You are reading a single comment by @Courant and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@Courant
OK, in which case, look for something with a triple and a rack. It might be worth also searching for "Audax" bikes as these tend to be steel frames, a cross between a racer (light, quicker handling) and a tourer (designed for carrying light amounts of luggage). Key things I'd look for are:
A steel frame. Steel frames from the mid-late 90's onwards will tend to be in excellent condition and use nice tubesets. They're also good value on ebay too. Make sure the size is right, and make sure there's no rust. Buy a frame with a recognised tubsest (e.g. Reynolds someting, or Coumbus something) rather than a generic steel.
That said, there are some newer alu frames that are suitable. Kinesis Racelight T or TK frames are excellent value and comes with mudguard and rack mountings - they're also less commonly available so the people that tend to own these, tend to build bikes up themselves, thus they tend to be pretty well maintained. Otherwise Ribble have some frames in their lineup with rack mounts, and tend to be good value.
Get a triple and get one with a 9 or 10 speed cassette. This will guarantee the age of the components (9 speed came in mid-late 90s) and parts are commonly available. Plus 9/10 speed rear-wheels have the same cassette spacing (at least with campag), so buying a new wheel or upgradin components is easy.
In terms of mechanical reliability, stuff on bikes tends not to break unless it's been poorly maintained. The main exceptions are: cables (which you may wish to replace, or check that new ones have been fitted recently); chain (same again); and make sure the cassette isn't worn.
Something like this maybe? Ebay 320385318106 (though it's not worth the buy it now price!). The spec is spot-on for what you need, decent frame, 9speed triple, low miles and reasonably new, good solid wheels.
How tall are you? I take it you're guy (from your username!) and 50cm tt for a guy is very unusual, unless you're short (i.e. I'd expect a 50cm tt to suit someone 5'4" or less). Best fit guide is this one:
http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/different-thought-on-frame-sizing.html
http://www.prodigalchild.net/Bicycle6.htm
The frame size chart is very rule-of-thumb, but is pretty near spot on in terms of help me + mates get bikes that fit!
Happy hunting!