So I am in a pickle with deciding on a new bike. I recently had an accident on a single speed bike my father put together for me while riding to work, The chain snapped while I was pumping off the saddle as I crossed a main street. I flew over the handle bars right in the middle of the street while oncoming traffic headed my way. That was quite a scare, so instead of just buying a new chain i decided to get a bike that was built in the 21st century.

I have been searching around the internet for a couple of weeks now, and with the help of my father, I have gotten down to two different bikes. The first, the trek district https://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes...rict/district/. This will cost me 1100 canadian dollars from my local bike shop, including the installation of drop handle bars.

The second, The Masi Speciale LTD Flat https://www.masibikes.com/fixed/speciale-fixed-ltd-flat/. This will cost me 1000 CDN also with the drop handle bars.

Peoples thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated, id like to get some opinions or peoples experiences with both bikes before I go and buy my first bike

There are a ton of reasons to go for the masi(its a great bike, get it) The one Im going to tell you all about is the belt drive of the district. Its an awesome technology, a very low maintenance, long wearing part that is the first thing to go on an average bike. Chains don't last on the casual everyday commuter/bike path rider. Its perfect for that type of bike. But it is a real hindrance for some one that does more than commuting/ path riding. It doesn't allow for altering of gear ratios, and it cannot be swapped for other chain rings or cogs. It also seems like between you and your dad you will be able to properly maintain the chain of the masi.

Go with the Trek District. Its a good bike, and the belt drive system will probably be the most coolest thing ever.

The only time I've seen a Trek District was on a MUP, it was a balding old man going about 5 mph. I guess if you plan to ride on the weekends around the lake or something but if you plan to use it as a commuter that you'd ride to work everyday, the Masi seems to be a better choice.

Pretty pricey at $1000 though...

they make a masi speciale LTD drop version, albeit with a different color scheme. https://www.masibikes.com/fixed/speciale-fixed-ltd-drop/

anyway, my thoughts: just fix your current bike. you haven't mentioned anything about it, so who knows, but if everything else is in working order, no reason not to do it. Also, if you snapped the chain, it's likely because the damn thing was on there too long. If you don't take care of your bike, it won't matter if it's old or new, these kind of problems will arise.

if you do want to get a new bike, I'd recommend looking around more. The district is way too commuter-y (unless that's what you're into), and as aforementioned, if you really want to get into bikes (or at least want to keep the option open), it won't leave you much room to progress/upgrade stuff on your drivetrain.

The speciale is nice, but only decently so. Cranks and wheels are good, but everything else just says "ok" /pretty standard stock parts. Furthermore, you don't really need upgraded cranks right off the bat, especially if you're a new rider. At any point as a rider, having a resilient wheelset is very nice, but you can get a set of dp18s, or deep v's laced to formulas over at velomine, and stick em on whatever bike you want.

For different hobbies, the idea of "should i get entry level stuff and later upgrade, or get nice stuff from the get-go" really varies, but when it comes to bikes, I'm a big fan of going for something very adequate, but inexpensive. Maybe a bianchi pista? https://www.bianchiusa.com/bikes/urba...ar/pista-blue/ or if you really want to go inexpensive, anything from bikes direct.

aside from the street cred you gain or lose from any of the cheaper models, the frames are pretty much all 4130 cromo (or reynolds 512. same difference. Also, even if it's only listed as "Cromo", it's most likely 4130. If it were nicer, it'd be a selling point), and pretty much the same "road-ish/track-ish" geometry.

when it comes to components, you'd be surprised how much mileage you can get out of the stock "crappy" parts. Granted, they're definitely cheap parts, but by the time you actually want to upgrade, or finally start to break parts, you should have a much better idea of how you want your bike to feel, and how much you're willing to spend to make it feel that way.

Personally I wouldn't buy into the belt drive technology until it is proven

There are many belt driven bikes, it works but it is too proprietary, parts are going to be expensive to replace.

Well I went with these two bikes because I do like the look of them/colouring scheme. I know it shouldn't play a big role when choosing a bike but it does for me. But the frame of the bike that i was using was a KHS, I don't know much about it because it was spray painted white. But I do want a new bike for sure.

I'll be using it mostly for riding to work and riding to my girlfriends. If that helps.

then go bikes direct, for sure. not much quite as snazzy as either of these, but theyre not eyesores either. if you want something for just getting around, these will totally be best bang per buck, with plenty of room to upgrade in the future if you so choose.

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

theyre offered in a few more colors, too, which varys from model to model. definitely start there.

edit: downside, they dont ship direct to canada. not to worry, even with a freight forwarding service, it will be way cheaper than the grand you were looking to spend.

I'm also looking at the masi speciale fixed drop in black, I can get that for 700, and my dad is trying to get me to go with this one. It is pretty sexy I must say. https://www.masibikes.com/fixed/speciale-fixed-drop/


Edit: I went with this bike for under 700.