Fixie Frenzy

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Permalink Reply by Wombat on February 22, 2010 at 8:28pm

I know a guy who builds up bikes and puts them on ebay. we bought a bike from him a few weeks ago.

He has a stack of old road frames that he said I could pick from for $10 if I wanted to... could be a good starting point, except that I have already offered to take one of Jeremy's bikes off his hands for just the purpose of stripping it down and having it powder coated... thinking powder blue... and making a fixie from it.

Let me know where you are and maybe we can build them together... maybe we can meet up at the Co-op when it gets up and running in a few months.

Wombat

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Langman Hender on May 18, 2010 at 9:46am

Hey bud.

I just did a similar thing (x2) so I can help.

What kind of cog are we talking? Is it a screw on track-style cog? Or one designed to go on a splined freehub?

If the old wheel is designed for gears (a cassette) then you can remove all the extraneous sprockets, add spacers to the hub to get the chainline right and have a regular single-speed. There's no need to redish the wheel at all in this scenario. Redishing will require new spokes and probably a new hub. For a conversion on the cheap, there's no sense in doing that.

You'll also need some method of chain tension. A chain tensioner is the easiest but the ugliest. The other methods are bit more esoteric.

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Permalink Reply by Angus Kingston on May 22, 2009 at 2:51pm

A nice film about the building of a custom fixie I have posted it in videos - watch.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Teoh on February 22, 2010 at 9:20pm

Fixies are definitely getting more popular. I'd love to have two bikes - a cheap fixie and a half decent cargo bike/xtracycle. I reckon cargo/utility cycling needs to be championed a bit more so the average punter feels ok about not wearing lycra or having to be trendy like the fixie crowd.

*wow, didn't see the date on the article*

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Permalink Reply by Wombat on February 24, 2010 at 7:29pm

I thought I would bring this discussion back to life! hahaha

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Permalink Reply by Shecycles on May 18, 2010 at 2:20pm

I agree with you Ben. Taking cargo, whether it be children, animals or fruit 'n veg etc. from place to place puts on show how versatile cycling can be. I would love the have the opportunity to try out a few different types before settling on one for myself. If you choose not to go with a trailer then getting a cargo bike is an expensive investment so one needs to be both confident and happy with their purchase.

Perhaps we need a separate discussion on cargo cycling.

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Permalink Reply by Wombat on May 18, 2010 at 6:17pm

There is space to discuss Cargo Carrying here.

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Permalink Reply by Shecycles on May 18, 2010 at 6:22pm

well there you go... clearly my research efforts are directed towards other areas.

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Permalink Reply by Wombat on May 18, 2010 at 6:24pm

Still love you! xxx

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Permalink Reply by Angus Kingston on May 18, 2010 at 7:10pm

Get a room you two!

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Permalink Reply by Wombat on May 18, 2010 at 8:49pm

Yes please!

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Permalink Reply by Michael Warner on February 25, 2010 at 9:18pm

The idea of riding one around is appealing, but cycling around town already seems dangerous enough without losing the choice of gears, the ability to coast, and (for the hardcore) even real braking!

As for training on one, I'd worry about the effect of climbing on my knees.

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