artesc

Ok, so I figured I'd start up a thread for everyone who ordered a Kilo WT to post their pictures and impressions and whatnot so we don't have a bunch of information floating around everywhere. There was a lot of interest in this bike, being brand new and all, and it will be fun to see what people think.

Unfortunately, I don't have the cash for a new bike right now or I'd have ordered myself one of these babies...maybe sometime soon.

artesc

C'mon people, don't be shy!

I haven't actually heard of anyone getting a Kilo WT yet, only Kilo Strippers...so maybe that's it. Is the Kilo WT shipment just late or something?

destikon

I just farted at my desk and 10 seconds later the receptionist walked by.

ADSR

jtgotsjets

Are you sure this is a Kilo WT thread? because so far it seems to be about cats.

Cy Trivialities

that's what it looks like to me as well.

rohmen

I just received mine on Monday. I ended up purchasing it to be more of a townie/winter commuter, and I think it will fill that role nicely. Very similar to a surly steamroller, but I liked the fact that the WT was built to take fenders and had rear brake cable guides (please consider adding at least fender eyelets to the Steamroller, Surly).

Fit 700 x 32s and fenders with no problems. Gearing is a bit high (48 x 16) for street use in my opinion, but swapping out the chainring fixed that. Now running a 45 x 16 fixed and free.

I was able to assemble it just fine, but I did run into a problem or two. The chainring bolts that come with it are pretty cheap and were really really torqued-on hard. Stripped one of the bolts even though I was using a park tool's chainring bolt wrench. Was finally able to get it off with a little work and luck, though, so not a biggy. Replaced the reamining bolts with spares I had lying around. Rims were fairly true considering the amount of foot prints UPS left all over the box, but I will likely have to true them in a few weeks. I had also never installed or adjusted dual-pivot brakes before, so instructions in the box would have been nice (just found a set on Tektro's website, which was easy enough). Probably all standard stuff for ordering a factory direct bike.

Saddle and pedals are pretty crappy, but I swapped them out for what I liked anyway (would have done that on any bike). I also swapped out the stem, bars, and seat post for extras I had lying around in order to get a better fit.

All and all pretty happy with it. Once together and properly adjusted, bike seems to ride well. I had initially hoped to build up a single-speed for rain/winter use myself, but for $429 shipped this just made more sense for how rough I will probably end up treating it. I can post some pics later if people are interested.

destikon

My friend just built up an 09 (gray) one with red chris king anodized parts. Friggin' thing looks awesome. I'd still take a purple one though if it were offered. Not to sure about the 2010 colors on the pugs. Puke colored. He also went for the extra wide rims that are wider than surly's rims. Some place out of Alaska. It's a dream bike.

artesc

pfft.

hilarious. (rolls eyes)
fine then have it your way b****es!

we won't talk about the kilo wt.

@rohman

does the bike have cable stops or just guides for the rear brake?

perhaps we can can get some pics?

rohmen

My camera is dead, so I can't post pics until tomorrow. The bike has actual rear cable stops, though. Not just cable housing guides.

artesc

^hmm, good to hear. I was afraid that it just had guides which would=lame in my book. Thanks, look forward to some actual, 'real life' pics!

JacoKierkegaard

Any masochists among you building one of these up as a singlespeed cyclocross bike? Because that's definitely what I'd be doing.

destikon

That's the exact emoticon I would have used to. Good choice in both bikes and emoticons!

fuzz2050

isn't that what the phantom cross uno is for? Long reach calipers are fine on the road, but give em mud, and bad things happen.

artesc

^precisely. Why would you run the kilo wt as a 'cross bike if bikesdirect has the phantom cross uno for that purpose?

fuzz2050 is very, very right about calipers and mud by the way, and calipers and snow, and calipers and ice. You just seem to look at them wrong and they freeze up on you (a slight exaggeration).

That being said, with some fat tires, you probably could do some light offroading if you really wanted to as long as things didn't get too crazy.


@destikon. I love me my emoticons!

kaseri

kubrick215

I would suggest either #4 or 5....6 might give you clearance problems.

jtgotsjets

jtgotsjets

Yeah, I was really put off by the WT because it had calipers and was more expensive than the FCU. Just seems like a weird concept for a bike, really. I remember bikesdirect mentioned that it was in case someone wanted to run with just a front brake—it just seems to me that anytime you'd be wanting to ride fatties (rough roads, off roads, bad weather), you'd be best served with both brakes. But whatever.
I ended up not getting the FCU anyway because BD is always out of stock on my size. Their loss (considering I built up my IRO for about $30 more than what an FCU would've cost me).

rohmen

We'll see how the calipers handle winter, but a lot of people I know in Chicago ride calipers through the winter and haven't had huge issues. The fact that I store the bike inside at night and in a heated storage area at work will likely help as well. I would have considered a Fantom Cross, but I already have a Surly crosscheck and it just seemed too similar.

The only big problem I see with the WT so far is a serious issue with toe overlap. Almost flipped the bike today when I made a tight turn at low speed in stopped traffic because my foot jammed the fender into the tire. Would have been scarry if I had been riding fixed.

I have planet bike fenders mounted over the 700 x 32 Kendas that came with the bike. With the front fender mounted using a "sheldon" fender nut (so the mounting point is behind the fork where it is intended to be), my clipless pedals almost touch the fender in the 9 o'clock position. I'll post a pic soon to show what I'm talking about.

I can move the fender mounting point to in front of the fork, which will probably help. Otherwise, I am going to have to move down to 28s--something I didn't want to do in the winter.

rohmen

Also, for what it's worth, I should note there is likely no way to run something bigger than a 32 with a fender on the WT in my opinion. A tire bigger than 32 will fit in the frame, but a fender over a larger tire would likely create a serious toe overlap issue and may not even properly fit between the tire and the brake. That pretty much rules out studded tires and a front fender on this bike. I think this is probably true on most bikes that run long-reach calipers, however. Cantis are definitely the way to go if you want to go big and use fenders.

By the way, I would give my left pinky for a Surly Pugsley. Such cool and unique bikes. If I lived near a frozen lake or some nice xc skiing trails, I would be all over one of those for snow biking and winter commuting.

destikon

What's it going to take for me to get in on #7? Will I need to shorten my axel? I'm really feelin' it. Is going with that on all 4 wheels an option? Let me know.

artesc

^Hmm, that is worrying. That's something that I wasn't anticipating. One would think that BD would leave enough clearance on a frame that they market as "fitting large tires w/fenders" to avoid toe overlap.

Anyways, look forward to some pics.

destikon

I've just been messing with you man. I like the WT. I was just feeling onry yesterday when I started that.

rohmen

Here are a few pics of my bike. Mostly stock, excpet for the addition of an Origin8 45t ring, fizik saddle, crank brothers candy pedals, a shorter Salsa stem, a cheapo Jamis seatpost, and Salsa Bell Lap handlebars. One of the pics shows the toe overlap problem. If I move the fender mount bracket to the front side of the fork, the overlap isn't nearly as bad. Just means the fender won't provide as much protection to the drivetrain and my feet as I would like. Only have access to a cell phone camera right now, so the quality of the pics could be better.