Frame for Life! (Dolan, maybe)

I ws going to write a long post, but what i have to say is simple.

1. I hope you enjoy your bike- riding fixed is damn good fun. Especially those comments from friends 'where's your brakes', 'where's the gears', 'how come your bike was so much and doesn't even have suspension?'
   2.You shouldn't be angry with the forum, they've been towing the same line for the whole time. You should however learn from this, and i would suggest you start building a bike, for a small amount of money, just to learn all the skills and costs.
   3.£550 for a 2nd hand frame ( even with new wheels) is ridiculous. My brand new BJ, with bulletproof wheels was less than that, and its only been ridden by me, ever. I know what BLB are like- i went and said- how much is a frame, your cheapest frame and they replied- £150 for some shitty looking pile of crap. They had some good advice however, and i heeded it, but with this thread, i aint going back.
   
   

Finally, if you're happy- and i mean truly happy with your bike- it doesn't matter what anyone sayd. full stop. just enjoy the riding, and no one will knock you when they see you.
I just hope that BLB are as decent as my LBS (where i picked up the Bob Jackson)- i rode in the other day and said that I'd like to change my sproket- and was truly amazed when they pulled out a new one, swapped it over with my old one, whilest i was waiting, and didn't charge me anything, at all. Fucking legends. You definitely deserve it after dropping £1000 there.

if you go there when it is quiet, the service at BLB is great and they will let you do most things. ;)

"most things"?

yeah thats true. on weekdays its much better.

sorry - i didn't mean that, it just seemed a bit salacious. like if you go in there on a monday they'll let you whack off over the guercottis, as long as you clean up after.

lol

i need to take a trip over to BLB to see what all the fuss is about. have been there a couple of times before but they had only been open a month or so. they had a complete Aende low-profile fixie with decent mid-range kit going for £300. i thought that was way more than reasonable. looks like times have changed.

put it this way, i found the service at condor preferable : /

wow :|

you just got to get to know them in there they are as helpful as you could wish for once you get to know them. all real nice people as far as i am concerned
i just wish i could spend more money in there !!!

I'm not angry or unhappy! I'm enjoying riding my fixed. I like the bike and won't be changing much! I love the frame and wheels and all the other bits work well! I might get a new level or crank if I get a windfall, but the bike's great!

I may have paid over the top, but I got what I wanted and I'm enjoying it! So money well spent!

Glad to be a member of the forum and will be on here for a while!

Now, just need to get the hang of slowing down without the brake! Still feels funny!!!!

no way do i now believe you are a real person ...its just too much ....

Stoked that you're loving your bike, but please...

A few less exclamation marks!

my eyes hurt...

Enjoy riding!

just wanted to put my tuppence in,
but if wapping warriors happy with what he's got and what he paid then why all the tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth. Maybe BLB made him pay over the odds, maybe they didn't. so he didn't do the buy cheap frame off ebay/find it in a tip/get given it by a friend, spend pennies on bits off ebay and t'internet, build up first bike with own hands, discover the joys of physical mechanical labour and decide to do it all over again but spending more money this time, what does it matter? so its not the way many would do it here. Rather than take issue with wapping warrior, take issue with Brick Lane for selling him the bike at THAT PRICE! which most in this thread seem to think for what it is and the components he got for it is a bit rich. Let them know that its a relatively small community and there aren't that many places that sell fixed stuff so if you screw one of us (even the new ones), you screw us all.

everyone wants a bargain and not to pay over the odds, but whatever you buy someone somewhere will find it cheaper.

There is no one way, no right way to get a fixed, there might be a way which holds more sway but it doesn't make it any better or worse. And to a certain extent shame on those who are trying to make it that if you haven't done it this way you've done it wrong.

Welcome to the london fixed community Wapping Warrior I salute you, happy riding. I look forward to seeing you and your bike out on the upcoming rides...

Well said Mr Blackfoot...

IMHO Paying over the odds for a bike you like is better than getting a great deal on a bike you don't like. If your happy its money well spent. I certainly got some of my bits cheap and payed over the odds for others (I also made the job of replacing drop outs far more difficult than it needed to be), I'm enjoying the bike though and that is what matters.

i think everyone wished him well.

just some questioned the wisdom of the whole excursion.

BillB IMHO Paying over the odds for a bike you like is better than getting a great deal on a bike you don't like. If your happy its money well spent. I certainly got some of my bits cheap and payed over the odds for others (I also made the job of replacing drop outs far more difficult than it needed to be), I'm enjoying the bike though and that is what matters.

I want to agree with this. If you're happy with it, then whatever. Time costs money and not everyone wants to spend their time hunting down frames on ebay, finding out seat post sizing, getting chainlines right and so on. But Brick Lane Bikes charged WAY over the odds for even the simplest components and should be ashamed of themselves. Your customers are your business and treating them like that is a pretty strong statement.

htay
I just hope that BLB are as decent as my LBS (where i picked up the Bob Jackson)- i rode in the other day and said that I'd like to change my sproket- and was truly amazed when they pulled out a new one, swapped it over with my old one, whilest i was waiting, and didn't charge me anything, at all. Fucking legends. You definitely deserve it after dropping £1000 there.

Would that be Putney Cycles?

so what are putney cycles charging for a built-up BJ? i remember going in there a couple of months before they started stocking them and they weren't able to tell me the price. though they had some nice gear to build them with.

wappingwarrior - you'll soon get used to slowing using legs only - enjoy it dude

I'm loving the way this thread keeps jumping up, like awakening a startled, incontinent pensioner that keeps soiling his linen.

I think that Putney Cycles are selling the standard build up for £850.

i got mine for 650 ish, but had roughly 100 credit.
Yeah, Putney cycles.
It may be a little too much, but the wheels are absolutely solid. And i've been playing around for days and days- so happy! I even have forced all my friends to have a go.
So i guess, my input is, whatever makes you happy.......
But i agree, Wapping Warrior, can't wait to see you around, and less exclamation marks, please.

bump put it this way, i found the service at condor preferable : /

by saying this do u mean the guys in condor are idiots?.. (here comes the story)
i sure hope so, during the summer when i was couriering i had a puncture, second of the day, different wheel though, and didnt have my spare tyre because i used it on the front in the morning. problem was that when i found out i had a puncture, around farringdon i already had some pacages on board to deliever, i went to condor, cycling and running with the bike to get there, but only had a quid on me, when i got to condor they made me lock my bike outside before they would talk to me and then said that they couldnt give me a tyre and then me pay them back the next day because i wasnt a "regular". then, as i was walking out the door they said, "we do have a patch you can use" which is all i wanted all along. they gave me the patch whitch i had enough for and then made out like it was a big deal that i could use their glue free of charge. all in all they were a bunch of complete knobs to me snd made me wait quite some time to get a response considering they could tell i was fixing against the clock and the controler was shouting down the radio to me to hurry up all the time.
i can tell you, im not going to condor again. all the times iv been to blb they have been okay to me and have always had enough time to talk and let me use their tools.

htay i got mine for 650 ish, but had roughly 100 credit.
Yeah, Putney cycles.
It may be a little too much, but the wheels are absolutely solid. And i've been playing around for days and days- so happy! I even have forced all my friends to have a go.
So i guess, my input is, whatever makes you happy.......
But i agree, Wapping Warrior, can't wait to see you around, and less exclamation marks, please.

Nah, I think that's definitely good value man, I'm still waiting for mine from there, waiting on some parts. Comes with Open Pros, Stronlight etc and the frame is the same price from them as it is from BJ direct. Plus they know what they're talking about and are a decent bunch it seems.

I've completely missed this thread!! just never bothered to look at it after the first time..... It does seem very expensive for that bike I must admit.... but not having seen it in the flesh I can't really say. I suppose just a little personal research into how much stuff costs, what's a good set of cranks/brakes etc and who in London can help you out with a decent frame will save you £600. It certainly saved me money I can tell you....

I suppose all bike shops will only price stuff at what people will pay for it.... ATM, people who want a bike right now and don't want to build it themselves will have to pay these sort of prices. Like a tax on laziness(JOKE). But seriously, all of the shops are quite expensive..... BLB especially as it only does what Roberto et al does but with the markup of running a building on the Bethnal Green Road and having members of staff.

That bike is just worth £900 at the moment if u aint willing to build it up yourself.