I have a wild hair up my arse to build a bike that I can ride in downtown Sacramento. I would like to build a "Fixie" I would not mind getting my hands on a vintage frame at a reasonable price. I have been looking on my local craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums . I have found a few "vintage frames" but I do not know what is a good frame to buy. I am a tall guy my weight is pushing 230-240 & I love to ride bikes. So on that note what frame should I be looking for & will the tires on a "Fixie" hold my weight ? Also I found this on wiki In the UK and Australia, "fixed-wheel" is the normal term for the subject of this article - meaning the opposite of freewheel, and "fixed-gear" refers to a single-speed bicycle. A fixed-gear bicycle (or fixed wheel bicycle) is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast — the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving. The sprocket is screwed directly onto the hub. When the rear wheel turns, the pedals turn in the same direction. This allows a cyclist to stop without using a brake, by resisting the rotation of the cranks, and also to ride in reverse. Track cycling in a velodrome has always used fixed-gear track bikes, but fixed-gear bicycles are now used on the road, a trend generally seen as being led by bicycle messengers.
No big budget just looking to put a fixie together thats all free or cheap parts I will buy new tires & breaks just looking to build my first bike thats all I would say less then $200
To do a conversion, you'll need ♦ A frame with horzontal dropouts. ♦ A new rear wheel with a fixed gear hub (+cog and lockring) ♦ And possibly a new crankset/BB to get a good straight chainline. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence by posting this but I find a lot of people don't know what a "horizontal dropout" is. [/IMG] While conversions are great, your budget is pretty close to affording a new bike. If you can sell some blood plasma or find a little more loose change in your couch cushions for about $300 you can buy a brand new factory built FG @ Track Bikes, Fixie, Fixed Gear, Singlespeed and Track Bicycles from bikesdirect.com . You may be thinking- "A $300 bike must be a cheap piece of junk" but the reality is that since FG/SS bikes do not have the expensive and complex components of other bikes like shifters, derailleurs, and cassettes they are remarkably affordable. I weigh about 250lbs and I've been rocking the "Motobecane Messenger" for a couple years problem free [i did add 28mm tires to replace the 23's it came with]. Good luck whatever you decide. Riding FG is a lot of fun and it is sure to make you a more efficient rider on your freewheeling multi-speed bikes as well. Just be ready to grow thighs like treetrunks. :thumbsup:
Unless you have a big box of spares, Mr. Handsome is correct. You'll get a far better bike by just getting a complete from BD, and it will be trouble-free.
Yes, a bike from BD would be a fun first fixie. Although it may seem appealing to not buy a fixie from ebay. I have built a few for some friends and those things seem dangerous. Fixies are great fun, they can definitely cause some bruising though.
You can get a great customized fixie through an online company and in any color scheme pretty much that you could want. For nice fixed gear bikes check out this link.
Or he could save a lot of money and get a much better frame from BD. Bigshotbikes are what, $400 with shipping? For a hi-ten frame.
Industry -- don't you have a Windsor The Hour? How do you like that so far? From what I remember, that is the cheapest fixie on BD at $279. Seems like a good deal.
I got myself a Wabi Cycles Classic, and my fiance' got me the Windsor. While the Classic is my ride of choice, there is nothing wrong with The Hour. I use it mostly as my bad weather bike, and really enjoy it. I swapped the bars, cranks, and brakes, but only because I wanted to. It's an excellent value for a cro-mo frame, and perfect as an entry-level bike, or anyone that wants to just buy and ride, rather than do a conversion.
