Condor Pista/Tempo

the royal borough of richmond upon thames. says it all really :-)

as a tooting resident i view my pista as 2 fingers at the fascist ruling classes. a bit like a pikey driving an old roller.

I don't get it. Are condor bikes especially heavy, should i look at getting an off the shelf bike? I was originally thinking of getting a lemand fillmore but thought a bike built to spec would be better

condor = posh fixed

sorta like being an emo and wearing hammer pants.

no they are not heavy at all, they use dedacciai tubesets which are double and triple butted. the pista is sat 14 which is their middle range tubing and is no heavyweight.
the heavy thing came from a comparison between my bike with mouses (both pistas) mine just happened to be light, his was heavier due to different components, compared to most of the bikes on here they are both light.

No they are all pulling my chain because mine is slightly heavier than Smitty's. But he has better wheels than me plus more carbon fibre.

If you have the budget, judicious upgrading will give you a light as bike that is beautiful to ride. If you don't, you'll have what I've got and love it anyway.

tome I don't get it. Are condor bikes especially heavy, should i look at getting an off the shelf bike? I was originally thinking of getting a lemand fillmore but thought a bike built to spec would be better

A pista will be a chunk better than a filmore as you suspect. Chances are that a fimore will come as a complete bike. If you want to upgrade, you have to buy new parts - which means you are purchasing the lower spec bits that you don't want. On a Condor (or other built-to-spec bike) you pay the difference, so your overall spend is proportionally less.

This thread has been a bit taken over with people teasing each other (for which I am partly responsible!) - just ignore them (us). A pista is a great bike, and even the detractors know this.

(wind up mode)
Oh, and there's loads of middle class people in Tooting as well.
(/wind up mode)

I fucking love my condor pista.

And I won a time trial on it (didn't I dogsballs?), even though I am as fit as hippy's arse in dayglo lycra.

So it must be a good bike.

And it looks fucking ace.

So there. nah nah nah.

(oh, and I am rich and fucking posh and live in bloomsbury and was h'educated in cambridge university don't you know?)

damn.

Me arse is well fit innit like geezer yeah butt no butt yeah!

All we need now is the exception to prove the rule.. or do we already have that in BMMF?

(BMMF you had an Inbred didn't you when you loaned me the lockring tool?)

mashton

I am as fit as hippy's arse in dayglo lycra.

i just had an accident.

nb: despite the teasing, condor bikes are amazing. the tempo is the old man of the bunch though, the sunday driver, the 'disgusted of tunbridge wells' bicycle.

as for mashton, some of us don't share his mohican + condorpista = cool thesis.

Okay ... so I admit I have a Tempo.

I recommend it above a Pista because it has clearance for mudguards, and the clearance is such that the front of my shoes does not hit the mud-guards at any point in crank revolution. I rode for a number of years on bikes where this was not the case, but that was for long-distance training where manuevering through gaps in traffic (which is what I do now a
lot) means that overlap matters.

48x18 gives about 72", and is perfect for around London, you can comfortably do 25+ and also it is not too big for continually accelerating from slow in traffic. I use 48x17 but I really recommend nothing this big to begin.

25mm tyres are good, 28mm would iron out some of the uneven roads better. The Tempo comes with standard wheels (EX hubs and Mavic rims) 32-hole - I was dubious about 32 as my previous experience was that even with care I break spokes and untrue '32s' but these are excellent - Condor do a free service after about a month of buying - they trued them up (new wheels usually go out of true as they settle in) and since then they are perfect, and I am heavy 85 kilos ish, and I do not always see potholes ...

Let me know if you want to know anything else.

@hippy - yeah, I've still got my inbred for round town, child-bearing, and once-in-a-blue-moon off road fixed. It's got a rack, and some UPVC material bungeed on as a mudguard, plus 'readers' wives' style gaffa tape to further block water, cos one thing it's lacking is decent mudguard fixing points... not that you're into that kind of practicality. The rear brake's adjusted so that it doesn't really reach the rim with the barrel adjuster screwed in (for normal riding), but I can get it to function when I'm carrying Tynan on the back (when I also have to drop the psi from about 60 to closer to 40). TMI.

Was tempted to use it for the Brighton run, but 56cm bars aren't that sociable :S

67cm bars are where it's at! (fit some to make your commute more interesting!)
I was thinking about riding the GT to Brighton - it would hobble my chances of riding away and make me a little more sociable (or grumpy).
Make Ditchling easier too.

48x18 gearing,
Open pro rims or maybe the swiss dt 1.2 (quite like the look of them)
finger lever for front brake,
better saddle (though i may just nick the brooks off my other bike)
Carbon seat post (maybe)

Does upgrading the brakes make alot of difference or are they just slightly lighter as they get more expensive?

defintiley get the seat post, it's only +20 quid.

i'd go for the 105 brake if i were you, it's not much more and is a nicer brake.

Do not go with the standard black sprocket that Condor will put on unless you tell them otherwise; in my experience not at all round. The Condor - own brand make seem good, £20 each so not cheap, but a good sprocket is important.

yeah, or an EAI is only 20 quid. if they have one in stock. which they won't.

but don't they do their own superior version? for £20 or something?

someone posted a pic of one, on this very forum, at the beginning before aerospokes and riser bars

back in the mists of time? emerging from the primordial soup?

back when "Rapha" meant a vocalist with a lisp

i'll have to think about that one.

when 'fixed wheel' meant it wasn't broken anymore.

maybe it still means that.

hahaha

Blimey - all this banter about the condor pista!
I ride a black 07 pista. Standard frame - mines the one on the condor brochure this year!
upgrades :
condor goldtec asymetric hubs
DT swiss handbuilt wheels -
deda anatomical bars
campag skeleton front brake
gold finger lever
sugino messenger crank (black)
schwabble stevio tyres (white)
izumi track chain
specialized toupe seat (condor seat is like sitting on a splintered RSJ - i agree)

I love my bike. It makes my journey from kentish town to holland park and back every day joyous.

It goes well with my panchant for black and white clothes and my rapha - yes rapha - softshell jacket and grand tour gloves.

I am not a ponce. I like good quality and its my only transport for london - work and beyond.

I dont care what you all think or say. Condor make good bikes. Rapha make good clothes that dont make you look like a twat when you turn up to meetings or sweat like a pig.

I rate this bike highly - for a commute or otherwise. Its understated and a sweet ride. Ive been riding single speed for about 10 years and fixed for 3 and if i ever change my bike there are only two alternatives for me - a Kalavinka or a moyer - for weekends - as i rekon the pista is a knockout commuter.

Avvit.

black n' white condor eh...

you don't spit at girls then run into them , do you?

on london bridge?