What makes this so sh*t?

Viking Road Fixed (£169)

All I'm after is a cheap SS roadie to commute on, take to the shops etc. Basically a day-to-day bike that I can leave locked up in town/at uni and won't be worth nicking (no way I'm taking my good bikes).

I was planning on getting an old frameset, stripping it, re-spraying and restoring it on the cheap but for £170 I may as well buy new mightnt I?
I initially want a SS with the view to going fixed in the future so the flip flop hub would surely save money in the long run and with the possibility of BBs and headsets being seized could make a restoration expensive initially too.

Basically, what makes a good and a bad SS/Fixie and why's this one so cheap?

It's made of cheese :(

Search for the unipack thread(s) to get an idea of what you can expect at this price point.

It looks like an Archie Wilkinson frame and forks.

why's this one so cheap?

Probably for the obvious reasons, heavy, shit components, bad build quality, ornamental brakes . . . etc.

Cant find a single review of this bike on the web because its shit and everyone knows it even the manufacturer.

It looks like an Archie Wilkinson frame and forks.
Is this a particularly bad thing? Are they prone to cracking or anything?

Cant find a single review of this bike on the web because its shit and everyone knows it even the manufacturer.
Or it's new?

hi-ten tubing is a euphemism for gas piping. So it will be really heavy. But the components are better than those on a unipak

bits 'll break pretty quickly

A guy at schools just bought one of these, and I seem to be the only person to recognise it's shit.

I had a go and its handling is horrible, the geometry of the frame doesnt work for me, it's heavier than it looks, and the guy said he'd had it for three days and already the seat was rattlingly loose and the brakes needed to be tightened..

Basically if it's that cheap there's a reason why..

keep an eye on the for sale threads, a good quality £200 beater will come up, something better made, higher quality, just bide our time and pick up something you like

i like the fact that the bike comes with extras,i always thought pedals were quite an important thing not an extra.

if you look at the viking thread you can see what quality bikes they made back in the day
tour de france team
uk race teams
they even managed to get some world championship stripes on their bikes
viking severn valley frames very ornate / intricate

i like the fact that the bike comes with extras,i always thought pedals were quite an important thing not an extra.

OTP Steamrollers don't come with pedals.

I've got a 61cm beater for sale... http://www.lfgss.com/thread47148.html