Since purefix is junk, do you guys recommend me building a bike from scratch?
Ive been on craigslist as well and there are a lot of bike shops advertising so I never know which ones are legit or not !

I rode for about 2 years on a cheap fixed conversion before I actually built a bike from the ground up. I say get a good enough conversion, swap the parts as you learn what you need out of your bike. If this is your first bike then anything will work, also if this is your first fixed I'd suggest a helmet or at least a brake set up.

Have you looked at the Kilo TT Pro?

Yes.

While there is something to be said for starting small, taking things slow, and easing into a new pursuit, there's also something good to be said for just going balls-to-the-wall.

I realize this is probably no longer helpful for her, but to anyone else who comes upon this thread, do NOT take the advice that many of these guys are spouting.

fixnation and republic bikes and all that other hipster crap is junk. crappy components that will brake down in a week. anything made of high ten is a boat anchor and quite frankly, shouldnt even be ridden nowadays (unless you got it for free).

building a bike when you don't have experience is stupid and time consuming for newbies.

if your spending less than $500, buy a mercier kilo tt off bikesdirect, or get something used off craigslist. period. going to you local bike shop is always the best answer to atleast figure out what frame size you need and to figure out what to look for. the shop might even have a bike in stock you will want.

Opinions. They're everywhere.

Getting a box of parts in the mail isn't exactly great for newcomers, either.

To the OP, build your own if you have the $. It doesn't need to be a solo endeavor. If you find a local shop that specializes in FGSS, they can help you pick out parts and properly assemble everything.

That same bike shop might also have bikes for sale.

Just sayin...

Why in the world would anyone want to spend double the price for the pleasure of going to the work of procuring, then assembling a batch of components that would normally already come as a complete package for less? Furthermore, why would anyone recommend that someone who clearly knows jack about specific components to go to the effort of shopping for said components to procure?

There's a reason Kilo TT gets mentioned in EVERY thread like this. It's the best bike you can get for a reasonable budget, without having to have the experience that goes with reading a forum for a year or more. If someone needs to ask "What fixie should I get", you can be damn sure they'd need to ask about a dozen more questions about component choices. While I find that exercise to be entertaining due to having awareness of the market and options out there, this is simply not a good option for an apparent new rider. Consider that it's not just a question of getting the parts for the bike itself, there's also the question of procuring a tool kit for the sole purpose of assembling a single bike that said buyer doesn't even know if they'll enjoy riding. That's an additional minimum investment of at least $100, and then you have to learn how to properly use those tools. That's all well and good for someone who has "the bug", not so great for someone who seems to know next to nothing about bicycle assembly. Frankly, it can be downright dangerous.

+1

^^ +2

I know most of us here are bike snobs but what I actually suggest for this girl is to go to her local bike shops, get fitted, and test drive every fixie each shop has until she is happy with the ride quality and price of the fixie. If it ends up being a Pure Fix, who cares, it's her bike. I think buying from a bike shop will be her best bet so that she has the support behind her in case she needs to make adjustments later on. I doubt this girl has guy friends that are really into bikes who can help her with a bikesdirect bike or she wouldn't be here asking for advice. Once she has experience with a bike, then she can sell her bike and go ahead and get that Kilo TT or whatever.

It feels like you guys didn't even read what I wrote. Let me put this another way, but keep in mind this is exactly what I said above...

She would be better off not ordering from Bikesdirect. The bike doesn't come assembled and sometimes there are missing parts, the wheels are not true, etc. It's not a good thing for a person with no bicycle experience.

I also said that building your own bike doesn't need to be a solo endeavor. You walk into a bike shop that specializes in fixed gear, you tell them you know nothing about bikes and you want to do a custom build, they break out the catalogs, you look, they make suggestions that go with your aesthetic preferences, they order everything, they assemble it and maybe even show you how some of it comes together if you want to learn, and you ride off on your new bike. At least that's how it works at the FG shops I've been to. Now exactly how is that a bad experience for someone new?

You have any idea how much that costs? Custom builds generally have a premium of $200+ dollars, in addition to massive retail mark-up for parts, a fairly long wait time and general shopbro dickheads you have to deal with. This will end up costing $1000+ for a low-endish fixed gear.

or

Buy a Kilo TT for $400ish dollars, take it to a shop, have them build it for $60-80.

You give bad advice.

And learn how to take some pictures without using the flash.

Nobody said you had to build your bikesdirect bike yourself. Ever.

You'll note the part where I said to the OP, "If you have the $". You don't know the OP's financial position. Maybe $1000 is not much for her and maybe she'd enjoy a custom build more.

My advice is good if you take it for what it is...a suggestion. I'm tired of seeing Kilo TT's shoved down every new person's throat. If they want to go with that, fine. But you don't need to bash every opinion that doesn't involve buying a damn Kilo TT from Bikesdirect.

P.S. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eGJOqMHsDI

haha funny.
and yes if anything, im gonna be getting brakes

Lookin at it now ! im getting a LOT of mixed opinions here. Making it a little difficult for me
to decide what to do..

This has been helpful. Thanks

Thank you!

IM LEANING TOWARDS buying a pre assembled bike
I do know how to ride a fixie because I have been riding my roommates for a while now.
they have brakes as well.

There is a local bike shop around my area so I maybe going in there. but from my knowledge
they do have some pure fixes

I know we have messed around but we have already told you to go a bike shop. A number of us mentioned City Gounds, they are a bit of hipsterish but they have a nice selection of low end bikes up to high end stuff.

OK. this is what you do. Go over to bikesdirect, look at the Kilo TT Pro's. I guarantee you that this bike is going to be better than 90% of other bikes you can find in that price range. If you do decide to get it, I highly recommend that you take it to a bike shop or at least someone who knows how to work on bikes, and have them build it or walk you through it.

You can even go for the cheaper Kilo TT, I'm sure that will be just fine for your needs.

More importantly, you want to know what size you need first, you can use an online sizing calculator at http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO and taking measurements of yourself. Make sure to do it by centimeters and not inches for a more detailed result.

You're getting a lot of gibberish in here because you're a girl, I can understand that a lot of this sounds like bull****, which it is, but that people who are giving you sound advice you should listen to them.

You can also use the "Ask Scrod" thread if you need any help building your bike or something.

...asking very vague questions that have been hashed over a thousand times.

yeah i found one in my area so ill check it out soon. thanks

isn't that what forums are partially for?

thanks. i looked into them, they're a little over my budget but ill keep hunting.
and why is it because im a girl. aren't there plenty of girls on this forum?

Im pretty sure there are a lot more guys that girls here...

I'm talking about the sup's and sqrl talk, dude. You think that has anything to do with bikes? In reality: no.

The men probably outnumber the women 20 to 1 if I had to guess. It's nothing bad, just women tend to get a little different treatment compared to guys.

because the majority of guys who sup and sqrl are imature ****** bags. grow the **** up.

sup?

sup