Aesthetics:
This is purely subjective, but my choices go Kilo TT -> Windsor Hour -> Dawes SST in the looks department.

Value:
They all are a great deal, but remember the Dawes SST has brakes and bullhorns, which is a plus if you intend to get a brake and or bullhorns.

Decals:
All bikesdirect bikes' decals are under the clearcoat and are not easily removable. You'd have to sand them down and paint over them, or get the whole frame powder coated.


If i were you, I would pick the bike that has the geometry you're looking for, as they're pretty equal in all other aspects. If you want a more aggressive track-ish geo, the Kilo TT all the way. If you want a more lax ride, or you're concerned about toe overlap, get the windsor hour or the SST. If you don't know what you want in geometry and want the nicest looking bike, Stock for stock, the nicest looking bike is the Kilo TT hands down.

EDIT:
if you didn't know, all three bikes are the same as the following:

SE Lager = Dawes SST
Fuji Track = Windsor The Hour
KHS Flite 100 = Mercier Kilo TT

They "name" brand bikes may have different components than their bikesdirect counterparts, but each bikesdirect bike shares the same frame as their listed counterpart.

Hey thanks day break. That was a lot of good info.

I have the 08' SE Lager, no complaints here. The only thing I am going to update are the pedals, cages, tires, and seat (actually I kind of dig the stock seat). The decals come off super easy as well which I really like. You just peel them slowly.