On One Macinato or keep my Kinesis?

I have a T2. Thing is, I've got into singlespeed now and I'm thinking whether I should change my frame to an On One Macinato!

On One Macinato
Frame Material DN6 double butted 4130 chromoly steel
Approx. Frame Weight (g) 2268
Seatpost Size (mm) 27.2
Seat Clamp Size (mm) 29.8
Font Mech Clamp Size (mm) 29.8
Wheels will fit 700x28c tyres
Mudguard mounts No
Rack Mounts No
Bottle Cage Bosses 2 set
Dropouts Rear Facing
Bottom Bracket shell 68mm, English threaded
£199

Kinesis T2
Lightweight, 7005 double butted tubing
comfortable hourglass seatstays for those long winter rides
stiff chainstays for great response
plenty of clearance for full size mudguards and larger winter tyres [long reach, 47/57mm brakes required]
rack/mudguard mounts
54: 1640grams
Seatpost: 27.2mm
Front Mech: 31.8mm
Headset: Integrated, 1 1/8 inch, 36/45 degree.
Costed £250

There's no issue with me changing the frame, so that's all good.

Reason being to wanting to change frame; I was told chain tensioners are noisy and aren't that good (on another forum) and that a frame with horizontal dropouts would be better.

What do you guys think I should do?

Should I sell the T2 and get an On One Macinato?

Or will my T2 be fine?

Any feedback is appreciated!

Thanks

Here's my frame:

Here's an On One I found fully built!

Always better to have a purpose-built frame for singlespeed, should be a very easy decision

Btw, is that the fork's steerer tube?

Keep the kinisis and use a chain tensioner.

This is all just my opinion based on info I've picked up but...

• T2's have a good rep
  
• T2 looks like a "better" frame - carbon forks, paint quality, design, tubing, weight, etc
  
• T2 looks better visually
  
• rack and mudgaurd mounts makes it more functional
  
• T2 will be racier
  
• with a chain tensioner the T2 can be run SS
  
• wheel/tyre changes will be easier with a T2
  
• future proof - ie if you want a road bike later
  
• you will loose money on the resale making the discount of the on-one negligible.
  
  

...should be an easy decision ;)

I disagree the T2 looks better, plus a purpose built frame has far cleaner lines, and crucially track ends. A chain tensioner is fussy IMO

I'd also say that apart from possibly looking better (depending on your opinion) I can't see any benifit to the macinato over the il pompino.

Really? For me the biggest thing is it's steel, but also it's from on On-One which is a great little outfit with very honest pricing and run by very commited cyclist, it's British (designed) and looks great.

And no fussy un-unsed cable guides. And track ends so an easy SS/fixed set up.

Did I mention it's made of steel?

..have 2 bikes?

I have a Kinesis T2, so obviously that makes it the best bike in the world. The On One is fugly but if you like it buy it, make the T2 a road bike.

on one are fairly crap.
Cheap, but that's really about it.

I don't think that was helpful, but if it was me I would sell my soul and have two bikes.

There's a lot of very happy Pompino owners that would disagree with you. I've also got a Planet X mtb which was brilliant (currently awaiting revival in the shed). I like On-One/Planet X

However I still stand by the simple fact that a purpose built SS frame is better than converting a geared frame, particularly if it has vertical drop outs

Better the devil you know.
Build up the Kinesis (a pretty looking frame IMO) and if you really don't like it, buy a new frame then swap bits over ?
Isn't building stuff up half the fun anyway ?

You have to keep the Kinesis as it matches your user name.

What about Kinesis with an eccentric external BB thing. Not tried one but on paper a cleaner solution than a chain tenstioner.

^^^ meh.

I stand by all of my earlier points.

But in addition:

• Kinesis are just as British as On-One.
  
• Kinesis have more experience in designing bikes
  
• The trickle down tech of the T2 > than the Macinato (which is just a pompino with the useful bits removed).
  
• You can buy a good road wheelset, use a tensioner, and space the cogs, leaving you with a fully re-usable road wheelset for no extra cost.
  
• Chain tensioners aren't that expensive and will be a useful part to have in your spares box if you stop using it.
  
• The only benefits of trackends for SS are that it 'looks better', and is cheaper than using a spacer kit and tensioner.
  
• steel is not inherently better, and it's not like the on-one are even made out of a mid to upper end tubeset, so I don't really think that it comes into it.
  
  

@ Kinesis -

Personally, I'd have two bikes, as the T2 will build into a nice all round road bike. If you only have the money to have one for now, build the T2 as an SS. If you buy the right crank, then you'll only need shifters, gears and cables.

Lots of people are happy with their on-ones, but from what I can see the T2 is just simply a 'better' frameset than the Macinato.

Ultimately, just do what you want.

You have to keep the Kinesis as it matches your user name.

What about Kinesis with an eccentric external BB thing. Not tried one but on paper a cleaner solution than a chain tenstioner.

http://www.lfgss.com/thread16068.html

Clearly you have a drum to bang. Having converted a road frame to fixed with horizontal drop out, and a MTB with vertical dropouts to singlespeed, and owning both an SS/fixed MTB and track frame with trackends, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that trackends aren't merely aesthetically pleasing, they are the best for singlespeed. Maybe its a design thing, because its what they are designed for, rather than attempting to fit a round peg in a square hole.

And lets not get started on the spacing, 120mm rather than 130mm. It's a hell of a bugger to fit singlespeed rear hubs to the wider geared bikes, involving loads of spacers to get the chainline right and often meaning the rear tyre isn't dead centre. Yes you can convert a geared hub to SS, but that needs specialist tools to remove the cassette. Plus you get a dangling chain tensioner.

Build the K2 into a geared bike, and get a singlespeed frame to ride singlespeed. SS conversion are inelegant and tricky at best IMO

And my last word on the material: even low-grade tubing is better than alloy, again IMO

"And my last word on the material: even low-grade tubing is better than alloy, again IMO"

^^ Apart from making no sense whatsoever, what I think you were trying to say is also rubbish.

Don't pull any punches there

What I'm saying is that I prefer steel over alloy. Sorry if that proved challenging for you

I constantly forget how many self-proclaimed "experts" there are on this forum.

Ah well, it's good for the lolz, zomg, etc...

And my last word on the material: even low-grade tubing is better than alloy, again IMO

Don't pull any punches there

What I'm saying is that I prefer steel over alloy. Sorry if that proved challenging for you

Probably proved challenging judging by the fact you didn't state what tubing you referred to. I for one was holding out for balsa wood tubing.

My my I'm really glad I got involved in this discussion. Excellent contributions all round and some contructive debate. Hats off

Jimmy, have you tried a Scandium alloy frame and directly compared to a non-butted cheap steel frame? In what way was the cheap non-butted steel frame better?

^

On One Macinato
Frame Material DN6 double butted 4130 chromoly steel

Just sayin'

;)

And my last word on the material: even low-grade tubing is better than alloy, again IMO

just saying also

(I may have taken that out of context!)

The bike with the best alloy tubing I own would be my Planet X Compo, which is a take on the Cobe Stiffee and has box-shaped Eastan Rad tubing. Not sure where that falls in the alloy tubing scale but at the time it was pretty much the mutt's nuts and most top-end DH, all-moutain, freeride etc rigs had it. The Compo is a hardtail with a longtravel front fork btw.

Since then I've been riding, in order of appearance: DMR Trailstar, Charge Stove, Charge Plug and also Venom, a 80s road frame with 631 tubing I converted to fixed. I also have an Orange Gringo with pretty basic alloy tubing. At the moment I am currently buying a Surly Pacer, again with fairly basic Cro-Mo tubing. None of my steel bikes have had particularly high-end steel tubing but I love their character, strudiness and look, which is why I expressed the derided opinion I did on this thread. It was only ever meant as an opinion, rather than a quantified, definitive analysis of relative tube types.

The main thrust of my argument is that a steel, purpose built frame is better for a SS build than an alloy geared frame, and that my personal preference is always for steel. That said, I'm a big bloke and have always prized sturdiness and reliability of steel over alloy. My understanding is that alloy has mainly superseeded steel because is cheaper and easier to form into more lightweight tubing, but steel can match its strength and lightness at the top end, but obviously at greater expense and a more complex manufacturing process. That said Carbon and Titanium seems to have trumped both.

I wasn't attempting to be an 'expert', just sharing my opinion and my experience of building singlespeed bikes out of geared frames.

And as for On One, in the Pompino and Inbred they have created two genuine singlespeed classic frames, so I would hope the Macinato is very much in this vein. The paintjob is bad, but I would hope is a very capable and enjoyable bike to ride which has made their other frames an almost cult like following. Witness the Pompino thread in this forum

macinato were £99 t'other day take it the sales over?