new fixie!

"Benjamin Lewis" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The brakes barely fit with the top of the pads shaved off -- the frame was
evidently made for 27" wheels.

There are such things as "long reach" brakes, where the arms are longer. I
scrounged a pair off a bike abandoned at the curb -- but I'm keeping them in
case I need to convert my 27 incher to a 700 some day due to parts
availability.

Sheldon Brown, master of the workaround, has a solution you might be
interested in.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/home-drop.html

In article <[email hidden]>,

Benjamin Lewis said:

I've been working on building up a fixed gear bicycle from scrounged parts
for a while now, and I finally got it ride-able the other day. The frame
was rusty when I found it, and the rear triangle was bent.

Here's what it looks like now, after I finished painting the frame (old
paint and rust cleaned off with a wire brush wheel on a drill):

http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie1a.jpg
http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie2a.jpg

It still needs bar tape, and probably a back brake (it's got just a regular
freewheel hub with the cog and a BB lockring screwed on). The gearing
seems to be okay, if a little high for some hills; it's a 40x14 with 175mm
cranks (yeah, I know they're long, but I couldn't find any shorter ones I
liked and pedal strikes don't seem to be a problem -- the pedals strike at
just a bit shy of 45 degrees lean.)

I've got some toe clips waiting for it, too.

The brakes barely fit with the top of the pads shaved off -- the frame was
evidently made for 27" wheels.

That thing looks really nice! Makes my similar Apollo conversion look
like junk.

Now I just have to check the gearing on mine; I think I'm using like a
50x14, which may explain why I find it a pain to ride.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

That thing looks really nice! Makes my similar Apollo conversion
look like junk.

Now I just have to check the gearing on mine; I think I'm using
like a 50x14, which may explain why I find it a pain to ride.

Ryan, I ride mine a lot and use a 42x16 which seems to be just about
right for the average hills around the city although it would be a bit
of a grind up SFU hill.

Benjamin Lewis said:

I've been working on building up a fixed gear bicycle from scrounged
parts for a while now, and I finally got it ride-able the other day.
The frame was rusty when I found it, and the rear triangle was bent.

Here's what it looks like now, after I finished painting the frame (old
paint and rust cleaned off with a wire brush wheel on a drill):

http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie1a.jpg
http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie2a.jpg

That's a nice looking bike! Can you share a little about how you did the
painting? (It sounds like you did it yourself?)
I am interesting in painting some frames I have scrounged, and would be
very happy with those results. I am wondering about primers, brands of
paint, topcoats etc.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mike Latondresse mikelat@no_spamshaw.ca said:

Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

That thing looks really nice! Makes my similar Apollo conversion
look like junk.

Now I just have to check the gearing on mine; I think I'm using
like a 50x14, which may explain why I find it a pain to ride.

Ryan, I ride mine a lot and use a 42x16 which seems to be just about
right for the average hills around the city although it would be a bit
of a grind up SFU hill.

I did some tooth counting today...The current gear is a 52x16. I'm going
to try something more in your range. I even have a fresh set of 165mm
cranks to install on that bike, so maybe the fixie will get a little
more work this year.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Benjamin Lewis wrote:

<< ...175mm
cranks (yeah, I know they're long, but I couldn't find any shorter ones I
liked and pedal strikes don't seem to be a problem -- the pedals strike at
just a bit shy of 45 degrees lean.) ...>>

I would stick with the 175s unless you have real short legs and would use
shorter cranks anyway.

Robert

"Benjamin Lewis" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've been working on building up a fixed gear bicycle from scrounged parts
for a while now, and I finally got it ride-able the other day. The frame
was rusty when I found it, and the rear triangle was bent.

Here's what it looks like now, after I finished painting the frame (old
paint and rust cleaned off with a wire brush wheel on a drill):

http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie1a.jpg
http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie2a.jpg

It still needs bar tape, and probably a back brake (it's got just a

regular

Quoted message said:

freewheel hub with the cog and a BB lockring screwed on). The gearing
seems to be okay, if a little high for some hills; it's a 40x14 with 175mm
cranks (yeah, I know they're long, but I couldn't find any shorter ones I
liked and pedal strikes don't seem to be a problem -- the pedals strike at
just a bit shy of 45 degrees lean.)

I've got some toe clips waiting for it, too.

The brakes barely fit with the top of the pads shaved off -- the frame was
evidently made for 27" wheels.

Nice save! Are those rack/fender eyelets I see? You've got the makings of a
nice commuter there, I say. Have fun with it...

I went to Sheldon's site. Look at the picture- Is that bike made of wood?

..

Quoted message said:

Sheldon Brown, master of the workaround, has a solution you might be
interested in.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/home-drop.html

Mike Kruger said:

Sheldon Brown, master of the workaround, has a solution you might be
interested in.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/home-drop.html

Yeah, I was thinking I might do something along those lines. I remember
seeing that before and thinking it looked scary, but now that I see the
details it's doesn't look so bad.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only
specification is that it should run noiselessly.

Ryan Cousineau said:

Now I just have to check the gearing on mine; I think I'm using like a
50x14, which may explain why I find it a pain to ride.

Ouch. The 40x14 seems pretty good for me so far; I originally thought I
might want it even lower, but it's been fine where I've ridden it so far.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only
specification is that it should run noiselessly.

Jacobe Hazzard said:

Benjamin Lewis said:

I've been working on building up a fixed gear bicycle from scrounged
parts for a while now, and I finally got it ride-able the other day.
The frame was rusty when I found it, and the rear triangle was bent.

Here's what it looks like now, after I finished painting the frame (old
paint and rust cleaned off with a wire brush wheel on a drill):

http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie1a.jpg
http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie2a.jpg

That's a nice looking bike! Can you share a little about how you did the
painting? (It sounds like you did it yourself?)
I am interesting in painting some frames I have scrounged, and would be
very happy with those results. I am wondering about primers, brands of
paint, topcoats etc.

First I stripped the frame, and took off all the old paint and rust with a
wire wheel on a hand drill (I found it was better to brush perpendicular to
the direction of the tubes).

I left the fork on, and covered the headset with masking tape; I also put
rolled up bits of newspaper in the various braze-ons, etc., and taped the
inside of the BB shell. I hung the frame outside from a rope (through the
BB shell).

I used a bottle of spray paint by General Paint advertised as "Marine
hi-gloss rust resistant enamel", which cost about $6 Canadian. This
provided enough paint for the frame (two coats). The instructions say no
primer is necessary, so I didn't use one.

General Paint has a website (www.generalpaint.com), but after a cursory
look I didn't see the paint I used there. They appear to be Vancouver
(Canada) based.

The first coat I did was a little sloppy, and I got a few drips, so I
sanded these down before applying the second coat.

There are a few spots that I partially missed, and since the frame was
hanging upside down these ended up being more obvious than I would like.
I'll probably buy a second bottle and touch it up at some point.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only
specification is that it should run noiselessly.

Quoted message said:

Benjamin Lewis wrote:

<< ...175mm cranks (yeah, I know they're long, but I couldn't find any
shorter ones I liked and pedal strikes don't seem to be a problem -- the
pedals strike at just a bit shy of 45 degrees lean.) ...>>

I would stick with the 175s unless you have real short legs and would use
shorter cranks anyway.

I'm about 6'2", so my legs are fairly long. I would only consider getting
shorter ones if I thought pedal strikes might be a problem. They haven't
been so far ...

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only
specification is that it should run noiselessly.

Quoted message said:

Nice save! Are those rack/fender eyelets I see? You've got the makings of
a nice commuter there, I say. Have fun with it...

At the moment I think I want to keep it fairly minimalist; that's one of
the things I like about it. I have the luxury of being able to bring my
bike into my office where I'm working at the moment, so I commute on my
touring/randonneur bike:

http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/vitali1crop.gif

Fenders and rack have been added since this photo was taken.

I also don't think I'm ready to commute to campus on a fixie yet; the very
end of the ride involves something like 350 meters of elevation gain over 4
km, and that's *after* a 10 km ride involving a number of smaller hills.

I'll definitely have fun with it, however.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only
specification is that it should run noiselessly.

Benjamin Lewis said:

http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie1a.jpg
http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~bclewis/personal/bike/fixie2a.jpg

Quoted message said:

It still needs bar tape, and probably a back brake (it's got just a regular
freewheel hub with the cog and a BB lockring screwed on). The gearing
seems to be okay, if a little high for some hills; it's a 40x14 with 175mm
cranks (yeah, I know they're long, but I couldn't find any shorter ones I
liked and pedal strikes don't seem to be a problem -- the pedals strike at
just a bit shy of 45 degrees lean.)

Quoted message said:

I've got some toe clips waiting for it, too.

Quoted message said:

The brakes barely fit with the top of the pads shaved off -- the frame was
evidently made for 27" wheels.

It was made for cantilever brakes. Such frames/forks often have
holes in the fork crown and seatstay bridge for mounting fenders.
You can mount a caliper brake there, but no guarantee the brake
reach will match. A "long reach" 47-57mm caliper is usually a
better bet. You could also use cantilever brakes, of course.

That frame looks like it has relatively little BB drop, which is
why you aren't having any pedal strike even with 175mm cranks.

I agree that a 42/16 gear is reasonable. Your gear is a little
higher - of course, if you lower it, going _down_ hills is more
of an exercise. Ryan's 52/16 is painfully high for street riding
if there are any hills.

Benjamin Weiner said:

It was made for cantilever brakes. Such frames/forks often have
holes in the fork crown and seatstay bridge for mounting fenders.
You can mount a caliper brake there, but no guarantee the brake
reach will match.

I see. I guess I assumed that it should work with either for the same size
wheels.

Quoted message said:

A "long reach" 47-57mm caliper is usually a better bet. You could also
use cantilever brakes, of course.

I was thinking of that originally, but I kind of like the calipers.
Besides, I already have a road bike with cantilevers...

Quoted message said:

That frame looks like it has relatively little BB drop, which is
why you aren't having any pedal strike even with 175mm cranks.

Yeah, it works nicely as a fixie frame (although I'd prefer something a
little taller if I had my druthers). In fact, it has no derailleur
hanger. I'm a bit curious what the bike was originally.

Quoted message said:

I agree that a 42/16 gear is reasonable. Your gear is a little
higher - of course, if you lower it, going _down_ hills is more
of an exercise.

I suppose using the brake is bad form?

--
Benjamin Lewis

Accordion, n.:
A bagpipe with pleats.

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:54:52 -0700, <[email hidden]>,

Benjamin Lewis said:

Quoted message said:

I agree that a 42/16 gear is reasonable. Your gear is a little
higher - of course, if you lower it, going _down_ hills is more
of an exercise.

I suppose using the brake is bad form?

Not in New Westminster!
Save your legs for climbing.
--
zk

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 19:57:44 -0700, <[email hidden]>,

Benjamin Lewis said:

The first coat I did was a little sloppy, and I got a few drips, so I
sanded these down before applying the second coat.

There are a few spots that I partially missed, and since the frame was
hanging upside down these ended up being more obvious than I would like.
I'll probably buy a second bottle and touch it up at some point.

I find that it takes generally two cans to paint a frame.
Mixte frames are really tricky to paint. Lots more spots to partially
miss. The last time I painted a frame I concentrated on painting those
places first from different angles and then sprayed the tubes to just
blend them in.
--
zk

Zoot Katz said:

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:54:52 -0700, <[email hidden]>,

Benjamin Lewis said:

Quoted message said:

I agree that a 42/16 gear is reasonable. Your gear is a little
higher - of course, if you lower it, going _down_ hills is more
of an exercise.

I suppose using the brake is bad form?

Not in New Westminster!
Save your legs for climbing.

I've used brakes descending that hill even with a freewheel ... although
this has more to do with intersections than grade.

--
Benjamin Lewis

One man's "magic" is another man's engineering. "Supernatural" is a null word.
-- Robert Heinlein

Zoot Katz said:

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 19:57:44 -0700, <[email hidden]>,

Benjamin Lewis said:

The first coat I did was a little sloppy, and I got a few drips, so I
sanded these down before applying the second coat.

There are a few spots that I partially missed, and since the frame was
hanging upside down these ended up being more obvious than I would like.
I'll probably buy a second bottle and touch it up at some point.

I find that it takes generally two cans to paint a frame.
Mixte frames are really tricky to paint. Lots more spots to partially
miss. The last time I painted a frame I concentrated on painting those
places first from different angles and then sprayed the tubes to just
blend them in.

I think I *could* have done it with one can if I'd noticed the partially
missed spots sooner, but it will be nice to have a second anyway for later
touch ups. I suspect it will scratch off much more easily than a "real"
paint job.

--
Benjamin Lewis

One man's "magic" is another man's engineering. "Supernatural" is a null word.
-- Robert Heinlein