fixie

[ERDR]

i have an old steel seven. i'd like to turn it into a fixed gear. the paint is crap. i checked with seven in regard to changing out the rear drop outs to run a fixed gear and a simple 1 color re-paint. $700 plus shipping. sounds mighty steep to me. any thoughts?
s.

[davids]

Sounds a bit high, but not out of line with what I would have guessed - I would have said $500-$600.

[J.Greene]

Sounds a bit high, but not out of line with what I would have guessed - I would have said $500-$600.


I have been quoted 175 for the repair by Mary Pffeifer in SC. Add to that paint. I actually did the mod myself with the help of a local friend and framebuilder.

I'll post a pic when I get home. Big Bro won't let me access picture sites from the office.

JG

[znfdl]

That sounds a bit high. You should ask Ergott how the white industries eccentric rear wheels are working out for fixie conversions.

[Ray]

That sounds a bit high. You should ask Ergott how the white industries eccentric rear wheels are working out for fixie conversions.
I don't know how much of that is paint and how much is repair, but the ENO hub that znfdl refers to beats getting the frame redone with horizontals. I have an ENO rear wheel and I actually like using it with vertical dropouts more than I liked using horizontals in the past. Something about the way the weight of the bike sets the chain tension without pulling the wheel out of alignment makes using this wheel a breeze. May not be much cheaper than getting the frame converted, but since you're gonna want a fixed-specific rear wheel anyway, this is a good way to go.

-Ray

[justinf]

Go with the Eno. I too converted a steel Seven, and it gets a lot more use as a fixie. The dropouts and paint won't be worth the money (although, I would imagine the paint is about $500 of that price).

[Fixed]

i have an old steel seven. i'd like to turn it into a fixed gear. the paint is crap. i checked with seven in regard to changing out the rear drop outs to run a fixed gear and a simple 1 color re-paint. $700 plus shipping. sounds mighty steep to me. any thoughts?
s.
leave it as is, it's an urban bike
imho
cheers

[davids]

Go with the Eno. I too converted a steel Seven, and it gets a lot more use as a fixie. The dropouts and paint won't be worth the money (although, I would imagine the paint is about $500 of that price).
I was thinking about doing this to my Steel Axiom, too, but had such a good time using it as a 'country bike' in Maine this summer that I'm going another route - fenders and a compact drive train will fit the bill, atmo.

And the paint on mine (from 1999) is basically perfect - A few dings on the drive-side chainstay and scrapes around the bottom bracket where I've dropped the chain (that's the triple for you.) But aside from that, it's still like new.

[harlond]

I wanted to convert my Atlanta Concept to a SS/fixed and settled on the ENO hub. I got a set of wheels with this hub and Velocity Aeroheads from Mike Garcia for under $400 AND had the frame stripped and powdercoated for just under $300. Seems like a better option to me, but I recognize that paint is not equivalent to powdercoat. If interested, there are pictures in the Serotta bike forum.

I'm very happy with the wheels and the hub. I have had some issues recently with the rear hub right bolt edging forward a bit, resulting in wheel misalignment, but I'm hoping that was just inadequate tightening. Another good thing about the ENO is that it's flip-flop. So if you find, as I did, that fixed riding isn't for you, you have an easy SS option.

[J.Greene]

i have an old steel seven. i'd like to turn it into a fixed gear. the paint is crap. i checked with seven in regard to changing out the rear drop outs to run a fixed gear and a simple 1 color re-paint. $700 plus shipping. sounds mighty steep to me. any thoughts?
s.

This is my version of your project here (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jonathan_adam_greene/album?.dir=e9f6&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jonathan_adam_greene/my_photos). 88 Waterford Paramount. Pacenti dropouts brazed in. Old generic Schwinn decals. Imron color and clear.


JG

[stevep]

find out what zank would charge to replace the dropouts...
a lot less i reckon.
then paint the dropouts black and leave it at that.

[vaxn8r]

sounds like you got too many bikes. I'll take the Merlin...or the Ottrott. I mean, if you're not gonna ride them.

[djg]

The ENO hub works pretty well, and is a relatively simple way of converting any bike with vertical dropouts into a fixed gear bike. All things equal, I'd prefer horizontal track forks instead of dropouts--the ENO takes a bit more futzing, now and again, to get the wheel to sit right with the proper chain tension, and you really need to make sure you crank the bolts down. But it's a neat thing, and it doesn't cost a fortune, and it doesn't require shipping your frame off, and it works. Somewhere in the picture gallery is a picture of my converted CSi, which uses an ENO hub, and I know that I've seen others here. I rode it to work today--no worries.

As for cost: with the ENO, there's the cost of a hub and a wheel rebuild or, if you like, the cost of a wheel built around the new hub, but there's no special reason you need to buy two new wheels if you have a spare front laying around. You can get a wheel built for under 250, and if you are just buying the hub it's quite a bit less. Then there's the question what other parts you'd like--a cog, obviously, maybe a track chain, maybe a new chainring, etc.

With the frame "repair," the unknown is what you are paying for factory paint. Framebuilders like Spectrum, Rex, and others (maybe Zank, as somebody suggested), can probably replace the rear dropouts and do a decent touch-up of the paint for much, MUCH, less than the 700 bucks you were quoted. I think that Spectrum quoted me something around 150 bucks or so when I asked about this, and I'm sure that they'd be glad to pin it down for you if you were to give them a call. A professional, but basic one-color paint or powdercoat job can be had for a couple hundred bucks from any of several sources (although I'd guess a bit more from these framebuilders). So ... I would think that you could get the repair plus a repaint for about 400 bucks or so. If you start adding panels or fades or this or that the price climbs, obviously, and could climb to 700.

[Fixed]

bro are you an erdr ? in that case get it fixed the way you want ,you deserve it imho...
you might be the cat that tries to put me back together some day so
.thank you
cheers

[Dude]

I have used the ENO for almost two years now and it couldn't be any more low maintenance. I built up a wheel around it put it on and have never touched it. Rode it in that hurricane that just blew here and the bearings are fine. It was COMPLETELY submerged, 3 times, and it spins like a dream still.

Snow, salt, coffee, beer, puke, you name it and this bike has seen it. I'm really impressed with it.

FWIW, i have it on an old Saratoga Ti frame and it doesn't move on those dropouts.