opinions on the SE Draft lite?
 

I just purchased my first SS/FG bike and i got the SE draft lite. I personally love the bike and for my first SS/FG I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg for it. if you have any experience with these bikes or just want to give an opinion....let's hear it!

It's a high-tensile steel bike, meaning that it's lower quality steel than even most entry level bikes (that use cromoly frames). I'd consider something from BikesDirect before high-tensile. The Draft (and the Draft Lite) may cause regret later when you have upgradeitis, and are starting to put nicer parts on an unnecessarily heavy frame.

what he said.

my friend has the draft. it's been in my bike room for months. Not only is it heavy as **** the frame is buckled on the downtube near the headtube after him having it for a year.

And it's got orange veeps.

Sounds like he ran into something. Damage like that doesn't just happen out of the blue.

he doesn't know how it happened and didn't even notice until he took it into the shop to get something fixed.

needless to say, he never rides it anymore.

if he didn't crash into something, it sounds like possibly a car backed into it while it was parked somewhere.

Or he's lying for some reason, which would be strange. There's really only one way that you can get a kink like that in your downtube, and that's a relatively hefty shot to the front wheel.

Crap, I just reread the original post that started this thread and feel bad about what I said. If you already purchased this bike and are loving it, then totally more power to you. Disregard my earlier comment, there are nicer bikes out there and stuff, but that's stating the obvious.

these seem like fine bikes if you're just cruising around.

My buddy bought one and regrerts it to this day, he's had all kinds of problems. :(

You bought it, it's a perfectly fine bike, enjoy it!

They were nice enough to put removable cable hangers on, so if/when you take your rear brake off, the lines will be relatively clean. (Leave the front brake on FFS, you never know when a chain snap / angry driver / brainfart will make you grateful for some backup stopping power.)

The only potential issues (aside from a slightly heavy frame) are that the rims/tires are 28mm, which is wider than most fixies (but lots of people are switching to that size for comfort, and you may want to buy some Deep V's anyway), and the cranks/chainring are a dead giveaway that the bike is either an SE or an ebay Dawes (which affects their functionality not one bit, and they can be replaced for $60 or so by a festively colored Pake crankset if you decide you need to upgrade.)

My buddy has the ebay Dawes that's basically the same bike and absolutely loves his.

Have fun with it!

I appreciate the apology for miss- reading my post, but I did ask for people's opinions. The bike is a bit heavier than others, but I have been riding an old steel schwinn and a full suspension mountain bike.... so it is nowhere near as heavy as those! I wanted something that was affordable to get into and then upgrade a bit at a time. I used to have a chromoly framed bike (that got stolen) and it wasn't that much lighter. I think that upgrades will take care of the "problems" that will arise. I baught it fully aware that the components weren't the best and planned on upgrades as I go. I am not too worried about the frame. It takes quite a bit to break/dammage a frame. Thanks for all the honest and informative opinions!

The tires are 28, I can't find any information about the rims, but I'd bet you could run 23s or 25s on them just fine. No need for deep vs, just get new tires if you want narrower ones...

Unfortunately not, they use a 1 piece crank, and thus a different BB, I believe. So, you could go to a BMX style crank and euro BB if you wanted to change it out. But, not a standard square taper bb and a crank like the Pake.

Edit: I was thinking of the SE Draft, not the SE Draft Lite, this is incorrect.

The Se draft lite uses a 3 piece crank with a euro BB FYI....so I can upgrade:)

well, when the upgrade bug bites, it's easier to start a new build.

You should of went with the Lager.

BMX race cranks can have spiders and will look like a normal one if you care to upgrade...but again...upgrading that frame isn't really worth it



ride it til you get tired of it...which may never happen...but if it does, sell it for what it's worth and start a new build!

I still don't understand why people keep saying it isn't worth upgrading the draft lite frame.....is it just because it is slightly heavier being Hi-ten steel vs. chromoly? It is lighter than a lot of the old schwinn frames that people convert, and it uses a standard euro BB and standard cranks....I don't get the problem. I don't mind the extra weight. The Mercier Kilo TT is very similer but it is chromoly. That is the biggest diffrence that I can find. Can anybody narrow it down for me?

dont worry about it. if you keep hearing negative things about your bike you will start believing it and you wont enjoy riding. you said you love it which is all that matters, when something brakes just switch it out or if you really get into it, start a new build. if you get discouraged by what others say about your bike, you arent riding for the right reasons.

Point taken. I just like to hear people's reasons sometimes. Some people can be so opinionated about something and have no real reason for it....so I was just prying a little deeper into why they were saying it. I do like my bike and that wont change......besides I can't afford another one!

ive seen the stock wheels on the draft buckle going around a corner. replace immediately.

I have a SE Draft and have upgraded it with everything but the crank. I have been comletely happy with it. Yeah I know there are better ones but for what I paid ($60) I'm very pleased with what I got. The frame has been strong and the rims are great. Eventually need to have a bb installed so I can get better pedals. But I found a place that can do it cheap.