State Bicycle Co : Black Label Series. A T.O.D Review

So a few weeks back, I received an email from State Bicycle Co in regards to their new 6061 Black Label Series asking if I was interested in demoing their bike here in NYC. Shit, Why not? I’m always looking for new content for the site and a bike review is right up my alley. On 2/13/14 I received a delivery of a brand new 57cm Black Label Series Complete bike to review.  I’m 6’2 and usually ride a 58cm frame but with State, my option was 57cm or 59cm. I chose 57cm.

Quick background review, I met Mehdi (State Bicycle co Co-Owner) in Puerto Rico a few years back. We have kept communications since then and State has always supported every TOD event. I support what they are doing and think they have many great programs to help promote cycling. Check out www.StateBicycle.com for more info on their many programs.

(OK back to me.) I instantly gave the bike a once over before assembling the almost pre-assembled bike. Basically all you would have to do it put on the bars, front wheel, pedals and saddle and you’re ready to rock. I took the liberty of taking all the parts off of the almost pre-assembled black label and tightening them for myself. More for reassurance than necessity.  I’ve never ridden a State bike out of the box before and if you take the opinion of these internet “Fixie” kids, the assumption would be that State Bikes suck (Probably because they are affordable and won’t rape your bank account).  If it’s affordable, it must be cheap. The bike was now assembled  and at a 1st glance, not too shabby. Welds were decent, the complete build was not too heavy.  Here’s a rundown of the specs from the State Bicycle Co site.

What’s not mentioned above is the crank arm length which is 165mm (for my height I prefer 170mm). Despite the freezing rainy weather, I took it out for a quick spin from the Bronx to Harlem which is roughly about 11 miles each way. I instantly was not feeling the Pista Velo Drops. I felt they were a little too narrow for my liking and quickly made the Black Label uncomfortable. The 48×16 ratio was smooth however if you are into unnecessary skidding, that ratio allows only 1 skid patch. You will either be rotating or changing tires pretty often. I prefer a 15t or 17t cog. Next day I frisbee’d the Pista drop bars and replaced them with FSA Wing pro compact road bars. They definitely made the ride and control of the black label series much better. Again, it’s preference.

6061 vs 7005 Aluminum. Black Label vs Undefeated

  6061 aluminum is cast with magnesium as its primary additive. 7005 aluminum is cast with zinc as its primary additive. Both formulas have different qualities of lightness, strength and cost. 6061 aluminum (Black Label) is cheaper, thus making a bike built from it more affordable. It’s more costly to use zinc as an aluminum additive, making the 7005 series (Undefeated) more expensive.
The differences may not be even noticeable to the average rider. The stiffness of the 7005 frame make its ride more harsh. For smoother riding bikes, choose 6061 frames.

After about a week and a half of recreational riding, the black label was still running strong. Some minor adjustments were made from the stock setup. I changed the saddle, pedals and bars.  I didn’t want to post a full review with only recreational riding as my source.  I once again switched up the bars to “Easton Monkey Bars” and started using the Black Label for Courier/Food Delivery work. The ride was very responsive and fairly stiff. I pretty much ride through NYC like an asshole and the Black Label held up strong.

I didn’t know what to expect with the Sram S100 crankset since it it was my 1st time riding them. I’m familiar with Sram’s  Omnium & s300 GXP crank set. I did have to tighten the bottom bracket after the 1st week and a half of riding. Overall a pretty solid crank set. I would Like to experience the black label with a different crank set, maybe the 170mm Sram s300 to fully compare.  One major change I do to all my bikes before riding is remove the master link from the chain. Riding fixed put a lot of stress on your chain and i’ve seen master links pop while riding which is pretty scary. The provided KMC chain didn’t come with enough links to safely remove the master link (If there were extra links in the box, I missed them). I switched to a longer KMC chain, If you decide to run a larger cog or chain ring you will need to do so as well.

So here’s the low down on the Black Label Series.  The frame set was really solid and stiff. For a complete 6061 Aluminum track bike, I don’t think the price tag of $760.00 will break the bank and free shipping is always a plus. So what’s my take on state bikes? Well I can’t speak for all of their models but in my opinion the Black Label series is a solid build. I think a stock build will be great for a novice to intermediate rider and with some upgrades, the black label can be a problem in the streets. The geometry could be tighter for velodrome use but I’m not expert on track racing. 

After almost 2 months of riding the Black Label these are the following changes that I’ve made during the test run. 

Swapped from stock saddle to Fizik Antares.

Changed bar from Stock Pista drop to FSA road drops/Easton Risers.

Changed stock pedals to Time Atac. 

Swapped rear wheel w/16t cog to HPlusSon TB14 rim laved to a paul hub w/15t cog. 

I feel the wheel set could be lighter however, I stopped riding deep wall rims sometime ago. The sealed hubs are a plus. The stock tires will most likely only last you a month. I mean I don’t think the tires would be a major selling point anyway but swapping those out would be in your best interest to save yourself from getting unnecessary flats. 

At 1st the Essor fork seemed a bit sketchy and that’s only due to the minimal knowledge I have of the company. With so many stock carbon forks snapping from companies that I shall not mention (y’all know who i’m talking about).  The fear of taking a sharp turn and snapping the fork was very much present. With the abuse that I put this full carbon fork through, it safely held up and upon inspection, there are no cracks to date. 

My overall experience with the State Bicycle co Black Label. I had a blast tearing up NYC with this bike. I will admit that I was pretty skeptical at 1st but once the I got over that, I pushed this bike to my max and pissed off plenty of motorist in NYC in the process. I highly doubt a rider would switch from one of the bigger name track bike manufacturers to purchase a State bike, I mean i’m just being honest. The fixed gear culture seems to be more about the amount of money you spend on your build and less about building a quality bike. If you are one of those riders who are not entertained by such things and had the Black Label as a bike on your list, GO FOR IT! State Bicycle co put together a great build for a reasonable price. 

Thanks you State Bicycle Co for allowing me to test out your latest bike.

Also big thanks to Cesar Macay for providing the photos for this review.  Follow on Instagram @TrackOrDieNYC and Like the FB Page TrackOrDieNYC.com for updates on all of our upcoming Spring/Summer Events.