kiloka

I'm looking to buy my first fixed gear/single speed bike. I have been riding full suspension mountain bikes my whole life and have decided to give the road bike thing a try. I want to buy a complete bike and have a budget of about 400 to start. I like the idea of buying one pre made and down the line building my own.

My question is does anyone have any experience with the company BigShotBikes?

I was looking at the website and it seems like for the money you get a pretty decent bike in any color combo you want. I do like the idea of having a white frame with green deep v style rims. One of the other factors leaning me to that company is that its local.

anyone have any thoughts or experience with this company?

xkillemallx16

I rode one. I didn't like it.

gusmore

For the money on that bike, you're only paying for having the color combinations...all of the components on that bike (except maybe the chain) are garbage...I mean, come on, the frame & fork are hi tensile steel. In the $400 range, a Mercier Kilo TT is a much better deal.

kiloka

I know it may sound ridiculous but a lot of my wanting that bike is because of the color combos. I have been looking around at putting one together with the colors that I want and it does put me out of my price range.

What didnt you like about it?

ichitz

fwiw, u can have color combos on any bike. You can get a kilo tt and swap stuff out to whatever u like AND it'll ride better

kiloka

I have opened myself up to other options and am now interested in an eighthinch scrambler v2. I can still do the color combos but the bike is made up with better components.

Also what's the big deal on this site with kilo TT.

Bobby Sixkiller

...And? Having a wide variety of colors to choose from is an important factor in the bike-purchasing process for some people.

And it would also cost $200-$300 more after you ended up powdercoating the frame and purchasing all the colored components to match.

I really don't get the "function over form" mindset on this sub-forum, especially considering most of the people here are traversing debris-laden urban terrian in and out of traffic on bikes engineered for racing on smooth, flat surfaces.

To the OP: I have no experience with BigShotBikes, but the frames look decent. Hi-ten steel isn't really an issue unless you think that a 5-8 lbs. difference in weight is significant. I ride a hi-ten 24 lbs. bike and it literally feels no different to me than my friend's 18 lbs. cro-mo bike. Then again, I weigh 210 and I'm in decent shape so a 5 lbs. difference is negligible.

Bobby Sixkiller

For my money, the Scrambler is (on paper) the better bike when compared to BigShotBikes current offering. It has, in my opinion, the perfect balance of quality components and aesthetic variability for an entry-level, out of the box fixed gear. I'd definitely go with the Eighthinch over BikesDirect, but that's just my personal preference.

kiloka

Thanks for the input guys. It's good to get an unbiased opinion. Like I mentioned Im my first post this is my first road bike purchase and since Im not planning on riding this to the edge of
the earth colors become more important to me at least. The one thing that does bother me a bit is the fact that there are so few reviews out there. Or is no news good news?

I do really like the scramber v2 as well tho. I guess it really comes down to money...

shubonker

Get a kiloTT

kiloka

Why? I don't think you even read the above post. Maybe you just want me to get a bike with ZERO STYLE because that particular company who distributes them is a sponsor for this board. Maybe you should read my post before you to to push some bike on me.

NateRod

I bought an EighthInch Scrambler as my first SSFG.

Don't get me wrong. It's a decent bike... BUT now that I'm not as clueless, I wish I'd listened to the advice given by other seasoned riders here.

Instead, I went ahead and built this:




(waits for screams and shrieks of horror to quiet down)


I was pleased with it for about a month or two... then I realized I'd made a horrible mistake. Now, some time later, the only piece left of the original build is the frame in itself.

What's my point? Tastes change... and sometimes rather quickly. You may think your multi-color "FYXXY!" looks totally rad now, and then after a while have your priorities change, realize that you got too carried away and hate it, and on top of what you already spent for full-color customization, spend MORE money to replace a lot, or most of the components. You end up wishing that you'd gotten something more plain in the beginning to swap out parts from afterwards, and kicking yourself because you know you would've spent probably about half of what you've actually spent now.

Now, I'm not here to discourage you from following whatever wishes you may have. I'm just saying, take heed of my cautionary tale. REALLY think about what you want. The reason that most people here are suggesting a certain bike is not because they're somehow affiliated to its exclusive online retailer. They suggest it because they themselves are happy owners and know it's probably the best, most cost-efficient choice for beginners.

ichitz

^

@_@ wow NateRod, ur bike looks so much better now. We all came a long (ok not so long) way.

kiloka

That is good sound advice and I will take into considerations what I may want to do in the future. What I want is similar to yours in frame and rim color. I will however most likely do black or white on the rest of the components and black on the tires.

How do you like the ride of the bike? What gear ratio did you chose and what would you all suggest for a good beginner crank length and ratio?

NateRod

No kidding, right? the A/B comparison always brings the lols

For the OP's reference, here's how the bike looks now. See what I mean?

https://velospace.org/node/25392

Anyways thanks ichitz!

The frame itself is good. Well built. Solid, yet not too heavy. If anything, the one thing i can say is that it's just a bit too small for me. But I have no one to blame for that but myself.

When I got it at first, I was running 46/16. Now I'm doing 48/17, which is actually slightly lower.

46/16 is alright. Maybe felt a bit heavy at first. 44/16 might be a good idea, since it's a little lighter. It varies for a lot of people. Depends on your terrain as well. Read up about this on sheldonbrown.com. Lots of useful info there. You can also read about crank length there. People get shorter cranks to avoid pedal strikes. I use a 165 mm, which is sort of a happy medium.

kiloka

You mentioned it's a bit small for you. How tall are you?

shubonker

Sorry, ZERO STYLE? Are you the fashion police?

NateRod

I'm 5'8" and have a 30.5" inseam. I have slightly above-average wingspan too. I got the 51 cm frame when I probably should have gotten the 53 cm frame. Maybe even the 55 cm, but that would have been pushing it. I think 53 cm would have been the right one.

Check out the geometry / size chart here
https://www.eighthinch.com/scrambler_frame.html

This fit calculator is handy. It gives different frame sizes that could fit you and explains each "type" of fit. Don't follow it blindly, though. Just use it as another point of reference.
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO

Bobby Sixkiller

The OP asked about a specific brand of bikes based in part on the wide variety of color combinations they offer, and you interject that he should get a Kilo TT without providing so much as one reason to support your suggestion. It's not the fashion police you should be worried about, my friend, it's the reading comprehension police.

aMull

No the OP just wants a sweet looking fixay with sweet color combos and that look so sweet when he's cruising down with his sweet messenger bag on lolz Yes sure go ahead and buy a piece of crap bike because it has green deepvs or some ****.

shubonker

See, he understands.

Bobby Sixkiller

I'll respond to this as soon as I can find a 12 year old with down's syndrome to decipher it for me.

kiloka

Don't hate fellas. I just want a cool Bike for a good price. I want it to reflect my style and personality that is all.

sickvic

Well, honestly it doesnt seem like a good idea. No one rides those, and aside from that, these bikes are pretty much straight off a cargo container from an asian country. Then they could be turned into the "KAMAKAZI" with a logo and officialy become a new brand of bicycles. I was very enticed too by the idea of custom colors, but honestly, I would rather a known brand of bike, and know that I can trust the quality. That kilo-tt is pretty sick

f50fan

HAVE YOU GUYS NOT REALIZED YOU'RE TRYING TO ARGUE WITH A HIPSTER? ITS POINTLESS.

We try to recommend better quality bikes because we are trying to keep you from being laughed at among people who actually care about bikes instead of hype.

(and dont try and say you're not a hipster, because that makes you a double hipster)

EDIT: okay, maybe this was a bit harsh
but srsly, riding a bike isnt about looking cool. if you're genuinely interested in carrying on with this hobby long term, I think you should think hard on the quality vs coolness debate here.

EDIT2: okay, my bad, didnt realize this was such an old thread.