Hey,

I've been toying with the idea of trading my Boardman Hybrid in for a single speed.

The main reasons being:

Reduced maintainence - I'm tired of having to sort out my gearing, disc brakes, chain rusting due to mainly using it whilst I'm at uni during Winter/Spring when its wet.

Reduced mechanical problems - Chain alignment, gear changes etc.

Cheaper bike - Because the bike hasn't cost me 500 quid I won't be so concerned be AS concerned about looking after it so much. I just want a run around really. Obviously, I love all my bikes though haha.

Wanting to try a new style of bike - Not had one before

***

Anyway, I'll get to the point. Basically, I've been looking to spend around the �250ish mark. For this kind of money, I'm going to struggle to build my own as I don't have the time to scout for cheap parts and will end up buying expensive stuff from retailers who will force me over budget.

Instead, I've been looking around for complete bikes off eBay.

Whilst doing this I stumbled across Create Bikes. I did some research and have been pretty much warned off of them by anyone who sounds like they know what they're talking about saying they are bad. Perhaps they were talking about their first generation bikes as I know that they have released a mark two line which is said to have improvements. Maybe someone can shed some light on this? Are they actually any good? I see one or two people have had problems on their Facebook page.

Recently, I have noticed that a company called State Bicycles (www.statebicycles.com) are selling very similar bikes. They seem to have had a good response on their Facebook page but apart from that I can't find any reviews. Has anyone had any experience with these bikes? What are they like and how do they compare with Create Bikes'?

Any help is welcome and appreciated.

Thanks

Seems like state bikes are getting better. They used to be pretty ****ty when they first started. For their price, they are alright. Much better than repubelick or Tomcat. But at $429, I'd rather get a Kilo.

Meh, i do love the color of Marino though.

For that price, I'd ride a Madison. Oh wait...

They totally "borrowed" that color scheme from the 2010 Kona Paddy Wagon....

They are the same thing as a Tomcat without the decals

I guess the better bikes tell you the brands & models of the components. Some websites list everything, other's list several and yet other's list few(er). Who knows what a State Bicycle is assembled with for the most part ?

I was actually thinking about getting one and emailed the company. They told me absolutely nothing about what brand parts that they use when I asked them. All they said was that some parts are State Bicycle parts while those not listed on the website are generic parts of good quality. whatever that's supposed to mean.

I'm fairly certain that 98 percent of all bicycle parts come from the same factory in Taiwan. Logos and tolerances differ slightly by price range.

Hey guys,

Thanks for the replies.

I appreciate that branded parts have a reputation to upkeep and this reputation can be used to help evaluate quality and reliability but I'm a firm believer in the fact that just because its unbranded doesn't mean its not as good as its branded counter-part! For instance, I don't think there is much difference between a market leading branded tin of baked beans and a tin of the local super market's own brand, except the label that the distributor puts on them! With regards to bikes, noone really knows if branded manufacturers are producing their parts in factories of equal standing as factories who are making unbranded parts.

The point I'm making is that I'm not too fussed about who or who doesn't make the components just whether or not they work at the end of the day; and if anyone has an experience with the bikes they produce at all.

I guess if you like the bike buy it, you can get the same exact thing on ebay for a hundred bucks less though.
https://cgi.ebay.com/TOMCAT-FIXED-GEA...item255c57ac42

are these easy to skid like is the reear tire really tight to the seat tube thing lol

i want something easy to skid but with tight geo

I wouldn't worry too much if the parts are actually from Taiwan, but even in Taiwan the cheap bikes come from China. Taiwan makes some pretty high end equipment for manufacturers all over the world and they've been making bicycles for decades. I specifically chose the Kilo over a Fuji because it's manufactured in Taiwan and the Fuji was Chinese.

uber skidz yo

But it does make the difference, you can go as low as $ 250 for a Vilano and get some components that are name brand, that may or may not be the greatest quality, then you can get a BD internet bike for $ 280-350 and wind up with low end name brand Shimano or Sugino components, then you can go $ 400-650, $ 650-875 and at the end of the day each progressive price point, we all have to figure we're getting something for that. If the State Bike = a Republic for components then you can save a few bucks with a BD bike. Anyway, the State website doesn't indicate components, so when I pull the trigger on $ 430 purchase, imagine the look on my face when I get it and am not satisfied. The hassle to send it back, maybe another on-line vendor sells the same bike for $ 130+ less ? Now all of a sudden, $ 130+ more for a State bike isn't free FedEx shipping is it ?