I was thinking of buying my first fixed gear bike for commuting to work. I was looking at the SE Lager and then saw that several people on this forum had posted that they suck. But I never did find an explanation of why or what people would get instead.
As I’m looking for a commuter I don’t want something super twitchy, and something with decent tyre clearance as I’d like to run something like 700x28 tyres. Also, I’m quite a fan of bullhorns (again I’ve heard that people on this forum aren’t … why not?).
First thing: don’t worry about what people here think of YOUR bike.
SEs are fine for their price but the cheap parts won’t last all that long if you do plenty of kms. If you’re an experienced rider then you might want something a bit better. All depends on your budget.
And handlebars are a personal preference. Do what you want with yours.
Well I was looking at around 750 +/-100. I don’t want to go lower and end up with a hi-tensile steel frame that weighs a ton. And the cheaper the better - but if something is a little bit out of budget but heaps better then I’d go for that.
I guess most important is the frame as that can’t easily be replaced, but I can upgrade the shit components as they wear out. And that way I haven’t made a huge investment if it turns out that I don’t ride much and it’s collecting dust
-KHS flite 100 …had one nice pony
-cell c1ngle… the black one
-watch the complete bike sale part and you will def. get somthing decent for your coin that someone else has done the basic upgrades on…
SE Lagers are a great frame. Good clearance. Relaxed Geo. Can fit 28c. Fairly priced. Come with brakes etc. I’ve never owned one but have had a good ride on one. For a first bike they would be a good option. Then again do watch the for sale section on the forum and you should find something. Dont be afraid to go second hand. Oh and bullhorns. People bag them who’ve never ridden them. I could think of alot worse things people could do/have done to their bikes.
In that price range, check out Apollo. They have 2 fixies in their 2010 range. The salt, with 3 main tubes in CRo-Mo and the Pepper, which is full Cro-Mo and Lugged.
Also Masi has 3 different models, The Speciale, Speciale Ltd and The Speciale Ultimate. Felt’s 2010 range should be out shortly.
Lots of main stream bike companies will have SS/Fixie options, this year.
SE lagers pretty awesome for a first ride - I know a few people who have got one and then upgraded later on. - sure beats being bikeless while you wait for that perfect ride. (then when you do find that perfect ride the lager becomes your shitty ‘pub bike’ that you’ll happily leave locked up on smith steet overnight, with no real care if it gets stolen - all while your perfect ride stays safe and sound on its pedestal in your living room)
