rms13

I bought a Takara a year and a half ago. My first single speed and my first road bike. I have put bullhorn bars on it, Cane Creek TT levers, Tektro 510 brakes, 700x25 road tires and tubes and XLC pedals on it. Just been using it for fun but recently started commuting 4 miles each way, mostly flat. My main issue is is the weight and feeling slow especially from a stop in traffic.

Would it make sense to buy a new frame and fork and possibly bigger tires for commuting like 700x32 or just buy a better bike from bikesdirect or someplace? I am on a budget (hence the reason I'm commuting by bike). I can't spend more then $500 all in but I'd like to spend as little as possible. I've also considered getting a cheap geared bike from bikesdirect since I'm riding some hills and carrying more weight while commuting. Though I figure I would have to bring it to a LBS to have it set up especially a geared bike since there seems like a lot of assembly required with the bikes direct bikes.

Training.Wheels

I'd consider upgrading, but at the same time, I'm pretty certain you can fix your problem by lowering your gearing.

Nagrom_

So what is wrong with the bike? Slow from a stop?

Just add a couple teeth in the back.

Steev

Spending $500 won't get you that much more bike, save your cash.

rms13

Thanks for the advice so far. My main issues are slow from a stop and slow in general. I believe the gearing on the bike is 44/16 which seems like it's common (again, I'm still new to single speeds). The bike is 57cm which I think is slightly big for me at 5'10". I can stradle the bar but there is not really any gap between my crotch and the bar. The bike is listed at 29.5 lbs stock, I figure I lost a little weight with the handlebars I put on but it seems like a lot of other single speeds come in closer to 20 lbs?

Of course I know I probably just need to pedal harder too

Training.Wheels

Straddling the top tube means very little in terms of fit. What matters is your reach when you're riding the bike. Provided your saddle is in the right position, if you feel ok, then you're ok. 44/16 is common, but it doesn't mean it's what's best for you. try 44/18 and you will feel a huge difference in terms of acceleration and perceived speed. Changing your gearing will do more for your speed than losing ten lbs off a bike.

rms13

One more question: currently I am just using cage pedals and I think it would probably help if I had something to attach my feet. I'm not going to get clipless due to budget but if I am going to choose between standard toe cage/straps or power grips what would be my best bet?

kite991

I ride a kilo tt, and like they said there isnt much you can get for 500$, youre better of saving your money to build a better bike. right now im building up a leader 725 during the summer and after pricing it all out its about 800$ for everything. BD bikes dont require that much assembly, it takes probably 1 hour if you dont know what youre doing, all you need are the right tools (a bunch of hex wrenches) and knowledge of how to set up brakes (youtube).

Back on your current question, it depends on what kind of pedals you have, most of (all of ) XLC seems to be mostly platform and mountain bike style pedals. I know that straps like YNOTs or HoldFast need bmx style pedals but im sure mountain bike pedals will suffice just as well, though these are around 50-60$. Right now I've changed from YNOTs to straps and cages which are cheaper if you dont have to buy new pedals to with them, both offer a good amount of holding in, but after riding for a so long with foot retention i've found that I actually feel unsafe when i ride bikes without it since I slipped off a set of old pedals before and put a nice gash into my calf.

Street rider

Other than retention, which will allow you to pull on the upstroke, giving you a bit more power throughout the spin, the real way to go faster is to build some muscle and get stronger.

Space Pope

I have a Takara Sugiyama which is basically the same bike with different handlebars and color. I have made many upgrades but when I switched to 700x23 tires and a higher end road saddle I noticed a BIG difference in weight decrease and boost in acceleration. Accelerating from a dead stop feels much easier since there is less rotational mass and getting up to speed comes very quickly. If you want to go faster, push harder. This is singlespeed/fixed gear!

gregjones

kite991

Is there something wrong?
Frame-250
Seatpost-40
Saddle- TBD
Handlebars-75
Stem-TBD
Fork-180
Headset-40
wheelset-190
Crankset-140
bb-40
pedals- already have
cages-17
straps-TBD
Brakeset (Front)- ~45
Chain-18

I think thats most of it, i may be missing a few parts from the list, but hey, i just got back from a 3 hour lab session that was boring and ridiculous. Plus I have a few parts that can transfer over between my other bike.

gregjones

Not if you're using a USPS calculator.

kite991

USPS calculator?

rms13

So to update my thread, I decided to throw more money into the bike then I was planning. I put some 700x38 road tires on it and egg beater pedals.

I also realized the saddle was way to low for my height. The combination of raising the saddle to proper height and using clipless pedals has definitely improved acceleration off the line

seanifred

united states postal service

royb

Is it possible to add gears to the Takara Kabuto bike? I'm going on a 360k ride from Philly to DC and worry that I will run into hills. Any ideas if it's possible and how much it would cost?

Wspsux

what kind of wheels are you throwing on there for 190?

also after doing the math on your build, you're in ~1000 before adding the tbd items

heymatthew

Yeah... Just as an example, the Stem and Saddle could be around $100 combined depending on what he goes with and that puts him closer to the $1200 mark.

kite991

Pretty sure this was a WHILE ago haha. So since then I've built the bike up fully, as well as swapped a few parts I was unhappy with. Right now I think the build is somewhere north of 1500... which is crazy, but since then it's been my main bike that I love riding. But for $190 you could grab a set of Velocity Deep Vs from velomine which I had for a while and loved, or you can splurge a bit which and spend $235 for a set of H+Son Archetypes which I have now and I love.

Also my Stem was 40$ from Leader, however I splurged on the saddle which I am ridiculously happy with is the Fizik Arione Saddle which can be found on Retro-gression. I love that saddle and even though it was $125, my butt and my bike thank me for that purchase.

Best of luck to you and your bike!

PS. If you'd like I'll add a picture of my bike how it currently sits, and I'll try to link how it was around last spring (should be on my pedal room).

Wspsux

Id love to see a pic!

how do you like those archetypes? Do you run a brake, if so how does the painted brake surface wear?

kite991

I like the archetypes, I love how they look with the slimmer profile than the deep v. Another thing which surprised me was crosswinds, I picked up a lot of crosswind on the deep v compared to the archetypes, but I havent been through a really windy day with them yet. The archetypes are the one of the two which can use brakes, because if you use it on the deep vs you'll rub away the paint. I'll try to get a pic in a bit.


Heres how the bike sat a few months ago: Leader 725 - Pedal Room

Ignore the first few pics on there where I have a wonky angle on the handlebars

Update: I have added a few pics of how it is now on the pedal room.

churroe

it's all about the gear ratios. went to so many bike shops for advice (since my bike iq is low) and it finally heard it after asking multiple times.

i have 46t in the front and 18t and now my bike FLIES from a dead stop. save the money and try it.