# Giant Bowery



## stubecontinued (Mar 14, 2007)

I'm looking for a modern single speed road bike, threadless steerer etc. My LBS has a giant Bowery in my size for $400 right now. The catch? ALUMINUM. I only hear good things about steel road bikes around here and I'm pretty new to new road bikes so I'm wondering if I would be happier with a steel frame (like my beater Nishiki fixie). I know I just need to ride the bike but for the price would that be a nice bike?


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## Zero Signal (Aug 17, 2007)

I like my Aluminum Iro frame. It's flexier than it needs to be if you ask me. Lots of people like steel bikes for super comfort, but I prefer speed and efficiency. I've seen that Bowery before, it's pretty sweet. For $400 I would pick it up. If the front end is alittle too harsh for your tastes, pickup a cheap bullhorn bar for it. The cheaper the flexier on those or get a carbon drop bar.


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## stubecontinued (Mar 14, 2007)

Yeah, I probably will grab it then. Maybe a carbon fork to help the bike lose a few pounds. My daily commute is 11 blocks, but the bike will be for riding on the parkway too.


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## JohnnyTooBad (Mar 24, 2004)

I wouldn't balk on the alum frame. But, that said, I found a SE Lager (SE mostly makes BMX bikes, with about 3 SS bikes in their line - stay away from the Draft, which is the cheapest). It has a 4130 CrMo frame, bullhorns, 700x28 tires, and comes stock with a 42x16 setup. I have about 1000 commuting miles on it now. It retails for about $420 (Performance - may not be in stock, but they can get it in a couple of days). I got mine last Nov with a 15% off coupon and 10% back as a team perf member, so it was cheap.

I upgraded the freewheel to an ENO and am thinking of getting it repainted soon (mine's an 07 with an ugly tan paint job, the '08 is better looking).

I put a fender on the front and run a seat post rack on back, but one issue is that it won't easily take a rear fender. It has fender mounts, but it has rear facing horizontal drops and no chainstay brace to mount the fender to. With the horiz. drops, you can't get the tire on and off with the fender on, unless you unscrew the stays from the mounts and flex the fender up, out of the way. But since I was running a rear rack anyway, it doesn't matter. The bike gets dirtier in the wet, but I don't.

You can find them at www.sebikes.com


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## stubecontinued (Mar 14, 2007)

They have the premium brew at the shop, 800 bucks though.


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## Zero Signal (Aug 17, 2007)

I'd still say the Giant will be great for $400. Give it a few months of commuting and you'll come up with what you really think is worth upgrading on it. If you like the SS road bike, check out the Specialized Langster and the Felt Dispatch. Those are both very sweet bikes and the Felt is nearly perfect as is for $700 IMO. The wheels aren't the best but probably better than the Giant's and it has decent brakes and levers already on it.


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## LostBoyScout (Feb 7, 2008)

I have a Bowery and really like it. I was going to go with the Kona Paddy Wagon for the reason of being steel, but I don't regret getting the Bowery at all. If your roads are terrible maybe it is a little too stiff, but otherwise I think it would be fine. It feels very fast for a not-very-light road bike IMO. Tire clearance isnt that big but I think a 28c would fit, which would smooth things out a bit I'm sure. I'm running the stock 26c.


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## fsrxc (Jan 31, 2004)

Zero Signal said:


> I like my Aluminum Iro frame. It's flexier than it needs to be if you ask me. Lots of people like steel bikes for super comfort, but I prefer speed and efficiency. I've seen that Bowery before, it's pretty sweet. For $400 I would pick it up. If the front end is alittle too harsh for your tastes, pickup a cheap bullhorn bar for it. The cheaper the flexier on those or get a carbon drop bar.


Doesn't the Bowery have a steel fork? That should help take out some harshness up front while the aluminum frame keeps things snappy.


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## jjcools (Apr 13, 2006)

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I have been looking at the 09 Bowery for a commuter and wanted to see if anyone knows if a 28c tire will fit? 

Also I can get the SE Lager for $50 more but I like the look and light weight of the Bowery, any thoughts????


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## Mesozoic (Apr 20, 2004)

I've got an '09 Bowery as well which I used for commuting 15km one way for a couple of years when I lived in Vancouver. The roads there were pretty good, but my commute in Tucson is a bit bumpier. I really want to beef up the tire width if possible, not having a lot of luck researching yet either.


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