Thanks for your help. I think I'm going to hold off buying one for now.

"Stove pipe?"

I've always heard high-tensile referred to as "gas pipe," but never "stove pipe."

NO!

The Kilo TT frame and fork is way nicer than the MTA

MTA is a price point bike; or starter for someone new to SS/FG

Bikesdirect will not be selling the MTA
MTS is just on Ebay or at www.sportymamabikes.com

well well WELL. I wasn't going to make this my introduction but I might as well. I'm a newb to this SS/FG thing....but I used to race BMX bikes so I like to think I'm a bicycle dude at heart.

ANYWAYS...I needed 2 bikes, one for me one for my girl. She wants a nice one, but it's more important to her that's it nice, and looks cool (pink stuff) She wanted a white frame, but I couldn't find any cheap starrter bikes with one....SOOOOOOOOOoooo

I bought ME the MTA Dawes bike off E-bay and I bought her the Windor Hour from BD. I'm gonna, if possible again I'm a newb and may have make errors, take her nice components and put them on my MTA, and put pink nice components on her Windsor The Hour.

On to the comparo...when I get home tonight I'll post a bunch of pics of things side by side, etc...

Short answer is that BOTH frames/forks look to be pretty nice to my amature eye. The MTA is heavier it seems like, but visually they are both very similar looking frames. On to the components. The MTA LOOKS to have literally, some of the cheapest components possible, not sure about the wheels...they "look" ok to me.

MTA Crank is ugly, and cheap looking. The.....the...the...THING that you bolt to the steering stem and holds the handlebars is so badly STAMPED/PRESSED/MOLDED that I refuse to put it on, look like total junk. Seatpost is that same cheap looking chrome tubing....and where it's cut it's kind of like "pinched in" no doubt, due to teh way these cheap things are manufactures. The pedals are nasty as well.

ALL the Windsor components are MUCH nicer...anodized black, apear to be machined and crafed with MUCH more care. Then again, it cost $200 more.

I'm not sure, but I think they are both worth, about what they are worth...alost dead even.

If you have any specific requests, let me know stat. I have both bikes unbuilt on my living room floor.

oh, and the stickers on the Windsor, yeah they are over the paint, but I'm not sure how the hell you'd get them off without damaging it. They don't appear to be traditional "stickers" in the classic sense. Hard to explain. In the word "Windsor" you see on the frame...the only "stickers" are individual black ones to outline the word, the drop shadow or whatever you call it. And they are VERY VERY VERY thin and VERY VERY VERY much seem to be "on" there...no little edge to lift it up and peel it nicely.

so I guess maybe, they are KICK ASS HIGH PERFORMANCE STICKERS SUPER THIN TO AID IN REDUCING DRAG FOR HIGH SPEED KICKING ASS!! ;-)

it's under the clear coat.

I purchased the Dawes SST model and rode it for 2 winters in the Western New York area. The new model your asking about has changed some from the SST model I had. My model had 700 x 25 tires. Other than the bike being heavy, I trained on it during the cold months with salted roads. I thought the bike rode good and it was a perfect winter trainer. The wheels, frame, & components all help up with no problems. I rode it in a fixed gear. I also went on to win the "A" overall points category two years in a row. I had no problem with the bike at all, I may even buy the 2009 model to train this winter.......

Is it easy to replace the chainring and cranks on this bike? It says "euro BB" and I am not sure what that means in relation to the type of cranks/chainring I would need to buy to upgrade a bit. any thoughts?

I don't aware nor hear about high-tensile frame bike made by any companies. what does "high-tensile" mean by that, if you do care to explain? thank you!

Yes you can replace/ upgrade the cranksets on this bike if its euro BB..

He asked if it was easy--not if it was possible.

European would mean it's 68mm ISO. The taper of the spindle is what you have to take into account when choosing cranks--although, it's better to pick your cranks first and then get a compatible bottom bracket.

Yeah, true.. I just learned the wise words from bike mechanic who work at bike shop..

My friend just got one of these and I am going to check out the BB on it to see the specs on it once it arrives.

i just bought one its preetty tight
it has a fixed cog on one side and a free wheel single speed on the other side so you can convert it

you pretty much described every bike on the market with a flip flop hub.

I'm going to have to spend a little time defending this bike. I have too many bikes, but I needed a commuter that I didn't mind taking out in the rain and D.C.'s salty winter slush. I got the MTA from chicabikes on the Bay about 2 years ago. In my opinion, for what you pay (under $200) you get a dependable (Fixed or SS - there's not much to go wrong) and reasonably good-looking bike (once you remove the stickers and swap out the handlebars and pedals, which are total rubbish). The cranks/chainring are something of a embarrassment, but then again, I was going for functionality. The removable cable clamps are nice if you're thinking of riding fixed without a rear brake. The wheels are fine and sturdy. And plenty of braze-ons allow for easy mounting of front and rear racks, if that's your thing.

Like I said, I have a lot of bikes and this is far from being the Sunday ride that I'm proud to push through town. But when it comes to grabbing a bike to get me to work on a gray morning, this is the one I grab. Yes, it's heavy - but that frame won't fail and it won't be a thief's 1st pick. Yes, over time I have swapped off many (almost all) of the parts for higher-quality components - but all the crap parts I've pulled off of it are nice to have around as spares in a pinch. And yes, it comes with a ridiculous smokey clear plastic chain guard (totally worthless.) But it is great as a beginner bike, a commuter, a girlfriend loaner bike, or a basic frame to experiment with over time. Right now I have mine set up with a rack and a fixed S3X 3-speed hub to act as my getter bike for heavy-laden grocery runs. Next I'm thinking of putting some 650 wheels on it to make it a path bike. The beauty is that it's a cheap and basic frame that can grow with the rider from being a bike that simply works to being the bike they want.

When I got it: https://www.flickr.com/photos/reefflo...7623166133757/

Now: https://www.flickr.com/photos/reefflo...7623166133757/

Don't hate on this bike. It delivers what it promises - reliable forward motion on 2 wheels for almost no money.