Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - can i turn my trek 1000 into a fixed?

i want to get a fixed bike and im looking everywhere and it just hit me that i have a trek 1000 (my first road bike) and i hardely ride because i have the sarthe now. approximatly how much would it cost to turn a 1000 into a track bike? i guess i would need a new crank and hub.

would the 1000's frame which is AL make a good track bike as well? i take the brakes off and i should be in buisness right?

its an 04 1000 so all the components are good but they are sora so...yeah...

any input is welcome.

-Steve

http://sheldonbrown.com/deakins/how-to-fixed-conversion.html

Nope. I believe the Trek 1000 has vertical dropouts. Horizontal is a must for a fixed conversion. Just look around for an older road bike with horizontals to convert.

i'm guessing that the frame has vertical dropouts, which means you'll likely need an eccentric hub to be able to get the correct chain tension.

you probably won't need new cranks as you should be able to use the one already on there.

read this, then come back if you have more questions http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html

heh. carleton beat me too it.

el twe is not entirely correct.

Oh, how could I forget the Eccentric hub option?!

Nope. I believe the Trek 1000 has vertical dropouts. Horizontal is a must for a fixed conversion. Just look around for an older road bike with horizontals to convert.

it's not unpossible. he could:
1. find a "magic" gear ratio that gives perfect chain length with his frame's chainstay lengths.
2. do #1 with a 1/2 link and some dropout modification
3. get an ENO hub.

I don't know the Trek 1000, but what you'll need to do is get a new wheelset with track hubs, cog, & lockring. That's pretty much it. The biggest issue will be the drop outs. without a derailer you will need some room to play with to get the chain tenstion right. If it has vertical drop outs, you can try to mess with half-links and things like that, but thats no sure thing.

You can probably keep your crankset depending on how its built. In order to resolve chainline issues you might need to have a couple choices as to which side of the spider you attach the chainring.

BUT, it seems like a decent roadbike and most people here, including myself, prefer a lugged steel bike over AL, so you might as well just hunt around for an old frame instead of destroying a road bike.

Nope. I believe the Trek 1000 has vertical dropouts. Horizontal is a must for a fixed conversion. Just look around for an older road bike with horizontals to convert.

No it isnt, more convenient yes, absolutely necessary, no.I know of 2 trek 1000 conversions, one fixed one singlespeed w/o a tensioner.The big drawback is lack of gear selection, you have to be very careful with that unless you either get an eccentric hub or eccentric bottom bracket which in either case means somehwhere around an extra $100 vs the normal way with semi horizontal dropouts.

it seems like a decent roadbike and most people here, including myself, prefer a lugged steel bike over AL, so you might as well just hunt around for an old frame instead of destroying a road bike.

i am a big fan of steal as well. what are some good bikes to look out for that are good frames to turn into a track bike? if i buy a track bike i dont want anything that is going to be expensive

-Steve