Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - buying fixies the eBay way

The Setup:


Own a Motobecane.
Intimidated by fixieizing the Motobecane
Want a fixie bad
I'll be in San Diego for two weeks...


The Deal:

applecart sells out of san diego. I've heard you guys speak of him in ways that make me think he is not to be trusted... Even if I pick up one of his bikes locally, I still have to pay the $35 "professional boxing fee". But in many cases, even with the boxing fee, the bike is cheaper than buying parts for the Moto especially if you can put a price on avoiding fed-uppedness.

Input?

its not a matter of trust, his bikes are just crap.

the frames are actually quite nice, but for the most part they're 27" and lack lockrings. if you're looking for something that you can just buy a new wheelset for, (including a lockring), then i don't see whats wrong with getting an applecart bike.

convert the motobecane. french bikes are the jam, obnoxious threading and all. feel free to message me with any questions that you may have about dealing with french sizing/threading. i can help.

applecart's bikes don't even come with real track wheels. he does suicide hub setups, which are not worth paying for.

again, convert the motobecane. you'll have a bike that you built and you'll get over the feeling of intimidation.

all this is exactly what I'd been thinking, I just wanted to hear other people say so. Crap bikes and he seems inhospitable to boot.

I believe his hubs are suicide hubs (old freewheel hub plus track cog plus loctite plus bottom bracket lockring plus redishing of wheel), which you can make for the moto for less than the cost of the "boxing fee". I did a Peugeot UO8 in this manner for under 25$ (including the frame), but I have a basement of parts. Depending on your moto, you'd be better off doing it yourself. What exactly do you need aside from a rear wheel for a conversion? If it's just the wheel, go with the moto.

You can find plenty of good track wheels on ebay, or craigslist for that matter. Especially if you just need a rear wheel (and you can run anything on the front). As an example, here's a decent set for pretty cheap:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=58099&item=7166505801&rd=1

get an $80 suzue/sun rear wheel and bring it with you, along with small crecent wrench, wire cutters, and multitool. When you get to San Diego go to goodwill and buy a $10 bike. Convert it. When you leave town take your rear wheel with you and leave the frame out on the corner.

now THAT is hardcore.

its not a matter of trust, his bikes are just crap.

the frames are actually quite nice, but for the most part they're 27" and lack lockrings. if you're looking for something that you can just buy a new wheelset for, (including a lockring), then i don't see whats wrong with getting an applecart bike.

What's wrong is he'd end up practically rebuilding it himself- which ends up being more expensive than starting with nothing.

I have two thoughts about applecart2:

1) he ought to find himself a nice source of non-suicide wheels - I've approached him about it and he declined my offer

2) his 'packing fee' makes sense because eBay can't take a percentage of it - and since he is up front about the cost, buyers can figure that into their bid - it's subtle, but I get what he's doing

yeah, he's a b.astard.

i am of the opinion that if you ride a hack "fixed" hard (cog and bottom bracket lockring threaded onto a hub without two sets of threaded designed to accept a freewheel) it will strip out, especially if you try skidding or stopping fast. at first it may cost a little more money to buy a track wheelset, but in the end you will not have to buy another track wheel when you strip out the fake one.

i am of the opinion that if you ride a hack "fixed" hard (cog and bottom bracket lockring threaded onto a hub without two sets of threaded designed to accept a freewheel) it will strip out, especially if you try skidding or stopping fast. at first it may cost a little more money to buy a track wheelset, but in the end you will not have to buy another track wheel when you strip out the fake one.

i stripped the track side of my crp hub....coming down the brooklyn bridge, thank god i had brakes.
i recently threw some jb weld on the hub with the cog and lock ring..we'll see how that works but i'm not putting to much faith in it..
i'm fixing (ehh? ehh??... fine) on buying a new rear wheel.. i'd like to buy a stepup from the iro rear wheel.. but i dont know if that'll happen.

I have two thoughts about applecart2:

1) he ought to find himself a nice source of non-suicide wheels - I've approached him about it and he declined my offer

2) his 'packing fee' makes sense because eBay can't take a percentage of it - and since he is up front about the cost, buyers can figure that into their bid - it's subtle, but I get what he's doing


That would cut directly into his (probably) 90+% profit margin. People have suggested the $80 suzue SIL-SP/Sun M13II wheel, which I managed to get from a very friendly LBS in 1 day for about $55 (I'm beginning to think this was actually a mistake...). It came to less than $80 with tire, tube, rim strip, cog, lockring and he even trued and tensioned it for me (very well, btw). For someone buying these with wholesale power, I suspect you could get the total cost for the operational wheel down to about $60 or even below, with cheap tires and such. If you eliminate some of his BS fees, post more specific details, be less vague and in general be less of a tool (it has the fuji tubing... generic postings make me angry) than that guy (or gal... I haven't done a lot of research on this topic), I would think you could begin a very lucrative business. It wouldn't hurt if you were located in some place like NYC, Chicago, SF... so that you could do local pickups to keep them super-affordable and maybe make some word-of-mouth sales to avoid ebay fees. It's all got to be built on quality workmanship, quality description, and quality customer service though... all of which are questionable in this feller's application. If I wasn't so turned off by the potential for litigation when providing these types of things in bulk, I'd probably start such a business myself...

i am of the opinion that if you ride a hack "fixed" hard (cog and bottom bracket lockring threaded onto a hub without two sets of threaded designed to accept a freewheel) it will strip out, especially if you try skidding or stopping fast. at first it may cost a little more money to buy a track wheelset, but in the end you will not have to buy another track wheel when you strip out the fake one.



Slightly OT question, but you all obviously know about this stuff more. Would the above, about stripping the hub, apply to a ss conversion, as well? I have a friend who I said I'd convert an old bike for, but I don't really want to get her a new wheel if I don't have to. Can I just use a lockring and re-dish the ten-speed wheel, or will this be dangerous for her?

No. It would not apply to a single speed. Why? Because there is no stress on the cog while braking that would cause you to strip out the threads. You use two brakes (or one really good front brake and a gentle touch) when riding with a single speed. Also...no need for a lockring. I don't know if you even need a redish a hub to put on a SS. These other tech gurus would know.

No. It would not apply to a single speed. Why? Because there is no stress on the cog while braking that would cause you to strip out the threads. You use two brakes (or one really good front brake and a gentle touch) when riding with a single speed. Also...no need for a lockring. I don't know if you even need a redish a hub to put on a SS. These other tech gurus would know.



Thanks, that's pretty much what I thought.

But wouldn't it be kind of iffy to not redish the hub, since you'd then be distributing the weight unevenly on the back wheel then? At least, it would really make that wheel look ghettorific.

You're probably right. I have no experience with redishing so I really haven't a clue.

It's more fun to build your own (or at least do most of the work if you're less skilled like I am.)