I used to only have PC desktops, so this is amazing to me. Usually by the time 2 years rolls around they are so bogged down and crappy. Just saying Macs seem to last a long time.

I say laptop. I have one and i use it constantly. Love it. Well worth the money if you get a good one. But bikes are fun too!!! muhaha. Sorry hard choice

If you have three fixed gears already and insist on spending the dough on something bike-related, how about switching it up a bit and getting an entirely different sort of bike? You don't have to go recumbent or anything, but what about a nice SS mountain bike? Hell, even a 29er..

team debian/ubuntu?
sounds fine to me.

^
Or get a touring bike and try some long distance trips this summer.
Without knowing you at all, I would recommend a sweetass macbook or a different kind of bike. 29'er or touring. Both can be a hell of a lot of fun.
You could probably get a great (different type) of bike and still have some dough to convert one of your existing fix gears to a great track bike.
Best of both worlds.

Just saying 2 years is relatively short compared to how long a well maintained computer/laptop should last

I vote for saving. My return came a few weeks ago, and I used it to open a new savings account. Then again, I've already got a Macbook and two bikes.

First of all, none of you (as far as I know) are personal financial advisers, so stop telling the man what to spend his money on! If he wanted that kind of advice, he came to the wrong place, he wants to know about track bikes. Also, fyi, PC > Mac. Macs are slow, over priced garbage. And I have had both, Mac and PC, but that's all personal opinion. No computer lasts more than 3-4 years, so might as well get a cheap, powerful PC.

Anyways, as far as bikes go,

GET THE CONCEPT. There is no other bike like it and you will regret not having one. It's one of a kind, beautiful bike. If you are a fan, you should just go for it. If you can find one, get a Cannondale Track. Cinelli bike is sweet also. I would go w/ one of those 3, personally.

+1

all three of those are pretty close to the same bike, all aluminum all track. with over a grand i would go custom. get exactly what you want and paint that bike like a freakin zebra!

cinelli supercorsa pista gets my vote. concepts are pretty sweet too but i think they're a little played out.

If only this existed in the real world.
Cheap = cheap.
Macs are extremely powerful and fast, I don't know which one you have.....

PCs are nice because you can build 'em up however you want to. As with bikes, this has never turned out to be cheap for me. I always want it to work well, and end up buying nicer components which are not cheap. I have built several PCs. I am now of the opinion that if you buy the right mac for your needs, it will be right about the same price as a comparable (speed, RAM, storage, etc) PC. Unless you are using it primarily for gaming. And it will last a lot longer with A LOT less headache.

Macs are better for people who just want to use a computer and not have to deal with maintenance on it. In my experience, they just work as they are supposed to, and keep working for a long time. No crashing or freezing. Great machines.

I guess I wandered a little off topic.....

I still think if you (OP) are determined to spend, and not save it, you should take some of your cash and try out some kind of cycling that you haven't tried before. Mountain biking is fun as hell too.

Hmm I might be a little rusty on my PC hardware stats, but I bought a Dell laptop w/ 17" screen, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive, and some fast core 2 duo processor. It cost me 650. The equivalent w/ Mac would have been like 1500. Crawdaddio--go look up some prices for macs/PCs w/ equivalent power and you will find the PC is ALWAYS cheaper. I mean, are you serious right now? Everyone knows that macs are more expensive. They do have some cool features, but if power vs. price is your main concern, PC will always win out.

That MIGHT be true, I don't really feel like looking at it right now.
The inherent problems with the operating system (one will likely use windows of some kind) are a deal killer for me.
I have had more idiotic problems with windows than I care to recall.
Plug a new device into a windows based machine and you will see all of the monkeying with drivers and crap you have to do to get it to work.
Plug same device into a mac and your mac will (usually) immediately recognize it. (One example)
"Oh, a printer. Bam. You want to print now. Go ahead"

(BTW. Dell is absolute garbage. My GF bought a similarly spec'd machine as yours a year ago. She is now on her THIRD replacement laptop. At least they hold up their warranty by replacing your crap machine with another crap machine. This one also keeps freezing for no apparent reason at all. I have re-formatted it TWICE.)


Hey man, it all comes down to personal experience and opinion. We can agree to disagree and get back to the cycling talk.....

yes yes. and computers are, indeed, a very personal thing for most people. I haven't had any problems w/ my Dell yet (keep my fingers crossed).

Anyways, I stand by my first post--the OP is a big boy and he can decide if blowing his money on cycling stuff is a good choice or not. I like what some other people said about trying diff. types of bikes, though. I have a Alum/CF road bike that I do long distance rides on and LOVE it. I suggest you try a road bike maybe, especially if you already have 3 fixed gears. MTB is cool too.

If you have your heart set on getting a track bike, though, you can't go wrong w/ a concept. sure, they are played out, but they are BEAUTIFUL. Another good idea for you is to sell your Kilo and a conversion and just get a Soma Rush. Sorry, I am obsessed w/ this frame right now, but it seems like it would do the job of several bikes (track, commute, etc) It has track geometry, front brake drillings, it's relatively light (throw a CF fork on it!) and it's pretty. It's obviously a cheaper option, but maybe you could consider that? I donno, I wish the IRS gave me money, though!

get some gears.




But really, I feel like you can only spend so much on a fixed gear without getting too gaudy or jackass. Build yourself up some nice wheels.

Truth, but this thing has required far, far less maintenance than any PC I've ever run across.

i like how you think

My faithful CRT broke a week ago or so ago, and I went in to look at LCDs (as much as I didn't want to, but I figured it was time to make the switch). After looking, I felt that I needed to start going outside more, so I went and bought bike parts instead.

I feel a little lost without some of the things on my computer, but there was nothing on there that I cannot live without, since I was growing a little bored of gaming. I met a bunch of new people, developed a slight tan from the nice weather we had, and I couldn't be happier. :p

Go, go biking!

you have no idea how wrong you are. but then again you are also a PC user, so i cant blame you for thinking like that.

i have had my pre-intel laptop for 4 years now, and when i bought it, it had already been used for a year, so that makes 5. still runnning strong. i dont really need it like i used to in college so my imac sees the brunt of the work, but its running same as it ever did and is happily powering my entertainment system via front row.

the only thing i use my PC for is seeding torrents. :p

im sure this isnt the case in many instances, but im pretty sure there are hardcore fanboys using the apple computers from 15+ years ago as well.

plus, their products are sexy as hell, in appearance as much as in performance.

/rant

True they're fast but I think he's saying that for that same price you can get a much better laptop

Thanks for all the advice, guys. :) Computer-related and bike-related alike.

Jim-bob, you make a good point about me getting a different KIND of bike ... hah. Admittedly I am kind of bogged down in the whole single speed thing. I'd really like to get a CX bike, which I could use for CX and mountain biking. I keep hesitating because frankly I don't know **** about those kinds of bikes. I'll definitely consider it.

Brandon, I agree mostly with what you said about fixed gears getting way gaudy when you pour money in them. I am reluctant to buy a "nice" wheelset though because I am very very rough on my wheels. I don't ride like ... abusively ... hard, but every wheel I have ever commuted on went pretty grossly out of true in about 2 weeks (cept my Aerospoke <3).

Blah, so much to think about.

Maybe I can split my money and get a new bike AND a Macbook ... but it wouldn't be a Macbook Pro if I did that!

P.S. Oh yeah, does anyone know of a really really light steel track frame? Sorry to keep asking that question, but I am having trouble finding them! Not sure how many of you browse the other forums at BF, but I recently have been lurking in the Track forum because I am going to start going to the Velodrome regularly. Preferably, I'd like to not suck at the track and I think it might be worth it for me to look into a light light steel frame to use there.

you know, between your avatar, your user name, your ownership of an aerospoke, and your haircut (and headband), even OWNING the track circuit wont bring you fixed gear legitemacy.

LOLZ im just kidding, but hopefully you have a decent sense of humor and can have a laugh at that with me.

OH DON'T YOU START BOI.

anyways, OP, you should get the concept. and a macbook pro. :) let's be happy all around.

except it's slow as **** and your battery life sucks already.

If I couldn't laugh at that, I'd be in sore shape. :) Pretty sure everyone cept my friends thinks I'm totally weird. But I'd have it no other way. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I'll never be legit!

Okay, definitely leaning toward the Concept now, AND the computer. :| I'm just SO bitter over missing out on that $800 stock Concept I saw last year coz I was too poor to buy it! D: D: D: