I need to build a fixie, I think!



Claes

Claes

New Member
Jul 5, 2004
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Hi guys, at the moment I am spending a fortune on taxis, me living in ascot vale, girlfriend in north carlton, Melbourne. Prolly 7-8 km distance. I need something that I dare to lock outside but is still fun to ride, and a bit of a challenge.
I have decided a fixie, with an noot too expensive but sound frame is the way to go. Please do not argue about it, I am right. :)

Anywaysandhows, I need a frame to start with, checked australian ebay, nothing, checked the classifieds here, nothing. Now what? How do I get a frame suitable for this? Then all the fun with building the thing and finding parts, but it has to be resonably quick. :) I have decided one thing only, I think it will have straight handlebars. Sort of hybrid style. Not sure why, I just see it in front of me. So, now help bitte. Anyone that has a suitable frame? I am 6'2 or 188 cm in the proper units. I need something around 58-59 CC and 57-58 long. roughly. Any 175 or 180 cranks? Hmm, would it be a good idea to try to keep it campy or will it just look flash and get nicked? Need advice. I am so excited I am about to wet myself. ;)
 
Claes said:
Hi guys, at the moment I am spending a fortune on taxis, me living in ascot vale, girlfriend in north carlton, Melbourne. Prolly 7-8 km distance. I need something that I dare to lock outside but is still fun to ride, and a bit of a challenge.
I have decided a fixie, with an noot too expensive but sound frame is the way to go. Please do not argue about it, I am right. :)

Anywaysandhows, I need a frame to start with, checked australian ebay, nothing, checked the classifieds here, nothing. Now what? How do I get a frame suitable for this? Then all the fun with building the thing and finding parts, but it has to be resonably quick. :) I have decided one thing only, I think it will have straight handlebars. Sort of hybrid style. Not sure why, I just see it in front of me. So, now help bitte. Anyone that has a suitable frame? I am 6'2 or 188 cm in the proper units. I need something around 58-59 CC and 57-58 long. roughly. Any 175 or 180 cranks? Hmm, would it be a good idea to try to keep it campy or will it just look flash and get nicked? Need advice. I am so excited I am about to wet myself. ;)
Click to expand...

THC in Bay st, Port Melb had an old frame, 60cm, hanging outside their back door, that might be suitable. I think the owner was going to fixie it but couldn;t be bothered. Might be a good starting point.
 
Shabby said:
THC in Bay st, Port Melb had an old frame, 60cm, hanging outside their back door, that might be suitable. I think the owner was going to fixie it but couldn;t be bothered. Might be a good starting point.
Click to expand...
Cool, I'll check that out. I have not heard ofthat shop, is THC its name or just shorthand?
 
mad viking!

get an ol' roadframe in appropriate size, preferably wih horizontal dropouts to give you plenty of room-to-move for adjusting chain tension.
Like you say, the scruffier it looks the less likely it will get nicked.

youre biggest challenge if you insist on fixed (Singlespeed would be a truckload cheaper/easier) is going to be your dropout width.
IE the majority of road is 135mm wide (older stuff is narrower, isnt it people?)
whereas track/fixed is 130mm. you can get On-One 135mm hubs.
Approx $140. James - OnOne 9431 5844, if you have the dough...
or an ENO white industries hub that can be used in a 'standard' vertical dropout and has built-in adjustment for chain-tensioning. $225 tho. ouch!
Shifterbikes.com or Dan 03 9576 1144.

OR go and speak to the lads at either Beasely bikes (footscray) who carry some 2ndhand trackbikes or the lads at Brunswick St cycles whom carry (i think) a nice Fuji fixie with good road geometry and drilled for brakes (did i mention brakes?) for $750ish?

or, just ignore me and go listen to god!
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixeda.html
 
flyingdutch said:
mad viking!

get an ol' roadframe in appropriate size, preferably wih horizontal dropouts to give you plenty of room-to-move for adjusting chain tension.
Like you say, the scruffier it looks the less likely it will get nicked.

youre biggest challenge if you insist on fixed (Singlespeed would be a truckload cheaper/easier) is going to be your dropout width.
IE the majority of road is 135mm wide (older stuff is narrower, isnt it people?)
whereas track/fixed is 130mm. you can get On-One 135mm hubs.
Approx $140. James - OnOne 9431 5844, if you have the dough...
or an ENO white industries hub that can be used in a 'standard' vertical dropout and has built-in adjustment for chain-tensioning. $225 tho. ouch!
Shifterbikes.com or Dan 03 9576 1144.

OR go and speak to the lads at either Beasely bikes (footscray) who carry some 2ndhand trackbikes or the lads at Brunswick St cycles whom carry (i think) a nice Fuji fixie with good road geometry and drilled for brakes (did i mention brakes?) for $750ish?

or, just ignore me and go listen to god!
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixeda.html
Click to expand...
I thought that steel frames, old ones at least, you could easily cold set a 5 mm difference in dropout, no?
Why does it get expensive for a fixie? It is just the rear hub? Should be cheap? No?
 
flyingdutch said:
mad viking!
youre biggest challenge if you insist on fixed (Singlespeed would be a truckload cheaper/easier) is going to be your dropout width.
IE the majority of road is 135mm wide (older stuff is narrower, isnt it people?)
whereas track/fixed is 130mm. you can get On-One 135mm hubs.
Approx $140. James - OnOne 9431 5844, if you have the dough...
or an ENO white industries hub that can be used in a 'standard' vertical dropout and has built-in adjustment for chain-tensioning. $225 tho. ouch!
Shifterbikes.com or Dan 03 9576 1144.

OR go and speak to the lads at either Beasely bikes (footscray) who carry some 2ndhand trackbikes or the lads at Brunswick St cycles whom carry (i think) a nice Fuji fixie with good road geometry and drilled for brakes (did i mention brakes?) for $750ish?

or, just ignore me and go listen to god!
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixeda.html
Click to expand...

track bikes are now 120mm. if you can find an older style road bike (i.e 5 to 7 speeds), those have spacings of around 130-ish and it's usually not a problem to add spacers to a track hub or bend the stays to fit.

Go to brunswick st cycles with caution. they are pretty good with single speed stuff but don't know much with fixed gear. for example, the grey fuji they've got now is an odd 2003 model which they claimed was a 2005. And they've got their surly steamroller listed on the website for $800 but dirtworks (the distributer) has them for $669 (rrp).

check www.tradingpost.com.au

saw a cecilwalker track bike on there for under $200 but was too big for me (55 or 56cm i think)

cheers
koon
 
Claes said:
I thought that steel frames, old ones at least, you could easily cold set a 5 mm difference in dropout, no?
Why does it get expensive for a fixie? It is just the rear hub? Should be cheap? No?
Click to expand...

yes, cold setting is no problem.

i'n not sure what you're idea of cheap is but the answer probably is lack of choice. Most track hubs out there are pretty good quality pieces, hence a certain price level. There really isn't a market here for new low-end hubs. Your best bet would be to go with 2nd hand wheels or a complete bike.

cheers
koon
 
Claes wrote:
> Anyone that has a suitable frame? I am 6'2 or 188 cm in the proper
> units. I need something around 58-59 CC and 57-58 long. roughly. Any
> 175 or 180 cranks? Hmm, would it be a good idea to try to keep it campy
> or will it just look flash and get nicked? Need advice. I am so excited
> I am about to wet myself. ;)

Damn your height! I want to sell Vegemite - it would be fine for locking
outside given it's just a powder-coated Apollo but it's 56cm.

Ebay has free 'vehicle' ads until 7th so I really should get my bikes
listed pronto! BMX anyone?

I might have flat bars for you - how wide? I have drops on ebay
currently and a set of Profile Airwing bullhorns that I could list or
sell privately (Gags - did u want these?). I've got a near new set of
Miche cranks, chain, etc too..

Anyway.. let me know if you have a part-request because I'd like to get
rid of some stuff..

part hoarder hippy
 
Hmm, for some reason, an MTB fixie, with 1 inch slicks is an appealing idea to me. Hmm.
 
Koon Young wrote:

> track bikes are now 120mm. if you can find an older style
> road bike (i.e 5 to 7 speeds), those have spacings of around
> 130-ish and it's usually not a problem to add spacers to a
> track hub or bend the stays to fit.

Older track bikes (like my 1947 Malvern Star) were 110mm.

Practically all newer track stuff is 120mm.

5 speed road bikes were also 120mm, along with the old "compact 6" road bikes.

Some 6 speed bikes were 126mm, along with practically all 7 speed (used compact 6 spacing).

Only 8 speed and newer bikes are 130mm.

Regards,

Suzy
 
So the way to go, is to get frame, then the rest has to fit with whatever the choice is? Money is not a hughe concern, but it cant be flash, since it would get nicked too fekking quick.

Any concerns trying to build MTB fixie? I guess I would struggle to find a frame with anything else than vertical DOs.
 
Claes said:
So the way to go, is to get frame, then the rest has to fit with whatever the choice is? Money is not a hughe concern, but it cant be flash, since it would get nicked too fekking quick.

Any concerns trying to build MTB fixie? I guess I would struggle to find a frame with anything else than vertical DOs.
Click to expand...

Cheapie frames, both MTB or road, with semi horizontal dropouts are pretty common.

As Duchie said, Singlespeed is easier (& cheaper) than fixed. Get an old bike & remove the parts you don't need. Hard rubbish collection time is the best & cheapest shopping. :)
 
Bikesoiler said:
Cheapie frames, both MTB or road, with semi horizontal dropouts are pretty common.

As Duchie said, Singlespeed is easier (& cheaper) than fixed. Get an old bike & remove the parts you don't need. Hard rubbish collection time is the best & cheapest shopping. :)
Click to expand...

It should not be easy, I like a challenge. :)
 
Claes said:
So the way to go, is to get frame, then the rest has to fit with whatever the choice is? Money is not a hughe concern, but it cant be flash, since it would get nicked too fekking quick.

Any concerns trying to build MTB fixie? I guess I would struggle to find a frame with anything else than vertical DOs.
Click to expand...

in my experience, fixie bikes don't attract much attention at all. i've left my bike at the shops many times without being locked and not once has anyone touched it.

my 1st fixie was a mtb convert with vertical dropouts. all i did was get a ss rear wheel and threaded a dura ace track cog (no lockring though). found the right combination of ring/cog to get perfect tension and stuck with it.

cheers
koon
 
Brian Watson wrote:

> http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7138383701

> And to think I started watching this and even considered bidding :-(

Seems a lot for a two-star. Mine's a five star. Found on a rubbish heap last year. More recently it's gained a couple of stable-mates; a 1940's Speedwell track bike, and a 1941 Airlite track bike. They're my babies. Restoring them all is keeping me poor.

See:


http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/Suzy.Jackson/speedwell/ (Speedwell)

http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/Suzy.Jackson/airlite/ (Airlite)

http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/Suzy.Jackson/malvern_star/ (Malvern Star)

Regards,

Suzy (proud parent)
 
Claes wrote:
> flyingdutch Wrote:
>
>>mad viking!
>>
>>get an ol' roadframe in appropriate size, preferably wih horizontal
>>dropouts to give you plenty of room-to-move for adjusting chain
>>tension.
>>Like you say, the scruffier it looks the less likely it will get
>>nicked.
>>
>>youre biggest challenge if you insist on fixed (Singlespeed would be a
>>truckload cheaper/easier) is going to be your dropout width.
>>IE the majority of road is 135mm wide (older stuff is narrower, isnt it
>>people?)
>>whereas track/fixed is 130mm. you can get On-One 135mm hubs.
>>Approx $140. James - OnOne 9431 5844, if you have the dough...
>>or an ENO white industries hub that can be used in a 'standard'
>>vertical dropout and has built-in adjustment for chain-tensioning. $225
>>tho. ouch!
>>Shifterbikes.com or Dan 03 9576 1144.
>>
>>OR go and speak to the lads at either Beasely bikes (footscray) who
>>carry some 2ndhand trackbikes or the lads at Brunswick St cycles whom
>>carry (i think) a nice Fuji fixie with good road geometry and drilled
>>for brakes (did i mention brakes?) for $750ish?
>>
>>or, just ignore me and go listen to god!
>>http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixeda.html
>
> I thought that steel frames, old ones at least, you could easily cold
> set a 5 mm difference in dropout, no?
> Why does it get expensive for a fixie? It is just the rear hub? Should
> be cheap? No?
>
>

It's easier/cheaper to space the axle than set the frame. I got the
spacers from CW for free. I used them to space a 120mm track hub to fit
a 126mm road frame. Plenty of track hubs already have enough axle for a
130mm hub, with spacers.

Track hubs have a chainline of around 40.5mm, which matches Shimano (and
others presumably) inner road rings well.

I bought a 10 year old frame on eBay around Christmas which came with
the HS, bars, seatpost & BB. I got the EAI cog from www.hubjub.co.uk
and a cheap NOS pair of track wheels also on eBay. I got the other stuff
for free/coffee/cash from mates.

In total it's probably cost me about $600, which is a bargain for all
the fun I get out of it :)

What you need, Claes, is a P3 to match your roadie. The P3 already has
fork ends :)

BTW, my fixie spends some time locked up around Carlton. Almost all
people wouldn't have a clue what kind of bike it is. Anyway, if it does
get stolen, there's a decent chance it's lying on the ground with blood
and flesh on it just down the street ;)

--
Nick
 
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