The definitive OTP ( Off-The-Peg ) List (<£500 and <£1,000 sections)

Same frame, different colour scheme and bars IIRC. Check with one of the Charge enthusiasts though - it may be more than that.

personally i'd love to get my hands on an '08 fuji as the spec sounds great for the price and there is one regularly parked round from my work that looks great - love the dirty grey paint job...unfortunately the only '08 models floating around are around the 61cm range of gangly freaks...i'm guessing i probably need a 55cm...as for the '09 fuji - the price seems rapidly upscaled for the changes and it doesn't look as nice...

my other option is to build up a raleigh frame that i have lying around but price-wise it seems almost as much as buying OTP and a lot more work...

Get the Charge Plug. Looks good, works well, can take come knocks. All wins. It's a bit heavy, but what isn't at this price point?

The charge is pretty much bomb proof and second hand is well within your budget (they lasy long enough that they're fine to buy second hand). Only problem is that they don't have the fittings for racks. Then again you can always get the seat post fitting racks that will take pannier attatchments.

Screw whatever I just said, get the plug! Don't pay more than £300 - £350 for a second hand Plug/freestyler. Maybe a little more for the racer.

I've decided to go down the single speed route, I've never rode bikes with gears just bmx bikes so it seems like the logical choice for me after two bmx's being robbed in the space of a year, I just can't be bothered to build another.

So I'm looking at an 'OTP' bike for my first, I lack the time and money to start from scratch at the moment and I'm eager to get back riding as soon as possible. I'm looking for something that I can commute to university on a daily basis (few miles there and back), but also something I can stick a rack on the back (and/or front), load up with some fairly light baggage and go for an overnight ride to Bristol or a day ride down the Gower. I'm not too fussed on wieght so much as I don't plan on racing or carrying the bike for long distance. I read somewhere that the SE Draft Lite can't be fitted with racks? Not sure if this is true but it's caused me concern for finding out what bikes can and can't be fitted as it is an important factor in what bike I eventually get.

I've searched the links in this thread and I like the look of the Charge Plug, the Lemond Fillmore, and the Pinnacle Bachelor and my budget is around £400 (could go a little higher but prefer not to).

Any opinions on what bike would suit my criteria? Cheers

Langster, or an On-One Il Pompino.

Both are bomb proof and come with a variety of fittings for racks/mudguards etc. The On One is probably best, as they are literally indestructable. I kind of want one actually.

Thanks for the replies so far all, some positive responses towards the Plug and nothing about the other two has swayed me considerably! The Langster looks cool, and the Il Pompino looks even better (couldn't find a price though) and definately looks the job for adding racks however not to sound like a finicky bastard honest! but my problem with both these bikes is they lack the simple, basic look of the Plug which is something that appeals to me. Does the Fuji have rack mounts?

I had a look at the seat-post mounted rear-racks, I could chuck one of these on a Plug but are they reliable enough for carrying my camera equipment that is fairly heavy?

I'm on my second Pompino. I sold the first one and regretted it almost straight away. They're strong but not overly heavy, quick and fun to ride but not too twitchy for road use, comfy, rack and guard compatible and £99 frame only when I last checked. My first one had been used fixed wheel on the road commuting and training, single speed cross stylee for touring and misbehaving on the singletrack at Bedgebury and i even completed the Cat and Fiddle Challenge on it a couple of years ago (not recommended though-gears needed). My current one is fixed only 48:18 and rides like a dream-I don't think On One have changed the specs over the years only the colours. Oh yeah, they come 120mm track spaced or 135mm so you can run SS MTB hubs.

Peace

Kurt

Thanks for the replies so far all, some positive responses towards the Plug and nothing about the other two has swayed me considerably! The Langster looks cool, and the Il Pompino looks even better (couldn't find a price though) and definately looks the job for adding racks however not to sound like a finicky bastard honest! but my problem with both these bikes is they lack the simple, basic look of the Plug which is something that appeals to me. Does the Fuji have rack mounts?

I had a look at the seat-post mounted rear-racks, I could chuck one of these on a Plug but are they reliable enough for carrying my camera equipment that is fairly heavy?

Hows about a genesis day one? If you can find one at the right price its a good machine for what you want

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/series/day_one

Also talking of Halfords, saw the new Carrera Subway Zero in the Battersea one the other day, retails at £249, and i have to say looked like a great bike for the money - was tempted to get one through RTW as a pub bike:

**"The all-new Subway Zero is the perfect commuter tool. Priced at just £249.99, the single speed Subway Zero features a lightweight alloy frame, a Truvativ Isoflow chainset and 700c wheels with a flip flop hub."

**

I really like the look of the Genesis day one as a bit of a cross over between a fixed and a mtb. It looks like a pretty good all round bike.

hello! first post here. went to check out a Charge Plug Grinder (in cream yesterday), looks terrible (i thought)! I think teh paint job is different to the prototype shots, the logos are both red and teh typeface is pretty bad on some of it. Was pretty set on it so not sure what to get now.
How worth it would it be to get a regular Charge Plug and just spend £100 or so on a few new components? and what would people change particularly on it?

does anyone else write 'teh' instead of THE consistently? bane of my life

If you're more worried about the colour and typeface than the ride of the bike, methinks you're doing it a bit wrong mate.

yes, it's worth just getting the normal plug because it's all the same, each one just have slighty different component, i.e. the mudguard and flatbar on the Grinder, the dropbar on the Racer, etc.

guilty. i am a sucker for the aesthetics. what sort of price wouldone be looking at for the cheapest decent custom build? just a rough figure

+1 on the horrible typeface
i taped over the 'plug's on the downtube straight after i bought it
they just don't line up
but the worst bit is the 'charge' across the TT/HT which i still haven't dealt with yet..

guilty. i am a sucker for the aesthetics. what sort of price wouldone be looking at for the cheapest decent custom build? just a rough figure

define 'custom build', do you mean by getting a custom frame? getting a good frame and build it up yourself? building a bike that should function beautifully? etc.

A few of the bikes being suggested are yielding very little result on google by way of prices but thanks for putting them up for me to see. If my efforts don't get anywhere within the next week or so I will probably get myself a Plug or a Fuji so that I can get onto the riding sooner than later.

Hate to sound like a broken record, but I'm still having trouble working out a suitable solution to kitting a fix/ss with some kind of rack be it front or back or post, I've never used them before so I'm going in blind on this and after reading my way through the 'Rides' forum, I'm itching to sort something out lol! I'd love to take part in an overnighter or day ride but I don't fancy chucking my trinkets in a backpack.

There are other option than just rack, like for instance saddle bag can help a great deal.

the limitation are obviously the size.

I'll look into it cheers.

http://singlespeed.angelfire.com/

how do people feel about these? anyone tried one?

https://www.londonfgss.com/thread4827.html

gwynfor please read the above, and in future, please use the SEARCH function. Its handy.

Hi all, I am new here and like others looking for your generous advice as I hunt a single speed bike.

I have always used geared racers but am keen for a change! I have used the search engines (I will avoid a certain type of bike!!!!) to look at the Subway Zero which looks quite decent for a low price but I do not think anyone has actually bought one.

Does anyone own a Subway Zero or have any reports from anyone that has? Thanks, Jon

it's too early to tell, it does look like a good starter (far better than the unipack), but I has no idea if it worth the money or not.

the biggest downside is that it's put together by halfords, while there are very few good bike mechanic, a lots of them has no idea how to put and tune a bike up properly.

Is the Gary Fisher Triton in the lists?
Saw one in the local Trek dealer. Looks like a rebranded Lemond. Godawful..
Dodgy external bottom bracket..

This reply is 4 weeks late.

The Triton is the same as the LeMond Fillmore. They've been making those for at least two years or so. Probably longer. I think the main difference was paint job and (at one time) the bars. I think the 2008 was basically the same bike as the Fillmore with a different paint job.

I have a LeMond Fillmore and haven't had any issues with it. The bottom bracket isn't really 'dodgy' I wouldn't think. But maybe it is and I've just not had problems with it. That said, I will probably be changing out the crankset (and therefore the bottom bracket) in the next few months.

The bike itself has all the usual shortcomings of any mid-priced OTP: cheap wheels (actually, cheap components in general) and a bit of weight (not as much as a Charge; basically the same as a Fuji).

Thanks for the post Ed. I will definitely be avoiding the unipak.

I will ask Halfords to build up a Subway Zero so I can have a "test drive" and see how it goes - I will ensure they have attached both wheels to the bike before I start cycling!

My friend took a bike for a test ride from from halfords. The forks were put on backwards, but the assistant insisted they were meant to be that way. I swear all of their bikes are put together by (badly) trained fucking chimps.