Cheap fixie/single speed for short commute?

[tobykenobi]

Hi,

Newbie here, so be gentle.

I currently have two bikes - an old Dawes tourer that is still in reasonable condition and a newer "proper" Cannondale road bike. I have a short (less than 2 miles each way) urban commute on fairly flat roads.

At present I'm using my Dawes to get to and from work. However, it gets left outside in all weathers whilst I am at work and I don't want its condition to deteriorate.

My question; would I be mad to buy a cheapo fixie for the commute? I see new ones of £150 or so for sale on Amazon, eBay, etc. I also see better specced but used ones on eBay.

Anybody any experience of these? I realise the quality will not be great for the price but my commute is short.

 

[JimboJames1972]

If you are just after something cheap and simple for a short commute I think you are going along the right lines here. After all, for simple riding and low maintenance then single speed is hard to beat.

A fellow rider from the Felixstowe club is building up a frame that he got for £40(ish) off eBay. He is using mainly his own stock of bits to complete the build, but has bought a handful of components - bar tape, a couple of brake blocks and a freewheel. All in it has "cost" him about £75.

Like you suggested, it is not the best frame that money can buy. It is a bit heavy and probably won't ride as smooth as a Reynolds or Columbus frame, but it is straight and true, has never been crashed and was available in the (God-awful) colour of his choice.

My guess is that you will get something similar if you buy a full bike. I might suggest though that a bit more than average mechanical knowledge could be handy. Given that they are relatively cheap, I am guessing that the build quality might mean a few more running repairs and fettling would be needed in the first few miles/days/months.

Have fun with it,

J

 

[Sharky]

Even though I'm a life long cyclist, for a 2 mile commute, I would probably just walk. By bike, might take 10 mins including prep time etc and walking will take 30 mins, so time difference only 20 mins? Hard to justify the cost of a dedicated commute bike?

But if you are going to buy, a SS bike is a good option.

Cheers Keith

 

[Llama]

I have a very similar commute, 1.25 miles ish, I think its worth the 7min bike ride opposed to the 25min walk for the 18 min extra at home I get a a day!

Anyhow as I leave mine at the train station where they cover every surface in salt in the winter meaning that anything steel rots almost while you watch, I get a gumtree/garage sale bike a year for £25 to £50 which does the trick. I just picked up a single speed schwinn, its cheap and it should do the job for a few months. The thought of building up a fixie for the summer sounds a nice project though,

 

[tobykenobi]

Thanks for all the comments. The 2 mile commute is definitely worth it for me. Maybe I over simplified, I drop my daughter at school in the morning and ride to work. This allows me to get there on time. If I walked I'd be late. I have have about 2.5 miles in the morning and about 1.5 in the evening (when I go straight home).

As has been said, I'm not expecting much in terms of build, so will be looking on eBay to get a SS for winter and let the Dawes stay in the garage.