A mate of mine sent me a message last night, asking for my advice on buying a fixie. My first question was “You wanna buy off the peg or build sommat?” “Dont really mind bud to be honest – I was looking at a Steel Specialized Langster ……dont really want to spend alot as all the penny’s are going on the road bike. Looked at the Create bikes but the build looks shocking!” was his response….. I was on my way out at the time, so I told him I would have a look when I had a minute, Create bikes seemed familiar, I’d heard of them.
Pretty funky lookin, but his comments on the build kept nagging at my memory, then I remembered, I read a write up in Cycling weekly a year or so ago, that said exactly the same thing, potentially a good bike let down by the gear choice. I mean when you stack it up against a Langster…..
…..there’s no contest, but you’ll have to dig a fair bit deeper in your pocket to own one! Then I remembered a link to eBay that another mate sent me some time ago, for a cheap fixie, Opera they were called, look ‘em up
Frame: CrmoTange infinity DB tube set
Forks: Hi-Ten steel
Colours: Pearl white, Matt blue, Chrome Silver.
Front Wheel: Opera 30mmNo-CNC or 45mm Double Wall 700C
Rear Wheel: Opera 30mmNo-CNC or 45mm Double Wall 700C
Hubs: Opera spec Quando Large flange
Spokes: Plain gauge
Tyres: 700 x 28c Continental.
Crank set: Opera II BCD 46T
BB Cartridge sealed 110mm
Pedals: Alloy MTB style
Brakes: Opera alloy dual pivot calliper brakes
Brake Levers: Pro-Max &Opera-Alloy
Saddle: Concorde reliever – Black
Chain: KMC Z410 1/8
Headset: Opera A-headset
Stem: Opera A-head Style 100mm
Handlebars: Opera Riser
Opera Ergo road drop
Weight: 9.5kg
All for £185 delivered, and based out of London!? If it really is a CrmoTange infinity DB tube set, then that is an absolute steel. Granted the groupo is all own brand stuff, and possibly made of cheese, but that can all be upgraded over time as things wear out and money permits, but the frame is the heart of any bike….
I also suggested he look at Charge, if for no other reason, they are British, and I just finished reading an article in Privateer about the owner, I like his ethos! I also like their advertising campaign, and their stands at the shows are way cool
Yes, that is their display at Interbike!
The other avenue, and my preferred, is to trawl eBay for rare, bling and unusual kit and build yourself something that no one will have seen before, although to be honest, I dread to think how much I’ve speant doing this! It would be an intereting experiment to do right now, build a fixie using eBay alone for as little as possible! I guess I could work out what I have spent on both my fixies, but i’d rather not! This would be a good starting point though, for sale on eBay right now, a hand made REYNOLDS 531 fixed wheel racing bike built in Macclesfield by A.BROUGH during the fifties with Nervex lugs:
Hmmmmm, yeah, better stop looking at that, it’s got a day left to run on the auction, and it’s just up the road!!
I guess really, it depends what you want to do, a build project can be fun, sourcing the right parts, assembling them, it gives you a sense of ownership, and pride when you look at the finished bicycle. but for under two hundred sheets, you could be rockin the streets astride some Tange infinity!
