as a little project over thanksgiving break, i’ve decided i want to turn my trek 1000 into a fixed gear for commuting to school. should i just invest in a new rear wheel? or could i get some sort of conversion kit. i’ve seen the kits to turn it into a singlespeed, so i may end up doing that, but i’d rather go all the way to a fixed gear. and for those of you that were concerned, yes, i realize i’m wasting my time turning my perfectly good road bike into a fixed gear, but i think it’d be fun! and in the end, isn’t this why we all love what we do? 
anyways, thanks for the advice!
Search the web for Shelddon Brown, the king of single speed conversions, and read all his tips and thoughts. There’s enough there for a lifetime of conversions, man.
If your bike does not have horizontal dropouts, you will need a chain tensioner too. single speed adaptors are super easy to install, but a different rear wheel would make things even easier. You (or I) could build one up with a surly hub for around $125 retail. Have fun, you will only try to coast three or four times and then you will get the hang of it.
The problem with using a regular road bike for a fixie is that you can’t adjust the chain tension. The fixies you see on the road all have horizontal dropouts, like the kind found on very old road frames, or frames built specifically to be used as a fixed gear.
I would strongly disagree, by the way, that it’s a waste of time. I’ve been riding to work on a fixed gear for a couple of years now, and it is without a doubt the most effective training device I’ve ever used.
So it’s going to work like this:
You might try to use your Trek, thinking that you’ll get lucky with the chain tension. You won’t, I promise. You’ll then search around for a chain tensioning widget to make it work, but any bike shop you’ll walk into will tell you they suck, cause they do. Finally, if you have any enthusiasm left, you’ll cop to either trying to find an old '80s frame with horizontal dropouts, or you’ll just buy a damned frame and be done with it. The former is is a little hit and miss, but if you find an old frame that fits, you’ll likely get it for about the price of an expensive cocktail. Mine is a Schwinn Super LeTour from sometime in Regan’s first term.
Having said all that, let me repeat that it’s well worth the effort. Good luck!
white industries ENO eccentric axle rear hub.
THAT, is what you want. problems solved. beautiful piece of boutique level componentry, which makes any bike in the world a fabulously perfect fixie.
oh yeah. it is worth it to try to see if you can get lucky on the chainstay length sans any tensioning device.
i have two mtn bikes running with pefect chain tension as singlespeeds with no tensioner which simply worked on pure luck. if you find one ratio which works you can go to the 'fixed innovations" webpage which will them list every conceivable OTHER gearing choices which will also fit - also known as the “rule of fours”. lastly, spicer cycles makes a road-chain 1/2 link which further opens up the options for getting a non-tensioner fixie to work.
It is best to get a frame with horizontal dropouts. I have a couple faux-fixies in the garage now (I use them for wrench practice). I find that older / lower-tech frames are readily available on Tuesday or Thursday nights, but that depends on when trash collection is in your area.
If you want to do the Sheldon Brown thing and build a quirky fixed gear with your current frame and minimal new purchases, you CAN make a fixed gear work with vertical rear dropouts.
You’ll have limited gear choices because you’ll have to match the chainring/sprocket sizes with the length of your chainstays. There’s an on-line calculator somewhere on Sheldon’s site. If you’re close to a chainring/spocket size, but it’s just a bit too big, then you can file flats on your axle to make it work.
white industries ENO eccentric axle rear hub.
Agreed. When I built my fixie I had an old (lugged steel) roadie with horizontal dropouts, so I just had a wheel built around a fixed 130mm roadie hub - but the White eccentric hub will allow you to use a frame with vertical dropouts and not really have to worry about matching your gearing for perfect chain tension. This way you can match your gearing to your terrain, like any sane fixie rider.
And no, it isn’t a waste of time any more than swimming, running, or time trialing might be.
I had my old Lotus Excelle converted to a fixie at Sheldon’s shop (Harris Cyclery, Newton, MA) a few months ago- What a beautiful ride! I’ve put ~130 miles/week on it for my commute to work and agree that it’s an incredible training tool. I’ve seen some serious gains in power and form/pedal stroke.
just get a chain tensioner and a fixed rear wheel as others have suggested and ride the thing.
One of the guys on the us national track team had only ridden on a velodrome 6 times in his life. He road a fixed gear conversion bike everyday to, from, and around his campus though.
It depends on the type of chain tensioner, but almost all are to make a bike into a singlespeed(one gear, but you can coast). Most chaintensioners will not work with a fixed gear (no coasting).
styrrell