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Single speed bicycle for commuting

Actually looking for the same thing right now. I've bicycle commuted on a single speed for a few years and never had a problem.

As UD said, single = less shit to worry about.

I'm probably in the $500-$600 range and prefer something with an upright riding position. I'll probably hit the local bike shops and see if they have something that works for me.
 
squid vicious said:
I have a single speed you can have for free (or maybe a six pack). It's not a fixy, it will coast. It's in good working shape, it belonged to my father in law who didn't ride it anymore so I took it as a bar hopper. It's too big for me, I'm 5'8".

Looks like this one

Click to expand...

:applause
 
Basically I've been using a cheapo wal mart special that was about $100 new...5 years ago. Maybe more. Got it from my brother in like early 2013. In the time I've had it, the bottom bracket warped and ground down the bearings (got replaced), the pedal bolts sheared (got replaced with new pedals and bolts), the brakes wore down and lever bent just from me squeezing it (new levers and brakes and pads), the tires have been replaced twice, the tubes have both been patched 5-6 times and finally got another hole right by the stem where I can't patch it. The headset is a bit loose, also I suspect from cheap soft metal that over time has warped. Chain guard broke off a while back so I've been using a Velcro strap around my pants leg. But eventually it reached the point where I just haven't ridden it in months because I figured something else on it would break.

I like the look of that gravity vanquish but I don't know if the $300 price point means I'll be going through the same process of constantly fixing parts. And I just spent almost $1k on motorcycle gear - I don't want to drop another $1200 on an All City Nature Boy Disc (which, I might add, has no chain guard to begin with).
 
louemc said:
And if you were smarter, you would know that you're wrong...:laughing
Click to expand...

About what OP commute having no hills? Yep check right on that one.
About multi gear bike requiring more maintaince then single speed? Yep correct about that to. Based on maintaining multiple race bikes/rain bikes, and rebuilding few from frame up. Also confirmed by other people in this thread.

So what am I wrong about?
 
Just going to leave this suggestion for you, Alex:

never_argue_with_a_fool_they_will.jpg
 
RightCoastBias said:
Actually looking for the same thing right now. I've bicycle commuted on a single speed for a few years and never had a problem.

As UD said, single = less shit to worry about.

I'm probably in the $500-$600 range and prefer something with an upright riding position. I'll probably hit the local bike shops and see if they have something that works for me.
Click to expand...

Not sure if they're cheap enough but I wonder if you could get a belt drive bike in your price range. Those are truly minimal maintenance machines.
 
So now I'm debating between two bikes:

Gravity Vanquish - $319 from Bikes Direct

Vitus Dee-1 26" City bike - $297 from Chain Reaction Cycles

I figure if I can keep the Wal Mart POS running for a couple years, I should be able to keep either one of these running for at LEAST the same amount of time if not more, and spending $1200 on a better quality version just isn't really in the cards at the moment considering I just spent almost $1k on moto gear and am looking to purchase a new car soon to replace my truck. Plus, given the frequency of stolen bikes from downtown San Jose, I'd prefer a cheaper commuter.

Edit - PM'd squid, haven't heard back yet. Check your PMs dude!
 
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NorCalAthlete said:
So now I'm debating between two bikes:

Gravity Vanquish - $319 from Bikes Direct

Vitus Dee-1 26" City bike - $297 from Chain Reaction Cycles

I figure if I can keep the Wal Mart POS running for a couple years, I should be able to keep either one of these running for at LEAST the same amount of time if not more, and spending $1200 on a better quality version just isn't really in the cards at the moment considering I just spent almost $1k on moto gear and am looking to purchase a new car soon to replace my truck. Plus, given the frequency of stolen bikes from downtown San Jose, I'd prefer a cheaper commuter.

Edit - PM'd squid, haven't heard back yet. Check your PMs dude!
Click to expand...

Good thing about Vitus is that riding position is more upright, and you can always put slicks on instead of knobies. Being bend over and carrying a backpack kind of sucks. Only issue is will it fit you? I am not sure about MTB sizing.

Another thing to consider is how good are the disk brakes on one model vs the other. In terms of quality.

If it were me I would choose Vitus for tooling around/commuting, if it fit.
 
UDRider said:
Good thing about Vitus is that riding position is more upright, and you can always put slicks on instead of knobies. Being bend over and carrying a backpack kind of sucks. Only issue is will it fit you? I am not sure about MTB sizing.

Another thing to consider is how good are the disk brakes on one model vs the other. In terms of quality.

If it were me I would choose Vitus for tooling around/commuting, if it fit.
Click to expand...

The Gravity has road bike wheels/tires so that would make it easier for commuting, unless your commute has a ton of potholes or curbs or other obstacles.
 
Cookie Monster said:
The Gravity has road bike wheels/tires so that would make it easier for commuting, unless your commute has a ton of potholes or curbs or other obstacles.
Click to expand...

That is certainly true, and is a trade off. Although for just tooling around and commuting short distances I don't think it will make that much of a difference.
 
Pete, i got my older mercier kilo 53cm. that just sits in my garage. I'll sell it to you for 150 which comes with an extra wheelset and all the other crap i still have for it.

the frame was aircraft stripped by me and painted a lovely light poop caramel color with gold deep v's and gold suginos w/low end crank bro candy pedals (i have to look if i still have the mks pedals w/strap if you prefer that). I think I have a front brake still on it. One wheelset is single speed and the other is flip-flop so you can go fixed if you want.

You just need a saddle since I sold the one I had on it a while back. I work in sunnyvale so you could grab it from here since that is closer to SJ.

If your interested I can take pictures later today so you can get a general idea of what the color looks like and whatnot. PM if your interested
 
squid vicious said:
I have a single speed you can have for free (or maybe a six pack). It's not a fixy, it will coast. It's in good working shape, it belonged to my father in law who didn't ride it anymore so I took it as a bar hopper. It's too big for me, I'm 5'8".

Looks like this one

Click to expand...

NorCalAthlete said:
Shit, free works. Slight problem though - how to get the bike from Concord to San Jose :laughing I just sold my truck. Nothing but my motorcycle for now.
Click to expand...


I can pick it up from SquidVicious for ya. I'm in Concord a fair bit, I can drive one of these days... :laughing
 
Hoho said:
I can pick it up from SquidVicious for ya. I'm in Concord a fair bit, I can drive one of these days... :laughing
Click to expand...

You guys are great. Thanks man. And rest assured - it'll get passed on to another BARFer when I'm done with it, I'm not gonna turn and flip it on craigslist or anything.
 
NorCalAthlete said:
You guys are great. Thanks man. And rest assured - it'll get passed on to another BARFer when I'm done with it, I'm not gonna turn and flip it on craigslist or anything.
Click to expand...

:thumbup

Let me know when you hear back from SV.
 
drewcandraw said:
Pete, i got my older mercier kilo 53cm. that just sits in my garage. I'll sell it to you for 150 which comes with an extra wheelset and all the other crap i still have for it.

the frame was aircraft stripped by me and painted a lovely light poop caramel color with gold deep v's and gold suginos w/low end crank bro candy pedals (i have to look if i still have the mks pedals w/strap if you prefer that). I think I have a front brake still on it. One wheelset is single speed and the other is flip-flop so you can go fixed if you want.

You just need a saddle since I sold the one I had on it a while back. I work in sunnyvale so you could grab it from here since that is closer to SJ.

If your interested I can take pictures later today so you can get a general idea of what the color looks like and whatnot. PM if your interested
Click to expand...

I got an extra saddle laying around. I could help you tune up whichever bike you chose. I live next to SJSU.

Y'all are very kind. :thumbup
 
The fork colour doesn't match the frame colour. It's important. :x
 
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