Hello I’m looking to get a fixie for my commute to work. I’m looking for any reviews people may have. (I have ridden fixed before)
I’d like a flip flop hub & brakes, drop or bull handlebars.
The bike will be 99% commute based and also my town bike etc.
I’m eyeing up 3 different models:
Fixie inc floater race. (Cheapest)
Mango bikes original single speed (medium)
And the Oreo FE urban
Has anyone got any reviews or opinions? I’m erring towards the cheapest one, to leave cash for some better pedals (opinions also welcome) and foot straps and maybe gator skin tyres then upgrade if and when things break. My commute is 8 miles so nothing too bad and it’s also flat.
If you can find a Surly Steamroller new or used those are the gold standard of what you’re describing imho.
Be careful going too cheap — a crappy frame will just fail faster and when it’s your commuter you want a bike that will be ready to go every day. Nice components, etc. also last longer.
As a former bike messenger, I’ve ridden a ton of different fixed gear and track bikes in all possible weather conditions. The bikes we use take a massive beating, so you quickly figure out what works and what doesn’t.
Firstly, don’t go with the cheapest option. Even really expensive, high quality fixed gear bikes are cheap compared to road bikes and still last much longer and require virtually no care. It pays off big time to invest a bit more in a quality frame and components.
In my experience, Fixie Inc bikes are absolute garbage. I wouldn’t use one as a door stop. I’ve never ridden Mango bikes, but based on the website specs they don’t look too promising. Same goes for the Orro FE.
Really, the best thing to do is buy components and frame separately. Either put them together yourself or let a bike shop do it. For frames, I would look into Engine 11, Cinelli, Specialized, Dolan, or Look. Miche make really good cranksets and durable wheels, but DT Swiss also have some good quality options. There is a humungous second hand market for track frames and components, and by mixing used and new gear, you could easily build an excellent quality bike for 1,000-2,000 usd. Trust me, you’ll be happy you spent a bit more. You’re gonna be using the bike all the time, in all weather conditions, so it pays off. If you really want to buy a complete build, 8bar, Surly, and Cinelli make some decent ones.
The minimalist thing is cool up to a point, but there are days when you will wish you had fenders, wide tires, a chain guard, and a rack/bags.
Don’t let them sell you track drops like on some cheap fixie track bikes - you’ll never use them and if you do you won’t be able to see anything. Bullhorns are great, if you put TT brake levers on the ends, and you can sort of get in the ‘aero hoods’ position if you want to go fast. They’re not so good for fast maneuvering. I do miss the (compact) drops when I’m riding the bullhorns, but that’s mostly because I spend 90% of my time riding a drop-bar bike. In a pinch, you can make bullhorns out of track drops with a hacksaw.
Even if a bike doesn’t come with a flip/flop rear, most of the hubs these days seem to be threaded on both sides, so you can guy a Shimano freewheel and put it on yourself. Don’t let the lack of a freewheel dissuade you from looking at a certain model of bike if it’s possible to install your own.
I ride cheap bikes. But I think, like other posters said, that you might want to make sure to get nice stuff for your fixie, since it will never become obsolete. Unless you’re worried about bike theft like those of us in the big city.
I second the notion of picking up a frame and building it up yourself. You’ll be able to pick out a little bit better parts and it can still be done pretty affordably.
About a dozen-ish years ago when I was in grad school I built up a Scattante SSR (don’t have a pic of it right now but can look on my computer when I get home). Performance doesn’t carry it anymore which is a shame as you could get the frame and fork for <$200. I went with Velocity Deep V wheels, Surly Track hubs (went with a flip-flop hub so I could run a free wheel from time to time) and an assortment of other parts. I think I had a Shimano freehub though if I had the money at the time I would have splurged for a White Industries ENO as it’s much nicer. Really enjoyed riding that bike - not sure if it was the steel frame, the tire/wheels, or something else - but it was a really smooth and fun ride, even over the cobblestones at my campus.
Years later I got a Bianchi San Jose as a commuter. Nice frame as well. The benefit of this over the Scattante was it had eyelets so I could put a rack and fenders on it (I was living in the PNW so I had more rain to deal with).
The one bike I always wanted to build up but have never found the frame/color in my size was the Lemond Fimore. Taken from a really nice looking build that inspired me to build my own SS/fixie way back when (credit to a user named MIN on bikeforums…sorry about the watermark, guessing it’s because the pics were uploaded 15 years ago):
Take a look at craigslist/FB marketplace, ebay, pinkbike, etc and see what older used frames you can find as there are a lot of really cool older models floating around other there from Lemond, Bianchi, Specialized, Surly, All City and others.
Single speed and fixed gears are great not much goes wrong with them but at the cheaper end you sacrifice alittle normally frame protection, wheels and bearings but are cheap to upgrade or replace. I’ve heard of Mango they seem to be going alittle while now. Good second hand options Fuji Track Classic, Feather, Surly Steam Roller, Charge Plug. Tyres Rubio Pro’s.
I looked for a few months to find mine in all the usual places. It was only after I bought it and got going that I realised I should have joined my local track cycling facebook group in the first instance. Track cycling is enough of a niche that in most places there are separate dedicated track buy/sell and general facebook groups, and a lot of that gear doesn’t get cross-posted to the more general cycling groups. My exact frame pops up pretty regularly now that I’m looking in the right places.
If you still get it I did my old commute on a Viking Fixie which was cheaper still. For leaving in the city centre with my old flat commute of between 2 and 30miles it done the job. I had to laugh when colleagues picked it up and said, “that’s really light”, I thought it weighed a ton
yeah I don’t want to go too over the top as I’d rather spend cash on my other bikes and have the SS as a hack/trendy town bike.
That being said the Dolan FXE is tempting.
I’ve messaged a few sellers about a Cinelli too. Still semi looking at the mango’s.
I do have a new pair of MTB wheels as I went tubeless on my MTB straight away. They have disc brakes on but I was wondering if I could use those if I did decide on doing a build. Not sure how small I could go on the tires though.
Then I also have some old parts from a Giant Contend that I could use. Like the wheels, brakes, handlebars. But I’m not fully au faux with building of bikes and worry I’ll spend more getting it wrong then just buying outright
My final option is just to convert my Giant (currently a turbo/winter bike) into fixed/SS and get myself a new winter road turbo bike, secondhand. As they’re easier to get hold of locally.
Or just get a second Hand road bike, and make it SS with a converter? That way it’ll have brakes, mudguards etc but just won’t be as aggressively styled as a track bike.
But is that a viable option? Where I live is flat. I guess I could use it as a road bike when I wanted to…? If I put my old SPDSL pedals on.
Good choice. Mine is a Pre Cursa that a teenager grew out of (velodrome version of the same bike). Had to buy a new fork though as mine wasn’t drilled for a front brake (someone told me that even if they aren’t drilled the hole has just been filled with wax prior to painting so it’s easy to open it back up, but I did not find that to be the case so maybe that’s a once-upon-a-time rather than a current thing.) It is an option at point of purchase so you’ll find pre cursas with drilled forks out there as long as you know to check for it!
Came with two wheelsets though and the ‘cheap’ one is the only set with a brake track, so I’ve still got the nicer wheels/tyres, OG forks and bars hanging in the garage and could make a relatively quick and easy swap back if I ever wanted to take it to the velodrome.
At first I wanted to convert a vintage steel racer but a fixie fanatic friend convinced me to go for a secondhand pre cursa instead. I think it was probably the right call.
I’ve got a Wilier Pista that I really used to enjoy commuting on. I suspect they were a bit overpriced new, but you may be able to pick one of those up second hand. Came with Miche drivetrain and wheels as stock.
I’d add though the BB and freewheel were garbage so after I while I swapped them out for something better - Campy and Halo respectively. Very easy for an idiot like me to strip down, service and upgrade.
Can’t speak to the Flyer but Genesis are much loved for their steel bikes. The Volare road racer and Fugio gravel bike have big followings and Croix De Fers seem to turn up everywhere and keep going forever.
I have friends with Crois De Fers that never seem to break or go wrong over thousands and thousands of miles. They also seem to shun other bikes completely.
Flats are fine for a runaround but if you want real control, skid stops, etc then you’ll want to attach your feet somehow. I went with SM-EH500 so I’ve got flats (with pins) on one side and spd on the other. Occasionally a bit of a faff if I’ve still got the wrong side of the pedal once I’m up to speed, but otherwise no complaints and a pretty good compromise overall.
Straps seem popular with the messenger crowd so they must be good at what they do, but I didn’t want to have to add another movement to my muscle memory.
Edit: you see got a flyer, nice! can ignore the below…
Do you have Decathlon where you are? The Elops 500 might be worth a look.
Recently picked up a 2nd hand cheap from ebay, it was knackered but only wanted the frame. Built it up back up with a disc brake front, some rudimentary mudguards and a clip on Jack the Rack.
It is quite fun, can easily get 32c tyres on there for a bit of gravel. Obviusly not as good as my Cinelli Vigorelli but have spent a fraction of the price on it.
Are the flat sides useful though, as in do (or can) you use them? With a fixed wheel.
I do think they look ideal as there will be times I use the bike for a more ‘serious ride’ and do want to clip in so I can use my current MTB shoes. Straps would make it almost a 100% commuter.
yeah I don’t want to go too over the top as I’d rather spend cash on my other bikes and have the SS as a hack/trendy town bike.