Create is a UK company that sells candy-colored fixed-gear bikes. You may be more familiar with the incarnation sold at Urban Outfitters, or the US brand, Republic Bikes. Whichever one you choose, they all have one thing in common: They were utter junk.
A fixed-gear should be cheap. It has almost no parts: no gears, no fenders, and not even brakes in some (suicidal) cases. Browse the stores though, and you’ll find that these now-fashionable rides have equally fashionable price-tags. I bought one of the original Create bikes before the summer, for €300 (around $440). I loved the ride — the Creates mimic track geometry with a steep seat-tube and a rather short top tube. This makes for snappy, fun riding. The paint-jobs are also rather sweet, and you’ll turn a lot of heads.
But the bike is heavy (25 pounds) due to a hi-ten steel frame, and the components were pretty junky (plastic brake-levers). Now, with its second incarnation, the bikes are cheaper (€220 or $320) and a lot better.
I took a look at one in a local bike shop and, while the frames still weigh a ton, the components have been beefed up. They’re still no-name brands, but they look to be a lot better. More important, the old 24-spoke wheels have been replaced by proper 32-spokers (and the spokes actually cross this time). This is pretty essential in a fixed-gear, as the rear spokes takes a lot of force when you brake from the hub, not the rim.
The Bike Radar blog took one out to test and enjoyed the ride. The candy colored paint is still there, but remains as susceptible to scratches as always. Still, it now looks like there is a solid entry level fixed-gear (and single-speed — the Create ships with a flip-flop hub) that is cheap. At these prices, and with that twitchy handling, front and rear brakes and riser-handlebars, this could make a pretty good bike-polo bike.
Create Bikes [Create]
Photo of Create v1.0: Charlie Sorrel
