First Fixed gear/Single Speed
 

Alright going to a few local bike shops today in CT to buy/order a bike. After looking online at a bunch of bikes I end up liking bikes because of the way they look(call me shallow :) ). My friend just bought a Langster New York and I rode it and liked it so I am looking to join him riding around town. It will be my first road bike/fixed gear. I felt comfortable on his after a few minutes, but he has brakes of course.

I REALLY like the Felt TK2, but it is a track bike w/o brakes. Does anybody know if it has the holes in the frame already for brakes? I was also considering the Felt Curbside or Dispatch.

I was also looking at the Cannondale Capo as Cannondale seems to be a good brand and I like the stylings.

Last bike I was looking at was the Specialized Langster Las Vegas or London, but the more bikes I look at the more I feel these are gaudy.

I keep going back to that TK2 though! I don't ever plan to race, just ride around my town streets, but I am drawn to it. I absolutley love the way it looks! I will probably never use it to its full potential, but I just keep telling myself that i need it....not good for a $1,500 bike :lol:

Any suggestions to point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

dont spend near that much on a bike you will just ride around town, everyone here seems to push the bikesdirect.com kilo tt or any of their single speeds they are 350 shipped to your house. many singlespeed/fixed gear bikes have been showing up on my local craigslist so you could check there also. just dont pay way too much for those either. the schwinn madison seems to be a good bike as well so depending on how much money you want to spend you can go from 350 with the kilo fully built to 700 ( i think) for the madison or to endless amounts of money for wicked expensive bikes.

I was in the same boat, I ended up with a Redline 925 (the bullhorn) ones I thouht it was a Great bike And can be had used For 350 ish (there is a Shop in MA that has them new for 355.00, Send me a PM for info) I just upgraded to something diffrent. after a year But the 925 is an awesome bike

Just picked up a '09 Capo for a bit over $800. I really like it and am going riding in a few!

Good choice! I love the Capo's. They look beautiful, IMO. I'd like to add an aluminum SS to the stable, and the Capo is on the short list.

Enjoy the new bike. You'll love it.

you made a really good choice. Love the capo.

Just got back. Probably only did a little over a mile but it was a blast. I am definitely happy with my purchase.

LOL! I'll be sure to get some photos tomorrow. Going to go to another bike shop to see if they have a bit softer seat.

seats don't get soft. your ass just gets hard.

Well I meant one a bit more plush than the metal like one on the bike. I drove the route I went yesterday and realized I actually rode about 4.5 miles.

Yeah, unless you have the most atrocious saddle in existence I doubt that hurting after less than a 5 mile ride is the saddle's fault. Just keep riding, your butt isn't used to riding bikes yet and needs some time to HTFU.

My butt is actually fine. I am not sore at all. Plan to go out today and ride a bunch more. It is a lot of fun and the weather is beautiful.

Ah. Then why the softer seat? Conventional wisdom is that the softer saddles tend to keep you from being able to adjust where pressure is applied and actually wind up being more uncomfortable than harder ones.

Well. Let me put it this way: I spent a little over $100 on the fixed gear I'm riding. I will likely put a little more into it to upgrade bearings, bars and the like... I'm using a Firenze 12-speed frame (throw away, it's quite literally worth nothing if you do a little research on it) and some cheap ebay wheelsets. Weigh in? 23 pounds. Not bad for a bike that cost me slightly over $100, right?

So in my opinion, if it's your first fixed (this is mine) don't drop a ton of cash on it. In the future you might want to upgrade to that flashy new bike (I know I will eventually). To start? Nothing wrong with a totally worthless conversion :P

Edit: Oh you bought the capo, good choice, Cannondale will likely be my purchase when I eventually upgrade.

Well Jaco, I stand corrected. As soon as I got on the seat I said, "Ow!" My butt is sore. Ended up doing about 3 miles today. Going to adjust the angle of it a bit and see if that helps. Took a few shots with my buddy who has the '09 Langster New York. Here the photos I got...except the one of me on the Capo. He shot that.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...s/IMG_6311.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...s/IMG_6290.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...s/IMG_6341.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...s/IMG_6331.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...s/IMG_6398.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...s/IMG_6447.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...s/IMG_6385.jpg

You need some clipless action, or at least some toe clips.

those cranks are ugly, bad choice from cannondale. but killer bike!

I want to get new pedals, seat, wheels first. Then I will get a new crankset. Still have a lot to learn as I don't know what are good choices in the pedals/crankset categories. For wheels I am looking at DT Swiss RR1.2s. Those are what have been recommended to me. For pedals, I want something that will allow me to strap in....sort of like how the Langster's pedals are. And I have no ideal what I am looking for in a crankset. Don't know where to get started. But damn, this bike sure is fun!

Yeah, I was wondering about that too. They almost look like MTB cranks.

Just ordered Black DEDA Crono Nero Bullhorn Bars, Fizik Microtex Bar Tape, and Brooks Cork Bar ends.

Next I plan to order some new cranks, pedals and wheelset. I am going with a black, white, and red theme now.

I plan to purchase this crankset.

http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...oducts_id=6837

It states it does not come with a bottom bracket. I read up on bottom brackets and I guess it is what the crankset actually bolts on to and the bearings sit on this also (correct me if I am wrong).

I have three choices:

http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...th=188_247_803

How do I know which size I need with those cranks? Is it the 68x107mm BB? Will I need new bearings also?

Can you recommend some good pedals that allow me to strap in?

stop throwing money at your bike, are you insane?

You don't even know that anything is wrong with your bike and you're already buying new **** for it. If that's what you wanted to do you should have bought a frameset rather than paying for all those parts you're now throwing out.

And don't upgrade the seat. Nobody with any sense rides one of those plush padded seats, and there's a reason just about every serious cyclist from track racers, to roadies to bike messengers use very firm saddles.

I like the seat, my backside just needs to get used to it. I love the look of the bullhorn bars. Figured I would try them and see if I like them. As for money, I wanted to build a Jeep a few months ago and decided it was a great idea. Now I have a Wrangler with $5k in parts begging to be driven..Unfortunately no where to go off road around me. My bike is one of my least expensive hobbies. I don't mind spending some here and there if I am putting quality components on it. I do plan on getting that crankset though (maybe not in red) but just need to know about the bottom bracket and bearings.

Those cranks will work with a standard square taper BB, which are cheap. It's probably what you've got originally installed, so it's just a matter of swapping the cranks.

Dude, just get some $15 pedals and toe-clips from your LBS and ride the crap out of it until something starts to wear out. Then start upgrading. It's fine the way it is. Good looking ride.