SE Bikes

OzCableguy

Since I've been having so much fun on my new single speed 29er I've been
thinking I might like to extend the single speed experience to my road rides
as well. (These are training rides consisting of short 15-20k intervals 3 or
4 times a week with a 50-60k medium paced jaunt on a Saturday morning).
What I'm looking for is a nice chromoly frame & fork (it's got to be steel)
that doesn't weigh a tonne, has braze-ons for brakes etc (and maybe an
Alfine hub if I decide to go geared again one day), can be blinged up fixie
style and doesn't have a suspicious past (so probably not 2nd hand).

Contenders so far are:
The surly crosscheck - http://www.surlybikes.com/crosscheck.html (The
Steamroller is nice but lacks braze-ons).
The Salsa Casseroll - http://www.salsacycles.com/casseroll.html

Both of these are around the $700.00 mark just for the frame when I can get
the SE Lager (http://www.sebikes.com/2008/bike-detail.asp?id=46) for around
$600.00 for a complete bike. I'll probably upgrade various bits as I go like
the wheels, crankset, seat etc but it seems like a pretty good starting
point.

Has anyone had any experience with the Lager or SE bikes in general that can
give me some feedback?
Are there any other similar bikes I should also be looking at?

Thanks!

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

SteveA

I'm no help at all, except that this SE bikes Aussie site might be of interest to people.

http://www.sebmx.com.au/bikes.htm

One question - you're not tempted by the SE Premium Brew for a few dollars more? (Actually quite a few dollars more - the Lager looks like much better value, but if you have money burning a hole in your pocket.......)



SteveA

OzCableguy

"SteveA" <SteveA.36i0z0@no-mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote in message
news:SteveA.36i0z0@no-mx.forums.cyclingforums.com...
> I'm no help at all, except that this SE bikes Aussie site might be of
> interest to people.
>
> http://www.sebmx.com.au/bikes.htm
>
> One question - you're not tempted by the SE Premium Brew for a few
> dollars more? (Actually quite a few dollars more - the Lager looks like
> much better value, but if you have money burning a hole in your
> pocket.......)
>
>

Seems to be a lot more money for not a great deal more. I like the
understated-ness of the Lager (and the price), plus I'm keen to add a
Brooke's saddle and Deep Vs so I may as well stay with the cheaper one.

Any other brands worth looking at? My GT Peace 29er SS has good quality bits
and only set me back around $700.00 and I had 5 other contenders in the same
price bracket from other manufacturers at the same time. It's hard to
believe there's not lots of similarly specced & priced road bikes. SSing
appears to be every bit as popular amongst roadies and it is amongst the MTB
set.

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

kanangara

I have a SS/Fixed Cross-check and it is possibly the funnest bike I own. Skinny tyres and a big chain ring and I'm off and rolling on the road. Fat tyres (for those that call 35-40mm fat) and a smaller chain ring up front and I'm off ripping up technical single track or the local cyclo-cross race. Off-road or on-road / fixed or free you'll love this bike.

Having said that, the Casseroll is probably a nicer frame, more suited for getting on a riding down the road all day, perhaps to that country pub that you like to visit occasionally. While a bit more understated than other Salsa frames (it looks better in person) you'll still get admiring looks from other riders on their $10,000 piece of Italian Plastic as well as the old blokes that used to ride when all bikes were made of steel.

Parbs - Ride & Smile
(Surly Cross-Check and Salsa La Raza Rider)