# fixed for £200?



## henryst (23 Aug 2010)

I'm a newbie here and also in the world of fixie's. First of all a stupid question - what is the bike called if you have a single speed that can also freewheel (don't fancy fixed just yet!)? Next, what shall I buy for my first one? I've been riding in london for a while and bought a very heavy 1976 triumph with 3-speed sturmey archers that soon got stuck in second! The bike weighs about 18-19 kgs I reckon.

Any ideas???


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## HaloJ (23 Aug 2010)

It's called a single speed. You could aim for getting a fixed/free flip-flop hub on the rear which will enable you to ride either way. How much are you willing to scavenge from the old bike as you could get a steel reynolds 531 frame n fork second hand and transfer the gubbins? Could in effect be the purchase of a frame and rear wheel/hub.

I'm collating bits at the moment to build my first fixie but with no bike I'm willing to scavenge parts off to begin. Frame n fork, chainset, brake levers, calipers and pedals all sorted so far for about £100. I'm trying to keep it under £150 but think it'll likely be more like £200. Good learning experience though.






May be worth reading Sheldon's thoughts on fixies....
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html

PS where's the reason for edit box gone?


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## swee'pea99 (23 Aug 2010)

I wouldn't have thought much would be worth transferring. In particular, the wheels are likely to be horrible - solid steel, heavy, and lethal in the wet. (Not to mention the back one has a hub gear.) You'd be much better off using that bike as a stop gap to give you the time to find your new one. 

You need to know how to use ebay, you need to be willing and able to research candidates that come up (google) and you need patience. Combine those and you can get yourself a very nice single speed/fixie for £100, all in. (You need to be able to do the conversion too, but that's not hard...again, google to find help/guidance.) Good luck.


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## pash (23 Aug 2010)

henryst said:


> I'm a newbie here and also in the world of fixie's. First of all a stupid question - what is the bike called if you have a single speed that can also freewheel (don't fancy fixed just yet!)? Next, what shall I buy for my first one? I've been riding in london for a while and bought a very heavy 1976 triumph with 3-speed sturmey archers that soon got stuck in second! The bike weighs about 18-19 kgs I reckon.
> 
> Any ideas???



I got myself a steel peugeot from the 80's to turn into a fixie but changed my mind and kept the gears in the end. these make good project bikes as they have horizontal rear drop outs so can add a flip/flop rear wheel and remove the gears and you are in business. Am probably going to sell mine as dont use it at all and dont want to ride fixed now.


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## henryst (23 Aug 2010)

Thats great advice thankyou. I think I might build my own which sounds fun. The frame I have now is incredibly heavy so I think I won't salvage any bits but slowly build up from scratch. I'm pretty good with google/ebay/gumtree etc so if you guys think I can do it for £100-200 then that would be lovely indeed.
Thankyou!!


HaloJ said:


> It's called a single speed. You could aim for getting a fixed/free flip-flop hub on the rear which will enable you to ride either way. How much are you willing to scavenge from the old bike as you could get a steel reynolds 531 frame n fork second hand and transfer the gubbins? Could in effect be the purchase of a frame and rear wheel/hub.
> 
> I'm collating bits at the moment to build my first fixie but with no bike I'm willing to scavenge parts off to begin. Frame n fork, chainset, brake levers, calipers and pedals all sorted so far for about £100. I'm trying to keep it under £150 but think it'll likely be more like £200. Good learning experience though.
> 
> ...


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## 4F (24 Aug 2010)

I did mine for less than £ 140

Bike £ 40.00 e bay 1980's Dawes
I had been running this geared for 4 years before the conversion so don't really 
take this as a cost for the build

Chainset £ 35.00 - E bay

BB £ 12.00 - Chain Reaction Cycles

Brake hoods £ 5.50 - in the for sale section on here

Brakes £ 22.00 for front and back shimano 105's - E bay

Front wheel £ 55.00 handbuilt with a 105 hub from my LBS

Rear wheel Fixed / Fixed Free of charge from someone on here  

Chain £ 7.50 - LBS

All the other bits I had. To be fair I could have kept the original front wheel, brakes and hoods to make it a real budget special.


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## battered (24 Aug 2010)

Those are all good approaches. You can build a good bike for loose change if you are handy with the spanners, I got a couple of very cheap BSOs (bike shaped objects) from FreeCycle, mine for nowt. I made 1 working bike that a friend is riding about when he feels the need (not often, I suspect he gets on it about once a year while his daughter cycles to the campsite shop).

I built a MTB SS for myself for £50 and what I had in the shed, it's great but not everyone has a Pace Mag fork, Hope wheels and hydraulic discs in the shed. 

You can do the same or spend a few quid getting better parts in your local areabearing in mind a complete bike may be cheaper than its parts. Alternatively, Decathlon have a fully built SS bike for (wait for it) £70. Now I know it won't be anything special but it would be fun to boot around town without worrying too much about where you park it.


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## henryst (24 Aug 2010)

I had a look on decathlon, thats amazing for a first SS but as i can afford a bit more I will. What about the 2010 CREATE bikes that are ebay at the moment for 199.99? Are they as bad as has been discussed here? They look so nice.......


battered said:


> Those are all good approaches. You can build a good bike for loose change if you are handy with the spanners, I got a couple of very cheap BSOs (bike shaped objects) from FreeCycle, mine for nowt. I made 1 working bike that a friend is riding about when he feels the need (not often, I suspect he gets on it about once a year while his daughter cycles to the campsite shop).
> 
> I built a MTB SS for myself for £50 and what I had in the shed, it's great but not everyone has a Pace Mag fork, Hope wheels and hydraulic discs in the shed.
> 
> You can do the same or spend a few quid getting better parts in your local areabearing in mind a complete bike may be cheaper than its parts. Alternatively, Decathlon have a fully built SS bike for (wait for it) £70. Now I know it won't be anything special but it would be fun to boot around town without worrying too much about where you park it.


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## 4F (25 Aug 2010)

henryst said:


> What about the 2010 CREATE bikes that are ebay at the moment for 199.99? Are they as bad as has been discussed here? They look so nice.......



You can polish a turd as much as you like but at the end of the day it's still a turd.


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## henryst (25 Aug 2010)

Enough said - I get it. So many people have said that or something similar on this site that I'd better take notice although it is my first bike and as such maybe doesn't need to be too hot?


4F said:


> You can polish a turd as much as you like but at the end of the day it's still a turd.


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## battered (25 Aug 2010)

Henry, what do you want to do exactly? Build a bike from a load of bits on here/ebay/shed, buy a cheapy and boot it round town for giggles, or buy a ready-to-go bike secondhand, trading a bit of wear and maybe the odd repair against a better bike?


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## 4F (25 Aug 2010)

henryst said:


> Enough said - I get it. So many people have said that or something similar on this site that I'd better take notice although it is my first bike and as such maybe doesn't need to be too hot?



It's not only this site though. Look on Bikeradar, LFGSS 

The problem is that if you end up with a heavy old tank wth unrelieable components it is likely to put you off wanting to take it out and it will end up in the back of your shed rusting away for years.

If you name your budget then you will get a few decent suggestions


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## henryst (27 Aug 2010)

I think buy a cheapy for a while or a second hand. But I am very shallow and own apple products so it has to look good! Thats what attracted me to the create in the first place. If I'm literally cycling to university and work and around london with no ride being longer than a few miles can i get away with a create or something similar?



battered said:


> Henry, what do you want to do exactly? Build a bike from a load of bits on here/ebay/shed, buy a cheapy and boot it round town for giggles, or buy a ready-to-go bike secondhand, trading a bit of wear and maybe the odd repair against a better bike?


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## henryst (27 Aug 2010)

My budget is really £200 stretching another £50 if I really need to. Unrealistic? I think I definitely want to buy one ready to go as opposed to building from scartch.


4F said:


> It's not only this site though. Look on Bikeradar, LFGSS
> 
> The problem is that if you end up with a heavy old tank wth unrelieable components it is likely to put you off wanting to take it out and it will end up in the back of your shed rusting away for years.
> 
> If you name your budget then you will get a few decent suggestions


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## henryst (27 Aug 2010)

Also, could you guys put this url in and have a look at these on gumtree. They seem incredibly cheap. http://www.gumtree.com/london/83/64719083.html

Thankyou!!



henryst said:


> My budget is really £200 stretching another £50 if I really need to. Unrealistic? I think I definitely want to buy one ready to go as opposed to building from scartch.


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## battered (27 Aug 2010)

They do look good, a fully built bike for £165 is great. I'd ideally want to inspect it before buying though, just in case it's not what it appears to be.

If you want one to bowl about on, the Decathlon job is for next to nowt and if you had it for a year you could sell it to a mate forthe best part of £50, so what's to lose? The price of a few pints and a curry. Not even.


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## henryst (28 Aug 2010)

Thanks so much for all the advice guys. I went for this from gumtree, picked it up this morning and I love it!

http://www.gumtree.com/london/92/64767692.html



battered said:


> They do look good, a fully built bike for £165 is great. I'd ideally want to inspect it before buying though, just in case it's not what it appears to be.
> 
> If you want one to bowl about on, the Decathlon job is for next to nowt and if you had it for a year you could sell it to a mate forthe best part of £50, so what's to lose? The price of a few pints and a curry. Not even.


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## swee'pea99 (29 Aug 2010)

Looks good. 'I love it!' seals the deal! Enjoy!


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## battered (30 Aug 2010)

Great stuff. Brilliant news. You've got it, you like it, job done. Now wear it out.


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## henryst (5 Sep 2010)

I can't believe it - someone cut through my lock and stole it while i was in M&S! Loads of cctv there and the police are confident they'll catch whoever it was (probably a van with a couple of meatheads with cutters). Damn it!!!!!


battered said:


> Great stuff. Brilliant news. You've got it, you like it, job done. Now wear it out.


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## swee'pea99 (7 Sep 2010)

God damn! The bastards. Hope you get it back.


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## robin IX (11 Oct 2010)

4F said:


> I did mine for less than £ 140
> 
> Bike £ 40.00 e bay 1980's Dawes
> I had been running this geared for 4 years before the conversion so don't really
> ...


+1
I built mine up for £100 initially, old 80s raleigh road bike plus second hand wheels and a friendly bike mechanic I know.

My total cost is now probably £150ish since I had to get new tyres and got some new bars and brake pads etc (for the front brake).


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