Kilo TT or ??
 

So I'm in the market for a fixed/ single speed, and was wondering if I should buy a new Kilo TT Stripper or an old classic bike like bianchi, schwinn, or peugot? My budget for this bike would be less than $400. Have any other bikes for this price you can recommend? I'm just trying to see if I should get an 80s classic & fix it up or just go with a new bike. Thoughts or opinions?
Thanks, Colin

If you're looking to ride right away and your budget is 400 bucks, get a KIlo TT. "Fixing up" an older bike will most likely end up costing you much more.

Definitely go for the Kilo.

The Kilo TT Stripper is $380, so you've got $20 left in your budget to get an 18T rear cog to get a reasonable gear so you don't destroy your knees. The stock 48 x 16 gearing (81 gear inches) is too high IMO.

And you might want a new lockring while you're at it. and some better pedals. and have a mechanic give it all a once-over.

This. Get a stripper, put it together the best you can. Make sure you lube up all components that will be touching metal-to-metal. I use white lithium grease that I got from Ace hardware and it works great for me, I'm sure you can get some other suggestions though. Once you get it done you can take it to a bike shop and have them install a different cog and look it over if that's something you want to do.

The stripper will have everything you need for a basic setup though. The only upgrades that I feel are absolutely necessary are the tires... they're pretty plasticy and your tubes wont last very long. Either get them replaced right away or wait until your first tube goes and get the tires replaced then.

i dont mind the gearing. but then again i use my brakes to stop.

Hey thanks guys for the advice. If I get the Kilo I have a friend who owns a bike shop so getting it put together or just doing it at his shop isn't a problem.
How's the frame on that Kilo? Heavy? too much flex?

I also have my dad's old Trek Single Trail 930.. I'm not sure what kind of frame it is or if that would be a possible conversion candidate.. anybody familiar with that bike?
Oh & out of Schwinn, Bianchi, or Peugot or any of those classics which would be the best for a conversion?

So many options haha good thing I'm not in a hurry

keep the single track stock. no point throwing any money at it, unless you want to ride off road.

There's not much point to doing conversions anymore with the price of complete fixed gear bikes on sale nowadays being so affordable. Just get a kilo like the rest of us did and when you become knowledgeable enough to convert your own chances are you won't hurt yourself. The kilo is a good bike, the frame is strong and durable, only thing is the saddle is horrible so be prepared to get something else.

My friend's Windsor Hour is 48 x 16 and it feels great to me. Not too much trouble with hills, either.

I have heared that the Killo runs a little big. Anyone else have this issue?

It says right on their page that it runs big.

It really depends. A triple butted Bianchi race bike will ride way, way different and weigh several pounds less than an electro-forged Schwinn, A Schwinn Superior will be much different ride than a Peugeot P4.....

It all depends on your budget, riding style, and what is available. Not to mention French and Italian threading issues and whatnot.

Problem is it is a common mistake when people get this bike. Just thought I would bring it up.

I have been checking into getting one of these for awhile now.

Still so many options.. so conversion is out of the picture i guess.
My friend's bike shop carries Trek, Giant, Surly & possibly Schwinn, & i get a fat discount on all of those, so out of those brands which ones have a good priced fixed?
Also, is the Surly frame a lot better than the Kilo frame?

They run slightly big, but not drastically. I'm 6'1" with a 34" inseam and a 57 fits nicely. I generally prefer smaller frames to larger frames if I'm between sizes. After test riding a schwinn, a fuji, a surly, an iro, a giant, and a raleigh, the only bike that rode as nicely as the tt was the surly. After replacing my bars, pedals, and saddle, my tt feels about like the surly did. I was surprised with how rickety some of the other rides I tried out felt!

What about switching up my Trek 7.3 FX to a single speed/fixed.. Any of you ever convert a Trek FX series bike?

I have heared the the TT will flex. I bike store owner told me that he can grab the seat post tube, and the head set and can flex the frame with his arms and chest. I did not and do not believe him though. Ofcourse he did not cary the TT. That is the only neg I have heared about the TT. I am going to get one as soon as I can talk the wife into it.

Guy is obviously bad mouthing his competitor b/c he's losing business to them.

If you're a big guy you'll feel the Kilo flexing under you. I went with the aluminum Dawes SST AL because the Kilos and Hours I borrowed felt noodly under my 6'2" 230 lbs.

If you're a lighter rider or possibly even just riding a smaller frame it may not be noticeable. It also might not even bother you. I didn't like it but I'm used to an aluminum road/cyclocross bike which is very stiff.

The Kilo I tried wasn't as flexy as an old steel touring bike I have. That things is really flexy (and heavy) but it rides so nice.

The SST AL wasn't perfect. The road buzz was terrible until I upgraded to a carbon seat post and replaced the saddle. The longer 130 mm stem I put on it might have helped too.

The key to modern sizing is top tube length (unless you are either terrified about standover height or have such strange proportions that it's a big issue). All you need to do is figure out what top tube length you fit, and figure out what size that corresponds to. Modern sizes usually come from the now-archaic tradition of sizing a bike by its seattube, but even this is problematic because they can be measured center to center or center to top, and don't take into account bottom bracket drop.

So all you need to do is figure out your top tube size, look it up here, and find your listed size. These do seem to run a little big- I usually ride a 56ish (ideally around 555mm) top tube, and this would have me in either a 53 or 55. The top tubes are much longer than the listed sizes (seat tubes) in the smaller sizes, but it seems to even out as the sizes get bigger.

This is the correct way. Find the top tube length you need then double check that the standover is ok. Seat tube doesn't really matter so long as you can stand over it.

If you need a short top tube it does get difficult. You can either compromise with a longer tube and short stem or deal with lots of toe overlap.

Personally I HATE toe overlap. My old roadie had a little bit, was very annoying. None of my current frames overlap though so I'm happy. (not something I worry about much cause I'm usually on a 58 or 60cm frame)

My Kilo has some overlap and I never even notice it while riding.

As for those who complain that Kilos flex, it's a thin-walled steel frame for ****'s sake. Of course it flexes a bit!

Yes, that is to be expected. Under a lighter rider it's likely not a big deal. Under me they flex a lot. I have an old steel touring bike that flexes a lot more. Doesn't really bother me on that bike because that bike has gears. With a fixed or singlespeed I'm up off the saddle a lot more. Pulling up on the bars while standing on the pedals practically at every intersection. I could feel the frame twisting. I don't mind a bit of spring to a frame but torsional flex just feels really weird if you're used to a very stiff ride. My opinion is that clydes are better off with an Al frame but it's just my opinion based on my personal preference and may have nothing to do with this guy. He mentioned that someone said Kilos flex so I related my personal experience. They do flex, how much and whether it's tolerable will depend on the rider. Under a heavy powerful rider on a large frame they flex a lot. For me it wasn't tolerable. Your mileage may vary.