I recently purchased this bike:
https://www.crosslakesales.com/p-141-...cycle-new.aspx

I was wary, but I wanted a SS/Fixed gear to ride as a commuter with a small investment. Normally I ride a Trek 6000 mountain bike so I understand what constitutes a good bike. I got it in the mail on Friday and assembled it with no issues. It seems solid and it does not have weird noises and ill fitting parts like many department store bikes. I read the component list and it actually seems to be the same bike that nashbar.com sells as their "fixie" for a bit more cash. I made two modifications. One was to install Bontrager thorn resistant tubes and the other was to install a Ritchey saddle as the original was a simple "OEM" quality saddle. The bikes are advertised at 22 pounds, but I bought the largest model which weighs in at about 23 pounds on my bathroom scale. There were a few areas where the quality had been reduced to make the price reasonable. One was the seat post whic is alright, and the other is no quick release on the wheels.

Today I took it on a 17 mile test ride. The bike was a solid performer with no rattles, shakes or other cheap bike weirdness. There are few components to have fail as it is a single speed so while durability might be an issue...I doubt it. Keep in mind that my reason for buying a fixed/ss is fitness. I want it to be a bit more difficult to build fitness and burn calories, and I am not concerned with fashionable names or looks.

I know that there are bike snobs who will shoot this down as the work of a shill selling bikes, but that is just the way this forum seems to function and you got to live with it. I posted this because in my research I have seen a lot of questions about these bikes on the forum so here is my review. to answer a few of them. The bike ain't fancy but it is not garbage and is quite functional. This is my first road bike and I am pleased with it. I may replace the seat post and the fork with lighter ones to shave off a few ounces, but it is great as it comes.

Glad to hear a review of those, I am sure they interest people, as being as they are so cheap.

And for the record, no track bike comes with quick release wheels.

That is interesting to know. I have only been riding mountain bikes so far and they all have quick release. I just figured they were cutting costs...lol. I know nothing of track racing.

well, all single speed bikes are like this. The rear is bolt on so that you can secure the wheel, so it won't slide in the drop out, and I guess they have the front the same so that it matches. Maybe someday someone will develop a quick release similar to what the Maxxle did for the 20mm axle.

read your sheldon brown!
you can use quick release (the old style) on fixed/ss just fine. track bikes and ss bikes have track nuts just from tradition (track racers don't want anything sticking off their bikes like wing nuts so track nuts it is).

Yeah, I know that you can use old style quick releases. But they are old style, and I was just saying that all bikes nowadays have 10mm nuts.

He made the point that he thought the company had skimped out on quick releases.

Your point was completely irrelevant to the conversation.

I obtained one of these frames a while back from a friend (cro mo version) with the intention of building it up as a beater or whatnot but other projects overtook it and I sold it. The frame by itself seemed pretty decent. Slackish geometry, good welds and oversized tubing. It kinda reminded me of an older Scrambler.

Well here is where the rubber meets the road so to speak. On my Trek 6000 my 3 mile commute took about 18 to 20 minutes. On this bike I just did it in about 10. Now keep in mind I got nearly a straight shot half uphill and half downhill. I found that not actually being able to shift gears may speed me up along with the bike being a road bike. Going uphill one doesn't get lazy because there are easier gears...lol. Anyway, I can't get there in my car any faster due to traffic lights.

I bought one of these too. Works good for me but I had not ridden a Bicycle in at least 20 years so maybe I don't know any better. I flopped and chopped the bars but will probably look for something else.

I also added a kickstand which is probably some sort of bike sin. Before adding the KS mine also weighed 23 lbs in the 58cm size.

The gearing seems high and I will probably go up a tooth in the rear.

2slo

Uh, you made a completely and wildly incorrect statement—"The rear is bolt on so that you can secure the wheel, so it won't slide in the drop out, and I guess they have the front the same so that it matches."—and I corrected you. Irrelevant how?

Whether you were just plain wrong or just phrased things in a wrongish manner, it's still worth noting that track nuts are more about tradition than securing the wheel, especially given that the OP seemingly has an interest in quick-release.

Yeah, but my main point was: All SS/FG bikes come with 10mm Track nuts.

But I guess I can see your point because I said it'll be good if they made a really strong QR axle (like the Maxxle) and you said that you can use old style QR...

Is it possible to replace a solid 10mm axle with an old style QR axle???

see, i read that too, and i've tried that on my ss mtb, with mixed results. i mean, you might get lucky and it might work... for a while. and you can achieve better results by clamping a serrated (sp)/crown washer against the dropouts. but the truth is, you need a lot of clamping force to keep the rear wheel from slipping under heavy torque, and in most cases, a QR (even a really good quality one, closed cam, cromo, etc) will not have enough clamping force.

not quite sure what you mean by "old style QR axle". i assume you mean enclosed cam QR? if so, the axle is the same as any QR axle, which can be installed in place of a solid axle for track nuts.

As an update I would like to note that I rode the bike 32 miles this morning, and it did great. I have never ridden any bike farther than 28 miles, and that was a mountain bike. So in my view it is a great deal for the cash spent.

This was my first single speed, I had it for 4 months until one of the dropouts broke. Before that, I had to replace the wheels/chain/clip and pedals.

riding a surly steamroller now, upgrade or what?

I will say that I went to huge swap meet in Tucson last weekend and I bought a used seat post, quill stem and a set of Easton Deltaforce bullhorn bars with brake handles. I paid $30 for the lot. I installed them. This removed what I saw as some of the cheaper components. Also I have never used the drop handle bars before and they just seemed awkward to use so the bullhorns corrected that. I hate my hands being so far from the brakes when riding up top. I guess this is a newbie trait...lol. So far I have driven the bike about 200 miles total in 2 weeks with no breakages.

My neighbor's ultra-cheap, now discontinued, Vilano fixed gear came with quick release wheels. But I don't know if you'd call that a real track bike exactly.

How many have ever rode a velodrome track ? I ask because I'm after a Vilano and it seems like decent enough urban bike that will ride a velodrome, provided the velodrome even exists. I read online there are 3 in the SE USA, velodromes that is. I'm 15 miles away from one, so if I ride over with a couple of wrenches, maybe I can pay the man for the time/laps on the velodrome track, turn the bike upside down and flip flop the rear wheel and turn a few laps ? When I'm done, I can return it to the freewheel and ride back home the 15 miles ? That's Saturday AM and Ican make it back home in time to eat lunch and watch the Fox baseball game of the week if I don't take a nap in the middle of it ?

https://www.broward.org/Parks/ThingsT...velodrome.aspx

You might not be able to do so, you will most likely to be fully insured to ride on the tracks. You might need to purchase insurance through your local cycling club. I don't know what the operation policies are for the states. For the velodrome in my city, Burnaby Velodrome, I have to be fully insured through my local cycling club to become a member of the velodrome club to even ride on the tracks.
I don't think they would let uninsured riders to be on the tracks.

I ride and race on velodromes in the USA. Some velodromes require that you take a proficiency class, before you are allowed to ride. Also there are certain requirements for equipment on most of them, namely it must be a fixed gear with no brakes and wheels with nutted axles (no quick releases). Unlike Canada, there are no requirements for medical or liability insurance, however, you will most likely be required to sign a liability release before you can use the track. There are several riders who ride their bikes to the track, remove the brake and that's it.

There is no such insurance requirement in the USA.

From what I read, this particular velodrome has a release form, they even have bikes to use there and encourage those interested to schedule a session:

https://www.sfdj.com/sun_sprt/vpage1.htm
https://miamibikescene.blogspot.com/2...velodrome.html

That 2nd link, the track doesn't look terribly crowded for traffic, very much like a track & field for runners, but obviously the cycling has to be more dangerous. It's actually quite interesting, communities build these meccas to some type of health & fitness and they eventually wind up under or unused.

Many tracks including my own have rental track bikes so that you can try it out without having to initially invest in a track bike. My track also has regularly scheduled classes so new riders can learn proper and safe ways to ride and race on the track. Riding is actually less dangerous than riding on the road, since there are rules that when followed will prevent most accidents.

I have had the Cross Lake bike for near 9 months now. I ride it between 35 and 60 miles a week, and it is still holding up great. It is a great bike and I recommend it with no reservation. It has also made my cycling ability go through the roof! I can take that single speed up some really long steep hills now.

Nothing like not being able to change gear to force you to HTFU all the way to the top of the hill.

It's that or walk, or get power assist!