All right, people. Which (if any) of these options should I pursue?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/4072590996.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4084262902.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4071722448.html

I know I have to ride it to see if I like it. Just wondering if any of these are blatant rip-offs or blatantly amazing deals, since I don't know ****. Looking for something to commute pretty short distances with and do occasional longer rides on weekends. This is my first fixie, so I want to start with something cheaper and then if I like riding fixie, I may flip the cheap bike on CL and buy a Wabi Classic when I've saved up some money. Cheers.

Stay away from the Cannondale. Vertical drop out conversions blow.

The other two blow, too.

My question is, do they suck for $350? I understand they're not good bikes compared to the bikes that cost $800+. Just looking for something relatively cheap that I can start with.

**waits to be told to buy a Kilo TT on BD**

You should buy a Kilo TT on BD.

Kilo TTs blow too.

People are hilarious. Take a $300 BD bike swap out parts with different cheap parts and expect someone to pay $350 for it

Buy my Vilano for $99. Spoke cards and BFSSFG stickers included for no extra cost

lol.

Well, ****. Unless you guys have better suggestions, I'm leaning towards offering the Specialized guy like $275, since it seems like it may be the least-****ty of the three. A new Langster retails for like $650, no?

Or, there's the ever-present Kilo TT. Eh

Sorry for the double post. What do you all think of this?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/4087974606.html

Could probably negotiate him down a little bit.

God, I get too sucked into doing way too much research whenever I buy shizz.

For $24 more you can get a new SE Lager from City Grounds. Anyway, it's a very heavy bike with a Hi-Ten straight gauge fork.

It's not that heavy, it's well worth the price, and CityGrounds only has it in one size.

SSFG doesn't think anything is a good deal unless it's the Holy Grail.

You seem reasonable. Better deal: the SE Lager or the aforementioned Langster? (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/4072590996.html)

Personally, I'd go with the Lager. Though the Langster might have more potential as a competitive/fitness bike if that's what you're after.

According to SE, the 55cm size weighs 26.2 lbs. That's heavy for a simple SSFG bike. My $300 BD Moto Messenger weighs under 23 lbs with Velocity deep V wheels.

The Langster is a 1000% better bike than the SE Lager. Easy decision here.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna try to get the Langster guy down to $300. Thank you BikesDirect--even if I'm not ordering from you, I can still use you for bargaining power.

Thanks for the advice, guys. Will report back if I end up buying it--hopefully it'll turn into a Wabi Classic in a few months.

well i do a ot of time trials on the track so i figured a deep carbon rim would be good. its a bit pricey but i have money so.

I dunno what you're current wheel situation is but IMHO you'd be better off saving up a bit more $$ and picking up a used HED3. The BLB 90 rim alone weighs as much as a HED3.

I sold my townie but held on to the VO Porteur rack and matching Bontrager fork. Should I sell the rack or throw a brake on there and convert my sw8 fixay to some bizzaro delivery bike?

Yet another option, guys. This one looks like it might be a little better:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/bik/4088707348.html

Eh? Is this as good of a deal as this guy claims it to be?

600 is way too high.

should i

take the rim from my dead s3x wheel and the hub for my 6 spd freewheel and rebuild a new rear wheel?

-or-

buy a new cassette freehub, use the old rim, and build a new wheel with an ultegra 6400 tricolor RD + 8 speed cassette + barcon



the 6 spd wheel has the most flexy spokes imaginable and has a 27" shrader rim and a worn 6 spd freewheel which i would also need to be replaced
i hate the stem shifters on the current 6 spd setup and i feel like im gonna kill this ancient wheel, however the hub itself is fine and id like to still use the rim i have on the s3x wheel which is perfectly fine

I would cannibalize your old wheels to make a new one depending on the rim quality from your s3x. Options are limited for 6 speed hubs so I would definitely use that one. Better to reuse than to buy more stuff :thumb:.

Why do you say that? Isn't that bike like $830 new? One in the ad looks almost new and has a few upgraded components.

Yeah I think MSRP for Steamrollers is pretty wack as well.

im struggling with the fact that 6 spd freewheels are hard to find, and if i were to use the rim with a cassette freehub i could use anything from 8-10 spd on it of much easier to find cassettes

plus i kinda already want more range

Oh well do that. I'm changing out my 6 speed for a 10 speed :D

I'm looking to replace my stock Kilo TT wheelset after 2 years of full-time commuting on them, and was wondering if someone could tell me the difference between these three Open Pro to Formula options:

32-spoke

36-spoke (why are these $10 less?)

I don't know how many spokes

Is there a 'best one' of the three? I'm about 150 lbs. and don't hop curbs on a frequent basis (not that I should...); so long as they can stand up to foul-weather commuting (Minnesota weather), I'm fine. I was hoping I could pick up a pair of Wabi GX410 wheels, but I don't think Richard has them in stock right now. :( Wasn't sure if I could find a sub-1750g wheelset (as Richard claims) for around $200 elsewhere.

Thanks!