I just bought this BLB viper. And I’m wondering if ifs a good starter bike and if i should add anything to it? It is a blb viper with brooks sadel and handel bar wraps. Feel free to give me input!
by EffectiveNo544
I just bought this BLB viper. And I’m wondering if ifs a good starter bike and if i should add anything to it? It is a blb viper with brooks sadel and handel bar wraps. Feel free to give me input!
by EffectiveNo544
21 Comments
Sick first bike bike. Helmet(shop with them for this so they’ll want to wear it), lights, and some spare tubes.
The seat height is not adjustable at all. So no, it’s not going to be a good starter bike unless it happens to perfectly fit the 15 year old who’s probably still growing.
I’m a proponent of single speed for urban/utility riding and starter bikes.
If that were mine, the bullhorns and suicide levers would be removed in favor of a traditional drop bar. Levers like [SRAM S500](https://www.sram.com/en/sram/models/bl-500-road-a1) would be perfect.
The Brick Lane website doesn’t show the geometry. It looks a bit track-ish, a little aggressive. If that’s the case then some thoughts…
* Depending on how flexible the boy is, it might be difficult to get drop bars on that thing and still have him be comfortable. An uncomfortable bike is less likely to be ridden.
* The fork looks like it has very little trail. If so then the handling might be twitchy and nervous. I wouldn’t want that for a new rider on public roads.
The seat mast. Measure twice, cut once LoL.
Good starter bike? Absolutely not. But you already bought it, so take it to a bike shop to get it fitted (mostly dealing with that non-adjustable seatmast). I hope it actually fits you otherwise, try to enjoy it.
For the right kid, it could be perfect. For the average kid, not so much. And if it is in the city and the kid is obsessed with alleycat races and fixie Daredevils filtering between cars and running red lights, might need to have the Talk. About the dangers of challenging the 1 ton machines.
For some clarification. Im not a dad buying a bike for my son. Im the 15 year old that bought the bike!
If it fits, has gears and rides smooth. It’s a good starter bike. Ride it
Crazy to have an ISP on a bike like this!
Here’s to hoping you’ve done all your growing for the next little bit.
i salivate with any bike that has a brooks saddle with copper rivets…. and bar tape? divine. this is a neat bike
I usually go for gears, but this might be a perfect starter- maintenance is super easy- a couple of tools you may need to provide the care or replace chain as need it. Congrats! get yourself a set of light, and wear bright clothes at night.
Definitely will help you with strong leg- many benefits to ride a single speed for a cadences… i forecast a gravel in your near future. you will have a blast.
Frickin pretty nice looking. Good luck.
It looks to me that someone new to riding (on a fixie!) will inevitably be turning the front wheel into one or another of his feet given the short frame and steepness of the forks.
Nice good find. Brooks saddle are you going to ride freewheel? Fixie is a “B” to get use to and doing hills is ridiculous so I’d go freewheel had one like this a “State” model. You should enjoy it.
I would think the bullhorn handlebar might be strange enough to get used to and single speed fixie could be a thumbs down
lijkt het zo of is de geometrie apart
Sick bike, congrats. Enjoy!!
The saddle is great. The non adjustable saddle height is not. Single speeds are fun but not practical in places with serious hills.
Sell it and get something with a derailleur. Spend a lot on the used market and you’ll get the best bang for your buck. I bought a carbon Scott 10 years ago for $1,400 and it’s been an incredible bike.
I used to own this bike. It’s a very fast but also incredibly stiff bike. You will absolutely feel everything on the road. First thing to change would be the saddle. Quite an odd choice for this kind of bike.
You will definitely enjoy it but it will never be a comfy ride
Maybe ride it and find out? That’ll be a much better gauge than internet strangers
I have a similar bike (a specialized langster single speed with bullhorn handlebars) and it’s my favorite bike that I own (more so than my fancy canyon or my Kona gravel) less just super fun to ride, it’s aggressive, I can throw so much force into the pedals and zooming around the city without thinking of gears is fantastic
But…
It’s also limited. It’s uncomfortable for long periods of time, it’s not for long trips, it’s not for hilly areas.
It can be a great bike, but it really depends on what type of riding you are doing.