# Anyone know anything about the FBM Sword frame?



## cale76 (Apr 1, 2007)

Was thinking about getting a fixed gear, and wanted to know if anyone knew anything about the fbm sword. I don't doubt the quality, knowing a bit about fbm as a company, but anyone know anything about the price? I'd like to pick one up, but I certainly don't want to break the bank building one up.

http://www.fbmfixed.com


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

those dropouts are, uh, unique... why not contact them about price? afaik, yours is the first post here that mentions them


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## Alx (Mar 22, 2007)

$550 for a basic 4130 steel frame, I could see that after having some experience building road frames but this is from a BMX company's first attempt at capitalizing on the fixed gear craze. They should have an introductory price to get the word out considering a well established builder like Surly is selling their Steamroller frames for less than $400 and their completes for $600.

Its a nice frame and I'm sure it is very well built like their BMX frames but there's better and more tested frames out there for much less.

Look to SOMA, Surly, Even the bikesdirect Kilo frame ($199) is a good way to get into fixed riding without breaking the bank.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

It might matter to some, it appears that these are made in the US and not overseas...

whether that is worth the extra $$ is up to the buyer


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## cale76 (Apr 1, 2007)

Yeah, I know they are using 4130 chromoly, as is standard in the bmx world, and they're made in New York. $500 is a bit much for a frame it would seem. I think all the dudes at FBM are good dudes, but man, I don't see spending that much on just a fixie frame. I guess maybe the high price has to do with them trying to pay for all the costs involved with starting to make fixie frames rather than just bmx frames? who knows. all i know is its late and if I could find a super cheap fixie frame, or complete, I'd be happy as can be.


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## bikesdirect (Sep 9, 2006)

cale76 said:


> who knows. all i know is its late and if I could find a super cheap fixie frame, or complete, I'd be happy as can be.


Very easy to get a complete SS/FG for under $300
Or a super high grade track frame at under $200


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## cale76 (Apr 1, 2007)

bikesdirect said:


> Very easy to get a complete SS/FG for under $300



Point me in the direction of everyone of those you find. Only saw a few on bikesdirect.com, perhaps I'm not looking in the right place...


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Check out the following sites for frames for around $200

http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_STOR20.cgi?Action=Details&ProdID=1084

http://cgi.ebay.com/58cm-Track-Fixe...14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-55CM-FIXED-...14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

http://www.performancebike.com/shop...ategory_ID=3020&CFID=2218318&CFTOKEN=11883178


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## DDolan (Nov 3, 2007)

Dave Hickey said:


> Check out the following sites for frames for around $200
> 
> http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_STOR20.cgi?Action=Details&ProdID=1084
> 
> ...


by the way, knock another $30 off of the scattante from performance if you want a seat collar to come with it http://www.performancebike.com/shop...ategory_ID=3020&CFID=1715589&CFTOKEN=49160398


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## bikesdirect (Sep 9, 2006)

Dave Hickey said:


> Check out the following sites for frames for around $200


Dave
OP ask for sites where he can buy SS/FG BIKES under $300

there are two that I know of [besides ebay]
bikesdirect
sportymamabikes

complete SS/FG bikes can be had for under $300; as you know


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

there must be a container on its way to the US


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

funny. my exact thought


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## bikesdirect (Sep 9, 2006)

FatTireFred said:


> there must be a container on its way to the US



If you are referring to bikesdirect
you are right - BUT you could always say that as
we always have several on the water

And as a point of interest to those input SS/FG; the turn of SS/FG bikes for us and every supplier I know has been so high that noone can keep up. If we could get twice as many; it still would not be enough

In fact, it is almost like many buyers now hate gears. I have never seen anything exactly like it. Makes me wonder; what's next? {I am thinking internal 3,7, & 8 spd hubs}


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## ecastu (Jul 26, 2010)

The price of the FBM Sword is not to "make up for a bmx company's first attempt at the fixed gear market." That statement shows a gross misunderstanding of what FBM is as a company. It is also not just because the frames are made in New York, or the USA. Yes, supporting AMerica while the economy is in the toilette is important, but if these frames were made in the same fashion machine shop styling as they use in Japan to make, say, I don't know, Terrible One, Releigh, Giant, etc. etc. the price would be reflected as those other Fixies that don't "break your bank".

FBM frames, for the most part are hand made by some of the best people to ever wield a torch. It's not called the sword cause swords stab things and are cool. I checked my hipster dictionary and found no reference to anything being generally reffered to as sword like. Swords were forged by hand by the best metal workers villages had back in the day to ensure the best product possible for the battlefield. FBM hand makes these frames to ensure the best possible quality. Your battlefield might be a game of bike polo, but the people at FBM spare no skill or knowledge in building every frame they roll out of their place in New York. There is a reason FBM is one of the strongest going rider owned brands in the buisness. There is a reason they survived a fire that would have destroyed bigger companies. The frames are bad ass, they are amazing, and Steve Crandall knows more about bikes than most people know about their own toes. Mine are right at the end of my feet. In my socks. I have ten of them.

I have ridden a Sword, it rides like a dream. I don't ride Fixies, so I can't really contest to how it holds up to others in general but I will say this, I have owned and ridden Two FBM Angel Of Death, one FBM Stairmaster, and one FBM MSTR BLSTR. The only reason I stopped riding FBM was because Aaron Ross's signature Sunday Funday is the most advanced frame in BMX. There really is nothing I wouldn't buy from FBM, or more importantly Steve Crandall. I have met the man, I know how passionate he is about putting the best possible products out there. If he didn't trust it, his name wouldn't be on it.

I understand 500 is a lot for your first fixie frame, but you gotta understand with the proper care, (a lock and not leaving it in the rain), your first fixie frame could wind up being your last. I used to get a BMX bike every christmas, then, on my birthday I would get another one. Constantly cheaping out didn't save me money it cost me so much more because I was replacing bullshit with crap. In general BMX riders are a bit harder on frames than road cyclists, so I don't suspect you'll be denting downtubes or grinding drop outs. That being said, spend the money now, today, and it will probably be the last frame you buy. Instead of spending three hundred bucks every three years you spend five hundred once. Seems like a deal to me.

The final note, you are not paying five hundred for the frame. You are paying five hundred for the team of people spent bent over with a blow torch sweating over your frame. You are not paying for a BMX company to "break into" the fixie buisness. Believe me, FBM is doing fine without the hipster cash flow. But when you order your FBM Sword there is a good chance it will start being made within ten minutes of it being ordered. I know they have stock, but it is a do it yourself company so there is a good chance your bike will be made to order like so many delicious burgers at Wendy's, and not just pulled off a shelf it was sitting on for three years stuffed into a box and shipped all dusty like that Chrome Dimondback Viper you got when you were 13. If your just getting into fixed gear maybe a vintage 1975 so and so that has been sanded twelve times and painted 20 to hide the rust is the way to go. I don't know. It's whatever. What I do know is FBM is an amazing company. They have had some of the most famous welder's in bicycyle history making their bikes, (Spooky), and in my history of over ten years buying products made by Steve and the rest of the team, (from frames to flasks), they have never NOT ONCE made a single thing I have been dissappointed with.

Save for an extra month, get the Sword. At the very least you'll have the prettiest bike at the coffee shop.:thumbsup:


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

ecastu said:


> . . . Save for an extra month, get the Sword. At the very least you'll have the prettiest bike at the coffee shop.:thumbsup:


Not to be a lil' biased or anything.


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## ecastu (Jul 26, 2010)

Pablo said:


> Not to be a lil' biased or anything.



Completely biased with good reason. I am always going to be biased towards a company that constantly makes great bikes, and parts. And believe me, if Steve could find a way to cut down on the cost of making the frame without sacrificing quality he would, that penny saving would be reflected in the price. It's not like Crandall is riding around in a Corvette.

Now, if you're specifically referring to the coffee shop crack, well, suck it up. Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason and when I pull my flourescent colored $2,000 Sunday Funday up to the bike rack at my local Starbucks (any one of twelve within riding distance), guess what kind of bikes rise high above my ocean blue and hot pink seat? Fixies, almost exclusively, and who get's dirty looks from the "affiocionados" on bicycles? Me. Maybe it's me. having a beard without an Ironic Mustache. Or possibly not wearing painted on Jeans, but I am willing to bet I could build the **** out of any kind of bike, and hold more knowledge in my 13 years of competing on two wheels than any number of the cool kids at my coffee shop.

I'm not here to butt heads, just give what I know about the Sword, so with turnabout being fair play and all, BMXers are dirty. We are destructive man children. I don't really know any other stereotypes for BMXers. Shed some light for me if you'd be so inclined. I guess it sucks having the form of riding you hold dear being so tightly intertwined with a choice of life style. However, when I went to build up my FBM Sword as a means to build better pedaling abilities, (literally, I wanted a bike that would train my feet to better perform in the racing side of BMX), I was scoffed, mocked and scorned by every BMX rider I called a friend for the last decade. Can't we all just get along? As fellow bicycle enthusiasts can't we just love each other because of our shared appreciation for non motored forms of transportation? Can I pedal a mile in your converse while you pedal a mile in my DC's? :17:


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## beezleboss (Dec 18, 2010)

The FBM sword is worth the money! I have one and it is a super nice bike.
You can tell it's made in the USA,You can also tell its made by a bmx company because its made really well and is still really light for being 4130.
I ride my Volume cutter to the store and never lock it because if it gets stolen who cares it's a Volume. The FBM if it got stolen I would lose my mind! The FBM is on par with the Vicious Cycles quality very nice piece. Price a Vicious frame and look at the FBM price. The quality is the same.
The ride quality is on par with my 3 Rensho if not better if that tells you anything!

Buy American!!!! I have a bunch of other country bikes and am selling them off slowly to buy more American bikes. I think the only bike I would keep is the Rensho because it is like a samurai sword you just don't sell that kind of ****.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

beezleboss said:


> The FBM sword is worth the money! I have one and it is a super nice bike.
> You can tell it's made in the USA,You can also tell its made by a bmx company because its made really well and is still really light for being 4130.
> I ride my Volume cutter to the store and never lock it because if it gets stolen who cares it's a Volume. The FBM if it got stolen I would lose my mind! The FBM is on par with the Vicious Cycles quality very nice piece. Price a Vicious frame and look at the FBM price. The quality is the same.
> The ride quality is on par with my 3 Rensho if not better if that tells you anything!
> ...


Is business slow?


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

Alx said:


> $550 for a basic 4130 steel frame ...Surly is selling their Steamroller frames for less than $400 ... Look to SOMA, Surly, Even the bikesdirect Kilo



A USA-made True Temper OX Platinum frame will cost a lot more than whatever Pac-rim frames Bikesdirect, Soma, or Surly is selling. $500 seems about right.


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## Special Eyes (Feb 2, 2011)

I just bought a Sword frame and fork to be built up over the next few weeks. It's finished in clearcoat so you can see the work of the American craftsmen that built it and make a living from it. For the money, in today's world, it's a steal. Or, you can support foreigners and their robots making typically nice but basically common manufactured metalwork. OK, I'm a machinist and regard, respect and admire craftsmanship, but you can, too!


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

Special Eyes said:


> I just bought a Sword frame and fork to be built up over the next few weeks. It's finished in clearcoat so you can see the work of the American craftsmen that built it and make a living from it. For the money, in today's world, it's a steal. Or, you can support foreigners and their robots making typically nice but basically common manufactured metalwork. OK, I'm a machinist and regard, respect and admire craftsmanship, but you can, too!




same HTA and STA in all sizes doesn't say much for the designer of that frame...


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## Special Eyes (Feb 2, 2011)

" doesn't say much for the designer of that frame. "

I have a long reach, and I think it will work just fine for me. I'm sure the designer knew what he was doing, just not doing it for you.


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## Waves77 (Aug 15, 2010)

Special Eyes said:


> " doesn't say much for the designer of that frame. "
> 
> I have a long reach, and I think it will work just fine for me. I'm sure the designer knew what he was doing, just not doing it for you.


Actually I can't think of one single manufacturer that uses the exact same angles throughout all it's sizes. It's a retarded move IMO.

And as for the obvious shills... seriously?


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## Special Eyes (Feb 2, 2011)

Waves77 said:


> Actually I can't think of one single manufacturer that uses the exact same angles throughout all it's sizes. It's a retarded move IMO.
> 
> And as for the obvious shills... seriously?


I've seen others, but couldn't find them to put o this post.

Shills ????


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

beezleboss was the shill.


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## Waves77 (Aug 15, 2010)

tihsepa said:


> beezleboss was the shill.


Also ecastu (2 posts)


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