In looking around for a cheap fixed gear, a guy locally offered to build one up for me for about $150. I just want to know if his building techniques sound, well, sound. I don’t know much about fixies. This is what he says:
In my spare time I like to buy old, steel lugged frames from the
'60’s through '80’s and either restore them or convert them into fixed
gear or single speeds. Typically, my fixed gear conversions run
$150-$200 and consist of the original components. I strip the bike of
the derailleurs, convert the crank by removing the inner ring, and
convert the original 27"x1/4" wheels. I do this by removing the
freewheel from the rear wheel and replacing it with a track cog. In
lieu of a lock ring I rotofix the cog and then secure it with
locktite. I also completely rebuild the bike, repacking the bottom
bracket and headset bearings, stringing new cable and housing, etc.
I’ll also do a rattle can paint job if requested.
He sounds like he knows what he is talking about. I did all that but ended up having to buy a rear fixed wheel anyway. Tell him to mount the chainring on the inside also bc it will line up better with the single cog in the back. Once I had to swap the rear wheel I ended up just using 700 wheels, and I even put a carbon fork on just to mess around.
I probably know a lot less than most people around here about this subject, but I just bought my first fixed gear bike, brand new from bikesdirect.com for 300 bucks delivery included. A couple ST’ers enthused about it and the price was right so I pulled the trigger. Best 300 bucks I’ve ever spent. Have had so much fun on it. I gather that converting bikes into fixed/singlespeed is a labor of love. I don’t yet have the passion for that (you probably don’t either because you’re considering paying some dude 200 buck to do it for you). Anyway, go here to check out the bike and sizes. Go here to check out what people are saying about this bike.
Keep in mind that the conversion specified in your post leaves you at some risk for having the track cog spin off because you’re guy is talking about screwing that bad boy on on a hub that is not suited for a lockring to thread on to keep the track cog from spinning off. The proposed solution is to put it on really, really tight with an application of adhesive to keep it on. It may or may not hold (some people think this is perfectly fine; others think it’s suicidal, hence the term “suicide hub”). If it does hold (because he’s using the right kind of loctite) then you will need a blowtorch to get the cog off. Not so easy to change up the gearing if he delivers a bike with gearing that is to high or too low for what you want. If you were building up a bike, you would ideally want a rear hub that is Fixed/Fixed, meaning that both sides of the hub have two-stepped threads, which will allow a track cog plus a lockring on either side. Second best would be to build it up with a fixed/freewheel hub (which is what the Windsor Hour I bought from bikesdirect came with), which allows you to use a track cog plus lockring on one side, and on the other side either a singlespeed freewheel, nothing at all, or what your bike builder dude is proposed (that is, a track cog with adhesive and fingers crossed it doesn’t spin off while your bombing a hill).
Unfortunately, bikesdirect looks like they are running low on these bikes. If they have your size, I’d jump on it. Otherwise, keep looking around because the proposed build seems a little sketchy in comparison to the build you’d ideally go for — and we haven’t even talked about horizontal drop outs vs. vertical.
lieu of a lock ring I rotofix the cog and then secure it with
locktite.
If you ride this, make damn sure you have brakes.
Yeah, that is pretty sketch. I tried that…didn’t hold worth $h!t. At the very least check ebay or bikeisland.com for a cheap fixie wheelset…you’ll be glad you did. Then with a steel frame you can either a) luck out and come with the correct spacing in the front/rear or b) bend it until it works!
spend the extra 100-150 bucks and buy a real bike, then go back and locktight your lock ring on the cheapy wheels that come on a 350.00 dollar bike. That will be a heck of a lot more safe than some nasty conversion job out of some guys garage. Plus if you get some strange wheelset like a 27 x1-3/8 or something like that, finding new tires can be a nightmare…actually finding any parts for old crappy bikes can be a night mare. I work in a shop right now and absolutely dread it when I see somebody walk in with some old strange wheelset looking for spokes, bearings, tires etc. Do yourself and your LBS a favor and buy a new bike, upgrade it later.
Try something like that, or buy a pake or something like that and build it up. I have a few fixies, I actually got a biaanchi Volpe frame with wheels, stem, crank, seatpost and headset from a guy I work with, for 100.00, put another 25-30 bucks into it and it is pretty badass. I also got a Sputnik through my shop, put risers on it and a chris king headset, it is really cool.
Thanks for your reply. Actually I do have the passion to build it up myself, but that was looking like the much costlier option. I only have a limited budget since I’m putting a lot of dough into my road bike right now. I’ve looked at Bikesdirect, they don’t have my size. They have some fixies from Crosslakes on ebay, but I saw some pretty bad reviews.
Really the budget breaker for me is the wheelset for the bike. When you only have a $200 budget, they can really kill you.
I dont know what rotofix means, but you can put the rear cogon with normal grease, then lock it on with a lock ring from an bottom bracket (they are the same size /threading as a freewheel)
i would keep an eye out for a used purpose built fixie, if i were you. which is not to say it doesn’t workto have all that punk-ass jb-welded / rotofix, etc going on - but the reality is if you don’t do it yerself, it is probably gonna be half-assed at best.
there are plenty of used fixies out there, and the urban hipsters move on to “extreme-building-freestyle” or whateverthehell the trend is right now.
or, just get a ENO hub and put it on any bike. simple, super hi-quality insteadof dumpster quality, and rock solid.
I’ve built two or three this way, although I still use locktite on the cog and BB lockring. Put at least a front brake on the bike, ride it, and forget about it. The cheap 27 x 1 1/4 tires are perfect for commuting too as they have quite a bit of rubber and are fairly flatproof.
I would further say: why pay somebody else $150 to do this minimally demanding work for you?
An NYPD officer rides fixed? Hope I.A. doesn’t find out about your moonlighting with the CM “hippies,” Matt. Or maybe you’re working into them U/C. Hope I didn’t just burn you. ; )
The only reason I’d pay someone else is because in doing the math of buying all this stuff it comes out to more than 150.
From your original post: "Typically, my fixed gear conversions run
$150-$200 and consist of the original components."
I built my first fixed gear this way, from an old Univega, and it probably cost me $20-30 for a fixed gear cog, new tires, and some bar tape. Pedals, seat, and brake levers were in my parts bin, but you can re-use the old stuff there also if you need to.
seatpost (20)
+brake and brake levers (20)
+rear cog (20)
+wheels (100 or more)
+paint, primer etc (25ish)
to do it on my own, it looks like it will cost about 225ish with a new paint job, plus my own time and labor (don’t know what I’m doing)
This guy will build it up for me plus overhaul the frame and all parts plus provide a new paintjob consisting of several coats, primer, etc for $150. That seems like a good deal, no?
I dont know what rotofix means, but you can put the rear cogon with normal grease, then lock it on with a lock ring from an bottom bracket (they are the same size /threading as a freewheel)
Perfectly safe and removeable.
Styrrell
I could be wrong, but I think one is 1.375" x 24tpi and the other is 1.370" x 24tpi, maybe I’ve been in the paint booth too much this week.
I wouldn’t doubt your dimensions, but I’ve used BB lockring so freewheel threads a bunch and never had a problem. I’m not sure how much 0.005 falls within normal tolerances.
Rotofix is described on FGG as putting a u lock thru the crank and using the rear stays as a bridge to twist the cog on or off. I am sure it works , but to me it is like the the guy with only a hammer, everything looks like a nail to him. And SuperDave you are spending too much time in the booth, but your thinking is correct.
Buy some cheap 700c track wheels, then do the “conversion” yourself, or ask the conversion guy for a discount on his bike if you supply the wheels and cog + lockring, you can pick up all new for ~$150. I’d want the flexibility & peace of mind of real track wheels & lockring. Plus, since the track rear isn’t dished it should hold up a bit better in the long run.
My first fixie I used my '80’s steel frame, did the repainting, etc. and ended up a few months later with a cracked head tube from the crappy Houston roads and multi-use trails. The second, just bought an old 70’s Windsor 10spd frame and moved my 80’s parts straight over, no painting, no labor of love. It took all of ~2 hours, because I had to clean/repack the headset and bottom bracket bearings.
I am a cop and I do have a fixie, however you will never find me on the cyclist side during a CM. I have one for winter training and I really only use it in Central Park bc its closed to cars. I actually kept it at my pct for months bc that was the only place that I used it. No commuting with it, no delivering packages, its purely for winter training.
Also my gearing is pretty rough also, I use a 50x15 to really push it on the uphills.
