Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - How deep are you in?

So I'm in the middle of a build project and thinking about how much coin I'm dropping on what was supposed to be, essentially, a step up from a beater is getting me a little down. I've spent over $500CDN (about $400US) and I still need to buy a seatpost and bars and get the Spicer track fork I picked up threaded (or find a different fork, or buy a threadless headset and stem...). While I have been able to spread out the outlay of cash over the last couple of months, I still could've bought a pretty decent complete bike for what I've spent already.

So I'm wondering how deep you folks are into your current projects? Are things geting out of control?

m.

ps - Anyone want to trade their 19t cog for an 18t cog? Got a spare set of B123 bars kicking around?

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I could almost have a Pista for what I've spent on parts and tools for converting a beater road bike.

But think about it this way:

1. You can add stuff as you get the money, so you get started right away instead of waiting till you've saved up the $$.

2. You can learn a lot.

3. It's "your" bike.

Hrm. Lets calculate. I'm actually not sure.

Frame: $10
Pedals: $50
Cranks: Free
Chainring: Free
Bottom Bracket: $50
Seat: $10
Headset: $20
Stem: $40
Handlebars: Free
Fork: Free
Hubs: $80
Rims: $120
Spokes: $20
Tires: $60

Grand total: $460

Not bad, considering it was spread out over six months, and I got lots of stuff for free.

So I'm wondering how deep you folks are into your current projects? Are things geting out of control?

even though i just finished building a bike a few weeks ago, i'll be purchasing my... gulp... tenth bike this weekend. (single speed surly crosscheck! holla! :D) but, no i don't have a problem. no siree. you always need one more bike. i don't even want to begin to estimate how much money i have spent on bike stuff.

It adds up so quickly. I got a killer eBay deal on a Gunnar Street Dog frame, which I originally set up with a lot of parts I already had. Now its went from having a carbon fork to a Kelly steel fork. Chris King headset went in. Fizik saddle went on, then came back off in favor of an old Brooks I found. Bought new weels. New bars. The frame is currently at the powder coater. I'm sure its over a grand now. Luckily all the parts you go through on these projects trickle down to other stuff. I used most of the extra parts to put together a Surly Pacer, that rides excellent. Bikes are a bottomless pit of money, but still way cheaper than cars.

I try not to think about it. Its only money after all. You can't ride your wallet around town, nor would you want to (cabs suck). Did you buy that fork off of ink1373? If I was back home I could sell you a threadless headset and stem I have for cheap. In fact I have 3 extra threadless stems of varying lengths, angles, colours and materials. But I'm not at home so I'm afraid I can't help. My parts bin just keeps growing but my spicer is looking ever so hot these days. In fact its time to update my sig...

So I'm in the middle of a build project and thinking about how much coin I'm dropping on what was supposed to be, essentially, a step up from a beater is getting me a little down. I've spent over $500CDN (about $400US) and I still need to buy a seatpost and bars and get the Spicer track fork I picked up threaded (or find a different fork, or buy a threadless headset and stem...). While I have been able to spread out the outlay of cash over the last couple of months, I still could've bought a pretty decent complete bike for what I've spent already.

So I'm wondering how deep you folks are into your current projects? Are things geting out of control?

m.

ps - Anyone want to trade their 19t cog for an 18t cog? Got a spare set of B123 bars kicking around?

Deep isn't the word and out of control is a distant second to addiction.

18-19 nope but I may have extra bars since I have cobbled up a bunch recently for my bikes.

S/F,
CEYA!

Did you buy that fork off of ink1373?

Sure did. God bless BF.

m.

I try not to spend too much, it can easily get outta hand quick, like any addiction.
The most rewarding purchases are the from-out-of-nowhere deals that make it worth passing up the pricier investments.

Recently picked up a kestrel 650 fork from craigslist, now I just gotta invest another bill or so for 650 wheel parts. After that, the nishiki should be set for a while...spent 300+ so far to get it running from scratch.



ps - Anyone want to trade their 19t cog for an 18t cog? Got a spare set of B123 bars kicking around?
what's the width & make on the 18?

ch0mb0 is it riding better after I spoke with ya?

S/F<
CEYA!

I've got about $700 into my current project, but that's not really realistic, considering I got the Phil hubs for a set of NOS campy pista pedals I had in my parts bin + $100, and the saddle, chainring, and pedals also came out of the parts bin.

Bikes can be expensive, and there are some good deals on pre-built bikes out there, but there's nothing like riding something that you built up with exactly the parts you wanted.

~$350, including a fair amount of parts salvaged from other projects

Maserati late 60's road bike - free
Hockey bar tape - 4$
Tires and one tube - 20$
Soma cog - 22$
Tektro lever - 15$
Brake cable and housing - 4$

Having another crappy but lovable fixed road conversion - Priceless

peace,
sam

what's the width & make on the 18?

It's an 1/8" and burly as all get go. Looks almost identical to an EAI, but isn't marked as such.

m.

Where R U Located?

S/F<
CEYA!

Esh.. since I do IT work for my local bike shop, they hook me up a bit over cost. That said, I'm sitting at around $850 right now and I still have to buy wheels, bars, cranks, brakes, and a few other odds and ends. (I'm building an urban/dirt jumping single speed rig)

feck...im up to about a grand

Frame : 400
Rear Wheel : 160
Front Wheel, Tires and Tubes : ~ 200
Track Drops : Free
Brooks Sadle : ~75
Bar Tape : 15
Lights : ~65
Bottom Bracket : 23

So $938? And that's just the current configuration. Several of those parts have been replaced a couple of times. I had no idea I'd been spending that much. That's close to what I spend on beer each year!

I forgot cogs, lockrings, chainring, and chain. That's probably another $100...

Ceya: I'm in scenic Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

m.

My first post disappeared...I have roughly $300 in each of my conversions.
I buy tubualr wheelsets off of eBay and build up yard sale frames.

Fuji track 2004 stock setup - 600
Serfas '05 racing saddle - $20
Surly hub mavic rim Rear Wheel - $140
Xero lite XR-4 front (i know its crap but it looks cool and good price) - $40
Euro-asia 17t cog - $35
New chain - $10
Front brake (forget make) - $35

Total (not including minor repairs like spokes etc. and tax): $880
but if you count the various problems i've had with components before i replaced them and bike shop labor for the things i didnt have tools for, the price goes up.

So I'm wondering how deep you folks are into your current projects? Are things geting out of control?

Calisse, it adds up fast. I'm in the same boat - just got a bb today so I can start putting it together (this is after a bb I bought through the mec gearswap never got here, sent uninsured with no delivery conf - Pay the extra buck!)

If you want some commisseration:

It all started out because (everything in Cdn here):

frame and fork: $30 (because it needed a h/s, which I still have to work on)

b/c of that I thought I could get something together for around $300, having no parts to start with.

So:

bars: 25
tape: 10
stem: 15
crank and chainring (which maybe won't work, old Ofmega, we'll see tonight): $25
single stack bolts: 8
crank bolts: 5
seatpost: 15
brakes (only came as a pair, but Sheldon Brown said they were the best ever, so why not?): 50
levers: 20
cog: 30
bb: 30 (plus another 35 if you want to count the one Canada Post ate for breakfast)
wheels: 200
rim tape: 8
saddle: 45
brake hoods (not absolutely necessary, but they were pink, and I've got a pink/black thing going): 7

Now in the $525 range to build a bike with a 30+ year old spraypainted frame with rust that's not even really my size (in the 64c-c/62tt range, which like all you tall ones know, forget finding something used) with parts that are nothing special. This is because it would cost way too much to ship an IRO to Canada, and I didn't want to wait until May or June till the next time I'd be in the states (sigh), the Bianchi I tried in Philly was way too small, the Fuji in TO seemed to have really junky parts (though the frame was on the right order of size in 64cm), Langsters aren't availabe in Canada at all, and afaik no Mtl KHS dealer here can get a Flite, or don't want to.

Still need tires, tubes, chain and a seat binder bolt, and probably something else I've forgotten. Was going to get cheap mec tires, but the helpful bike fellow at the Mtl mec (Robin) suggested that if I easily wrecked sidewalls on Panaracer Paselas, their cheap ($14 Panaracer or Continentals) ought to be avoided, so I'm thinking of going to the like 35-40 buck a tire range. Plus I'll find out that my h/s races are pitted when I got to rebuild it, so throw in an h/s and installation. And not counting all the stuff I'm going to break putting it together.

Sigh. I'll be in Philly in June, and am considering going in hock and ordering an IRO just so I'll have a whole bike with parts that are all new all work together, and the pink nightmare can be a project/weird bike/rain and snow bike.

The things we do for love?

Well, I guess since I started this thread I should add my own shopping list (in cdn $$):

Frame: free (busted up track frame from a friend)
Frame fixin': $30 (BB shell had a crack that needed a weldin' and a dent that needed a poundin')
Fork: $85 (used spicer track fork)
Hubs: $110 (miche primatos)
Rims: $40 (I think... Campy Ypsilons from nashbar... I forget how much they actually cost)
Wheel build: $80
Tires & tubes: $50 (cheap contis)
Crankset & pedals: $80 (dura ace road cranks, 52t chainring, dura ace pedals and clips)
Saddle: $13 (everyone's favorite white perf selle san marco from nashbar)
Headset: $15 (FSA)
BB: $30 (Shimano)
Stem: $30 (3ttt mutant classic)
Cog: $0 (the aforementioned 18t I had lying around)
Spray primer and paint: $7

Some of this stuff (like the FSA headset) I bought for my current bike as upgrades to what's on it now but put it aside when the frame showed up. I could've also saved money by reusing stuff I have lying around (cranks, stem, bars), but I keep on finding myself buying stuff I don't really need but really want. Like, the 3ttt stem looks rad, but none of the bars I have lying around will fit the 25.8mm stem, so I need to get bars... but if I'm going to buy bars, I'd like to get B123s, but if I get B123s I'm going to need the bar shim, and so on and so on... it's a pain we all - to some degree or another - feel.

Pay day is friday. This bike should be ridable to some degree by next week.

m.

Hi everyone, my name is Jaminsky...and I'm addicted to spending money on bikes...If I can actually get myself to build my next bike for under 500 dollars and be happy with it, I'll pat myself on the back and take me out to dinner.

I think we are all forgetting something...

If your bike is your sole transportation you are saving quite a bit even if you have racked up 1k for parts and pieces.

Current project (Vanilla, lots of options) total so far: $8600. Final may push a few hundred more before it's done.

Oh boy! Can I clean it for you mister? I promise I won't put a scratch on it!

Current project (Vanilla, lots of options) total so far: $8600. Final may push a few hundred more before it's done.

holy cow. good god. wowie zowie.

We should have a contest for who can build up the cheapest fixie possible.

Rules:

1. No parts out of your personal junk box, or taken off one of your existing bikes.

2. No gifts or 'special deals' from your friend's junk box or bikes.

3. No x-tra special employee discounts if you work at an LBS.

All parts must be purchased from somewhere. Thrift store, online store, craigslist, yard sale, etc. The point is that they have to be things that just anyone could come and buy, available to the general public.

Then you could have categories, like "Cheapest Overall", "Best bike for less than 50$", "Best bike for less than 100$", "Most Expensive Overall", etc.

could be fun!

peace,
sam

Rich people can buy bikes too. Hell, I just had dinner with a Sheikh on tuesday who is about to buy a Maybach. For the uninitiated, its close to 400,000 dollars, is 6.2 meters long and can outperform a corvette on the race track. I see no reason why he would spend any less than 10-20,000 dollars on a bicycle.

pfft. I could do it for nothing and I bet more than a few people here could if they think about it.

But the other categories are pretty nice.

pfft. I could do it for nothing and I bet more than a few people here could if they think about it.

A completely free fixie built up from parts available to the general public? You could get a freecycled road bike, locktite the freewheel, remove the derailleurs and extra chainring, and go. But it wouldn't be pretty. And maybe someone with a few well placed dollars could make a much better bike, and still win the "Best for less than 50$" category or something! See, it would still be a challenge to hit each of the categories, or to make some surprisingly nice bikes with surprisingly cheap parts.

peace,
sam

Look at me...REALLY! LOOK AT ME! I'm in my late 40's wearing an aerodynamic unitard with lighted wiring running throughout. And you have the nerve to think you're in too deep?!?! You're not in too deep until you have to change a fuse in your underwear because you saw a pretty girl riding the other direction!

my convsersion cost me however much a case of budweiser cost at the time...
my track i got for $500, but that was a steal, and i'm looking at spending almost half that just to get new forks soon...

Current project (Vanilla, lots of options) total so far: $8600. Final may push a few hundred more before it's done.

What? What the hell kind of components are you putting on that thing? Even with a brand new set of disc wheels and one of those $700 dollar Hatta headsets, I don't see how this is possible.

the Vanilla frameset is prob 3 or 4k just by itself.

I'd love to tell you how much i'm spending on the new one, but since i work in a shop, it might break your hearts... Xtra special employee discounts rule.

frame, bars, stem, fork, headset, seatpost, bb-7
cheap suzue hubs- 35
rims- 50
spokes+nipples- 32
cranks- 10
bar tape- friends part bin
pedals- swap between road bike and fix
seat- parts bin
tires- 5$ from a buddy
tubes- patched old ones
da cog and lockring- 33
chain- parts bin

my damn sexy bike- priceless

Found some good deals and built up a bike.

BT frame and fork - 3G
HED disc wheel - 1G
Specialized trispoke - 500 bucks
Campy track cranks - 100 bucks
Speedplay Zero track - 165 bucks
Izumi chain - 45 bucks
Sakae FX handlebars - 60 bucks
Selle Italia Nitrox seat - 5 bucks
Campy seatpost - 10 bucks
Tufo s135g tubulars - 120 bucks
Campy record headset - free
Stem - free
Soyo keiring grips - 18 bucks
Paint - had it lying around

If i paid suggested retail for everything, it would have run me twice as much
All prices canadian dollars

my around town fixie cost me 50 bucks

Current project (Vanilla, lots of options) total so far: $8600. Final may push a few hundred more before it's done.

I have to second hella, I really dont know how you could spend that much. With all the bells and whistles, Vanillas dont run that much. I need pics of progress...really badly

taras! that bike is sexy!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!! I think i am in love. Why does everthing I love cost so much darn $$$$$?!?!?!

ch0mb0 is it riding better after I spoke with ya?

S/F<
CEYA!


yup. the ride feels nice and level.
I suspect going from the terry wheel to 650 will require a tad more adjusting. Thanks again.

It took a while to get those parts. At 21, you're not making much money. It was all done in pieces.

Hella and Jaminsky,

Sorry to tell you, but it's true. There was a previous "spare no expenses" fixie thread that has a lot of the specs in it. But I can give you highlights.

The lugs we designed were too long to cut, carve and extend an existing set, so Sacha mated ss tubes together and then carved those up. If you go to his website and click on the process page, you'll see some unfinished lugs. Those were the basis of mine, but now modified. The BB lug has the tips extended 4". Stem and seatpost post are also custom from Vanilla. Sacha actually finished my seatpost a while ago and put it on another bike to show at the Handmade Bicycle Show. Here's a link to see my seatpost: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/wbarocsi/detail?.dir=bd7c&.dnm=a970.jpg&.src=ph (Btw, he took an existing seatpost, cut off the bottom 1/2, carved the upper to look like a lug, bonded carbon tubing up into it, and then polished the lug portion. For the downtube logo, Sacha came up with the idea to ditch the decal and instead laser cut the Vanilla script from ss and weld it to the frame then polish it.

Other stuff: PW high flange track hubs 28f/32r, new SLR version in black, Sapim CX-ray black spokes (had to be made for this application) laced to Zipp 415 carbon clincher rims. All PW hardware fully polished by PW and should have the new PW cogs by completion time. Campy Pista cranks w/ custom Brown Technologies titanium chainring, Crank Brothers Quattro road pedals, Campy Record carbon brake levers (right side pinned), Campy Record front brake (black), Fizik Arione carbon saddle, FSA K-wing carbon bars, Campy Record carbon bottle cages, CK Ti headset, Michelin pro-race tires, Cateye double wireless computer. I may switch the FSA bars w/ a spare pair of ITM K-sword bars I've got laying around.

There's a lot more to the frame than the average and that's a big part of the expense. Since the bike is a fixed gear, there was no need for a standard rear brake bridge. Sacha came up with the idea to do a pair of bi-plane looking wings between the seatstays. The wings will have the Vanilla circle w/ "v" in the middle to look like a propeller. Lots of cool stuff.

I can't post pics on the web. I've tried, but the photos Sacha sent me are "tif" files and when I try to download them to a picture hosting site, I get file too big errors. Sorry.

yup, it doesn't take long for the vanilla frame price to go into the stratosphere - of course, that depends upon what you want on it. sacha is about to start my sspeed project and we discussed various frame options. keeping it simple the frame/fork will stay under $2K, but if you go with stainless lugs plan on adding about $900. again, it's all personal choice and how much $$$ you want to sink in vs what you will get out of the bike. i had planned to go with some stainless lugs, but i've alread spent a bundle on collecting campy cobalto components - not to mention the phil wood hubs and bottom bracket.

either way, sacha's great to work with and extremely helpful.

Deep isn't the word and out of control is a distant second to addiction.
S/F,
CEYA!

Calfee Luna Fixie frame w/Thompson seatpost/Profile karbon lite cages from ebay: $680
Saddle: Used fizik arione that I had
New Ritchey WCS stem ebay: $55
ITM Millenium (Sp?) bar: had it.
Grips $4
Tape had it
lever had it
brake got for free
Front wheel phil hub ebay $80
Campy Record HS: $70
Alpha Q cross fork $400
HS/fork Instal: $30
Reinstal because first LBS put the bearings in reversed: $12
Brake adjustment/install: $12
Track crank & BB: $300
Chain $10
Rear rim: $27
Level Hub, cog, spokes, nipples: $190
Level Axle and three extra cogs: $120
Build: that was me
Tires: ~$40
Tubes: $5
Extra Chainring $50

Total comes to $2085. WILL SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE?! This is all on a credit card too and started out because I just wanted a lighter fixie. The fork was the first real sign of a deep problem.

Now I've had to change my salary election to stop contributing to my 401k for the rest of the year to pay off the $5000 in debt that I have that is all due to bike stuff.

My rationalization is that I'm in the best physical shape I've been in in at least 10 years (when I was 25), I'm finishing in the top 10 and even on the podium in races thanks to so much time fixed; so a little financial pain is worth it in my book. But that is only because I know I can pay it off by year's end. The other rationalization was that if I bought the frame alone new I'd have spent $2,000 and there are only 2 of them in existence (carbon fiber fixed gear Calfees), so the interest is an opportunity cost.

I can't post pics on the web. I've tried, but the photos Sacha sent me are "tif" files and when I try to download them to a picture hosting site, I get file too big errors. Sorry.

Send copies to jeremy.werst at gmail dot com - I'll run them through photoshop at work today and give you internet sized .jpgs....

" I see no reason why he would spend any less than 10-20,000 dollars on a bicycle."

I can see a reason; 20k feeds a lot of families.

I could see it if spending 2000% more increased your utility/pleasure 2000% percent more. But it doesnt (doubtful even 10 percent). In fact, in tends to DECREASE pleasure and utility because (many) people who drop that kinda cash on a bike tend to make it their sunday dandy; never using it in the rain, or a dirt path, or locked to a parking meter.

just my take...no offense to those who make choices different than my own...

It is like buying an ultimate car. People like to own the best thing. And the best bike is a dern sight cheaper than the best car (which very very few people could ever afford). But stevo has a point, of course, there is something wrong with a bike that is 'too nice' to be ridden.