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View Full Version : 6 week mini review-update on the Redline 925


landotter
December 4th 06, 06:16 AM
It's frigid outside so why not.

Biggest change is that the LBS got me the spec tires, IRC Tandem, to
replace the horrid gumwall ****e that came on the thing. These may be
my favorite urban duty tire ever. Considering the tread thickness,
these are quite lively and corner great. The tread is stupid and makes
some noise, though nothing like the crap the bike came with, it's
stealthy enough with fenders. The ride with the Tandems is majestic.
It's a fairly quick handling ride and floats over urban flotsam and
jetsam, yet feels sporty. Very nice!

This bike is just marvelous out of the saddle. which you'll be a lot
with the stock 42x15 fixed gear. Frame is quite stiff, though the ride
is surprisingly plush, and the wiiide moustache bars let you crank away
on hills.

I've found that having the moustache bars at near level with a spritz
of a whisper down at the ends is the bomb.No big angles or your wrists
will complain. I've seen this bike mostly set up with big dumb angles.
Correct this if you buy one. Also correct the brake lever placement,
you'll want them 6cm more inboard than the idiotic stock position.l

The stock mini toe clips made me giggle at first, but now I'm a minor
fan. They fit my Blundstone boots perfectly and keep my feet in place
enough to be usefull. Full clips will probably follow in a month or
two.

Stock saddle is still surprisingly great, I thought it would get dicey
once the "new bike comfort" wore off. Redline gets major points on
this.

Stem choice is agro for a casual rider. I'm a 6'1" rider with a short
34" inseam for my height. I have the largest size (60cm) 925 with a
looong waist and the seat tube fairly well out, and the bars are still
a bit low and far for most folk my size. Works fine for me, but I'm
used to drops. Redline should spec a higher rise stem for sure.

Toeclip overlap. Major rubbage. Not usually a big deal, but with a
fixed gear bike ridden at slow speeds or trackstanded in the city, it's
an annoyance.

Funny how the reach is a bit long for most folks, but there's toe
overlap as well. Brillance!

Paint is good, fenders are nice, and general overall quality is
excellent. Assembly was horrible, and my LBS blamed China for this.
Fixed cog unscrewed when slowing down from 10mph at my first stop sign.
Ooops.

Regardless, the bike rides like a dream, though I'd recommended it
mostly to experienced cyclists that understand its flaws, and well
worth the list price. Just go through it stem to stern and tighten it
up before you subject yourself to the avenue.

Smokey
December 4th 06, 04:57 PM
landotter wrote:
> It's frigid outside so why not.
>
> Biggest change is that the LBS got me the spec tires, IRC Tandem, to
> replace the horrid gumwall ****e that came on the thing. These may be
> my favorite urban duty tire ever. Considering the tread thickness,
> these are quite lively and corner great. The tread is stupid and makes
> some noise, though nothing like the crap the bike came with, it's
> stealthy enough with fenders. The ride with the Tandems is majestic.
> It's a fairly quick handling ride and floats over urban flotsam and
> jetsam, yet feels sporty. Very nice!
>
> This bike is just marvelous out of the saddle. which you'll be a lot
> with the stock 42x15 fixed gear. Frame is quite stiff, though the ride
> is surprisingly plush, and the wiiide moustache bars let you crank away
> on hills.
>
> I've found that having the moustache bars at near level with a spritz
> of a whisper down at the ends is the bomb.No big angles or your wrists
> will complain. I've seen this bike mostly set up with big dumb angles.
> Correct this if you buy one. Also correct the brake lever placement,
> you'll want them 6cm more inboard than the idiotic stock position.l
>
> The stock mini toe clips made me giggle at first, but now I'm a minor
> fan. They fit my Blundstone boots perfectly and keep my feet in place
> enough to be usefull. Full clips will probably follow in a month or
> two.
>
> Stock saddle is still surprisingly great, I thought it would get dicey
> once the "new bike comfort" wore off. Redline gets major points on
> this.
>
> Stem choice is agro for a casual rider. I'm a 6'1" rider with a short
> 34" inseam for my height. I have the largest size (60cm) 925 with a
> looong waist and the seat tube fairly well out, and the bars are still
> a bit low and far for most folk my size. Works fine for me, but I'm
> used to drops. Redline should spec a higher rise stem for sure.
>
> Toeclip overlap. Major rubbage. Not usually a big deal, but with a
> fixed gear bike ridden at slow speeds or trackstanded in the city, it's
> an annoyance.
>
> Funny how the reach is a bit long for most folks, but there's toe
> overlap as well. Brillance!
>
> Paint is good, fenders are nice, and general overall quality is
> excellent. Assembly was horrible, and my LBS blamed China for this.
> Fixed cog unscrewed when slowing down from 10mph at my first stop sign.
> Ooops.
>
> Regardless, the bike rides like a dream, though I'd recommended it
> mostly to experienced cyclists that understand its flaws, and well
> worth the list price. Just go through it stem to stern and tighten it
> up before you subject yourself to the avenue.

Thanks for the great review, Landotter. After my back surgery, there's
no money in the budget for another bike, but if I decided to go fixed I
would look really hard at this one. I love the look of those
handlebars, gives the bike a vintage look.

landotter
December 4th 06, 05:48 PM
Smokey wrote:

> Thanks for the great review, Landotter. After my back surgery, there's
> no money in the budget for another bike, but if I decided to go fixed I
> would look really hard at this one. I love the look of those
> handlebars, gives the bike a vintage look.

Try a set on an existing bike. They're really super comfy and natural
feeling. Keeping the flats nearly dead level seems to make my wrists
happiest. The Dimension ones are around $20 at aebike.com and worth a
shot. Those *don't* take bar-end shifters. You'll want the bars around
level with the saddle with these bars, and certainly a shorter stem
than normal. They've become my favorite urban handlebar by a longshot
over anything else, but they are finicky. Set up wrong they're quite
miserable, which is why I think some other more proper reviewers of the
925 hated them.

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