Best Entry-Level FG?
 

Hola,
I'm looking for a FG around 300-400$ and I was wondering which one was best for road riding. I saw in one thread someone reccomended the Motobecane Messanger.

Here are my options - anything from BD http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/trackbikes.htm

or this site (not sure the quality of these bikes) http://www.republicbike.com/

Thank you

Kilo

this has 287 pages~ i think that speaks for itself.

bianchi pista concept.

How hard would it be to install brakes on the Kilo TT? I kind of wanted something that came with brakes already installed but if it's not too hard or expensive I could go that route. The Bianchi Pista looks great but it's too expensive for my tiny budget.

i was jk about pista concept...bike island has a brake setup (lever, cable, cable housing, caliper) for like 30 bucks or something. Go check that site. You can install it yourself no problem as long as you have some wire cutters. Very very easy. Also, go to your LBS and if you're nice enoguh, they will probably give you a brake for free/cheap. Bike shops usually have tons of extra parts lying around, especially brake calipers, so you can probably get some there. A little cross lever you will probably have to buy, though.

Have spoken w/people who've purchased the republic 'fixed' and are very disappointed. One guy 'tacoed' the front wheel in a short period of time. I'd stay away. The MB Mess seems to be the best for the money. Full brakeset. The Fantom CX Uno if you want 'high cadence'. If you go w/t a Kilo you can get a front brake rig from http://www.bikeisland.com for 35.00US. No shipping.

the Messenger is what I was looking at mainly, but if the Kilo is better for road riding I could go with that and buy a brake for it. Any how-to's that would show me step by step installation of the brake?

Well played sir, I LOL'd

Looks like I'm leaning towards the Kilo TT, but their back ordered until 5/20

Edit: Cool beans that you live in Scranton, I used to live 20 miles north of there in teh ruralz

haha, i was waiting for a reason to use "let me Google that for you" again. it is a funny little thing. i would go with the kilo tt or the tt pro. i was going to get a green tt for polo, but alas they are all sold out of the pre-order. i went with a clockwork. now my girlfriend could ride with me (she doesn't like fixed). that has a flip flop hub, so i can toss a cog on and ride it to. it seems pretty nice. we both like the color (orange) a lot. and it is a good pun. but teh bike seems pretty solid. i would recomend that bike as well.
where did you use to live? the Tunkhannock area?

I used to live around Harford. It was a really small town surrounded by other small towns, the only way you'd probly know of Harford is if you drive on 81 up north towards Binghamton. There's a Harford exit and a Lenox exit, I lived in between them.

Do you think I should pre-order the Kilo TT in 55cm? i.e., is it likely they will sell out fast or can I afford to wait a couple of weeks.

I've heard of Hartford. I've been up that way a few times. I think i went geo-caching up there last winter. but i wasn't driving, i was the "quick turn that way" guy. I would pre-order it. if there are any left in your size I'd def grab it. they seem to go real fast. a kid i ride with has a green kilo tt, he loves it. it is to big for me, so i never rode it. i i would have gotten a green one if they still had any left in my size.

Alright, looks like I'll be ordering mine tonight. Is this the brake kit I should get for the Kilo TT? I only want a front brake

http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_S...ls&ProdID=1085

So that kit should come with everything except the actual brake pads?

is what i see~ i think you're set

OK thanks for all the help guys. Anything else that I might want to pick up from Bike Island while I'm at it?

you should be set.

Tubes, frame pump, seat bag, tire levers, gloves...anything you think you'll need. Sometimes when ordering a bunch of stuff from them I pay a little more for something I know is cheaper elsewhere because the No shipping charge poilcy saves me money in the long run. And the service is first rate.

The messenger is equally good for road riding. Do a search, it has its own thread too. (And the orange paint is hawt)