2008 Madison for $295 or new Kilo WT?
 

$295 verus $430... the Madison is at a small local shop that has it left over in XL size (my size) so will get rid of it cheap. I had it narrowed down to the WT, but then this local deal came up on the Madison.

I'm not super into the world of SS/FG, i just want to ride one. I kinda get the vibe Scwinn isn't the coolest ever, but it looks to be solid.

Then again Mercier is a chinese special.

Any thoughts? Thanks guys

$295 for a Madison seems like a damn good deal to me. If you don't buy it, let me know so I can!

The madison is a great bike. The price is right, so take it.

What's less "cool" about the Schwinn than any other off-the-rack fixed-gear?

Nothing at all. A friend of mine has one...nice looking bike and it's sturdy as all hell.

Get the schwinn, the fork is nice.

I have both. I say get the Schwinn.

Why, overall quality and feel.
Kilo TT uses SR brakes, Schwinn needs a LR in front.

Schwinn uses a more common 27.2 post, unless you get the 27.0 size. The Kilo TT is 26.8. 27.0 still easier to fin in nicer posts.

http://light-bikes.com/BikePhotos/we...lo_tt_7-09.JPG

http://light-bikes.com/BikePhotos/we...n_08_20_09.JPG

Nice Schwinn
It's so classy looking

I love the Schwinn. I have a kilo TT myself, but for 300 you can't go wrong with a madison. The straight fork is a beaut.

Two things that make the Madison a very cool
bike, 1) the name and 2) the color -- even if these
have little to do with the bike itself and a lot to
do with the American and bicycling heritage it
carries... by way of Taiwan.

(both these are reposts, but I love this stuff, so indulge me :) )

The Name

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/...c31a62cf_o.jpg

Schwinn orginally introduced the Madison in 1985, naming
the track bike after 'Madison' racing, a form of
team-track-cycle-racing born at Madison Square Gardens
at the turn of the last century.

The current Madison Square Gardens is the fourth building
to carry that name and it sits actually about a mile from its
original site, where the first "Gardens" not only had gardens...
but had been designed specifically for... cycling.

Madison (team) racing bypassed regulations outlawing single-man
racing... which had become gladiatoral: spectators paid to
watch lone cyclists compete past exhaustion until they
literally fell over on the side of the track. In place of
watching individual cyclists self-destruct, the new team event
at the Gardens could go on 24 hours a day, evolving into a
6-day race format.

Madison Square Gardens became synonymous with
cycling... and particularly with these new team races.

In the post-depression mailaise, The Madisons, as they
were called, attracted celebrities, wagering and buzz.

To this day, Madison racing is an Olympic sport.
The Men's Madison at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held
at the Laoshan Velodrome in Beijing. A Madison race now last
between a half an hour and an hour.

Because America popularized Madison style racing, some countries called it
Americana racing. This may explain the near red, white and blue color
schemes both Schwinn Madisons wore at their respective 1985
and 2007 introductions.

So:

The Schwinn Madison took it's name from the Madison Races:

http://triton.imageshack.us/Himg147/...=578&ysize=480

Madison Races took their name from Madison Square Gardens:

http://triton.imageshack.us/Himg383/...=578&ysize=480

Madison Square Gardens took it's name from it's original location
adjacent to Madison Square at the intersection of 5th, Broadway and 23rd:

http://triton.imageshack.us/Himg373/...=578&ysize=480

Madison Square took its name from a small cottage that
had been built on the site in 1839. The cottage was a lodge
and way-station at the northern-most point for departing
or entering New York City -- the road leading northward
out of the city became Madison Avenue:

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1...cottagewc4.jpg

Madison Cottage was named after the recently deceased
fourth president, James Madison, "Father of the Constitution."

http://triton.imageshack.us/Himg373/...=578&ysize=480


http://triton.imageshack.us/Himg134/...=578&ysize=480

The Color:

Flickr has a GROUP for Old Black and White Cycling Photos. Read the caption below:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1217/...b1dbc78f41.jpg

The caption: Top German six day riders Gustav Kilian and Heinz Vopel circa
1938 rode for Durkopp. This is a postcard image. My father Charles Siple was
employed track-side by Kilian and Vopel in 1938. Jerseys were robins-egg blue
made of silk...

Just like Schwinn's early Opaque Blue, aka Sky Blue which was used on a LOT of Schwinn's
from Super Sports to Varsity to Paramounts. The color has a historic racing legacy, and
would easily describe the blue of the 2008 Schwinn Madison, and explains why in 2008 Schwinn
called the color "Old School Blue:"

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/...e1d448.jpg?v=0

Both are Taiwanese specials.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...disonok006.jpg

My Maddy.

I would get the Madison, I LOVE MY MADISON FRAME!

My 08 Madison

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...r/photo2-2.jpg

nice one!

Not exactly, but get the Madison, unless you plan to use wide tires.

How wide? 28s fit with room.

For that price, definitely the Madison.

+1

i'm fond of neither but if i had to choose i'd go w/ the madisonne

this was mine....
probably miss it more than any bike i ever sold.

http://velospace.org/files/mad.jpg

love that thing.

+1

cool thanks guys. i went to look at the Madison today and it was a lot nicer than i was picturing. rode and fit great. looked nicer in person as well. slick bike.

so i got it. woot. rode it just a little and did some fiddling. i had to move the aero levers up proper so i ended up using some yellow bar wrap i had kicking around. yellow on the blue bike is pretty nice. i can't wait till tomorrow so i can go on a long test ride.

:thumb:

Thanks guys it was a blast to build up and even more fun to ride, sorry about the thread jacking, lol

pics.