untwisted

Hi all,

I recently had my origin-8 uno stolen from outside of my apartment. I started riding about 2 years ago on an old road bike of my Dad's primarily as a short distance commuter. Little over a year ago it broke down and I bought the uno. From then on I was riding all the time, frequently going out for the entire day and riding around Pittsburgh racking up 30-40 miles. I loved the uno, but now that its gone I'm looking into buying a new one. I am considering just buying the uno again but want some input from others out there on what to get.

I'm just under 5'7", so I'm on the shorter end of the spectrum (if that will help in the selection at all), and I've got about $500-700 to work with. Right now I am considering:
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...t/2nddistrict/

I also just found the bikesdirect site and saw this guy:
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/.../kilott_wt.htm but am not sure about the quality of the parts and everything. I figure at that price though I could buy it for now and upgrade it over time since the frame seems pretty solid.

Thanks for the advice!

vec

dang!!!! maybe an iro?? steamroller if you save a bit more.

alexgate

jamis sputnik, steel langster, or bikesdirect bike would all be good for you. I would not buy the langster but it seems like a good bike. Sputnik would be my first choice but I think it may be above your price range. So I think the bikesdirect bike would fit your needs best.

oldfixguy

Yea, with a little more change you could get a Steamroller. You might even be able to find a new but dated model for what you have to spend. For the price, it's hard to go wrong. Everything about the bike is solid. Not a bit of garbage and the frame is rock solid. Stock it's nothing special but again, stem to stern it's completely good to go. Also, there is a Steamroller thread where you can see some of the truly amazing things people have done with them. I own a Steamroller but the most exciting thing I've done is put fenders on it.

The only word of advice I'll give about the Steamroller is don't be too ham-fisted with the seat post saddle bolt. One day I was adjusting my saddle, had convinced myself I was in a hurry and stripped out the saddle bolt. I was using a long Allen wrench and really the only thing I was missing was a 4' cheater bar I was putting so much into it. Stupid. Oh well, that's why my LBS loves me.

untwisted

Thanks for the replies so far.

The steamroller is also on the top of my list, and actually what I would've bought at the time I got the uno but the price difference stopped me. What do you think of the trek I linked above? The guy at the shop said that the frame has a lifetime warranty which is nice, but I guess not necessary for a well built steel frame. I'll have to call my LBS tomorrow to see if they can get any 2008 steamrollers for a lower price.

Is the Mercier Kilo TT Pro a decent option? Its really tempting because of its lower price point giving me more room to customize right off the bat. I had a Salsa Moto Ace Lap Bar on my old uno and would love to ride with those again (I tried other drop bars but they never felt the same). Plus the extra cash could afford me a new light set to replace those I lost, a new u-lock, etc.

steveymcdubs

If you're considering a kilo, I'd wait for the stripper.

untwisted

Why the stripper over the TT Pro? I have no problems waiting a few days until the 15th when it ships.

Dinosaur88

the kilo wt has the same geometry as the steamroller if you find that useful at all.

untwisted

I've never actually ridden the steamroller, but if the steamroller is such a popular design then I'm sure people must like the design. I guess my biggest reservation about the Kilo is the components. I haven't heard of a lot of them and I can't find much on google about them. I just want to make sure I'm going to get something that will last me. I'm a poor college student just entering a doctorate program so I'm broooooke. The money I have for this was a birthday gift from my wonderful parents who felt bad that I no longer have any sort of transportation (lucky me).

I would definitely love to buy something that I can invest in down the road, but I need to make sure if money is tight for a year I can still make it the 10 miles round trip to campus and back. Even if I have to replace something simple here and there its fine. I just don't want my crank breaking and my rims bent after a few months of good riding.

LupinIII

lol wtf on that trek. aggresive geometry, yet it's specced with 72.5 deg ht. also 44-17 ratio is pretty low.

I've ridden a friend's kilo, but he built it up with an iro build kit he got during customer appreciation or something. It' rides pretty nicely, the geometry is a little steeper than my road conversion (trek 460) but still comfortable for a longer ride (not as aggresive as my track bike)

untwisted

Has anyone heard of Swobo before? They're apparently located in Santa Cruz, CA (like me) which is cool. I'm looking at the Del Norte (https://www.swobo.com/catalog/product...cPath=201_1502), anyone have thoughts or comments on it?

PedallingATX

Swobo is a pretty good bike, IMO.

I would check out IRO bikes, though. Great customer support, and if you wreck it or it gets stolen I think they sell you another one at a big discount. I own a Sputnik which is a great great bike, but it might be outta your price range. For something b/w 5-700, I would get IRO Mark V Pro or Angus. High quality steel, decent wheelset, decent crank.

untwisted

Called a LBS and they have an '09 Pista they'll sell me for $600. Sound like a good buy?

j3ffr3y

09 has more road geo than previous ones. Just putting that out there if you're looking for something with tight geometry.

untwisted

Just went for a test spin on it. Unfortunately it doesn't come with brakes and the pedals it comes with are less than desirable. The guy told me it'd cost an extra $60 or so for a front brake and a couple more for the pedals too. All said and done it'd be closer to $700 than $600. Bah, getting a new bike should be fun, but instead because of the circumstances its just depressing.

vec

where do you live? have you looked on CL, or do you just want something new?

untwisted

I live in Santa Cruz, CA. I've been checking CL daily since my bike was stolen (hoping it'll pop up) but haven't seen anything in my price range that I'm interested in. I'm also worried about a bike I buy from CL being stolen (I know kind of irrational). I might just have to go with one of the Kilos, I've been trying to sell an iPhone (with some backlight issues) on CL for the past week but no one will bite. I was hoping to use the money from the phone to help me break the $500 barrier but all I get is responses from phishers and spammers.

Velo Mine

Have you considered the Masi fixed gear bikes. A new one sold at ebay recently with free ship for 610. https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
They're made in Asia now of course....but still.. the name has prestige.

steveymcdubs

$600 for a '09 Pista feels really steep to me. What frame size are you looking for? Height/inseam? If you're interested, I might be selling my Sputnik in the near future for less than $600. It's a great bike, but I just picked up a complete GTB for $350 and was instantly reminded of how much I missed agile track geometry.

steveymcdubs

And, also, this may be of interest to you: https://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_S...ls&ProdID=1569

untwisted

I don't really know anything about Masi but I wouldn't be opposed. As for the my size, I'm just under 5'7, and I think my inseam is about 30in. The Pista that I test rode today was 55cm and felt just fine to me. How soon would you be selling this bike? I'm trying to find something before the 24th when classes start though would be willing to wait for a good deal.

Like I said before, I really just want to be sure I have something that will be an investment for the future since I don't know when I'll have money to drop on a bike again.

Edit: Yah, I was thinking about just buying the Pista and buying the brakes/etc separate then installing them myself. I've never actually done it before but I'm confident in my mechanical abilities (plus can always take it to the shop for a check up). Thanks for the link.

steveymcdubs

I probably won't sell it until I find a replacement, and that may or may not be after the 24th. I'm not too sure when that'll be.

That aside, the bike is a 2007 55cm in great shape. No dings/dents anywhere, with some minor cosmetic scuffing that's characteristic of a used bike. Here's a review from a roadie's point of view: https://reviews.roadbikereview.com/bl...ke-pro-review/

The only thing is, I was inebriated and stripped the stock crank threads (stupidest mechanical mistake?). I remedied this by re-threading the left pedal into the right crank and vice versa. I've been riding like this for over a month with no problems.

I was thinking $500 + shipping, but again, I might not sell it for a while longer. Anyway, I can take pictures tomorrow if you're interested.

untwisted

Well sure I'll check out some pics, but I'll probably also continue my search in the meanwhile. If you end up finding a replacement before I do then maybe we can work something out.