mrtallmart is having fun
ya
14 months ago
me wantee
How to get a fixed gear bike
It made me
such a hipster 
"It's cool, but spokes are much more likely to break!"
How I did it: After months of searching for a cool city bike that didn't have lots of moving parts to probably break down when I need them most, I found the SE Draft at my local bike shop for $250. It's a nice bike, but kinda sucks on hills, and if you put too much torque on the rear wheel (which is bound to happen) you're likely to snap some spokes unless you've got a nice strong wheel.
Resources: SE Draft
People doing this are also doing these things:
Entries
Found my project
18 months ago
After months of searching I finally found my project. A 1988 Nishiki Road Master in metallic read. Within the next month I had ordered all the stuff I needed for fixed gear conversion, handlesbars, chain, chainring, cog, locking, wheels, tyres, pedals and some other stuff. Most of it from eBat which kept the grand total far below a grand totalt and just added up to a tiny total.
The bike is awesome and I love it!
Untitled
21 months ago
been looking to get a fixed gear bike for a couple of years now but it never seem to happen.
goal was to get one this spring. being short on money, or rather, having more important things to spend money on, seem to make this impossible though.
waiting for the right day.
A Girl in the Curl is back in school
I must be nuts
2 years ago
I start earning a little regular money and start throwing it around.
Still, I have wanted a fixie for a long time and I don’t EVEN have a spare moment in the day to sit down, let alone build my own.
Answer: ebay.
Just got this beast (oh, it’s scuffed and ugly, but it will work)
The plan is to throw it on my mag trainer and ride it until my legs get up to speed again (if ever)
Bad news: I’m starting to suffer from joint pain and swelling on the right side of my body—possibly osteoarthritis (in the right foot, right hand, shoulder and knee, mostly) and hopefully NOT Rheumatoid arthritis, which is a crippling autoimmune disease.
I don’t need another crippling auto-immune disease. One is too many, two would send me to an early grave.
Anyway, I got the bike.
Want a fixed gear in Boston?
2 years ago
I got mine at the beginning of the summer and now I have to fly back to VA – no way to take the bike, and I want to build my own now. Does anyone want to buy mine?
At last!
2 years ago
The frame arrived last friday.
All the other parts had been sitting in my old office at work just waiting for the frame to appear, so last Saturday I popped into work and got most of it built.
Luckily the security manager didn’t see it all lying around. He’s already given me hassle in the past for leaving bikes in the office. This time he didn’t notice. :)
The main problem came from trying to use cane creek direct curve brakes. They just didn’t work very well at all. Trying a set of normal v brakes worked just fine though.
It all got finished off on Tuesday when I got the bar tape on. The moment of truth came that evening when I rode it home.
It’s lovely. Although it’s reasonably highly geared (81 inches according to sheldon brown) it is very easy to accelerate. The chainset feels incredibly solid (external bottom bracket, see) and it just feels good. It’s fun to ride. It just wants to be thrashed and ridden hard.
I’m very happy with it. :)
I love it when a plan comes together
2 years ago
After waiting the best part of six months my local bike company finally got a new consignment of their fixed frames in.
So I bought myself one. And with the pile of parts that’s been lying around waiting for a frame it shouldn’t be long before my lovely new bike is together.
It’s even been an excuse to buy the last few bike specific tools I didn’t have (like a headset press).
A Girl in the Curl is back in school
I'm a gear head from way back
2 years ago
That doesn’t surprise you, I know.
My older brother had me handing him tools when I was 5 or 6. I remember him stopping to teach me the names of the different tools so when he said “Give me the 5/8ths box wrench” I didn’t hand him a combination or crescent.
So, naturally, I’ve never paid for a tune up. I’ve never paid for full-serve gas etc.
However, this bike thing eludes me. I have a nice steel frame sitting in the garage that I stripped down a few years ago, but the gearing and stuff (I know it should be easier since there IS ONE GEAR) but making this, might be more than my girly geariness can muster.
Plus, the really cool fixies, they look sleek and fit like cheetahs. If I try to do this myself, I may end up taking so long I lose interest, but if I buy one, I’ll look like one of those stupid girls on a nice bike…I hate that.
I have a low end Bianchi that I want to switch over to a fixie, too…but the gears are the only thing worth keeping.
(however, that derailleur looked like it was going to start going south soon)
