I've been thinking about getting either an used road bike or a fixie/single speed for college. At first I thought it would be wise to spend a good amount of money around 600 for a solid bike but now I'm thinking that I'd rather pay less just in case somone likes my bike enough to take it. My only issue is weight. I need something light enough to carry up the 5 flights of stairs to my appartment. I'm also in NYC where things are ********ly priced and some people see fit to ask 500$ for a rusted p.o.s. just because they threw a pair of deep v's and matched them to the chain and saddle. Should I just get a vintage roadie that is less likely to get stolen and is cheaper since the hipsters have only begun buying them? Or should I get a lighter, simpler fixie/ss that will cost me more and is theft prone? What should i do?

Sounds like you made up your mind already.

Just remember, anything can get stolen, especially in NY. I'd get the rusted POS and lock it up well, less chance of anyone wanting it. Remember locks are a deterrent, not safety in getting it stolen. If they want it, they'll get it.

Though I feel like I'm going against my better judgment, I would go with an inexpensive fixed gear. The problem with old road bikes is that they tend to be either poorly taken care of or insanely overpriced (some, sadly, are both). Assuming you can get a decent ten speed for a hundred dollars or so, count on having to put money into a chain, brake pads, tires, possibly a wheel or wheels, maybe a cassette, and any number of other things that can go wrong. Compounding this issue is parts availability. While most the parts are usually locatable, it's not like you can walk into any bike shop and pick up a five speed cassette. If you're unlucky, you could end up with something with strange threading or parts diameters, and that's not fun either. A good friend of mine has a really nice 80s Fuji, and he's put probably $400 in the last two years in maintenance and parts into it in addition to the $100 or so he paid for it. It's a great bike, but it wasn't as cheap as he'd hoped, and things still go wrong with it fairly regularly (one day the wizened headset got loose and never tightened again). To be fair, he would have saved a lot of that money if he learned to work on the thing himself (or had let me do it).

The advantage of a cheap fixed gear is that there's simply less to maintain. There are plenty of rideable options under $400 brand new, and they are easy to work on or find parts for. Flashy isn't a good idea for a lockup bike (so avoid, say, this nightmare, which I promise is even more garish in person), but something simple and inexpensive combined with good locking skills and a little bit of luck and you should be fine. If you can find something used in your area (without rust or Deep Vs that match the chain), even better.

Yeah, go with the utility/beater bike for now- you'll ALWAYS find a use for it (locking up at the bar; locking up on racks that could give even a bike tetanus; carrying groceries), whereas the flashier bike is going to have less utility to you. Figure out what kind of bike is going to augment your life and your beater bike best, and proceed from there.

You guys just reaffirmed what I was thinking. Hopefully I can find a halfway decent conversion on CL that doesn't have a hipster tax placed on it. If not I might pick up a moto track from BD or the vernerable kilo. I also just took a look at the sale that IRO is having. Is the MkV understated enough as a lock up or is it too nice?

as much as I like Road bikes, I also like fixies.

Id say go with a fixed-gear/singlespeed. easier maintenence/weight being the primary reasons i suggest fg/ss. And I echo what was said earlier: ANYTHING can get stolen. I mean, plus. You dont HAVE to throw on a pair of deep Vs, or matching saddles, or fancy your bike up just becasue its a fixed gear. You can just grab one that is really low-key and is very "quiet" looks-wise.

You dont seem to be getting either bike for show, so I guess personally, just a stock, low-key beater fg works fine. Being that yo are a student, youll always be on the move and cannot worry about maintnence. So go FG!

get a serious entry level mountain bike like a kona caldera and put slicks on it. lockout suspension is a plus too.

or if you're really handy, get an older used mountain bike and swap it to a rigid front disc fork.

stopping power is very important in a city. so is being able to take potholes and curbs with ease day in and day out.

for that you need wide tires, robust frame, and good brakes in good repair.

spend as much as you can but budget in a helmet, a set of lights and a crazy nice lock for the frame and thick cable for the wheels.

i rode with a guy last night that had an on*one il pompino with a 29er front disc fork set up singlespeed and clipless. he had road tires on it but the wheels were bombproof. that particular setup is probably spendier than what you have in mind, but a fred'd out sora equipped road bike with bright flashy paint fresh out of a store is going to attract thieves no matter what.

i think a 26" with slicks and discs would be the best bike possible. rack is a plus.

^ Id have no trouble siding with him on second thought.

my commute isn't too bad only about 15 blocks or so daily and then an around 20 block run to the grocery store. Do I really need something that complex? i really want affordable simple quality.

if i needed a campus bike i would have a cheap, hipster free, conversion biased of an 80s road bike.

Why not just get a cheap hybrid and covert it to single speed? that way you avoid the road bike/fixed gear hipster tax. also you have clearance for bigger tires and fenders and eyelets for racks and such. if you find one with a freehub you can get cheap conversion kits online. im sure there are also bike co-ops around you can use to fix it up your self for cheap.

thats not bad advice

you know, just get what you feel maayne. Follow your heart =]

That's actually what I'm in the process of doing. I love my Kilo but a little SS hybrid with low gear for grocery shopping sounds awesome.

i hadnt thought about it before. i am picturing cyclocross tires and dirt drops on an early hybrid or touring frame built up as a single speed...

I feel like hybrids are an untapped market. A lot of people buy them to use on the weekends or to commute then leave them in the garage and never use them. Then they sell them for cheap and practically unused.

yes but they are pretty heavy.

if it were me, i'd get a fixed gear. simple, lightweight, nothing too flashy, no njs parts, etc. throw on some valencia or priest bars and some 28's and run a mid-high 60's gear.

OP, I had the same problem as you did back when I was looking to buy a bike. I live on a 4th floor walkup. If I were gonna have a bike this as a daily commuter, mtb and hybrids are out of the question for me coz it's simply too heavy. [insert long boring stories of dilemma here] In the end I got myself a kilo and I'm really happy.

Unless u can find a deal on craigslist, I'ld go with a bike on BD to avoid hipster tax.

If I were to go the online route, other than the kilo, windosor, and moto. What do you guys think about the tommaso augusta?

simplicity is key. fixed is the way to go, you won't regret it

stop worrying about hipsters. Whether we like it or not, they're gonna infiltrate all levels of urban/pop/counter/progressive culture. Just accept it, make your own decisions and move on.

I would go with BD. Cheap and fairly light, given the price range.

Alternatively, although this probably isn't what you want, when I lived in New York, I just bought a cheap folding bike (Dahon Boardwalk S1) on CL to use for commuting. Then I didn't have to worry about it getting stolen. I then sold it back on CL when I moved, so the bike essentially cost me nothing to "rent."

I'd go with something like this:

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._cliff29_1.htm

Change to slicks, small cog in the back to get the gearing where you want it and you'd be good to go. Of course it could be that I'm lusting after this bike myself...

yeah the cliff 29er is awesome. the extra weight upstairs will be worth it when you can hop curbs and the tubes won't get dented locking up.

If you do go the mountain bike route, go for something with a rigid fork like this. You don't want a suspension fork on a new $500 bike, whether it's a mountain bike, a hybrid, or . . . something else.

Also, one of these would be a nice addition to that Windsor (or anything else with a six-bolt disc hub in the back). A fixed-gear rigid 29er with big fat tires is a lot of fun for city cruising. I have a Gary Fisher Rig (with a Redline steel fork) set up that way right now, and it's a great time. Definitely no Mark V, but it has its strong points.

Fixy