Steamroller or Kilo WT?
 

Hi guys,

I'm trying to decide between getting a Surly Steamroller thru my LBS or a much less expensive BD Kilo WT. I know the quality of the Steamroller is good, but don't know much about the Kilo WT. I know the geo is the same, both are cromo steel, the wheels appear to be the same and the cranks are comparable quality. The Surly comes with cross levers and 25c tires, but I want drop levers and 32c tires, so by the time the LBS changes those out and charges sales tax were talking close to $900. OTOH, the Kilo WT already comes with drop levers and 32c tires, so the only thing I'd need would be a fixed cog and lockring (Kilo WT comes with a FW) and the total cost would be well under $500 or a difference of about $400. Pedals are not an issue as I already own clipless pedals and shoes. The only unknowns are if the quality of the seat or stock tires on the Kilo WT are so bad that I'd want to change them immediately. Finally, I already posses the proper tools and knowledge to assemble, adjust, true and tighten everything, so I don't need the LBS for that. I've never seen a Kilo WT, so I don't know if the frame quality (welds, alignment etc) are good, so I'd appreciate it if any of you have experience with it to let me know.

Sorry for being so long winded. Thanks.

I would get a Kilo WT.

There is not a significant quality difference between a stock WT and a stock steamroller. Go with the WT.

Do you know if the unbranded hubs on the WT are the same as the Surlys on the Steamroller? Thanks.

for the $400 price difference i bet you could pick up a nice set of wheels, if you're worried about the stock ones.

Haha, oh for sure, but I'm also kinda assuming the stock seat and tires on the WT are crap, and would need to be changed. So, prolly that would leave only $250 or so for new wheels, at which point I would just buy it from my LBS. Thing is, the pictures of the generic hubs on the BD site look exactly the same as the Surly hubs, so I'm hoping they are in fact the same. Also, I think the rims are the same. I don't care about how they look, just that they've got good bearings.

Do any of you own and ride a Kilo WT? Thanks.

There's no way the WT comes with Surly hubs. Also, if you care, the Surly decals are over the clearcoat, in case you ever want to remove them. Not so with the WT. The Steamroller looks way cooler anyway in my opinion. And somehow the WT in 56cm has some toe overlap, but the Surly has none. The Surly is a really tried and true bike, the WT is newer and we can't assume they're gonna ride the same just because BD ripped off the dimensions at every size. Yes I'm fairly sure the WT saddle will be crap.

It's a big price difference though. The one thing I do wish the Surly had was the rack braze-ons/eyelets.

Hey, thanks for the detailed info. It's interesting about the toe overlap. I wonder how that would happen if the geo is truly the same. Maybe the forks are a different length? It's good to know about the decals, cuz I really don't like them but just assumed they were clear coated. As to the lack of eyelets, I expect to use P-clips for fenders, and won't be mounting a rack. One of the owners at the LBS has one, and said he uses P-clips w/o probs, but he doesn't have them mounted right now for me to see. Oh, and I won't mount the rear brake, so I don't care that the Steamroller lacks rear cable housing guides/stops.

http://velospace.org/node/25105
gyeswho's kilo wt - he does alotta serious stuff with it.
he could give you some info

Yeah I dunno I looked at their fork length and rake and supposedly they're the same. Did you do a forum search for the WT? I think the guy's name is Gyeswho, he usually chimes in on WT threads and he's the one who mentioned the toe overlap on his 56. Not that toeverlap is a huge deal, but it bothers some people. Yeah I knew about p-clips for fenders, but they're just not the same for racks, this is the one thing stopping me from turning it into my do-everything bike.

I'm not planning on racks. I carry everything in a North Face soft backpack that I've had forever. It would seem that with a rack your cargo would get jostled around a lot, and gets a lot smoother ride in a backpack. Of couse it all depends on your cargo. I carry carbonated beverages a lot and glass containers.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ler-or-Kilo-WT

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...WT-Mini-Review

I should add, tires are actually pretty nice and the toe overlap, while there there on my 53cm, is really a non-issue.

Roland

Thanks a lot, Roland. Great info.

Probably not. I've owned two sets of Surly hubs. They are nothing special. I'd rather have the WT hubs. The quality is very similar, however, Surly hubs are notorious for being a big pain in the ass.

You can assume the same thing for the Steamroller. The saddle that comes stock on it is the least comfortable thing I have ever owned. In this price range, you should expect to change the saddle an tires regardless of what bike you buy.

The wheels are something you shouldn't be worried about. The Steamroller and WT wheels are basically equivalent. Get them tensioned and they will be very strong and last many thousands of miles. The only difference is that the shop might adjust the tension on the Surly wheels for free, whereas the shop will charge to tension the WT wheels.

In what respect are the Surly hubs a PITA?

Well of course everyone's saddle preference is different. I put 1k miles on my Streamroller and haven't changed 1 thing yet except to go clipless. Been on a few rides ~40mi, no pain in the ass. From what I recall the WTB SST saddle was discontinued for a couple years but they brought it back based on demand.

The sealed cartridge bearings are adjustable, although there is absolutely no benefit to this. If you don't get the tension right, you'll fry the bearings and many many many people have complained of play constantly developing. I have found this to be the case with my surly hubs as well. If you know how to set them up its not a big deal, but they are more of a pain in the ass compared to formulas and other basic sealed bearing hubs which don't have this problem. Being no better than other basic track hubs like formulas or novatecs, Surly hubs are also overpriced.

Based on my experience with this saddle, that is hard to imagine. In any case, saddles are personal preference, so regardless of the quality or price of the bike, most people are more than likely to end up replacing the saddle at some point.

The LBS sells Surly bikes a lot, and in particular Steamrollers. So I will definitely ask them about this, since presumably they should know. Thanks for the heads up.

mihlbach do you own a WT or are you just a BD fan / Surly hater? I'm not a BD hater, I just disrespect some of their practices like the exaggerated sales pages ("Save up to 60% Off List Prices, Buy Factory Direct from Bikesdirect" [list prices where, where else are they available? lol] and "Wheelset alone is worth $350 to $400" lol) and the fact that the WT is a direct Steamroller ripoff at each dimension is a little shady.

John10568 have you ridden a Surly and liked it I assume? Hell don't listen to me, you should get the WT and let us know how it compares. Although you kind of have to own a bike to really know it. I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed with a WT, it seems like you've educated your expectations, but only you can decide what's worth what to you. We don't know your finances or riding intentions/preferences. If money is an issue or you plan to lock it up outside much in an urban area, get a WT, it'd be less painful to have stolen. If you're dissatisfied with the WT just sell it on CL for minimal loss. There, see, I'm not a Surly employee, /endthread. BD fanbois, unite!

None of the above.In this instance, I simply think the WT is a much better bike for the price.

I own a Surly bike (a long haul trucker) and many other surly products and think they are generally OK. I can appreciate Surly mostly because they tend to think outside of the box and develop unique products (such as the Puglsey). However, there's really nothing special about the quality of Surly products. Most Surly stuff is just basic functional stuff and often overpriced with an undeserved reputation. On the other hand, I have never owned a BD bike for a variety of reasons (none of them having anything to do with ethics).

^^^^ x 2..!! that dude loves his WT..!!

to throw yet another option out there for you, this model also fits the wider tires:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/uno.htm


as soon as I get a 'spare' $400 that's what I'll be ordering....