Are Fixies and SS ruining nice old road frames?

Bigbananabike said:

I've seen some really nice, classic road frame made into 1 speed bikes.
I guess its ok as long as the owners don't cut the shifter bosses etc off or ruin a classic paint job/decals - but some do for the look.:o

What do you think? Is it blasphemy or ok?

Do you think these classics are likely to go back to being as they (should) be - covered in age appropriate derailleurs etc?

I think it is ok. The old beat up Raleigh (1972) I salvaged would most likely have never ever seen the light of day again if it weren't for me turning it into something I would ride (read fixie). I think it is pretty cool since most of these bikes were sitting in garages waiting for the dumpster and now they have been given a second lease on life... 🙂

It sure is jacking up the prices of nice old bikes.

Meek One said:

I think it is ok. The old beat up Raleigh (1972) I salvaged would most likely have never ever seen the light of day again if it weren't for me turning it into something I would ride (read fixie). I think it is pretty cool since most of these bikes were sitting in garages waiting for the dumpster and now they have been given a second lease on life... 🙂

🙂 I agree with you - if its just an old frame (like a homemarket model bike) that wouldn't be used or worse - thrown in the steel recycling bin....it might as well be a F/SS.
To a large degree anything that gets people on bikes = Good.

Bigbananabike said:

🙂 I agree with you - if its just an old frame (like a homemarket model bike) that wouldn't be used or worse - thrown in the steel recycling bin....it might as well be a F/SS.
To a large degree anything that gets people on bikes = Good.

i agree with the "anything that gets people on bike=good" part but i was pedal cabbing the fireworks event in my city the other night and i saw a ******* [censored]' old Bottechia converted to fixed and i was kinda annoyed. i talked to the guy and he said something to the extent of he couldn't ride a pedal cab because it has gears. it hurt to hear him say that cuz i was under the impression that, and apparently i'm wrong and that's ok, fixed gears were training for bikes with gears (mtb's, roadies, etc). i wanted to kinda gently slap the kid on the top of his head and say you're an idiot. lol. those are the kind of kids i see on them tho. i had an old trek 720 conversion and an old centurion le mans conversion but when i got accustomed to my track bike, i felt bad for the way i treated those things. not high end bikes but still, i guess its just respect for the bikes natural state? that's just me tho. i could see converting an old schwinn or something not worth much over $100 otherwise tho cuz yeah, every bike should be showed some love. i guess.

well im new on the forum (and pretty much biking) and ive got an old puegoet (please pardon my most likely incorrect spelling) that was sitting in the shed with a blown out derailur (spelling, sorry) and some wretched tires and tubes, needed a new drivetrain. it wouldnt have ever gotten back on the road if i didnt make a SS fixed out of it... now i ride it everyday (till both tires blew out and the bottom bracket crapped out...) hey, im on a bike thats finally back on the road, whats wrong with that eh?

^ yeah i know what you mean. imo tho, peugot's are worthy of such a project but bottechia's, torelli's, etc. are not. things like peugot, centurion, schwinn, trek etc, are. that's just me tho.

fixedgear14 said:

...till both tires blew out and the bottom bracket crapped out...

Veloorange.com has French thread cartridge bottom brackets: http://www.velo-orange.com/grcrufrthbob.html

718 Cyclery, Inc

kzenmce said:

i agree with the "anything that gets people on bike=good" part but i was pedal cabbing the fireworks event in my city the other night and i saw a ******* [censored]' old Bottechia converted to fixed and i was kinda annoyed. i talked to the guy and he said something to the extent of he couldn't ride a pedal cab because it has gears. it hurt to hear him say that cuz i was under the impression that, and apparently i'm wrong and that's ok, fixed gears were training for bikes with gears (mtb's, roadies, etc). i wanted to kinda gently slap the kid on the top of his head and say you're an idiot. lol. those are the kind of kids i see on them tho. i had an old trek 720 conversion and an old centurion le mans conversion but when i got accustomed to my track bike, i felt bad for the way i treated those things. not high end bikes but still, i guess its just respect for the bikes natural state? that's just me tho. i could see converting an old schwinn or something not worth much over $100 otherwise tho cuz yeah, every bike should be showed some love. i guess.

Here's my 1968 Bottecchia
718 Cyclery

The conversion work my shop does is always 100% non-destructive....I tell my clients that someday, you kid will find that bike in the basement and want to "convert" it to a 10-speed again.

I feel that its wrong to castrate these old frames

When I Single speeded my steel Bauer (bought new by me 15 years ago) I cut off the cable guide on the chainstay and the cable guide bosses on the downtube (left the d. hanger just in case) as I wanted a clean look to it. Being SS and not fixed it still has the brake cable guides. I then had it sandblasted & I resprayed it.
They're not rare frames and if worst came to worst I could have the guide/bosses put back on.
I would hate to see this done to a rare / more interesting frame or worse - one with the original paint job still on it.

🙂BBB

Nice use of "single-speeded" as a verb....

1) If they don't chop/grind it, then no.

2) I'm sure by the time ten-speeds are all the rage, somebody will have come up with an easy conversion kit for adding wires all over my bike.