# redline 9-2-5



## longhaultrucker (Feb 19, 2007)

thinkin bout buyin one soon...anybody have one?any advice,stories,opinions,or pics to share?thanks!:thumbsup:


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

some dude just snagged one for $280... a search ought to turn up the thread but it's prob just down below


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## Val_Garou (Apr 30, 2002)

Yeah, it's the one halfway down this page titled, perhaps misleadingly, "*Opinions on the Redline 9-2-5?*"


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## the_gormandizer (May 12, 2006)

Val_Garou said:


> Yeah, it's the one halfway down this page titled, perhaps misleadingly, "*Opinions on the Redline 9-2-5?*"


That was my original post. I found it at a bike shop near Boston. There was still a 58cm available, but that was two weeks ago. I have since taken the bike apart to treat the frame with frame saver, and still need to put it back together.

I'd be happy to try to answer any questions.


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## sbindra (Oct 18, 2004)

What are your impressions so far? I managed to snag the last 60cm in Redline's warehouse this week. Supposed to be delivered on Friday and hopefully can be built up so I can use with the girlfriend for a leisurely ride on Sunday. I absolutely cannot wait! This weekend is finally going to be like Spring in the Northeast.


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## the_gormandizer (May 12, 2006)

sbindra said:


> What are your impressions so far? I managed to snag the last 60cm in Redline's warehouse this week. Supposed to be delivered on Friday and hopefully can be built up so I can use with the girlfriend for a leisurely ride on Sunday. I absolutely cannot wait! This weekend is finally going to be like Spring in the Northeast.


Congratulations on your purchase! I think I got a heck of a deal for the money. Overall the quality of the components looks pretty good. On closer inspection, the paint job is not that wonderful, and I might be tempted to get it powder coated in the future. The wheels do not seem as true as they should be for a new bike.

I wish I could tell you how great it rides, but I have a lot of excuses for not having got out on it yet: 1) the weather -- I'm in NH; 2) some unexpected delays in shipping of the parts I'd ordered; 3) colds and flu. Anyway, I took the bottom bracket and fork off and treated the frame with framesaver, since it's going to be my wet weather bike. I've installed the bullhorns and bar-end levers, and it's almost back together. Tonight I'll wrap the bars so I can hopefully ride it tomorrow. Since I'm new to fixed gear, and it's pretty hilly here, I'm a bit unsure about what gearing to choose. So I bought some extra cogs (16T & 17T). My plan is to try some typical rides with the freewheel, and once I'm comfortable, flip it to fixed.

Hope you get to have a great ride on Sunday.


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## sbindra (Oct 18, 2004)

Did you ride the moustache bars? I never have and too thought about getting bullhorn bars with bar-end levers. A concern I assume you do not have is traffic. LBS guy told me that the moustache bars are very comfortable but are kind of wide, can be a little difficult to negotiate in traffic. Since most of my riding on this bike will be in Manhattan and Brooklyn, wide bars might not be the best. I will have to wait and see.

I had the same idea with fixed/freehub. My family lives on Long Island on a nice cul de sac. I want to take the bike out there and ride around to get used to the fixed (I just do not understand how messengers ride fixed in midtown traffic!).


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## the_gormandizer (May 12, 2006)

sbindra said:


> Did you ride the moustache bars? I never have and too thought about getting bullhorn bars with bar-end levers. A concern I assume you do not have is traffic. LBS guy told me that the moustache bars are very comfortable but are kind of wide, can be a little difficult to negotiate in traffic. Since most of my riding on this bike will be in Manhattan and Brooklyn, wide bars might not be the best. I will have to wait and see.
> 
> I had the same idea with fixed/freehub. My family lives on Long Island on a nice cul de sac. I want to take the bike out there and ride around to get used to the fixed (I just do not understand how messengers ride fixed in midtown traffic!).


I used the moustache bars only for a short test ride though. I know some people like them, but I thought they were horrible. I think I measured them at about 52cm. I dumped them on Ebay, almost for the price of new bullhorns.

The moustache bars seemed to make the bike feel quite a bit smaller than it actually is. I also ride a 56cm Cannondale, and although the 56cm Redline is sized slightly smaller than the Cannondale (from what I could measure -- difficult comparing a compact to a traditional) it was very tempting to buy the 58cm instead. I opted not too, and the bullhorns seem to make a big difference. I'm keeping the factory stem for now.


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## rzims (Nov 15, 2005)

I love the 925 - I bought the frame off ebay to build up as an inexpensive SS. Mungo bars, velocity wheels, sugino crank.....I'm pretty sure I've spent twice what I could have bought it for at the dealer 

Great bike though, just did my first metric century on it and loved it.


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## the_gormandizer (May 12, 2006)

*Here she is, ready to ride...*

Spring has finally sprung here in NH, and I'm hoping the pile of snow on my drive will be gone by the end of the day. I'm hoping to get out for a ride at lunch time.

It' s not the best picture, but I chose it because it shows the paint job (black fading to charcoal) quite well.

What do you think of the bar tape? Is it too much? I wanted to keep it monochrome, and my first thought was black. I thought the splash would liven the look up a bit. It's a bit cow-like, which fits the bullhorn bars...

P.S. Sorry this post appears in the wrong position in the thread. Wasn't sure how to move it.


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## treebound (Oct 16, 2003)

the_gormandizer said:


> What do you think of the bar tape? Is it too much? I wanted to keep it monochrome, and my first thought was black. I thought the splash would liven the look up a bit. It's a bit cow-like, which fits the bullhorn bars...
> 
> P.S. Sorry this post appears in the wrong position in the thread. Wasn't sure how to move it.


The pic is just fine, as long as it's in the same thread.

For the bar tape, how about trying one of those overlapping weaves using black and gray tapes? Would be neat if someone made a fade-out color tape, maybe. Hmmm, got me thinking now, may have to play with some ideas, and Rit dye, or bleach, or maybe I'll just go for a ride instead.....

Nice looking bike in any case. :thumbsup:


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## tj90 (Jun 5, 2002)

Dont worry about the tape - youll be replacing it when you hit the first patch of ice!!  Good looking ride - have fun!


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## sbindra (Oct 18, 2004)

That thing is sweet! The Redline guys are awesome. I emailed them yesterday and they gave me the tracking number for my bike. Confirmed that the bike was delivered this morning to the shop. Going to pick up tomorrow, stupid girlfriend and Friday night dinner plans after work.


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## rzims (Nov 15, 2005)

That's a good looking bike. My frame doesn't have the fade. Just grey


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## the_gormandizer (May 12, 2006)

I just got back from my lunchtime ride. An "easy" 18 miles (on a road bike) with maximum grades of 10% (see profile attached), pretty much spanked me. I'm not sure I could do it without the luxury of coasting. It's going to be a while before I make the transition to fixed gear...

The bike rides great overall. It's my first steel ride since the Zeus 10 speed of my teenage years. Much smoother over bumps than my CAAD4.

The brakes seem to be much more spongy than the Ultegra I am used to. It may be due to the way I installed the housing into the reverse brake levers. I set up the brakes, taped the housing onto the bars, took off the levers, wrapped the bars and re-installed the levers. After all that, I am not sure that the cable housing still presses firmly against the lever.


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## sbindra (Oct 18, 2004)

Got my Redline on Friday and took it for the first ride that night. Short ride to Brooklyn and then a short ride back the next day. Overall impressions:

The frame is fairly compact. I have quite a bit of seat post showing. I was going back and forth between the 58cm and 60cm. I am glad I got the 60cm.

Don't know how I feel about the moustache handlebars. There is really only one position that you can ride in so it puts some pressure on my hands. Maybe it will encourage me to develop more in the core so I can hold myself up and not use my hands for support.

When I picked up the bike, it had everything on it - the mudflaps, chain guard, etc. Have not removed all of that stuff.

The wheels are not very true and I feel a slight wobble in the handling at speeds. Need to take it back to the bike shop to have them true the wheels properly.

Overall, pleased with the bike. Should be a fun bike to ride in the summer.


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## LLrider (Sep 27, 2005)

Sweet bike! I'm looking to get Redline 925 for my commute to work. I live in So Cal and will be doing 30 miles round trip to my office. Mostly just flat surfaces. Just a short hill at the beginning. 

I'll be looking to swap those mustache bars out though. I've ridden another bike with them and didn't care for them. By the way, i'm a mountain biker and have never had a road bike bike before. I was going to put a pair of regular roadie drop bars on. 

Would the drop bars be a simple swap. By that I mean would the brake levers be easy to swap onto the drop bars. Does anyone have this bike with drop bars? Sorry if this is a stup*d question but i'm totally unfamiliary wtih road biking and the control systems(brakes, hanlebars, etc.)


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## sbindra (Oct 18, 2004)

I may swap out the moustache bars. Trying to lean the bike against the wall with those moustache bars is next to impossible! The bike comes almost fully assembled from Redline, including the brakes installed on the bars and taped up. Depending on the distance, going to drop bars may require re-cabling and definately re-taping.


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## the_gormandizer (May 12, 2006)

LLrider said:


> Sweet bike! I'm looking to get Redline 925 for my commute to work. I live in
> Would the drop bars be a simple swap. By that I mean would the brake levers be easy to swap onto the drop bars. Does anyone have this bike with drop bars? Sorry if this is a stup*d question but i'm totally unfamiliary wtih road biking and the control systems(brakes, hanlebars, etc.)


Yes, it would be a simple swap. The factory-supplied brake levers would be fine. You may need to replace the stem, depending on your sizing requirements. The factory stem is quite short. 

I'm quite happy with the bullhorn bars, although I sometimes miss the extra hand posiitons of drop bars. But this is in single speed mode, where I can coast down steep grades. I would imagine that it might be advantageous to not be tucked in too much when riding fixed gear,


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## commutenow (Sep 26, 2004)

When I had my 9.2.5 I had my bars swapped out for drops and I liked them however I was using it as a SS. I rode many long rides and a metric century. I think you will enjoy it.


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## commutenow (Sep 26, 2004)

I am going to adopt my brother-in-laws that he never road so it is brand new and put on drops again.I think I will like his better because the frame is a larger size. I am using Nitto handlebars from Rivendell. Those of you that have one did anyone keep the fenders? If so were you able to ajust them where they did not rub?


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## commutenow (Sep 26, 2004)

I have the larger 9.2.5 now and decided to put red handlebar tape and a red cage and someday maybe a red saddle. It is ready to go and in use.


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## the_gormandizer (May 12, 2006)

commutenow said:


> I have the larger 9.2.5 now and decided to put red handlebar tape and a red cage and someday maybe a red saddle. It is ready to go and in use.


Please post a picture when you're done. I've decided to stay monochrome since it's my bad weather bike and black doesn''t show the dirt. I drive myself nuts pimping out my road bike with color coordinated saddle, tires, cable housing, bar tape etc., so I need to KIS on the 9-2-5.


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## rzims (Nov 15, 2005)

Definitely post pics of the red. I went with the monochrome grey/black but was considering a red/grey theme....


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## commutenow (Sep 26, 2004)

*9.2.5 red wrap*

No red saddle yet....


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## nbrennan (Feb 19, 2007)

What is the tire clearance on the 925?


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## commutenow (Sep 26, 2004)

I think a person could run a wider tire than what comes stock from what it looks like. I have to say this is one fun bike because yesterday on my commute I went through tall yet grass and mud with no problem it was a blast. Cheap and fun!!!!!


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