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Singlespeed & Fixed Gear "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Best Fixed Gear Bike

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Old 04-10-14 | 05:49 PM
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Best Fixed Gear Bike

Post what you believe is the best fixed gear bike between $500 and $1000.
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Old 04-10-14 | 05:56 PM
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We're not concierges.

Put in some effort in doing some research first.

At least tell us what *you* think is the best fixed gear bike between $500 and $1000.
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Old 04-10-14 | 06:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Bikebike123
Post what you believe is the best fixed gear bike between $500 and $1000.
This my Best FG bike.
$1,000 cash at my doorstep and it's yours.

-Bandera
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Old 04-10-14 | 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Leukybear
We're not concierges.

Put in some effort in doing some research first.

At least tell us what *you* think is the best fixed gear bike between $500 and $1000.
I believe the felt tk3 is up there.
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Old 04-10-14 | 06:11 PM
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There really is no "best". It depends on your purpose for the build and what terrain your riding on, it can be very different depending on what it's going to be used for.
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Old 04-10-14 | 07:29 PM
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i know my taste has evolved since i got into this. first i was all about aero tubing and aerospokes, now im all about clean steel with minimal detail with a hint of newness. tomorrow it may be beach cruisers...though i doubt it
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Old 04-10-14 | 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Philasteve
There really is no "best".
Stop perpetuating that silly myth, of course there is. Mine is indeed the best. Matter of fact, it's so good, it's not fair to all the other fixes out there. The only problem this leaves the rest of you with is that the best you can hope for is second best.
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Old 04-11-14 | 02:31 AM
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The best bike at any price point, is the bike you carefully researched yourself, bought the bits and built or just outright bought yourself, and then put in the time and miles required to fit it properly to your riding and requirements.
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Old 04-11-14 | 08:18 AM
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If you are interested in a relatively light weight bike with road geo. purchased with the parts to your specs check out Single Speed, Fixed Gear Bikes. Fixie Parts & Accessories | Wabi Cycles Not saying Wabi is the "best" but a great value with outstanding service if you want to ride fixed for long road rides.
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Old 04-11-14 | 09:21 AM
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The 2014 Pinarello Catena - Nero 730 is one of the very best in single speeds!

Last edited by WestPablo; 04-12-14 at 12:50 PM.
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Old 04-11-14 | 09:48 AM
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Originally Posted by WestPablo
The 2014 Pinarello Cateno - Nero 730 is one of the very best in single speeds!
Really? You think the parts on that thing are worth it? Have you looked at it in person? I saw a lungavita once and the only thing that made it seem like a $1000 bike to me was the brand name and the color. Have they gotten better?
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Old 04-11-14 | 02:49 PM
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The best fixed gear bicycle is the bike Eddy Merckx used at Le Hour Record in Mexico City. On a more serious note any bike could be a good bike or **** bike. It depends on you, what you put into it, how you ride and all of that. I like my Specialized Langster because of what I put into it and what I paid for it however there are probably plenty of people who would say that bike is ****. Honestly the best bike that you could ever have is one custom built for you (or build yourself), using the components you want and in the style you want.

Your best bet is to go out and test ride some bikes. Tell the sales person what type of riding you plan on doing, where you plan on doing it, how long your intended rides are going to be and a max budget (though don't ever say $100-300 those people bother the **** out of me). I generally ask that when someone comes into the shop. I try to feel them out and find something that will work for them.
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Old 04-11-14 | 02:54 PM
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Actually, just walk into a shop with a bunch of cash clenched in your fist and ask for the best fixed gear bike. That will be awesome.
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Old 04-11-14 | 03:07 PM
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Old 04-11-14 | 03:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Scrodzilla
Actually, just walk into a shop with a bunch of cash clenched in your fist and ask for the best fixed gear bike. That will be awesome.
Does that happen to you very often?

Originally Posted by prooftheory
Really? You think the parts on that thing are worth it? Have you looked at it in person? I saw a lungavita once and the only thing that made it seem like a $1000 bike to me was the brand name and the color. Have they gotten better?
Not that it affects this "discussion" all that much but here goes my TL;DR response and I’m sticking to it...

One of my fixie acquaintances rides a Catena, which in a way I may be at least partly to blame for. When I began riding and raving about my newly acquired Italian track frame bike at some of our local evening urban fun rides last fall, he went nuts over it. A few weeks later he showed up on a Catena.

I can tell you that it is a very pretty bike. Lots of chrome – full fork, stays and lugs, including tt/seatstay cluster. The components that prooftheory questioned are pretty much all Most, which is Pina’s in-house brand, and they are not bad at all.

I’ve ridden his bike and it works well. I don’t care enough to look up the geo, but it sits almost like a compact road bike. Ride is smooth and compliant, which I guess is to be expected from whatever creatively named steel they used, but not so quick handling. Not what I expected from an “Italian track bike".

What I don’t like is that the toptube has a rearward down-slope and the 1 1/8” theadless setup just doesn’t seem right for what this bike is claiming to be, and most of all – they seem to be trying to disguise the fact that the damn thing is made in somewhere in Asia.

So...is a $1000 list price in bike shops for a Pinarello Catena too high? Well, the lugged Wabi Special, which has no chrome and has all Wabi proprietary parts is $950 + shipping.

You be the judge…

Last edited by IAmSam; 04-11-14 at 03:19 PM.
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Old 04-11-14 | 03:21 PM
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That definitely sounds like an improvement over the lungavita. I felt like it was marginally nicer than say a fuji classic track at the time and it was very "roadish" which may have been a turnoff for me at the time as well.

Maybe I just think the lugs count for something.

Last edited by prooftheory; 04-11-14 at 03:40 PM.
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Old 04-11-14 | 04:44 PM
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Get the Thruster 700c Fixie Bike at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better.



You'll need to line your tires with twenties though.
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Old 04-11-14 | 05:03 PM
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Funny about Pinarello. I walked into my lbs one day and the owner had a Pinarello up on the work stand. I asked him what he thought of it and the reply doesn't bear repeating in polite company. I gather they're one of the many specialist builders that has embraced mass production only to find it's not as easy as it sounds. Certainly as we chatted and he tried to coax some sense out of that sodding bike, I began to view very expensive bikes in a different light. I'm not saying all Pinarello's are bad, even that all expensive bikes are bad, just that throwing a lot of money at big brand names still produces examples of the breed that should have been shot before they left the paddock.
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Old 04-11-14 | 05:03 PM
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Originally Posted by t x
Get the Thruster 700c Fixie Bike at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better.



You'll need to line your tires with twenties though.
Yep, you'll never die cycling on a Thruster - they're so horrible you'll never ride it
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Old 04-11-14 | 05:07 PM
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I really liked my Dolan and vote for that, but in all honesty its what ever bike fits you properly and you want to ride.
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Old 04-11-14 | 05:09 PM
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Pretty sure you could get a fairly good Leader for under 1k
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Old 04-11-14 | 05:15 PM
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Originally Posted by RaleighSport
Pretty sure you could get a fairly good Leader for under 1k
Sure, but would it be the best FG under 1k ?
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Old 04-11-14 | 05:17 PM
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Originally Posted by TejanoTrackie
Sure, but would it be the best FG under 1k ?
That's entirely subjective... just like the rest of this thread. So what's your nomination?
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Old 04-11-14 | 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted by RaleighSport
That's entirely subjective... just like the rest of this thread. So what's your nomination?
I don't have one. There are many that come to mind, but I can't see one that is clearly superior to the rest. However, I can say that it would have to be steel, since it's difficult to get a comparably good bike with an aluminum frame/carbon fork frame for under 1k.
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Old 04-11-14 | 05:29 PM
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Originally Posted by TejanoTrackie
I don't have one. There are many that come to mind, but I can't see one that is clearly superior to the rest. However, I can say that it would have to be steel, since it's difficult to get a comparably good bike with an aluminum frame/carbon fork frame for under 1k.
Well he never said no vintage or used.. or conversions for that matter. So you're probably right about it would be steel, and perhaps not even a true fixed gear design.
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