Create Fixed Review - BikeRadar

strange... I bought one of these bikes earlier this year. The Frame is bent at the rear dropouts so the back wheel won't sit in straight, and I got about a mile out of the wheels before they needed a rebuild. You are right about the rest of the components though, they do work, so I have put them on a nice trusty 531 frame. Anyone who wants a cheap fixed wheel should go to their bike shop and see what they can do with some second hand parts. It will be better than this thing and you'll probably save £50

Anyone who regularly rides a fixed wheel bike will know that these kind of bikes take a real beating, both from the style of riding they inspire and the stresses that fixed gears can put on them.

To be perfectly honest, that's why new ones are expensive because they need to be made well.

This bike is essentially the equivelant to buying an Apollo XC.26 and using it as a proper mountain bike. It's going to feel slow and horrible and it is going to break all the time.

If you've £250 to spend on a bike I would really reccomend spending it on a cheap MTB style bike and let the economies of scale buy you a better bike.

Editors: how about putting a link to the company web site in every review? If I want more details on a product, that's the first thing I'd need - but I'm left guessing.

@sunderland56 ...there's a link just to the right of the article

Is anyone else curious as to what the gear ratio is? I mean in normal fixie talk this would be the one thing everyone would state

44/16 ratio on 700/23 wheels according to the website. I can't get the spec link to work.

I wish it had been a chromoly or Alu frame and not a hi-tensile, I would have been interested.

Friends don't let friends ride a Unipack, and that's what this is, no?

Anyway, for the same money you could do a very nice conversion or get a used fixed gear that isn't made of gas pipe and brie.

"fixies are both pointless and stupid. i dare anyone to convince me whats wrong with brakes and gears"

This bike has brakes. Moreover it is nver pointless to ride a a cheap and efficient bike with a smile on your face. Sorry about your accident but it is no more justification fro your bigotry about fixies than the existence of George Bush would be for a hatred of humans.

That said, this bike is just too heavy.

"do they cook on open fires in the garden? i dont thinks so."

Also, you don't need to deny barbecues just because you have an oven.

"Fixies are pointless"

A direct connection to the bike's drive system, light weight, weather resistant, less to steal. All important whilst navigating heavy traffic or locking a bike in an urban environment.

I rode one for years in London and for somewhere that is mostly flat they are perfect.

Back to the bike - hi-tensile steel is a no-no in my book. The whole "steel is real" thing only refers to quality steel, like 4130 crmo. Anything less and I'd rather stick with a light and harsh-riding aluminium.

@ju5t1n: Ah, you're right, there it is. Bloody well hidden, though, isn't it?

Always thought the Charges, Langsters etc were quite pricey given that a big part of the original fix appeal was price. So, it's good to see someone has finally come up with a cheaper version. How expensive do they need to be? Sadly it seems this one ain't that good.

"parallel 72-degree head and seat angles and a shortish top tube " = toe overlap

Not good on a fixie

I have worked on a couple of these in the shop, and they are total garbage, on par with the worst argos/apollo stuff. Welds were a mess, the things weigh a ton, nothing was branded, spokes were super loose....... oh and the rims were drilled for schrader valves, thats quite a big hole in a narrow rim! People are buying these thinking they are cool fixies like a Charge or similar, they are also liable to be first time buyers and its kind of sad that this may be their first bike. I think someone needs to make a decent cheap SS between the £200 rubbish and the £400-500 Langsters etc..

I've use the 160 quid version since Feb 09 bought from their ebay site. The only difference between mine and the one featured seems the increase in price.

The rear wheel went out of whack on the first 2 miles. Having carried a spoke spanner for a few months and doing mid ride tweaks to keep it straight, i finaly took the wheel back to the importers in north london. They changed the whole wheel (tyre and tube) for a small fee and its been fine.

The seat post sheared while i was coming down the Bow flyover in East London. Much clenching of thighs and buttocks so i didnt loose the saddle on the road (No pavement on the flyover), then an interesting ride home with my knees under my chin due to the much shortend post.

Personally i wouldnt recommend one.

I have one of these and my rear wheel needed truing. To be honest i think it works perfect!

Look at their ebay feedback http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=bargainsallyear&&sspagename=VIP:feedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller

Majority of people are very happy apart from some needing the wheels trued! I called the company about this and they said this is due to their manufacturer cutting corners. It is only occurring on a few bikes, not all.

I am not sure if any of you have started a company of your own? It is a fact that new companies make mistakes and learn from them. I guess this is the case with Create Bikes. The mistake here is them not employing people from their company to sit in the factory in china or india (wherever they are made) to oversee quality control resulting in the manufacturer screwing them over.

If they nail this aspect they will have an incredibly cheap bike with a high quality build that is perfect and looks awesome. I have a feeling they will nail it this time with their 2010 range because the improvements from version1 to version 2 were huge!

If they do learn from their mistakes and apply feedback received from reviews, maybe this time we will be getting affordable perfection??

1. Unicrap

2. Unigood

3. Uniperfect..........maybe??

I'm very surprised such a respected cycling info resource has even bothered to review such a bike, let alone give it three and a half stars - I see this review comes from cycling plus - more like cycling minus.

Quite frankly it throws doubt on trusting any future reviews - to be honest how would you mark a Langster or the Mongoose Maurice (not to mention charge) on this scale? You can't, they're way way of the scale.

So I had a good look over these bikes a while back and not only are the frames poor quality, heavy, badly welded and cheap, the components are even worse. The wheels are so badly put together you wouldn't make it over the first painted line in the road, never mind a curb or a pothole. Don't even bother looking at the hubs. The crank looks like it's been cut from a bit of old tin. So much flex there you may as well push yourself along and forget the pedals.

I'm not sure I understand how this bike gets such a review when bikes so much better than this get a hard time?

I'm disgusted that you have given these bikes such a high score? 3.5 stars out of 5...compared to what? thats a mark of 75%...

These bikes are the epitomy of bad quality, just because they are based upon a fixed wheel bike doesn't mean a damned thing! so they look nice...and yes they do look nice, though I'm sure the view from the floor is not so nice....?

When the damned thing has kicked you off when the chain snapped, or the seat pin fractures, or the wheel fails totally, or the handle bars bend, or the bottom bracket seizes....

These bikes are made to look good, and a spin round the block isn't a sufficient test, as once the first week has gone most people end up replacing most if not all of the major componentry.

On a par with the worst a super market could throw at you and almost as heavy.

Did they pay you off? It seems like it, anyone that was impartial could never have given them more than 2 stars. period.

I've used mine for over two years now and had no issues with it!

Yes it's a cheap bike an isn't a lightweight, but for half the price of a Langster I'm not complaining!

I found it a good way to try out a fixed gear bike, for the price of a Halfords bike.

There's way too much snobbery associated with these, says more about the people spouting third hand information than the bikes themselves.