Where to get your first fixie?

first comment, woo. currently riding a sirrus elite (i feel like the kid who brings a briefcase instead of a backpack to his first day of school!) and desperately want to start riding fixed-gear. Any advice on how to go about getting one?

was thinking of going for a condor pista but i really like the more track style frames.
cheers!

When you say you want a track style frame... do you mean brakeless and track geometry?

If so, why not just buy a Fuji Track or a Bianchi Pista. Both are track bikes for pretty small amounts and will have you on the track in no time.

I suspect you'd like a front brake though, in which case what is wrong the Condor? Or you could consider a Witcomb frame with drilled fork (for a brake). Or the Langster. There's a lot of options, just decide how you want to use the bike and pick the one most suited to the task and that you find pretty :)

I started by being given an old 10speed who had been severly abused. Stripped off all the crudy components, bought a very cheap track hub and built a new wheel. Rode it every day for a year until I could afford to by a 'track' frame.

I would also suggest getting something with a fixed/fixed hub rather than a flip-flop hub. You can still run a freewheel but if you go fixed permenantly you have some protection from striped threads and it makes trainging/racing easier.

I am a little confused as to why the Condor pista is not a track style frame?!?! Seen quite a few folks race on Condors down at Herne Hill and it looks just like a track bike to me (abet a modern looking one). But then I'm confused often by the way people throw terms like 'proper track frame' around.

i don't think bianchi pista's don't have track geometry...i think they are leaning towards road

Do they not? I've never really looked at one properly, just noted that they were now available in Evans of all places.

glow:i don't think bianchi pista's don't have track geometry...i think they are leaning towards road

Actually, they have the same geometry as the pista concepts (a proper piece of 'track' equipment). They're really decent bikes for the money and really good intro track racing machines (with a few mods).

Compare Concept to std. Pista. You'll notice the angles are the same.

my friend has one i think it's not the 2005 one like you linked to, and the seat stays come above the top tube.. it looks funny

when i was looking for my first fixed bike I a put a list together of all the usual suspects and passed the list on to londons most famous ex-courier who writes for the road mags who basically said go for the pista if you can afford the premium over the others. the lemond filmore was very well specced for the money and would have been my 'budget' choice. another friend who manages a bike shop said there had been quite a few langsters back with shoddy wheels, the pearson touche is good value but i wanted steel, i didn't want an out and out track bike (steep angles /toe overlap) so didn't really consider the bianchi.
however i didn't know about bob jackson then so would probably have gone for one of the off the peg frames as they seem really good value.

buying the condor wasn't a totally pain free experience, it's good to be fitted before buying as i probably would have ended up with too big a frame size without expert opinion but they specced me a too short stem, fitted the wrong cross lever and took 5 weeks to finish the bike instead of the 2 1/2 promised, the service wasn't 'bad' i just think they are a very busy shop. they swapped the stem over no problem and are sorting the lever out.

the bike is great, it's very comfortable and a joy to ride and i like the fact that there is no toe overlap. the bike was a bit of a treat to myself but i don't regret spending the extra over the cheaper options.
I think deciding what you want the bike for and having some idea of what geometry you think will suit you helps narrow things down a bit (i wanted semi-compact not old skool horizontal tt cos of short legs for my height)

happy hunting, buying bikes is fun, it's the waiting that's a pain.

just remebered the frame hubjub sell is worth looking at.

hey thanks for all your replies. iv had another look at the pista and it is truly a sweet frame shape. will check out some of the other frame suggestions too. off to the condor shop for me!
just wondering, do they measure you up there and build a bike to fit, or do you measure yourself and choose from frames they've already got?
thanks everyone

you sit on a adjustable exercise bike type thingy, from this they pick the frame size, stem length, bar width, crank length. you can then spec the gearing.
you can then upspec from standard on just about all the components on the bike if you so wish.

Bear in mind that if you ride fixed, then the frame has a bottom bracket that is raised higher from the ground than a road bike. This is to stop your pedal smashing into the floor and throwing you off when you corner.

As such, you buy track frames that are smaller than whatever size road bike you have.

I would always recommend being fitted for a bike. Always.

Oh, and Condor can be rude and patronising at times, and they can also be incredibly friendly, patient and helpful. Try and visit them when they're quiet if you can, you stand a better chance at getting the latter.

They all know their stuff, but I've found consistently that the older guys who work there really care about getting it right for you, the younger guys seem to vary according to the weather. As I told Alex (on here), I bought a Serotta from Cycle Fit when I actually wanted a Colnago from Condor, just because the guy who served me that day was rude as hell. I walked down the road and booked in with Cycle Fit instead. Cycle Fit aren't a shop that do track bikes though, well unless you want to drop thousands on some custom machine.

just to clarify, the Bianchi pista looks to have track geometry. it's designed as an entry level track bike.
The Condor pista, is a different animal, still a "track" bike but mainly aimed at street fixers, it's got more relaxed geo and is lighter, it's also twice the price of the Bianchi.

what's your budget?

budget is probably £800, but cheap as possible! will mainly be used for street riding/fun. wouldn't mind checking out the herne hill track though. sounds pretty cool

That's a pretty good budget. As in... you've got a world of choice with that money.

I'd probably go for a Bob Jackson (again).

The basic custom frame (all one-colour Pista frame to your size and choice of colour in 631 tubing) is £350, and an off the peg is only £295.

Get a good/great frame and drop some basic components on it. That way you can indulge and upgrade the components over time.

The only problems with this route is that you need someone to build for you if you aren't doing it, and it's very easy to blow your budget by not being tough on the component selection (I blew it on my Jackson, and on the frame... I don't even know how much it cost!).

Heh, if that isn't up your street... get the Condor Pista ;)

Will

Have a look at FixedGearGallery.com if you can't get some inspiration from there then there is something wrong with your eyes. You can see a million different styles from full on track bikes to converted road bikes all fixed and very inspiring. Once again I'll plug Brick Lane Bikes they have a great selection of 2nd hand and new bikes and if you have 800 clams to spend you could buy pretty much any bikes from that shop. The Gazelle hanging from the ceiling is a beauty they are right on the Bethnal Green Road end of brick lane. or they have enough components for you to build your own. Get inspired and get your spanners out.

i just want to add that it's quite useful to put your bike together from parts. that means, you learn about the different components (how they fit together, compatability, etc.) and will give you a much better sense of how your bike is assembled. if anything was to go wrong, it might save you a trip to the LBS. it's also very satisfying getting everything just right the way that you want it.

good luck.

I'm with Browno on this one, build your own! Get an old frame off freecycle and then ebay for other little bitsI Just built a fixed wheel bike for a grand total of £80.... that gives you a spare £720 to spend on........ ?

ChrisW that gives you a spare £720 to spend on........ ?

Beer!

Bike building party at will's everyone!

Anyone know of any of the off the pegs apart from the Pearson which come with bosses for racks/guards?

if have a little cash in hand, bob jackson will make you a fine looking path racer for less than you'd expect... custom track ends, slightly higher bottom bracket and a rapier fast straight blade Reynolds fork... bosses for racks, clearance for wider tires... anything you want.

How much is a 'little cash'? £600 is really pushing it for the budget in mind....

i paid $700us for the frame and fork on this one:

the track fork rear end is from paul's components in chico, ca. the frame is lugged 631 steel.

Nice! I'll drop them an email and see.

Damn holmes £800 for budget? You gotta go custom with that jam! Definitely check out BJ and Mercian. I'd say Witcomb but he doesn't do off the pegs which leave you with a little less dosh for posh parts. One of the BJ off the pegs with with upgraded tubing and some blingin shit on it will do you right forever.

i don't get too excited about mercians. they do what they do, but those guys seem to have a hard time with any of the newer designs. they stick to the classics.