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List Price: $310.00
Sale Price: $249.99
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I used to be a really avid cyclist and still own a couple of very expensive bikes that were pretty good 20 years ago. I decided to get back into cycling but wanted a simpler approach to cut down on maintenance and to really get back to the basics of cycling with a coaster bike. The whole idea of less fiddling around with the bike, and spending more time riding was what drew me to this type of bike.
I started looking at cruisers but wanted something more agile. I didn't want to spend a lot of money and I figured I could slowly upgrade the parts as time and money permitted. So I started looking online at bikes in the $150-$200 range but most of them came with hand brakes that I would just take off anyway. So I decided on the Retrospec Siddhartha because even though it was a little more money, it looked good, had just the type of features I was looking for, and the components seemed like they might be a little better quality and maybe I wouldn't have to start upgrading parts right away.
So the box arrives and it has a few punctures in it. The bike and parts are well wrapped and zip tied together, but then they're just left to flop around in the box. So the holes in the box were from the contents slamming against the sides in transit. Not from being impaled by something else. Remarkably, the parts were in good shape once I removed everything from the box. I bought the large frame in black, and everything looked pretty sharp. But what's up with the "leather" handgrips and seat? I wasn't really expecting real leather on a $300 bike, but why lie about it? Call it what it is, Fake simulated leather, faux leather, or leather-like. The seat didn't look too bad, but the grips look like something off of some toddlers Wild-West themed tricycle. Those gotta go. Retrospec would have been better off going with some basic rubber grips in brown or black.
I'm no bicycle mechanic, but I've repaired and rebuilt a few in my day so I know a few things about bicycle assembly and adjustment. The first thing I noticed once everything was unpacked was that this bike was going to be completely unrideable without some major adjustments. Every moving part on this thing had been overtightened from the factory. Both wheels were very rough and gritty, and the same with the forks and both pedals. So I tore all of these down, packed them with some good quality synthetic grease, (they came with almost no oil or grease) and then readjusted everything so it spun easily. The wheels were out of true, but not by much and wheels usually need adjusting again after the first 20 miles or so anyway.
It was only 20 degrees outside so I didn't have a chance to ride it much, but the ride quality was better than I expected after having to basically rebuild the whole bike. We'll see how she holds up during some real rides in the Spring. I still have a thunking noise when I stop pedaling that is annoying as heck. I called Retrospec, and to their credit they tried to be helpful and I even talked to one of their mechanics that was knowledgeable and a really nice guy. But at the end of the call, it still came down to me probably having to take the bike into a shop and have someone look at it.
So was this a good deal? Considering all the work I had to do to it, I would have felt a lot better if this was a $150-$200 bike. I really couldn't recommend this to someone unless they had some decent bike mechanic skills, and realized they would have to put some work into it. The poor guy that buys one of these and knows nothing about bikes could easily pay another $100 at a bike shop to make it rideable.
This is a Chinese made bike. I knew that when I bought it, but there are varying degrees of quality from Chinese manufacturers. The Quality Control on this is very poor, and Retrospec needs to hold their manufacturer to a much higher standard if this bike is to be taken seriously.
Eventually I'll replace the stock wheels with some Coasties.com super deep wheels, and I'm sure the ride quality will improve considerably. But those cost almost as much as the bike did. This year I'll probably just replace the grips and add a Brooks saddle. The cranks seem fine, and hopefully the stock wheels will get me by for the season.
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I ordered the Siddhartha from Amazon in Chrome, in large (57cm), and am pretty happy with the purchase. I am 5'10", with longish arms and legs, and it fits me pretty well. It is fun to ride, and looks very sharp in chrome.
It arrived wihtout directions, but it was mostly assembled, so you don't really need instructions to put on the front wheel, seat, pedals, and handlebars. It arrived in good shape, with no scratches or dings, and the wheels were pretty much in true.
I really enjoy riding it, as it is relatively light for being hi-ten, and has a nice gear ratio that permits me to ride fairly fast around town, but I am still able to handle the few small hills nhear me out of the saddle without loosing much speed.
As mentioned, it looks very nice in chrome, and the white rims and crank add a little more visual interest, as do the fake leather seat and handles. Personally, I think this is a really special bike for the price if you go with the chrome, but if you are considering it in a painted color finish, then the Windsor Essex over at bikesdirect.com is a better value IMHO, since they are similarly featured, but the Essex is Chromo instead of Hi-Ten, and only costs $229 with free shipping. However, the gearing on the Siddhartha is a little more aggressive than the Essex, which is another reason I went with the Siddhartha -that, and the chrome finish.
The only mods I will be doing out of the gate are replacing the handgrips with better quality grips., The cheap stock grips are really spongy and the fake leather covering is pretty thin, so I think they will get thrashed pretty quickly. I may eventually change out the seat as well, and perhaps replace the stock upright bars with something more interesting and fun.
Update 9/21/13: still really enjoying this bike, and it's my go-to bike for errands, meeting up with people around town, etc. I made a couple other upgrades since my initial post: put on Orange Velo porteur bars, white handlebar tape, and a white seat. It is still fun to ride, and looks even better. I previously assumed I would be replacing this bike as soon as bikesdirect had their Kilo Stripper back in stock (chromo frame, chrome finish, more aggressive racing geometry), but now that the Stripper is available again, I've had a hard time justifying upgrading to it since this one is still serving me well.
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One of the first things that persuaded me to buy this bike was the Free Amazon Prime 2-day shipping. It was convenient and I wanted it as fast as possible. It is very easy to assemble with the proper tools (a set of assorted allen keys, pedal wrench, and air pump which you can buy at a local bike shop) However, when I pumped the tires and was riding out on the street I noticed that the front tire bulged and there was a little wobble. I think it might have happened during shipping since it was a pretty large package it would be susceptible to anything. I called customer service which is listed in their website and it was picked up on the second ring. I described to them what happened and they were very apologetic and had asked me to email them photos to confirm the damage. After I had sent them the photos they had sent replacement parts later that day. The service was prompt and they were very helpful. This is the real deal. All the other reviews are only saying oh this is really great bike and such but I was really impressed with with how they handled this situation.
Another thing too. Just to note that this is a back pedal break (That means that in order to break you have to pedal backwards). Just as a caution to those used to having back and front wheel breaks. I might possibly add front wheel break as an extra safety. I am still getting used to using my weight to break.
Overall simple and elegant chrome bike. Love the brown saddle and handlebars. Love the deep v white rims. Now the next challenge is to keep it locked nicely so no one steals this.
Honest reviews on Retrospec Fixie Style Siddhartha Single Speed Urban Coaster Brake
I am prefacing this review with, I do not know too much about bikes and I hadn't been on one in about 10 years before getting this one...
With that said, this bike is fantastic. Ships boxed up and needs assembling, but it probably took me 20 minutes total to get the thing operational. Minus pumping the tires, which I had to buy a pump for and wait an extra day. The psi recommendation on the wheels is waaaay off and I blew the first tire tube when I pumped it up and sat on the bike ( I am only 160lbs). So watch out for that. I luckily have a bike shop down the street and a couple of bucks later had a replacement tube.
The looks of the bike are great. I get compliments on it from just about every new friend who sees it. Just looks classy. I leave it outside and the leather (or faux-leather) still looks fine and I haven't noticed any rusting.
Riding it is comfortable and smooth. Overall, I like it a lot but I'm not an avid biker, I go about twice a week. So for all you biking neophytes, this is a good bike. For you biking experts, I can't really chime in.
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It's a very nice bike. It's very light. Has a very comfortable ride position, so it lives up to it's name. Now the bads: Rims needs truing, like many other bikes that come from factories. Paint were so-so, it had some dents...what appears to be bite marks on the fork resulting in 4 minor dent holes one next to the other. For the overall paint, it's pretty solid with no chips like the Vilano bike that I got, that's another story. But in addition to this, I should have known better that horizontal drop ends would be a bit more of a hassle than vertical because wheel needs to be true'd correctly to align the back wheel properly when tightening. As for drive train, chainline is WAAAAY off. Maybe by 3/4 inches (this is a lot). That's about it for the major issues of the bike. The leather does seem to be a bit of the lower end. Lastly, customer service from the company itself is quite unresponsive. To be fair, at first contact, it was next day reply, but after that, it's taking them 4 days now and I haven't heard a response from them. If you're curious, I emailed them to check what recommended spoke tension is, and haven't heard back. I just wished they would have had a manual that INFORMS about all this crap if they don't have time to send emails to their customers. Anyway, overall, it's a solid bike after the tune up. And btw, I got the red one, it is awesome! However, I sorta of wished I bought the cream one because that would of matched well with the white rims and white chainring. BUT, the cream is out of order and won't be back till late September 2012. Anyway, overall, I am quite satisfied. Well deserved lower part of 4 star.
