Still looking...

hey everyone:
thanks for all the useful tips about finding a bike in london. i had a bit of a personal life detour from my search - but now i am back in the city, and still looking for something that will fit me (i'm 5'2"). i saw this on gumtree and was wondering if anyone has ridden one before...

http://www.gumtree.com/london/37/13774437.html

i'd like to convert it to ss but dunno what the drops on these are like...

There's a ladies hybrid thingy in a Romanian charity shop at the top (North) end of Lamb's Conduit street that's going for £25. Looks about the right size for 5' 2" and has horizontal dropouts - ripe for converting.

Don't know if it floats your boat but it might be worth looking at if you are in the area.

Also there is a nice small raleigh outside BAD bikes opposite brick lane bikes.
Someone mentioned their stuff was shite but this looks quite nice.

Just a thought.

The person selling is a little taller than you at about 5' 4" ish. SO if you go for it check that it fits ok for you.

What do you mean by "drops"? this bike has a flat bar.

dropouts?

roberto's got this on the bay at the moment, might be your size,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Laurent-Marcon-steel-lugless-track-frame-SMALL-ladies_W0QQitemZ220157275262QQihZ012QQcategoryZ22679QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

also found this, if you don't mind alu frames, come in a range of small sizes and price is only a hundred squid.
Sure you could build it up into quite a nice fixed.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/48cm-DHC-7005-Alloy-Race-Frame-int-1-1-8-Headtube_W0QQitemZ250155751350QQihZ015QQcategoryZ33503QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

i'd go with the one roberto has. It looks saweeet!

bah - the girl changed her mind and doesn't want to sell. i'm looking for something built up that i can at least test ride - and i don't think i'm handy enough to build up a bike myself yet :( i want to learn but the reality is i want something to ride soon... and i'd only like to spend £300-400 if possible... or am i dreaming :]

I got a complete 52cm Raleigh off ebay for £40. If you just want a ride and not worried about what it is.. ebay and gumtree can be useful.

£300-400 will buy/build you a good bike! If you're worried about building stuff then there are any number of people on here who would be more than willing to help you. If you come along to bike polo on any given sunday there'll be some girls (or at least some short men :)) whose bikes you could have a go on to get an idea of what you want. Also there will be people there who can help you make your very own bike too!

deadroxy bah - the girl changed her mind and doesn't want to sell. i'm looking for something built up that i can at least test ride - and i don't think i'm handy enough to build up a bike myself yet :( i want to learn but the reality is i want something to ride soon... and i'd only like to spend £300-400 if possible... or am i dreaming :]

Roberto's a sound fella and i'm sure that if you purchase the frame from him he'll be more than merry to help you out building your steed, or if not try FixedGearLondon, same level of niceness and all, i know he built a conversion for £400 and looked sweet.

Wow thanks guys! I went into Brick Lane Bikes at some stage and got laughed at for wanting a 300-400£ bike :( Apparently I look cheap. It's just been tough cause I wanted to actually ride some stuff to see about sizing but a visit to bike polo sounds fun (I guess I could do stand-around-without-a-bike polo for a bit ;] ).

oh brcklanebikes...as much as i love those guys they're dear as hell £400 for a first fixie is a respectable budget really i insist you get in touch with Andy and Roberto, Jos is also an option but i think he's got the bling blings only.

to be fair i bought my bianchi pista for £400. And you can get a way better bike for the money! come along next sunday and you may get a free cocktail too! heh

OCW have a bianchi for that range, i think.
(not sure its a pista)

Ooh... I've really enjoyed the Bianchis I've ridden that would be quite nice... I was thinking about getting an off the rack Pista but the lack of drilled holes for a rear brake made me a little nervous... I want to try fixed but I haven't ridden the roads in London yet so I'd like to have the option of free to start (getting used to traffic going the opposite way and so on ;] ). But Oxford is a bit of a ways from me... I suppose I could give them a call and see :D