I live in Toronto and found this local brand Butter Bikes single speed bike at the perfect price that meets my budget. However I’m not sure if this is good. Please let me know what you think about this. I have attached a screenshot of webpage and this is the link:
https://butterbikes.com/bikes/53-single-speed/
by H0ward-8181
1 Comment
It’s a fine bike, could you get better from less reputable places for the same price… yes, but then you gotta know what to look for. The price for what it is and the assurance you’ll get from buying it from a store looks completely reasonable, dare I say a good deal. Definitely get before march 31st. Just to set some expectations for the bike. It’s nothing special, it’s not bad either it’s just very basic. Don’t expect to ride this bike in the winter, snow mixing with the rim breaks and thin tires won’t work well. I do not know Toronto’s topography but if you have any hills do not buy this bike, not that it literally can’t do hills, it will just not be very enjoyable. If you plan to use this only in the dry and live in a flatish place then the good news is that it’s a very cheep bike to maintain, just get chain lube and the best part of rim breaks (ignoring that Maura stuff) is that cables are easily changed/adjusted/replaced. What I recommended to do before buying is try the bike out. The website lists a ridiculous range for “suitable height” and 53” bike I’d recommend to someone 5’4-5’8” but there’s so much more to frame size than just seat tube length now a days. RED/BEIGE flags. Handlebars look narrow for my liking. This could be good for riding in traffic, but costs stability, then again it’s preference you may like it. Frame material if you like this because it’s steal and the whole steal is real thing. I want to point out they are talking about Chromoly (ChroMo) steal not high tensile steal, I read once that hi-tensile steal is bad, I haven’t checked if that source was true but I know high end bikes use a different metal than that (this could just be a cheaper material similar to aluminum or it could be bad look into that). Lastly this bike was built for commuting, from its Anti-puncture tires, to its Double thick inner tubes. It is meant to be reliable not performance driven. I’d assume it to be slow to accelerate and if you’re looking to do more joy rides replace those two things first (keep in mind good set of tires could be another $90). keep in mind this has NO RACK MOUNTS, if you are going somewhere with stuff you’re bringing a back pack you can’t pack the bike
TLDR
Fair price imo
Don’t expect it to be a sports machine
Seems reliable
Would recommend for a commuter bike to places where you won’t carry much