Single speed bikes

snollup

Hey all,

Have wanted to switch to a single speed bike for a while and was looking at a few models in bike shop on quay's (cant remember name) but reckon a bit expensive for me right now.

Was wondering is there anyone in Dublin builds these bike to order? If so, what you reckon would be cheapest I could get one built.

I'm not looking too fancy. The longest cycle I'll be doing will be about 15km and the bike will be locked in town a lot of the time.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Cheers.

TinyExplosions

snollup wrote: »

Hey all,

Have wanted to switch to a single speed bike for a while and was looking at a few models in bike shop on quay's (cant remember name) but reckon a bit expensive for me right now.

Was wondering is there anyone in Dublin builds these bike to order? If so, what you reckon would be cheapest I could get one built.

I'm not looking too fancy. The longest cycle I'll be doing will be about 15km and the bike will be locked in town a lot of the time.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Cheers.

Flickerx has a couple of fixies/single speeds for sale around the 500 quid mark, but there's not a lot less than that. Best bet is to look at the Charge Plug, Langster, etc online, or just pay the 600 odd for the Paddy Wagon it's worth all that and more!

snollup

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Flickerx has a couple of fixies/single speeds for sale around the 500 quid mark, but there's not a lot less than that. Best bet is to look at the Charge Plug, Langster, etc online, or just pay the 600 odd for the Paddy Wagon it's worth all that and more!

Wow, you really rate the bike then!

Was talking to the lads @ Charge bikes yesterday. Told me wont have Plug's in stock until Sept. Reckon I should go with the Paddy Wagon (what a great name for a bike!!!) or hold out for the Plug?

RobAMerc

I dont mean to steal your thread but whats the big deal with them anyway ? I always thought you pay'd more for a derailer etc

snollup

As long as I've been cycling (and I've had some decent enough bikes in my time) the one thing that always pissed me off was gears! I stay in the same gear 99% of time. That's my reason, cant speak for anyone else tho!

TinyExplosions

RobAMerc wrote: »

I dont mean to steal your thread but whats the big deal with them anyway ? I always thought you pay'd more for a derailer etc

I like the simplicity... a single speed has less to go wrong on it, less to be kicked in by skangers, and in Dublin at least, gears are really just not necessary. I also like being able to just put down the power and go, no worrying if I'm in the right gear or anything -it's just more practical for around town than my road bike.

snollup -yes, I love my Paddy Wagon, and would reccommend it to anyone (well, obviously not reccommend mine, cos it's mine, but you know what I mean )

blobert

There are a few for sale on eBay that are cheaper, cannot comment on quality but you could get one delivered for about €350.

I've been trying to source cheaper single speed bikes from the far east to sell myself, hoping to get a few sample in the next few weeks. €600 seems to be about the cheapest you can get one for in Dublin, that seems a bit pricey for me for what you get, I think it should be possible to sell a decent one for about half that.

Personally, I bought a Fuji track bike from here:
http://www.holcroscycles.com/productdetail/23/1146/Fuji-Track.html

The guy is very friendly and they ship to Ireland.

Then I ordered brakes, flat bars freewheel etc from Chain reaction cycles to convert to single speed.

In the end had a flat-barred single speed (what I was looking for) for about €500.

It's a great bike for commuting (very light and fast), I'm amazed more people don't have them. There seems to be a foolish perception that more gears=better bike. For ultimate convenience stick on some Specialised Armadillos tyres and you will get as close to a maintenance free bike as you are likely to get, which is exactly what I was looking for.


Good luck anyway

Gavin

snollup wrote: »

Was wondering is there anyone in Dublin builds these bike to order? If so, what you reckon would be cheapest I could get one built.

I'm not looking too fancy. The longest cycle I'll be doing will be about 15km and the bike will be locked in town a lot of the time.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Cheers.

I'd go for either ebay, or a self build. Especially if you are leaving it in town, buying a 500 euro or above bike is asking for trouble.

Pick up an old bike from somewhere, shed, skip, buyandsell etc. Make sure it has horizontal dropouts and it'll be an easy conversion.

snollup

Verb wrote: »

I'd go for either ebay, or a self build. Especially if you are leaving it in town, buying a 500 euro or above bike is asking for trouble.

Pick up an old bike from somewhere, shed, skip, buyandsell etc. Make sure it has horizontal dropouts and it'll be an easy conversion.

Ya, was kind of worried about leaving it around town alright.

flickerx

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=59130&cat=52

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=59879&cat=52

Thats them. Price is now 350 on the Dawes and 400 on the Peugeot.
Make me an offer if you're interested, I have some extra bits you might like too or that I could throw in for the price, but PLEASE dont waste my time, already had one person ask for converted bolted axles, then a flip flop hub, and after getting them both for him/her AND dropping the price, they then said "oh actually I cant really fork out money for a bike at the moment." I know why people say in their ads "no time wasters".

I'll be putting them up on eBay late tonight at those prices for "Buy It Now" but I wont be putting any reserve on them so you can bid along with the rest of them (I need to shift them because I'm moving house soon [I hope] and I'm building another two, maybe three and I dont have the space in my tiny back garden any more, its starting to resemble a scrap yard). PM me if you are genuinely interested.

dub_skav

Evans cycles currently have the Charge Plug. I got mine last week and think it's a very nice ride.
I had a less than stellar experience with Evans, but I think that may be the exception rather than the rule

paddyb

dub_skav wrote: »

Evans cycles currently have the Charge Plug. I got mine last week and think it's a very nice ride.
I had a less than stellar experience with Evans, but I think that may be the exception rather than the rule

how much do they charge for shipping?

dub_skav

paddyb wrote: »

how much do they charge for shipping?

£25 for shipping from Evans

blorg

Be sure to post links when you have them up on eBay!

dogmatix

blobert wrote: »

€600 seems to be about the cheapest you can get one for in Dublin, that seems a bit pricey for me for what you get, I think it should be possible to sell a decent one for about half that.

What about the specialized globe centrum single speed for 550 euros in 53 degress north - thats cheaper then 600 - not by much but 50 quid is 50 quid. I've my eye on that model.

copacetic

the giant bowery is on sale on mcconveys for ~ €400, looks like a good price. although personally I think single speeds/fixies are a ridiculous fad.

flickerx

disneyonfire wrote: »

Actually, it was cos the bike wouldnt have fit me, but i'd definately buy something off you now after seeing how you react to someone not buying one of your bikes. Prick.

OK, mistake here on my part, I fused you and another interested person together who said they didnt have the cash after similar emails back and forth - but I did feel like you were wasting my time too. I went to the shop for you to buy the axles for you (which you could have easily done yourself) and then after I'd been to the shop you then asked for further changes, but with no offer of giving me any extra money for the time I put in, the extra parts, or a more expensive flip flop hub. At no point either did you actually ask to see the bike in real life, and test the size to see whether or not it was good for you. Its not a bad reaction to someone not buying my bikes, its just a feeling of exasperation of putting in specific time and effort for your requests for eventually nothing.

In response to your PM, If you're interested in converting your own bike with a chain tensioner then I think the best thing to go is have a go at it yourself.

You'll notice as well that I didnt use your username on the public board or direct abusive language towards you - it would be good if you could do the same. Internet spats are bad for the soul so this is the first and last post from me on this.

disneyonfire

OK, fair enough. But i'd like to point out that i never actually asked you to go and buy the new bolts. All i asked you was how hard it would be to convert them. Same goes for the freewheel conversion. I know you went through alot of trouble to try and accomodate me and i thanked you for that numerous times. Unfortunately the bike would not have fit me so i was left with no option but to withdraw my interest in it.

I just dont think its very professional of you to talk about other potential customers in a sour manner, especially when you have a fairly good idea that they'll see the thread and i didnt feel like letting my side go undefended.

But like you said, internet arguments are for idiots so lets leave it at that.

blorg

dogmatix wrote: »

What about the specialized globe centrum single speed for 550 euros in 53 degress north - thats cheaper then 600 - not by much but 50 quid is 50 quid. I've my eye on that model.

It's a completely different sort of bike; not bad, but not really comparable.

snollup

copacetic wrote: »

the giant bowery is on sale on mcconveys for ~ €400, looks like a good price. although personally I think single speeds/fixies are a ridiculous fad.

this look class. anyone ridden it?

this has aluminum frame.the paddy w & the others have steel. am looking for a stiff frame so thought steel would be best. any advise?

blorg

Generally aluminum frames will be stiffer than steel due to the oversized tubing. Steel is arguably more comfortable, as it can have a bit of flex. (Note these are generalisations.)

snollup

blorg wrote: »

Generally aluminum frames will be stiffer than steel due to the oversized tubing. Steel is arguably more comfortable, as it can have a bit of flex. (Note these are generalisations.)

****, show what i knew, thanks!

TinyExplosions

snollup wrote: »

this look class. anyone ridden it?

this has aluminum frame.the paddy w & the others have steel. am looking for a stiff frame so thought steel would be best. any advise?

Briefly, and I really liked it... would probably have got one if it was in stock when I got the Paddy Wagon...

snollup

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Briefly, and I really liked it... would probably have got one if it was in stock when I got the Paddy Wagon...

just did a bit of reading up on it & seem good value alright.

copacetic

yeah, good review on bikeradar for it, only issue they seems to have was the fork and the guard clearance. seems like a reasonable price too. All the other singlespeeds seem to be developed based on the concept of taking off components while adding on €s to the price...

snollup

copacetic wrote: »

yeah, good review on bikeradar for it, only issue they seems to have was the fork and the guard clearance. seems like a reasonable price too. All the other singlespeeds seem to be developed based on the concept of taking off components while adding on €s to the price...

ya, they seem to be on a bit of a less is more buzz alright.