So how bad is a Big W bike, really?

[mitzikatzi]

...snip... The response "The bike repair man is in this weekend, if you can drop it off on friday with a copy of the receipt and your details he can have a look at it". ...snip....

Is that because the "repairman" still goes to high school during the week?

[ldrcycles]

...snip... The response "The bike repair man is in this weekend, if you can drop it off on friday with a copy of the receipt and your details he can have a look at it". ...snip....

Is that because the "repairman" still goes to high school during the week?

LOL, i did find it amusing that they referred to a 'bike repair man', guess i'll have to wait and see.

If in fact it is a manafacturing defect, you have the right to choose, repair, replace or refund.

It is definitely a manufacturing defect, i didn't know about that so i will bear that in mind, thanks .

Now I know, people say to stay away from these type of bikes here on the forum..

Usually with good reason, IME the Preset is the exception to the rule (which isn't really that hard when it only has one gear).

When I was looking to purchase a bike there weren't many single speed bikes under $100 brand new.
The next cheapest bike on my list would jump to $250 brand new.

Now I get to spend approx $150-$200 on a bike, learn a few things about bikes and also have fun.
I think thats a win.

So far on my Preset I have spent.
Lasco Crankset: $35
Wellgo pedals: $15
Shimano Bottom Bracket: $12

Total: $62
Lets see if I can keep this under $200.00 I still need a comfy saddle and bling bling wheels.

My thoughts exactly. So let's work it out then, worst case scenario, ie someone who has no tools so needs a bike shop to do stuff for them.
Bike $98.
Service to get all the bearings adjusted properly $60 (maybe a bit more or less depending on the shop).
New saddle (assuming the stock one is uncomfortable) $30? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SCHWINN-Moun ... 231b612590 something like that would do.
'Bling bling' wheels- Say $100, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Stars-Cirle- ... 27c4a2474c
and
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DEEP-V-FIXIE ... 27c08d4760
as examples, neither would be the best quality i'm guessing but this is a fixie remember, it's all about looks .
Crank, pedals, bb- $62.
Smaller 28c tyres- $45ish http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CST-Sensamo- ... 2ebca195cc
Fitting new parts- $40-50?

So that's a total of $445. So still $4 cheaper than the Cell fixie. And if you can do the spanner work yourself it would be $335.
Remembering that it's still a good ride stock.

[mitzikatzi]

The Bicycle Repairman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U01xasUtlvw

A search on bike exchange for "fixie" $300 to $500 brings up some nice bikes.

[ldrcycles]

I love how the bike turns from green with flatbars to red with drops. And is that a shifter mounted on the top tube?

[rudeboy]

If in fact it is a manafacturing defect, you have the right to choose, repair, replace or refund.

It is definitely a manufacturing defect, i didn't know about that so i will bear that in mind, thanks .

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.ph ... lia-gov-au

[ekwj]

Is that because the repairman" still goes to high school during the week?

Lol, that's probably it.

So now im thinking I have about $150 to spend on parts. Only thing is I didnt know buying this kind of stuff could be so addictive, Im probably going to end up spending more than $150.

Now I get to spend approx $150-$200 on a bike, learn a few things about bikes and also have fun.
I think thats a win.

Yupp and yupp, my thoughts exactly

Cheap fixie parts here
or or

Thanks for the links =]

I'm now in a dilemma. Ordered a bullhorn bar + quill stem off eBay but the sizes are a mismatch although the listing stated that they were both 26mm. I'm not stuck with a 25.4mm quill and a 26mm bar. Anyone have any idea where I can get either one of them cheap? Either a 26mm quill stem or a 25.4mm bullhorn? Thanks =]

[Backdoorboss]

I'm now in a dilemma. Ordered a bullhorn bar + quill stem off <a href="http://www.ebay.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink" class="vglnk">eBay</a> but the sizes are a mismatch although the listing stated that they were both 26mm. I'm not stuck with a 25.4mm quill and a 26mm bar. Anyone have any idea where I can get either one of them cheap? Either a 26mm quill stem or a 25.4mm bullhorn? Thanks =]

That sucks, I wouldnt pay or perhaps obtain a refund? If it was listed incorrectly I would think its justified to ask for one.
Found this on velogear http://www.velogear.com.au/products/Hos ... 0-141.html $35

I was going to stick with the flat bar, but these bullhorn bars are growing on me.

Out of curiosity what is this size of the of stock quill stem? couldn't you use that instead?

'Bling bling' wheels- Say $100, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DEEP-V-FIXIE
as examples, neither would be the best quality i'm guessing but this is a fixie remember, it's all about looks

Im going to check these wheels out tomorrow, straight after work going to pop into their shop, I could probably even ride there. Any excuse to ride really, the daily commute is a bit too short for me now.
I wonder if they could even put them on for me for no charge, green or blue, decisions decisions.

Well if all goes to plan, bottom bracket: $12, crank: $35, Pedal: $15, wheels: $99, saddle: $30
Total: $191

Still under $300 for the bike.

[ekwj]

That sucks, I wouldnt pay or perhaps obtain a refund? If it was listed incorrectly I would think its justified to ask for one.

Told the seller about it and he's happy to offer me a refund/store credit. Told me I could keep the stem and do whatever I want with it so that's fine =]

Found this on velogear http://www.velogear.com.au/products/Hos ... 0-141.html $35

This is the guy I bought it off, don't trust the 25.4mm bar size. I asked him about it and he said unfortunately it's 26mm. The listing is incorrect.
Check out pumpdoctor11 as an eBay seller, the stuff is cheaper off his eBay store. Has free shipping every once in awhile. Looks like it's back to regular shipping costs.
I may just have to go with the $45 version 26mm clamp quill stem.

[ldrcycles]

Dropped it in yesterday arvo, the lady on the service desk (not the one who was there the other day) was a bit dismissive and short with me but eventually i managed to get the idea across.

[mitzikatzi]

Did the Big W Race Wrench get to look at your bike or was he still at Sea Otter?

[HLC]

So that's a total of $445. So still $4 cheaper than the Cell fixie. And if you can do the spanner work yourself it would be $335.
Remembering that it's still a good ride stock.

Remembering ultimately, that you have just spent an extra 200+ dollars and a whole heap of your time on a BIg W bike.

For 299, you can get at Hasa 'fixie' off cycling deal in Vic, usually with free shipping which is a far superior bike and Better than the cell offerings. The Hasa bike is the best of the sub 500 completes!

[ldrcycles]

Remembering ultimately, that you have just spent an extra 200+ dollars and a whole heap of your time on an attractive, smooth, fast singlespeed..

Fixed that for you .

[ldrcycles]

Hadn't had a phone call from Big W but popped in while i was getting other stuff nearby for work on the off chance, and it was ready to be picked up, i haven't been able to have a proper look at it yet, but i'll detail it this evening.

[ldrcycles]

So, it seems Big W's version of 'bicycle repairman' is not quite as slick as Monty Python's. The lever looks exactly the same, i can't find any evidence of repair/modification, but even though it's the same lever (the cable pivot is in the same spot) but now it almost returns fully. But not quite. So while the brake is a lot more effective now, it's really only 90% done.

That i'm fine with, it works. I'm not a militant consumer advocate so i'm not going to take it back and say 'this lever still sticks out 3mm, i want it replaced'.
The thing that bothered me is that for whatever reason, 'bicycle repair man' decided to 'adjust' the front wheel bearings. They were spot on when it went in, and it has come back so tight it can barely move. Lifting the bars and spinning the front wheel, it won't even make a full revolution, that tight!

So my conclusion there is, buy a Preset cos it's great fun, but open the box and have a bit of a check before you take it out the door. Exactly what i'll be doing when/if i buy my next one.

[Backdoorboss]

So, most of the parts I ordered online came in over the last couple of weeks, I decided to give it a crack and put it all together over the weekend.
Went from this:

(Commuted on it for 3 weeks everyday, with a couple of long rides on the weekend.)





To this:

(Have not used it to commute yet, will let everyone know how it goes after awhile.)

I'm pretty happy on how it turned out. I still need to get another saddle though, perhaps a nice comfy white or green one, still undecided.

I did go over my budget of $200.00 which was mostly due to buying various tools to remove this pain in the ass bottom bracket fixed cup.

Even my local bike shop couldn't remove it (but I think the guy was just trying to get rid of me because I wasn't buying a bike)
Thanks to ldrcycles and the Sheldon Brown website I managed to remove that nasty thing off and replace it with the new bottom bracket.

There is nothing like doing it yourself and that feeling of achievement. I think the whole street heard me scream for joy when it came off.

Anyway I also went and got bullhorn bars ($25) and bar tape ($15) which put me over. I had to also replace the brake levers ($25) because the old ones wouldn't fit on the bullhorn bar.
Still, I am happy with how it turned out and the knowledge I gained from the experience of it all, I also have a few extra tools that I will probably use again some day.

All in all, excellent bike for $98, commute to work, relaxing rides on the weekend and get fit on.
Also a good bike to learn a few things on and not spend a huge fortune doing so.

I now have the confidence to build another Fixie/SS from complete scratch now, probably my next project.

[ldrcycles]

To this:



There is nothing like doing it yourself and that feeling of achievement. I think the whole street heard me scream for joy when it came off.

Anyway I also went and got bullhorn bars ($25) and bar tape ($15) which put me over. I had to also replace the brake levers ($25) because the old ones wouldn't fit on the bullhorn bar.
Still, I am happy with how it turned out and the knowledge I gained from the experience of it all, I also have a few extra tools that I will probably use again some day.

All in all, excellent bike for $98, commute to work, relaxing rides on the weekend and get fit on.
Also a good bike to learn a few things on and not spend a huge fortune doing so.

That sounds great, i know that feeling haha. The finished product looks brilliant, great work .

[hazmat5765]

Good work Backdoorboss!
Rob

[ekwj]

Hi Backdoorboss,

Just curious on how you went with replacing the bottom bracket as I'm about to do it myself soon. You mentioned having problems with replacing it. Was the 36-piece toolkit from cycling deal insufficient? What extra parts did you have to buy?

P.S. Awesome transformation on your bike. The bullhorns are great aren't they? =D

[Backdoorboss]

Thanks guys, went for quick ride around the city last night and found the bike felt a lot smoother and much easier to peddle.
A friend of mine tried carrying the bike and said he could really notice the bike was much lighter then it was before.

Just curious on how you went with replacing the bottom bracket as I'm about to do it myself soon. You mentioned having problems with replacing it. Was the 36-piece toolkit from cycling deal insufficient? What extra parts did you have to buy?

The (right) drive side fixed cup of the bottom bracket was the hardest piece to remove. That sucker is on really tight, even my local bike shop mechanic couldn't get it off with a proper fixed cup tool. (weak)
I purchased the 8 piece tool set here because the 13 piece one was not available yet. I'm glad I did because I didn't really need the bigger ones.
I only used the Allen keys, bottom bracket tool, the crank puller tool and chain rivet extractor from the tool set.
The rest of the stuff you can just use an adjustable wrench, which I previously had. You will however need a bigger Allen key to put on the cranks, the ones that came with the toolkit were all too small, lucky I had one around the house(8mm I think).
I had to buy a socket wrench plus a socket wrench extension from Bunnings to get the fixed cup removed. You also need a Hex bolt, a nut and some flat washers ($4), I used 3 washers myself.
I used the socket extension to tighten the bolt and nut from inside the bottom bracket, as the adjustable wrench is too big to fit through.
Here is Sheldon Browns link for the BB Tool, You basically tighten the bolt and nut as much as you can until it fuses together with the fixed cup so that when you keep tightening it eventually comes off.
Best to use the socket wrench and hammer at the wrench handle a bit to loosen it a little. Then use all your strength until you see a few stars. After a few manly yells and shouts it will eventually come off.
Oh yeah, remember it is CLOCKWISE to loosen the right hand side fixed cup.

Any questions just let me know.

Cheers,
Backdoorboss

[ekwj]

Hey Backdoorboss,

You're a champ. That information would be invaluable to me.

Now I either jump the gun and pop by cycling deal this weekend to get the gold crankset + gold rim brake combo or wait till next weekend to get the silver crankset + silver rim brake combo.

Black and silver or black and gold.. Hmm.. Gold looks very boss....

[grasshopper]

Great thread ldr; thanks.

[Phantomrider]

Have to agree with HLC: cyclingdeal.com.au at Eumemmering do real competitive prices on reasonable quality goods. Set myself a project to build up a fixie from cyclingdeal bits. Finished up at ~$500 for a track frame, flat bar, mtn bike levers, dual pivot calipers, anything so long as it fitted the colour scheme of black & gold. Traded the Shimano 105 pedals later for Wellgo silver / gold pedals with black toe clips and straps. Went fast being a track frame, sold even quicker.
Piccies available - haven't figured out how to load them here yet.

[ldrcycles]

I've decided to change my Preset to drops (and maybe buy another one down the track). I'm going to change the cranks, probably to Shun and not least to get some higher gearing, pop on some old bars and stem, add a couple of links to the chain and job done. Well down on the to do list which is jolly long atm so probably won't happen for at least a month or 3.

[cray-]

Came across a Repco Preset on gumtree and found this thread when looking for more info on it's worth.

They're currently on sale at BigW for $78.40 if anyone else is keen:

http://www.bigw.com.au/sports-leisure/b ... muter-bike

[ldrcycles]

OOHHHH i am SOOO tempted to get another...