Singlespeed

Beardy10

I want to buy a Singlespeed bike to help me work on my cadence and also use it as a winter bike. I want to get something a level above a Langster....any recommendations?

Are there and shops in London that anyone would recommend for Singlespeed?

Thanks

andyp

Condor on Grays Inn Road?

andrewgturnbull

Beardy10 wrote:

I want to buy a Singlespeed bike to help me work on my cadence and also use it as a winter bike. I want to get something a level above a Langster....any recommendations?

Are there and shops in London that anyone would recommend for Singlespeed?

Thanks

Hi there.

Just curious - why do you want something a level above a langster? The whole point of the cult that is single speed is riding cheap, minimalist bikes that require very little maintenance. They're designed to be abused all winter long. It's no co-incidence that all of these bikes are pitched at around the 'budget' £500 mark: Langster, Pompino, Fillmore etc.

If you want to go upmarket, maybe what you want is a track bike. Fixed, not single speed.

Cheers, Andy

Beardy10

I had a look at there Pista which seems to be their equivalent to the Langster. The next step up they have is a Titanium bike which is £1500! I was looking for something in the middle of that ground.

Want something that looks the part too to be honest. The Pista doesn't really do it for me.

I'd actually travel a fair distance from London for the right place....maybe a bespoke build is the way to go?

ride_whenever

doesn't brick lane do ultra trendy bespoke SS/FG bikes?

il_principe

Just get yourself a Pearson Touche and be done with it: http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/index.html?action=97

I ride one and it's lovely, plus Pearson will pimp it up for you if you ask, so you could getter better wheels, coloured chain, diff bars etc. I've only ever seen 2 on the roads around London compared to several hundred "Wrongsters"

This is mine:



Shortly to be equipped with a pair of these:

cougie

For cadence - why not just use your normal bike, but not change the gear from the chosen ratio ?

Personally I'd go for a fixed thats a much better ride than singlespeed. S/S on the road is a missed opportunity.

andrewgturnbull

Alternatively, spend £500 on a Langster, then blow the rest of you budget on Rapha kit.

;-)

easy

Brick Lane Bikes may be worth a look for you...

http://bricklanebikes.co.uk/

BUICK

If it's about the look, but still not an outrageous budget, what about the Bianchi Pista? You'd need to get brakes fitted but not a big job. It's a shame that there's so much snobbery about Langsters out there. I love mine, and spend a lot of time out riding it. People who aren't cycling scenesters love the bike and it gets others interested - especially when you explain about riding fixed and tell them the cost - only ever get the wrong-eye from those who think that langsters are 'beneath' them! I think in the future there will be a lot of misty eyes looking back at the fun had on langsters.

el_presidente

The Wilier pista as sold by cycle surgery is about £800 IIRC and looks very nice

georgee

From friends with the the touche is very highly rated, also in a round up of them in a cycling mag they came out top. As for me, my Peugeot Pro Team 80's frame with a set of converted wheels with bull horns and aerolevers is a far more exclusive option.

Check here for some inspiration

www.fixedgeargallery.com

andrewgturnbull

georgee wrote:

From friends with the the touche is very highly rated, also in a round up of them in a cycling mag they came out top. As for me, my Peugeot Pro Team 80's frame with a set of converted wheels with bull horns and aerolevers is a far more exclusive option.

Check here for some inspiration

www.fixedgeargallery.com

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/au ... rnbull.htm

Beardy10

The Willier and the Pearson both look pretty nice...I like the idea of being able to customise the Pearson a bit.

Brick Lane bikes does look to have some nice gear as well so plenty to look at.

I just don't fancy switiching between a fixie and my regular road bike....probably be fine until someone pulls out in front of me in London traffic and in that split second I go for the brake.....

salsarider79

Have a look at the Felt singlespeed, its £475 and is very tasty. Also look at the Genesis Flyer, (highly rated in cycling plus) as they are very beautiful. They do them in white and black, one fits mudguards and the other doesn't.
I understand the problem with Langsters. The're just too common. The reason is because they are cheap, cheerful and work so well. You can't go far wrong with them.
I've replaced the wheels and brakes on mine, and fitted FSA Gossemer cranks, its a daily runner and has clocked over 5000miles so far. They are brilliant bikes for the money. You could always do a custom build on a Langster or Felt (saving replaced parts as spares), or the Genesis and On One come as a frame only.
I love singlespeed, but fixed is something else. Not everyone gets on with the lack of gears in the first place, so it's best to try one first. I would reccomend ss to anyone to try but having had bad expierence with fixed , am not so ready to recommend it. It may work for you, it may not.

cannonfodder

..

cannonfodder

Beardy10 wrote:

I had a look at there Pista which seems to be their equivalent to the Langster. The next step up they have is a Titanium bike which is £1500! I was looking for something in the middle of that ground.

Want something that looks the part too to be honest. The Pista doesn't really do it for me.

I'd actually travel a fair distance from London for the right place....maybe a bespoke build is the way to go?

I think the problem with the Pista is that they show it in the basic spec. The basic bike costs £700 and the frame is very good but costs £450 on its own. It starts to look a lot prettier with better kit on it. Condor are well up on fixed bikes and generally custom spec everything they sell

gandhi

I have the Pearson Touché as my winter / commuter bike, and I love it.

Ash_

Beardy10 wrote:

I want to buy a Singlespeed bike to help me work on my cadence and also use it as a winter bike.

I can see the sense of this for a winter bike - lower maintenance and all that, but a single speed bike won't have any significant impact on you improving your cadence. You really need a fixed for that - to reduce any 'flat' spots in your pedalling technique. A single speed bike also won't really ensure you pedal more, as you can still freewheel.

However, if it's singlespeed you really want, but something different, then really you can have any bike you want. Buy a rear wheel with a freewheel type hub, and you can just screw a single freewheel sprocket on. Add a chain tensioner and you're away. This is often the cheapskate's way of creating a singlespeed bike, but if you use a decent frame / bike to begin with you can have something nice and if it doesn't work out for you, then it's a good (and easy) enough candidate for becoming a regular, geared winter bike.

If you really want exclusivity though - don't go for an off the peg offering. It's pretty easy to create you own singlespeed bike, either through a company like Pearson or Condor as mentioned, or better still by shopping around. For example, a five-minute search on the internet threw up a nice Ridley track frame for 285 (plus VAT) from Ciclos Uno (they're also located fairly close to you, I think)



Although - if you're going to use a track frame, there won't be much room for large tyres and almost certainly won't be the possibility of fitting mudguards. worth bearing in mind as you said it'd be a winter bike too.

ride_whenever

you don't even need a freewheel hub to convert, you can get spacers and sprokets to fit on a shimano freehub

Ash_

ride_whenever wrote:

you don't even need a freewheel hub to convert, you can get spacers and sprokets to fit on a shimano freehub

Good point! Buy the right type of spacer 'kit' and you can fine tune the chain line too, which is even better.

Although, have you thought about the Charge Plug?

http://www.tredz.co.uk/ProductDetail.as ... ctID=17691

It does eveything you want it to but comes in at less than the price of a Langster. Not too many people ride them either and they have that nice, understated look about them.

epicyclo

I don't recommend conversions unless you have a bike with a stiff rear chainstay.

I have done several conversions and the biggest problems are:
1. Brake rub caused by frame flex (not a problem on a fixed with no rear brake)
2. Chains unshipping for the same reason (proper SS gear and chain)

These problems become apparent on steep hills. Possibly the modern alloy frames may be stiffer but I haven't tried to modify one of them.

Reasonable single speed frames start at low prices (check out On-One) and will save a lot of hassle.

andrewgturnbull

Hi there.

By the way, I didn't mean to invoke reverse-snobbery in my first post... I guess I was just trying to encourage you to buy a 'proper' track bike!

if you've got a grand to spend on a ss bike, then go for it - it's your money.

Cheers, Andy

Beardy10

andrewgturnbull wrote:

Hi there.

By the way, I didn't mean to invoke reverse-snobbery in my first post... I guess I was just trying to encourage you to buy a 'proper' track bike!

if you've got a grand to spend on a ss bike, then go for it - it's your money.

Cheers, Andy

No offence taken at all Andy

There's a ton of useful advice and suggestions on here. Almost dont know where to start....

The Felt is a great looking bike as is the Charge Plug. The Pearson is also definitely worth closer consideration and maybe I should see what Condor can do to the Pista. Then there's the Willier.......


The reason I was thinking I needed to spend more was that I just could find a bike that I like the look of....don't want to go the full fixie orange wheel with lime green frame as I think you need to be 25 with a goatie to carry that off. Not 40! I do love the look of them though.
Would shout MID LIFE CRISiS very loudly!!!

4kicks

I got a NOS Colnago Steel frame off the ´Bay for 250$, and kitted it our at my LBS as a SS. Total less than 500€ and looks really great. Of course this option takes more time & you have the risk the frame is a dog (I bought mine from an Italian dealer with good feedback)

Frankly the frame is probably not higher quality than the ones you mentioned, but if its all about looks.....

James1823

I'm thinking about getting a fixed gear and from what I've so far found out, the biggest decision is whether to go for an off the peg bike or a custom build. Of the OTPs, the Fillmore and Surly Steamroller look the nicest. Of the custom bike builders Bob Jackson looks good, possibly Mercian (maybe Roberts?) and Condor. Most OTPs seem to come with fairly bog standard components, and as I'm thinking of doing a lot of miles on it as a Winter trainer I think I'd want a decent set of wheels/brakes, handlebars, saddle etc.