Shuke

I race on the track and am considering both of these framesets. Does anybody have any opinion between the two? I know the KHS is the same as the mercier kilo tt which I know a few people use where I am. The KHS is $188, the eighthinch is $150. I know eighthinch updated their geometry for the v3 by raising the bottom bracket up a bit for added clearance. Does anybody use one or the other for track racing?

Kayce

Save up and buy a real race bike. Anything on BD or 1/7 or republic or anything like that will be just about useless out there, and you will have to spend another $300 to make them racable.

chas58

For $150-$190 they are a good bike for starters - if you are just feeling the water, don't have much cash, and are learning your way around the track. Try one for a year or so and if you get serious sell it for what you bought it for and get a faster bike. That is what I did with my KHS (actually you can sell those for about twice that price if you go outside the track crowd and market to hipsters).

Don't think about "upgrading" parts on those bikes though, save your $$$ and put it to a better bike if you go that direction.

McRussellPants

Its not like you can't take the parts with you outside of the 1in steerer tube that the Flite and the Kilo have.

Kayce

There is nothing worth keeping on either of those bikes. Any "upgrade" in frame will be totally lost with the spongey cranks and wheels.

Chas is right though, if you are really unsure about about fixed gears or track racing a dirt cheap bike may be a good idea. Another option is renting a bike at your track for a bit to see if you enjoy it, and want to put more money in. Here rentals are $10, so it would take you over a season to acrue the cost of buying on of the bottom barrel bikes.

chas58

I found that owning a $150 bike gave me a certain pride of ownership and investment in the sport, that encouraged me to go to the ‘dome. Maybe a season pass for a bike would give me the same incentive, but the pay as you go long term provided a little more resistance. It is a lot easier when it is already paid for and committed.

Besides, it is awfully nice not to have to check stem length, pedal type, and seat height every time I got a rental bike (not to mention being able to play around with gears on my own bike).

The KHS was a bit of a pain on steep tracks as it would smack a pedal if you weren’t careful. The BB is just a touch to low for comfort.