Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Picked up a bike..what the heck is it?

Well, after researching for a day, I picked up a bike. It's a good fit and the frame was solid and it was only $25 so I couldn't pass it up but I'm not sure what it is. It has stickers on it that it says Aragon, before I stripped it of everything the rear derailer was a Suntour Honor and I googled it, that specific component set was from '71 and '72 or atleast thats what I found.

Also, I'm a little confused on what to do to make it single speed. I have the wheels it came with, they are 700cc. I thought I could slap on a new set of wheels from a bike from this time period, but I have figured out that the spacing is totally different. So, I know that on this wheelset the hub is a screw on type and not a shimano freehub. They guy at the bike shop told me I would have to re-dish the wheel and it's really more of a hassle, or so he says. He said I could buy a wheel that has a flip flop hub. What do ya'll suggest?

Edit: One more question I forgot, I want to use a front brake on this sucker and a buddy of mine has a 105 front brake laying around he said he would sell to me for $20. Will it work on this bike?

No opinions anywhere?

Well, after researching for a day, I picked up a bike. It's a good fit and the frame was solid and it was only $25 so I couldn't pass it up but I'm not sure what it is. It has stickers on it that it says Aragon, before I stripped it of everything the rear derailer was a Suntour Honor and I googled it, that specific component set was from '71 and '72 or atleast thats what I found.

Also, I'm a little confused on what to do to make it single speed. I have the wheels it came with, they are 700cc. I thought I could slap on a new set of wheels from a bike from this time period, but I have figured out that the spacing is totally different. So, I know that on this wheelset the hub is a screw on type and not a shimano freehub. They guy at the bike shop told me I would have to re-dish the wheel and it's really more of a hassle, or so he says. He said I could buy a wheel that has a flip flop hub. What do ya'll suggest?

Edit: One more question I forgot, I want to use a front brake on this sucker and a buddy of mine has a 105 front brake laying around he said he would sell to me for $20. Will it work on this bike?


all you need to do is thread on a 15$ BMX freewheel onto the rear hub and redish the wheel and you will be set. it is not so much of a hassle, with a 5$ tool and 1 free hour you can easily redish the wheel.

because the bike is from the 70s, the spacing between the rear dropouts are probably 120mm.. newer bikes use 126mm and current bikes are spaced at 130mm to make room for more gears. you can adopt new hubs to work with 120mm spacing by modification with spacers... or you can stretch the rear triangle out to 126mm; its not too much.

as far as the 105 brakes, it is possible that they will not have enough reach to allow the brake pads to contact the rim.. you'll have more luck with center-pulls from the period. yellow bike project can probably give you one

Awesome dude, glad to see an Austinite helpin out. I'm thinking about spacing the rear out to accomedate a newer wheelset. According to Sheldon Brown, it's a pretty easy process and I think it would work a lot better. Thanks again.