MECHANICAL IDEALS.: KILO TT REVIEW

Delivery

I purchased a standard Kilo TT in Orange from Bikes Direct 9 months ago. Being 6’4” with a 34 inseam, the frame size I got was 60cm (63cm for regular bike companies). The shipping took less than a week. The bike came in a large box with a squashed corner. Make you before you open your box to take some pictures. Just incase the delivery banged up and damaged your bike; you have picture evidence for a return or refund. So the bike comes half assembled, with the pedals, front tire, handlebars and seat post detached. Assembly would require two Allen wrenches and a regular adjustable wrench for tightening the wheels and pedals. I recommend going to a bike shop to have them adjust the bike to your measurements. This precaution is good for your comfort and health, if you know how to fit yourself with the bike more power to you.

Quality

The paint is bright and isn’t too thin. The decals are not removable. I use an ulock for commuting around school. After 3 months there are chips to where I would lock up the bike. I guess this would be minimized if you were to be more careful, but it’s just a bike… The wheels are light and in my opinion very standard and not flashy. They came true and straight. A word of advise, if you are a heavier rider and you do jumps or just road riding over bad roads your wheels will eventually go out of true. I took a spill 4 months of riding the kilo TT, and the wheels went wicked bent. I couldn’t even roll the bike home because the wheel would jam with the brake clamp. The bottom bracket isn’t such great quality either. 9 months of riding has made the crank set very squeaky and noisy, but it still works. The stock pedals do their job, but the plastic clips are flimsy and sometimes it takes a time to readjust them to fit your feet. THE SADDLE IS HORRIBLE. I thought I was adjusting to riding a bike, but after a month I still was in agony from long rides. Switching a different saddle is a smart move if you want to have babies in the future (this applies to females as well, the saddle is THAT HORRIBLE). The frame has been holding up brilliantly. The steel isn’t thin, but it isn’t bulky heavy thick either. I plan on keeping the frame for the rest of my life. Track geometry is there. There will be toe over lap but I doubt you would need to turn that much. I don’t do BARSPINZ so that stuff isn’t concerning me.

Personal Touches and Upgrades.

Being the Fad now is SICK FIXIE MODS I have made a few changes to the Kilo TT. I have lowered the stem two thin spacers down and plan on cutting the fork tube to that height. I being 235 pounds, thin tires am not very practical. The stock Kenda Tires wasted so many of my inner tubes. The tires are just too thin for heavy riders. I switched to Vittoria Randonneurs and three months with them have not had any pinch flats since. After my crash and pretty much wrecking my stock wheels, I did research and bought 42mm rim wheels. While 30mm would have been enough I figured with an extra 12mm the wheels would be indestructible with my weight. Riding on the rough roads isn’t a worry anymore. When you do buy deep rims you will have to buy inner tubes with longer necks so keep that in mind. The negative of having very durable rims is the added weight. I bought a Shimano Dura Ace lock ring after reading on the forums on how the stock locking isn’t that great, and so far its been doing its job and preventing stripping the hub

Conclusion

For $360 you get a very good frame with average sub par components. The money you save from buying this bike will make your wallet happy and I guess give you a good excuse to buy neat wheels and other upgrades whether atheistic or practicality. I have had the bike for more than half a year and I believe I will keep it and use for a long time.