Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - My first real fixed build, advice.

Rather than spending all my time in the saddle of my conversion (which i love, but the more bikes the merrier), I'm about to start the process of building up the spring ride. Advice will be needed, and rather than start a billion threads, I'll ask the question here. I've searched for a bunch of stuff already, just not found the answers I'm really looking for on some of these topics, others have been answered, but searching for people to give some up to date opinions. So here we go.

1) So it looks like the Soma Rush will be the frame I'm ultimately gonna be building up. I'm about 5'10", and gonna be getting sized through my LBS and have them order it for me. I've never worked on, or had a bike with a threadless headset, so this is gonna be a first. I believe its a 1" Headtube, and while I've heard a million good things about King Headsets, I'm not gonna drop $100 on one when there are many others that will do just as good a job. What do you guys recommend in terms of a headset? Something that will be able to take a bunch of ****ty weather and last through some abuse? Black preferred, although silver would probably suffice as well.

2) Toe overlap on the Rush. Is there significant overlap, or is it going to be minimal? Probabl going to be running a 170mm crankset, clipless.

3) Stems: I'm really not a big fan of bulky stems, and was looking for something a little more streamlined. I've seen some salsa stems that weren't offensive. Is it really just the Scandium that's not too bulky, or are there others that will provide a stiff ride without looking like the piece belongs on a mac truck?

4) Hubs. I'm not looking to break the bank yet with a set of Phil hubs, but I'm not sure I want formulas either. What's the story with the Miche Hubs that businesscycles carries? Are they going to be somewhat durable, does radial lacing void their warranty, not warrantied for road use? If its not worth the extra money for the Miche's, are the Phil spec bearings that much of an improvement over the formula's bearings??

5) Seatpost: I think the Miche Supertype is super sexy, and while its not the lightest I've heard that its really nice and stiff and will last the long haul. Is anyone able to shed any light on this?

6) Rims: Black Machined Deep V's would be nice, although I have half a mind to say screw it and go for the DT Swiss RR 1.1's I'm using on my bike right now. What's going to be the main difference, besides looks and prices between these two rims??

7) Crankset. I feel like I should probably figure out what hubs I'll using first to decide the bottom bracket and crankset I should use. But it seems like there are some sugino's to stay away from, and some to covet (the 75's). What's out there that will keep me in the low to mid $100 range and deliver a worthy performance without too much flex?

All help is appreciated, thanks.

These sound like great questions for your lbs, and a matter of personal preferance in most cases, exception being question #6. Deep v's are heavier and stiffer than most rims on the market, and thus are very hard to destroy.

I will be talking with the LBS about a lot of these questions as well, but I will also be doing some online shopping for items that they cannot be as competitive with. They'll be doing the labor for me on most things and as well I'll be buying the frame through them.

I know that some of y'all are much more knowledgable on these products than most people are just because it is a niche market, and while I trust my LBS, the more info I have the better.

I ride a miche rear hub (from business cycles no less) I did notice a substantial difference between that and the formula hub I previously had.

As for stems, I use a truvativ team stem. It is basically one piece aluminum, for the price I was quite impressed with the stiffness.

is your conversion not real?

mine is realler than a muhh

Its aluminum, and while its tangible, some will argue that only steel is "real". Really, I'm lookin at building up something with tighter geometry, no braze ons to bruise and cut up my knees, and no more vertical dropouts.

I'd say keep those DT rims.

well I'll be buying a new set, if I didn't make that clear. I'm a little hesitant though, as I already pinched and cracked one on bridge grate, and seeing that $$ just get chucked away is really a bummer.

if you are 5' 10" you might want to use 165 cranks?

Shimano 105 is a damn good headset for the money. they come in black also.
Ritchey Pro Seatpost...also a good deal.

what's the justification for wanting 165's over 170's?

i don't know much about those things you asked about, but i can give this bit of input...i love my deep v's. ****in' bomb proof. i've hit some **** with them that would have (and has) seriously ****ed up some rims i've ridden, and the deep v's aren't even out of true yet.

they have miche hubs, but as i didn't build the wheels or have them built myself, i don't know if they're the ones you're talking about, but they're perfectly fine. i'd have preferred high flange (i like that looke), but they roll great.

what's the justification for wanting 165's over 170's?

What size frame are you going to get? 55? 53?
most track frames even up as high as 57 usually have 165's on 'em.
pedal strike/overlap...

a bunch of people here could explain why...

55 i'm thinkin, we'll see though.

i have 165s on a 58cm frame. occasionally there's toe overlap, so yeah, i'd say get 165's for that reason.

the miche hubs are great for the money. v rims are durable as ****, but lame. get 'em. they'll do what you want. you can put dura ace bearings in a 105 headset and have a dura ace headset for a lot cheaper than usual. that's all i can comment on. i hear great things from guys that use the sugino 75's. i personally use sugino mightys and suntour superbe pros. they both work.

-jason

so after a lengthy conversation with the bike shop guys it looks like i'll probably goin for sugino 75's for the crankset, formula hubs laced to open pros (black hubs with black spokes), i was talked into a kind headset (only because the shop owner basically swears by them exclusively), and possibly an easton stem, although that has yet to be seen. was a good day for my bike building prelim stages.

also, he's thinking that a 53 is more my size, which makes sense considering the road bike conversion i have right now is a 53 and the standover height is a little close for comfort.

The decision on hubs may change depending, but as of now they stand at the formulas.

um, the size would probably be smaller unless it's sized for roadies. because the BB is a little higher, the seat tube length will be shorter. so if a 53 cm road bike works for you, a smaller track bike will still be right.

EDIT: soma rush, eh? is that actually a track frame? you can ignore this, if not. oops.

I just picked up a Pake frame (which is your Soma Rush w/ cheaper tubing):
- Sugino 75 cranks (165mm, 48T) and BB
- Formula hubs (32/32, fixed free)
- Surly cog (18T)
- Surly lockring
- White Industries Dos Eno freewheel (16/18T)
- Mavic CXP 33 rims
- DT Revolution spokes
- FSA Duron X 1" threaded headset
- Campy aero seatpost
- Mavic pursuit bars
- random used quill stems until I decide on a length, then probably a Nitto Pearl
- still on the hunt for a Selle Italia SLR

Oh, I went w/ a 55cm. I'm 5'10" too, but there's the difference between our body measurements. I hope you didn't get charged too much for that King headset.

- eyefloater

yeah, it is the soma rush.

the prelim build is as follows

Soma Rush Frame, 53cm, slick black.
Chris King 1" no thread set, pink.
1 set B123 Chro-Mo Nitto Track Drops
1 Wheelset (black formula hubs laced to mavic Open Pros with black spokes)
1 easton stem (not sure of angle yet)
1 seat post (not sure of make yet)
1 set Sugino 75 Track Cranks, 48T
1 17 tooth 1/8" Track cog (not sure of brand yet).
Still undecided on saddle and pedals, though i'm thinking going for some egg beaters this time around.