Surly Steamroller

Hi all,
I'm new to all of this, and also to riding fixed. I love it, though, and I'm looking for a bike. I've tried the Steamroller, and found one on Wiggle, and I turn to all experienced bikers for advice:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360032765&N=Surly%20Steamroller%20Singlespeed%20bike

Any good?

I went to Brick Lane Bikes, and was quoted around £840 for a build (with Deep V's though), and that's a bit steep right now. I'd rather get something I can upgrade when the account is healthy and up and running.

Any advice is appreciated!

J

Check out the frame for life (dolan maybe) thread. This will (hopefully) inform you NOT to go to bricklane bikes to build your first fixie. Deep Vs or nay you can get it for MUCH less than £840.

nowt wrong with the surly..

BLB will see you coming..

£840..

there's nothing special or particularly expensive about velocity deep Vs

Thanks.
That's what I thought, and then looked elsewhere. It looked all sweet and shit when I went into Brick Lane Bikes, but it's just too much.

Additional question: I'm 6"2 - is a 56 frame good? I can't remember the size of the one I tried out.

If you're up for a challenge you could buy all the bits from blb then attempt to make it yourself? :) That'd be a lot cheaper (probably. Maybe.)

The steamroller on wiggle is a good price (i think?) Would make sense to buy it from there (if you want the steamroller) then slowly upgrade the parts.

The best way to find out is to try it. I'm 6ft/6'1" and i ride a 55cm frame, but i think it's a little small. You can always compensate if its too big one way or the other with longer/shorter stems, seat position et cetera.

Oooh, I'm always up for a challenge, but this one seems a bit too hard for a newbie, I think. I'm not sure. I'd hate to be all excited about it, and then get the usual "trying to assemble something from IKEA" feeling, and then throw stuff out of the window.
Thanks for the advice, though, I'll check out blb (without knowing what or where it is!).

BLB's really getting a bad name, isn't there someone here who works for them?

BLB - Brick Lane Bikes... Ok. I'm blonde and blue eyed. Sorry.

blb = Brick Lane Bikes.

I'd source all the parts separately, theres some amazing deals to be had, then maybe if you then take all the bits to BLB and ask them to build it, or any local bike shop really. My local bike shop would build a bike from just a frame for £25, but it's much more fun to get a couple of tools (<£50) and do it yourself, time and time again.

I'll try and see what comes out. God knows. Might be a washing machine before I'm done.

You can get a Surly Steamroller through the Cycle2Work scheme at Brixton Cycles. That should sort you out a treat.

Yeah, but at least you'd have a washing machine that looked vaguely like a bike...

Seriously though, ask here if you get stuck - there's a million threads on here on almost any subject. And if not there's loads of people who have built bikes and are happy to help. I've asked plenty of stupid questions and they've been answered with good humour and gentle piss taking. A pretty good combination, i think...

Thanks good people, I'm quite enjoying getting advice from you. And good humour and gentle piss taking is always the way.
It's something else if you want to join a forum about, let's say, rock climbing. Damn.

I'll keep you posted and hopefully get a washing machine with wheels going pretty soon.

Damn Joachim, you built that quick! I'd have gone with street tyres though. And probably one gear...

photoben

Love the Health and Safety notice on the side, which he is quite blatently disobeying.

Steamrollers rock.
I would buy now for the frame and so you have something to ride and replace bits/upgrade after you wear them in to the ground or can afford to.
http://velospace.org/files/steamRv3.jpg

steamrollers are nice and soft to crash into...

You can pick up a brand new Charge Plug, Genesis Flyer or Specialized Langster (the racing green one!) for £399.

...but if you have the extra ££££ the surly from wiggle is a great alternative! :)

i think the steamroller is a fskiong nice bike to look at, and ride (esp ma3ks)

eyebrows i think the steamroller is a fskiong nice bike to look at, and ride (esp ma3ks)

depends how close you get...