Tokyo Bikes any good?

[Leslie]

Hi

I am looking to buy a Tokyo Bike (Mono) which is a single speed just for everyday city communting. Does anyone know if its any good? Quality wise ??

link> https://www.tokyobike.co.uk/tokyobike-mono.html


Thanks happy to share opinions!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

You''ll be paying five hundred quid for a bike with no mudguards, no rack, and only one gear. If you're prepared to pay the Hipster Tax, that's up to you.
As far as I'm concerned a single speed bike ought to be dirt cheap, as there are bugger all bits to them and they don't take as long to assemble or set up as a geared bike Those are at least double the price that can be justified by what they comprise of.
You could get a basic B'twin Riverside flat bar hybrid for £150 that would have 7 speeds and similar quality bits on it. Tokyo bikes are aimed at a customer base to whom image is more important than either value or practicality.

 

[Leslie]

Thank SkipdiverJohn. Yes, I was thinking that it seems a bit overpriced for my first impression!

Another option I was thinking was to buy a reasonable quality frame and build it up with separately purchased parts. do you feel that it is a better option? (I have the necessary tools for this already!)

Thanks

 

[vickster]

Have you looked at second hand SS options like the Pearson Touche, Charge Plug? Take a look at the classifieds on LGFSS?
https://www.lfgss.com/

 

[TempleDancer]

Depends what you are looking for, but in the vain of recommending what you have, I picked up my Charge Plug barely used for £175. I've covered about 10,000 miles on it now (less these days as I no longer commute).

It's had a brutal life of year round riding with very little maintenance. It's my only road bike, so I've also done longer (70k ish) rides on it too. Apart from consumables it's cost me pennies over the years. Still on the original wheelset (although I've just replaced the bearings).

Comfy to ride (it can fit 32s comfortably), though perhaps not the most exciting. Weighs about 11kg in default factory trim. Despite excelling at nothing, it does most things competently.

Usually found on eBay for not too much, so worth a look.

 

[vickster]

If you're VERY quick for example...in London
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Charge-P...469238?hash=item44656dc6b6:g:bMwAAOSwW5dfc0gM

or another https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/charge-plug-bike/333739886962?hash=item4db4728972:g:dTQAAOSwfPBfdeJq

 

[Leslie]

Thanks for the advice!

However, I am always quite paranoid in buying used bike online from 'strangers' .... but seems like you have had a good buy indeed!! So will have a look...

My budget is around the 400-600 pound mark for a nice single speed/fixie (can switch between via flip flop hub)... having said that, I don't think tokyo bike SS has a flip flop hub !!!

 

[vickster]

Thanks for the advice!

However, I am always quite paranoid in buying used bike online from 'strangers' .... but seems like you have had a good buy indeed!! So will have a look...

My budget is around the 400-600 pound mark for a nice single speed/fixie (can switch between via flip flop hub)... having said that, I don't think tokyo bike SS has a flip flop hub !!!

I've not bought anything...

Maybe you could find a frameset off LFGSS?

 

[Blue Hills]

Like skipdiver I am often bemused by the apparent premium for a single speed.
Seems you've decided against the Tokyo, which I think is a good decision.

several things about that bike strike me.

@ Rather too nickable

@ wotcha going to do if you ever need another rim - in white?

@ Somewhat unfortunate colour - to Londoners a white bike is one of those memorials dotted around various junctions to mark the place of a cyclist who has perished, very often under the wheels of a truck.

In normal times some second hand bargains can be picked up, often been sat in garages for 10 or 20 years (as in genuine retro) in great hardly used condition - pretty cheap to replace the odd bit.

How much of a rush are you in for this bike (ie - do you already have one) - market new and used a bit odd at the moment.

 

[Leslie]

Hi Blue Hills

Yes...having posted the original thread...I have actually moved off the tokyo bike now after reading all your comments...I'm in no rush to be honest as I already have a bike (see my profile pic*) but just wanted to try out riding single speed and fixie as I normally ride around london and a simpler drivetrain (making the bike lighter) may be quite enjoyable! and no need to worry about gear indexing!

So yes....may have a browse over LFGSS...

Thanks

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

In all honesty, you would probably be better off buying a classic lugged steel bike for it's frame, and if necessary, fitting it with a new wheelset that has a flip-flop rear hub.
A couple of months before the virus kicked off, I bought a slightly shabby early 90's Dawes road bike with a Reynolds 500 cro-moly steel frame, IIRC it was £18. That frame is at least as good as the ones used in any of the TIG welded cro-moly hipster single speeds that are currently made. I actually bought it as a parts donor, but I have considered using it as the basis of a "ghetto" SS bike, just by removing the derailleur mechs, shortening the chain, and running it on one of the middle sprockets of the existing freewheel - just to see if SS riding really appeals to me or not, as I've got nothing to lose this way. I'm not really that interested in riding Fixed, but the mechanical simplicity and reduced weight of a freewheel SS does have a certain appeal..

 

[Leslie]

Thanks SkipdiverJohn!

As most Flip Flop hubs has a 120mm HUB width, does this mean I should only look for frames with an OLD (dropout width) of 120mm to match? (which also applies to from wheel hubs for a front fork dropout of 100mm)...as some used road frames I've looked at has 126mm dropout width....which may mean a mis-aligned chainline?

Thanks and I hope you understand what I mean!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

With steel frames, they are pretty springy so you can take liberties fitting hubs of a different width to the ones they were designed for. I regard 120mm and126mm as interchangeable, as you can easily spring 120mm stays open by hand enough to slot in a 126mm wheel, and you can squeeze a 126mm frame in easily if you want to fit a 120mm wheel. I would be wary of doing this sort of thing on an alloy frame, but that's the beauty of steel. Just make sure you choose a frame with horizontal dropouts, as vertical ones became more common right at the end of the steel era. That way you can keep it simple and avoid those horrible chain tensioners, which defeat the whole point of simplifying the mechanicals.

 

[Leslie]

Thanks for your expert knowledge skipdiverjohn!

I have actually seen people bend the frames with a plank of wood! but I'm quite scared of doing that...but yes... I recall reading one of sheldon brown's article on choosing horizontal dropouts rather than more modern vertical ones! Thats something that should be most important!

Anyways, so there is no need for spacers?

 

[Notafettler]

Bike looks pretty....damned expensive!
On the other hand I quite fancy the
https://www.tokyobike.co.uk/dashel-cycle-helmet-109455021.html?id=221346795&quantity=1