Bike Gurus chime in

[S Freud]

So I have been in the market for a single speed for cruising around campus and town and I cam across this bike on ebay. I was wondering was some other cycling enthusiasts thought of this deal. The bike is exactly my size, and while its not perfect it has been the best I can find. I am okay with it not being perfect as their are some things that I would like to do myself.

So what are the thoughts and opinions?

Thank

 

[drnickriviera]

That's a big ass gear up front, hope you have the leg muscles of a sprinter.

Crusing around town? Get a mountain bike with slick tires.

 

[S Freud]

Originally posted by: drnickriviera
That's a big ass gear up front, hope you have the leg muscles of a sprinter.

Crusing around town? Get a mountain bike with slick tires.

Actually I do have solid leg muscles from regular running and riding my bike as my main mode of transportation. I already have a specialized MTB with knobbies on it that I want to keep that way. I just want a simple bike to cruise around campus and to and from work on. I'm mainly just wondering if people think this is a good deal or I should look somewhere else.


Thanks for the input though.

 

[krunchykrome]

Where's Jules? That man sleeps on his bicycle.

 

[Dirigible]

First, the lack of a rear brake makes me wonder if that's a fixie and not merely a singlespeed. Some people want a fixie, but you should know whether it is or isn't and adjust your buying accordingly.

If you're just cruising around campus and to work, it sounds like this is for short distances. I'm of the opinion that you can pretty much ride any bike that's roughly your size short distances. Campus = lots of bike theft usually, so make sure whatever you get is cheap and hopefully ugly. That bike is completely in line with the annoying fad bikes lately - looks like a fixie, the handlebars, etc. That may make it more liable to be stolen. It's an older bike and may have issues - who knows in what condition the headset and bottom bracket is in, although neither should be all that expensive to fix. It's also unclear what the new wheels are so no idea of their quality.

Right now it's $129 + $65 shipping. So it's not particularly cheap for a beater bike. Plus it may be a fixie. I wouldn't buy it for what you describe. I'd get a cheaper bike that's more of a beater.

 

[broon]

It's built as a track bike. Fixed gear. That means when the rear wheel spins, the pedals also spin. If you've never ridden one before they can be tricky. It isn't a bad price but if you don't want a fixed gear, I'd pass.

 

[cheezmunky]

says it comes with a freewheel so it shouldn't be a fixie, although I'd make it a fixie because they're so much more fun to ride. looks like a pretty good deal, but if you're just cruising around town or campus the handlebars could get annoying because you'd have to be leaning over the entire time. Nishiki's are pretty nice frames. I'm assuming you have pedals for it? I'm not sure how they measure Japanese parts, but I'm currently riding an old peugeot and it's a pain to find french parts so you may want to do some research into that. This site may be helpful for you: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/hub.html