Seems like I don’t know how to post images with text…
Original post:
Hey, I’m a student, I live in south america, and I am pretty broke. Everyday I make, at least, one short -10km, like 6 miles- round commute on an old(ish) mtb with, plus another round trip of similar lenght like three times a week. I want to ride something a bit lighter or faster, and would like to start riding more and taking the metro/bus less for longer trips around the city. Also, I have been wanting to try fixed gear for a while (the city where I live is pretty flat, I like the clean look and I want to learn how to do the maintenance myself). My budget is pretty limited, I could pay something like $240, at most.
The first one is a State Bicycle Co 4130 Sokol, listed for $240, looked it up and it’s sold for $370 (new, ofc) where I live. The second one goes for $145, I have no idea what model it is or how much it is worth (seller does not specify model, year, parts, or if its fixed or not, in fact they don’t seem to know much at all about it). The two bikes are similarly sized (and I would ask to try them before buying!). I like the look of both -except for the camo drop bars on the bianchi-, and it would be a while before I could buy any new parts…
Which one should I choose, is any of them even a good option? Obviously I don’t know much about bikes.
Sorry if this is hard to read, english is not my first language.
gregn8r1 on
The Bianchi is sort of questionable. It looks like someone took an ok frame and then tried to get it rideable as cheaply as possible. The brakes look super flimsy, that’s department store stamped-steel junk that will probably slow you down, but not well. The stem is fairly basic and cheap, and the levers are non-aero style, but someone has tried to turn them into aero.The fork doesn’t look original and IMO looks cheap. The only thing of any potential value at all is the frame, but that’s even a bit questionable.
The dropout isn’t quite a “forged” dropout, it looks sort of stamped? Generally forged is a sign of a better bike while stamped dropouts were used on cheap bikes. And the derailleur hanger is weird, it’s not the modern campagnolo-style, so I’m not really sure what’s going on there. It also does not have braze-ons for downtube shifters, but rather, it has braze-ons foe a cable stop. This means the bike most likely originally came equipped with stem shifters, which were usually only found on cheaper budget bikes.
So long story short, none of the parts on the Bianchi are worth anything at all and the frame, which is the only part that might have any value, is suspicious.
The State would be a safe bet and it should have decent parts and brakes that work well.
sessionmn on
I’d probably go with the Bianchi, but there’s not a clear choice. The picture quality on the State Bike makes it real tough to evaluate condition, and whether it can fit a rear rack.
Advantages for the State: newer frame, more modern fork/stem. Probably can fit wider tires. Disadvantages, probably quality lower frame and component quality, and maybe can’t fit a rear rack.
Advantages for the the Bianchi: Probably a higher quality frame (it is a lugged, Columbus tube frame – no idea what Bianchi model it is) and drivetrain. Definitely more versatile (it has a derailleur hanger and could run multi-speed). Probably can run a rear rack. Disadvantages: The fork looks like a replacement, and probably not of the same quality as the frame. But also probably fine. The threaded stem (that’s what it looks like to me) and integrated seat post clamp suggest an older frame, at least 90s — but it looks to be in really good shape. Finding replacement components will be a bit more difficult if they are needed, but not difficult in an absolute sense. It probably can’t run fixed, only single speed (the State has a flip-flop hub, the Bianchi does not, and for various reasons you probably can’t run fixed with the Bianchi because the rear spacing is likely not track spacing).
Also more generally – I’d recommend running either bike single speed over fixed, particularly if you have never ridden fixed, but that’s a personal choice.
Basically, I think the Bianchi looks better, is cheaper, and probably has a better frame and drivetrain, so that would be my choice.
3 Comments
Seems like I don’t know how to post images with text…
Original post:
Hey, I’m a student, I live in south america, and I am pretty broke. Everyday I make, at least, one short -10km, like 6 miles- round commute on an old(ish) mtb with, plus another round trip of similar lenght like three times a week. I want to ride something a bit lighter or faster, and would like to start riding more and taking the metro/bus less for longer trips around the city. Also, I have been wanting to try fixed gear for a while (the city where I live is pretty flat, I like the clean look and I want to learn how to do the maintenance myself). My budget is pretty limited, I could pay something like $240, at most.
The first one is a State Bicycle Co 4130 Sokol, listed for $240, looked it up and it’s sold for $370 (new, ofc) where I live. The second one goes for $145, I have no idea what model it is or how much it is worth (seller does not specify model, year, parts, or if its fixed or not, in fact they don’t seem to know much at all about it). The two bikes are similarly sized (and I would ask to try them before buying!). I like the look of both -except for the camo drop bars on the bianchi-, and it would be a while before I could buy any new parts…
Which one should I choose, is any of them even a good option? Obviously I don’t know much about bikes.
Sorry if this is hard to read, english is not my first language.
The Bianchi is sort of questionable. It looks like someone took an ok frame and then tried to get it rideable as cheaply as possible. The brakes look super flimsy, that’s department store stamped-steel junk that will probably slow you down, but not well. The stem is fairly basic and cheap, and the levers are non-aero style, but someone has tried to turn them into aero.The fork doesn’t look original and IMO looks cheap. The only thing of any potential value at all is the frame, but that’s even a bit questionable.
The dropout isn’t quite a “forged” dropout, it looks sort of stamped? Generally forged is a sign of a better bike while stamped dropouts were used on cheap bikes. And the derailleur hanger is weird, it’s not the modern campagnolo-style, so I’m not really sure what’s going on there. It also does not have braze-ons for downtube shifters, but rather, it has braze-ons foe a cable stop. This means the bike most likely originally came equipped with stem shifters, which were usually only found on cheaper budget bikes.
So long story short, none of the parts on the Bianchi are worth anything at all and the frame, which is the only part that might have any value, is suspicious.
The State would be a safe bet and it should have decent parts and brakes that work well.
I’d probably go with the Bianchi, but there’s not a clear choice. The picture quality on the State Bike makes it real tough to evaluate condition, and whether it can fit a rear rack.
Advantages for the State: newer frame, more modern fork/stem. Probably can fit wider tires. Disadvantages, probably quality lower frame and component quality, and maybe can’t fit a rear rack.
Advantages for the the Bianchi: Probably a higher quality frame (it is a lugged, Columbus tube frame – no idea what Bianchi model it is) and drivetrain. Definitely more versatile (it has a derailleur hanger and could run multi-speed). Probably can run a rear rack. Disadvantages: The fork looks like a replacement, and probably not of the same quality as the frame. But also probably fine. The threaded stem (that’s what it looks like to me) and integrated seat post clamp suggest an older frame, at least 90s — but it looks to be in really good shape. Finding replacement components will be a bit more difficult if they are needed, but not difficult in an absolute sense. It probably can’t run fixed, only single speed (the State has a flip-flop hub, the Bianchi does not, and for various reasons you probably can’t run fixed with the Bianchi because the rear spacing is likely not track spacing).
Also more generally – I’d recommend running either bike single speed over fixed, particularly if you have never ridden fixed, but that’s a personal choice.
Basically, I think the Bianchi looks better, is cheaper, and probably has a better frame and drivetrain, so that would be my choice.