several steel fixies complete for under 1000. bianchi piste springs to mind, and lemond has one coming out this year as well that has people talking. soma rush is nice. you could also score any steel bike you wish and slap a ENO hubbed rear wheel on that thing presto instant fixie on any under 1k steel bike you like.
forget the freewheel. i love singlespeed mtn biking, but pedal pedal coast on the road sucks.
your call. if you cannot do a high speed nose wheely fixed gear skid like a hepped up 20 year old messenger then brakes are your friends.
i would sooner go with a flip flop hub than a double ring set-up. mostly, tho, i would forget that entirely and just find a ratio you like.
1- double crank… bad idea you are going to get a bad chain line with the outside ring plus you would need two chains… pain.
2- I would get a flip flop hub… I have a flip flop but never use the free wheel.
3- I would reccomend putting a fixie wheel on a road bike. It sounds like you have a hard to fit body and it would be simple to get a white industries ENO hub that would make a great conversion.
4- absolutely absolutely get a front brake at least until you are comfortable with riding the fixie. You do not need a rear brake… your pedaling is your brake
I built my fixie up from my old (lugged steel) roadie, which is likely your cheapest option.
Get a flip-flop hub if you want more than one gear, but don’t try to run 2 chainrings up front, and don’t sully the purity of your fixie with a freewheel.
Definitely use a front brake, and make sure that the rear cog has a lockring (if it’s a thread on)
lionel asks: "Flip-flop hub : can one side be freewheel and the other one fixed gear ? "
yes. many riders do this, but most of them end up not using the freewheel side.
lionel also wonders: " I guess something like 42-16 would be an all around combo. What are the typical ones for single speeds"
if running a fix/free setup most riders will gear slightly lower for the free. the idea being it will be used in hillier terrain and the lower gear helps not only climbing, but in being able to actually coast down theother side, and not spin like mad.
incidently, the chainline issue on that double front setup you mentioned would not be a big deal. in fact, you can buy a rivendell fixie which comes set up thus ( rivendell quickbeam ). also, some guys will get a two cog rear going. the minor variation in chainline does not matter. i, and a couple other guys have mentioned the ENO hub from white industries - this hub allows you to use a standard road bike ( vertical dropouts ) and the chain tension is established from an eccentric axle in the hub. also, it is spaced so that the cog will line up with a standard bb/outer chainring on a road bike., and, it features a flip flip threading with one side lockring and the other side freewheel. very very nice quality, and could be just the ticket for your project.
oh yes, i would be remiss if i did not also suggest the surly steamroller, and the kogswell framesets for your stated preferences.
the surly is a slick bike, 120 mm ( track-style) rear spacing on a more roadie oriented geometry. available thru virtually any LBS, easily built up under 1K.
the kogswell is an inexpensive frame made with lugs for that cool look. it features spacing oriented toward allowing use of standard parts ( 135 mm spacing, non-track style crank/bb) into a fix/SS bike. pretty cool.
so, add those to the prebuilt bianchi, and upcoming lemond - along with the aforementioned soma or anyusedsteelroadbikeatall-with-a-ENO-rear-hub as excellent candidates for a cheap, cool, inexpensive steel fixie.
Give J.P. a call at www.jamesframes.com. I’m sure he can build you up a nice custom Track/Fixed bike. He’s been commuting around Boulder, CO for years on a fixed gear and has built bikes for DEAN, among others. He’ll do a great job with steel and can source the parts for you as well.
