Project Fixed Gear

[Rapid Tourist]

They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Here is step one of my Fixee. I've been thinking about trying it for a while, and I decided to try to build the bike by myself as much as possible. The bars and levers are thanks to ebay, the frame is thanks to our friend DBRK.

I thought it would be fun if others posted pictures of their project bikes or shared any lessons or stories from bikes they have built. I am having a lot of fun. :)

Lessons learned so far:
1. Lugged steel is very good.
2. Frame saver is a mess to apply.
3. Bottom brackets are no problemo to install.

Please share any experiences you have had building a bike! Thanks.

[flydhest]

Excellent! My plan to turn the entire world into fixed gear riders is slowly progressing.

Looks like you're off to a great start. Share with us some ideas about what you're doing for wheels and the other bits left.

I built up my fixed gear myself and had a ball doing it. The think I hate most about building bikes is cables, so fixies are great from that perspective.

When do you think it will be ready? Me, Smiley, and our buddy Mark were out this past weekend on a fixed gear ride. You should join us.

[Marron]

I'm just building up another fixed gear myself. Don't ask me why, I already have a perfectly good fixed Merckx that I rode to work this morning, but I guess you can never have too many cool bikes. In my case I'm starting with a NOS Saronni from the 80's. It's a workmanlike frame with a fluted top and down tube, Colnago lugs and a neat red finish over chrome. Colnago, or one of his sub-contractors, made it as a budget offering. I picked the frame up on e-bay for $150.00 and the only new bits I needed were a chain, handlebar tape and a 26.8 seatpost ($12.95 from Supergo). So for under $200 I'm on my way.

Your frame looks like it will build up into a great scorcher style bike. Should be great for cruising around on.

[weisan]

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/

Tons of resource and ideas to share.

[Ray]

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/

Tons of resource and ideas to share.
I'm #3 on that site. Little did any of us imagine what it would turn into! I even got a cool fixed gear baseball cap featuring the pic of the bike at the top of the page embroidered above the bill. Recently converted the old Bianchi pictured on that site back into a geared bike (with DRBK's favorite 650b wheels and centerpull brakes to make it work) and turned a little used Rivendell into the fixie. I also lost the moustache bars and now use turned over, sawed off drop bars that work like cowhorns but are wider to help wrestle the bike up climbs. Much fun.

-Ray

[zap]

Excellent! My plan to turn the entire world into fixed gear riders is slowly progressing.

Not going to happen.

[flydhest]

Excellent! My plan to turn the entire world into fixed gear riders is slowly progressing.

Not going to happen.

Resistance is futile.

[Sandy]

Beautiful frameset! I love that color. :) :)

Saphire Sandy

[zap]

Resistance is futile.
__________________



No resistance needed.

But I don't want to divert this thread any further. Start a new one.

Rapid T, nice looking frame and I'm sure you'll enjoy the build process.

[pbbob]

splurge some more and build some wheels with phil hubs. it's what I have on my old serotta fixed.
I'm converting my old cannondale 2.8 into a weight weenie fixed/free machine.

[Smiley]

Needs a basket on the handlebars with a dog named ToTo in it and thats a rap :banana:

Very nice build Rapid Tourist

[Too Tall]

R.T. You rule :) 66 gear inch? What did you pick?

Sorry Zapper, FlyGuy must be feared it's just better that way :

www.ahealinghand.com/images/general/dalek2.wav

[Rapid Tourist]

Thanks all for your positive posts!

Marron--I like your vision, a retro skorcher look was exactly what I had in mind.

TT--After not much thought at all, I went with 63 gear inches. Why? Because I like to spin, have some knee issues, and because I'm a wussy. I assume there will be a lot of gear changes before I settle on one.

I would be willing to ride with anyone who's interested after a put some more parts on. :) :)

I"ll post more pics when its done for anyone who cares.

Opinions Please--one brake or two???

[Russell]

Resistance is futile.

yes master.

[flydhest]

Is it going to be ready to ride this weekend????

Re: brakes, I vote for 1 (front). When my wife first got her fixed gear, she was certain she wanted both. On her own, she decided fairly quickly that she didn't want to keep the rear. I don't know if she's taken it off, though, as she hasn't been riding it recently.

I assume it's clear, that if you only have one brake, it should be the front.

On the other hand, with the cantilever mounts, it might look funny not to have both. I dunno.

What time are we meeting at Smiley's?

[Smiley]

Fly , I think the Tourist said that she should be able to come out and PLAY with us on Sunday , plus she has not built the whole bike up yet . Could Sandy's CSI be next , or better yet your new found friend Zap could be FIXED :banana: next .

[H.Frank Beshear]

Wasn't Sandy was trying to get Kevan fixed :rolleyes: :D

[Sandy]

He certainly was. No one could do it. Not with a magnifying glass or even with an electron micrscope. Just too small. :)

Still Searching,

Surgeon Sandy

[Too Tall]

I vote for two brakes cause this thing is potential for offroad riding as a single speed...it's perfect. Think you will find 63 gear inches a great challenge and you might start looking around for something in the 66 to 69" range for road riding.

Guys, we don't need a surgeon. On the farm we used these little black rubber bands.

[H.Frank Beshear]

We used a new pair of sidecutters on shoats :eek: :( mmm, rocky mountain oysters :beer: Frank

[Climb01742]

why does every thread, sooner or later, always involve either a) kevan or b) private body parts or most troubling of all, c) kevan's private parts??????????? :cool: :p ;) :D

[Vancouverdave]

Cool looking frame--what is it? Considering the source it's probably something interesting.