# Secondhand Fixed gear project



## Merida (26 Sep 2011)

Yo planning on making a road fixie out of secondhand parts, however my mind is boggled for choice! i am also finding it difficult to decide between performance and style as i already have a performance bike and my creative juices are flowing! might just go for a blend of the two but no ideas what frame and components would lend itself to this set up :S i do want this bike to be fast and light, i prefer bullhorns and a flipflop hub, but dont want to compromise overall style (this is probably the general aim to fixies right?)

feeedback would be a gud un


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## wheres_my_beard (26 Sep 2011)

What parts to you have already, or have your eye on?

http://www.myfixedgear.net/ <- is worth browsing for inspiration; there are some sweet track and vintage bikes on here aswell as some more urban fixed gear bikes. There are some great fixed and single speed conversions on there too.


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## Merida (26 Sep 2011)

thanks for the reply! I have some wiesmann XTR wheels that i could use but dont particularly think would be suitable and have been looking at multiple frames: peugeot, bianchi, look etc but cant decide what would be good or suitable as i know the frame dimensions on fixed gear bikes are different but im not really sure what they are (i have googled some contradictory information) i have a set of RB bullhorns that i defo want to use but thats about it so far, biggest points of confusion are frame wheels and hubs.


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## PpPete (26 Sep 2011)

I'd try and find a nice old steel frame on eBay in your normal size. 531 or better, but not something with touring geometry. And if paintwork not good, it will go for less so you can afford to get it powder-coated.

Size wise you need a slightly shorter top-tube for bull-horns than you do for drops (or if the same length top-tube a shorter stem)


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## Merida (26 Sep 2011)

see i had no idea that you had to do that with bullhorns, any steel frame in particular? can only find a few Reynolds and their not that cheap and my only experiences are with carbon and alu


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## PpPete (26 Sep 2011)

Something like this would be ideal (assuming it has horizontal drop-outs)
Always have a look at the rear triangle. This, for example, is too "long" in the rear triangle to my way of thinking, and I suspect the head angle is too soft also.

The "racier" ones are certainly not cheap, often costing more than a half decent new aluminum road frame, but the great thing (to me) is the "classic" looks and the ability to easily cold-set the rear triangle to suit whatever wheels you are using.


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## Merida (26 Sep 2011)

ah brilliantly informative, i see the differences between the shapes of the two frames great. even though the steel is more expensive i love the ornate lugwork on some of these you just dont really find that on modern bikes.


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## 4F (26 Sep 2011)

Steel is real, feel the love  

Agree that a cheap frame would be the best starting point


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## Bicycle (26 Sep 2011)

Merida said:


> Yo planning on making a road fixie out of secondhand parts, however my mind is boggled for choice! i am also finding it difficult to decide between performance and style as i already have a performance bike and my creative juices are flowing! might just go for a blend of the two but no ideas what frame and components would lend itself to this set up :S i do want this bike to be fast and light, i prefer bullhorns and a flipflop hub, but dont want to compromise overall style (this is probably the general aim to fixies right?)
> 
> feeedback would be a gud un




I faced these very qustions 18 months ago. I may not have done the smart thing, but this is what worked for me:

1. Steel frame (butted 531 that I had hanging from a rafter). Go cheap if you already have performance wheels.

2. Bull horns are fine if you like them. I cut down some droips to make mine - I half love them, half regret doing so...

3. Wheels. Anything lightish and round. You will be riding fixed for a billion reasons, but are unlikely to be doing so for a best-ever time. I'd be inclined to keep it cheap and just enjoy the bizarre ride you get from fixed.

As to what lends itself to fixed, whatever you want is what you want. I don't think there are any rules.

Costs mount if you're not strict with yourself, so keep an eye on that. 

I agree with whoever said that Steel is lovely. It is. I'd go for an old, secondhand steel frame with horizontal dropouts.

You will wonder (at some stage) whether to fit rear brakes or not. Initially I removed mine. I just wanted to throw out as much as I could...

After a couple of scares I re-fitted them. I don't know if I'll ever have the courage to ride without them.

Everyone is different, but I wouldn't give yourself the flip-flop option. I have free-wheel on other bikes. The fixie is just utterly different and slightly mentally unbalanced. I think the purity adds to the madness of it all. 

I know others think differently and are probably wiser and cleverer than me.... Mine was good for a 125-mile charity ride (no big hills). 

The wonderful thing about building your own bike is that if you want a fixed-gear full-suss MTB with dropped bars, hydraulic discs and 700c road wheels, you can have it...  

But don't! That would just be silly.


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## wheres_my_beard (27 Sep 2011)

Bicycle said:


> The wonderful thing about building your own bike is that if you want a fixed-gear full-suss MTB with dropped bars, hydraulic discs and 700c road wheels, you can have it...


...if you have a >>







Or you are made entirely out of AWESOME!!!


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## Merida (27 Sep 2011)

> The wonderful thing about building your own bike is that if you want a fixed-gear full-suss MTB with dropped bars, hydraulic discs and 700c road wheels, you can have it...
> 
> But don't! That would just be silly.




silly and fricking cool, one of the reasons i was so attracted to the idea. Thanks for the advice, this place is such a useful resource!


@*wheres_my_beard*

Charlie Bronson in that film man, pacifist to killing machine brutal.


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## YahudaMoon (27 Sep 2011)

London fixed gear and single speed will give you a good idea. Maybe to much of an idea. Just looking at the pics is enough :- D

Its proberbly the best place for picking up cheap bike stuff in my opinion. lots up for grabs on a daily basis

http://www.lfgss.com/


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## Merida (27 Sep 2011)

wow great site learned alot, great for cheap parts, and then i saw the pictures  although my budget for this bike is around £200, the next one i make is going to be so expensive and pretty


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## wheres_my_beard (27 Sep 2011)

Don't look at the "bike porn" section of lfgss... you will never be happy with your ride again...


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## tyred (27 Sep 2011)

Merida said:


> see i had no idea that you had to do that with bullhorns, any steel frame in particular? can only find a few Reynolds and their not that cheap and my only experiences are with carbon and alu


Reynolds 531 frames have got to be expensive on Ebay.


531 is desireable but don't dismiss some of the lower specced stuff which can give a very good ride for little money. In particular, look at Peugeot Carbolites from the 1980s, an excellent riding frame imo, and not sought after by collectors so not especially valuable. No ornate lugwork on them unfortunately.


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## biggs682 (3 Oct 2011)

just starting to put together my 5th single speeder , and its 2nd one using a Columbus Alloy tubed frame so nice and light . from memorey none of them have cost more than £120 all in .

this current one is a paul milnes ex cyclocross frame that is going to be my commuter for a while once its finished .


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## nuovo_record (7 Oct 2011)

Merida said:


> wow great site learned alot, great for cheap parts, and then i saw the pictures  although my budget for this bike is around £200, the next one i make is going to be so expensive and pretty
> [/quote
> 
> holdsworth super mistral frame rescued and painted for £50, chrome forks £5.....had the wheels already (nothing special, campag gran sport hubs and mavic rims really old), stem and bars...whole build no more than £100.
> it's amazing what you can pick up


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## uphillstruggler (12 Oct 2011)

That is one good looking bike


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## kowalski (12 Oct 2011)

Bear in mind that a lot of road frames don't suit a fixed conversion because the BB is too low.

Since you can't coast around corners the low BB may increase the chance of pedal strike, which is no fun on a fixed wheel bike! Use of shorter cranks will help, but recycling the existing road crank will only make the problem worse.

The semi-horizontal dropouts found on old road frames allow chain tension adjustment, but don't accommodate chaintugs.

The OLN for a track hub is 120mm. Depending on its age, a road frame will be spaced 126mm or 130mm.

Lots of people successfully convert road frames to fixed, but the above points might take some of the fun out of the project!


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## Bicycle (12 Oct 2011)

kowalski said:


> Bear in mind that a lot of road frames don't suit a fixed conversion because the BB is too low.
> 
> Since you can't coast around corners the low BB may increase the chance of pedal strike, which is no fun on a fixed wheel bike! Use of shorter cranks will help, but recycling the existing road crank will only make the problem worse.
> 
> ...



I am surprised not to have been caught out by pedal strike since starting to ride fixed just over a year ago. I think I just don't nail the corners the way I ought to and that makes me feel sad and old...  

Inerestingly, when I've lent the thing to large-footed friends who eschew clipless pedals, they have been beset by footstrike on the wheel when flipping the 'bars while balancing at rest.

Why they don't just put a foot down I do not know... Tsssk....


On the 120mm thing, I was lucky (ish) to be swiped off my fixie by a SMIDSY, so when I sent the frame to be straightened, they reduced the gap to 120mm for me at no extra cost.


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## Theseus (12 Oct 2011)

kowalski said:


> Bear in mind that a lot of road frames don't suit a fixed conversion because the BB is too low.
> 
> Since you can't coast around corners the low BB may increase the chance of pedal strike, which is no fun on a fixed wheel bike! Use of shorter cranks will help, but recycling the existing road crank will only make the problem worse.
> 
> ...




I have successfully converted an aluminium frame (so no cold setting) with 130mm spacing to fixed when using a standard 120mm rear hub. Not by touching the frame, but by adapting the hub. I replaced the axle with one long enough to bridge the gap with room to spare and then used a couple of 5mm thick chain tugs to increase the OLN to 130mm. The frame has track ends rather than drop outs.


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