Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - my first fixie

I found this bike in the trash, (fuji gran tourer se, dunno the year, help on that would be appreciated too!) and after riding a fixie, i want to convert it. I wanna do a flip flop fix/free hub. are the dropouts okay for this? they're semi-horizontal. this bike would be fine for this?

any suggestions? a friend of mine told me to just strip all the useless crap, change the hub (surley is the hub he suggested), to get a KMC 510HX chain if i don't plan on brakes, and i could just leave all the crank gears and just use the one that is lined up with the rear hub.

any help would kick ass.

Mike

http://myspace-671.vo.llnwd.net/01215/17/64/1215934671_l.jpg

plan on a front brake at first.

and if you're gonna use a freewheel, keep em both.

for dirty...

Either go with a suicide conversion or buy two new wheels. replacing the hub is a waste of money any time.

For $5 you can get shorter bolts and get rid of the extra chainring.

Also what possible reason could you have for taking off a brake that is already on there.

this is why im asking, because i'm quite new to this.

btw, what's a "suicide conversion"?

That looks similar to the Fuji Royale I converted -- it'll be nice & clean-looking once you get it converted cause you can take off the ziptie things (?) holding on the cables. The dropouts should be fine, they're not so vertical that you can't adjust the wheel in & out to take up some slack.

But yeah, if you're not going fixed, use both brakes.

looks like a good candidate for a conversion.

read sheldon (http://www.sheldonbrown.com) and then ask questions here about the stuff that doesn't make sense. be ready for a bunch of sarcastic replies, but don't sweat em. sometimes they're actually pretty funny (that's why i keep reading).

i JUST got that url. i dont mind the sarcastic replies, it adds some flavor to this project. life would be boring if we weren't smartasses.

I feel compelled to ask: how tall are you?

Oh, and a suicide conversion's when you try to put a cog on a non-fixed hub. So like, spin the cog on there REAL TIGHT, put some Loctite or something on it, and cross your fingers every time you skid. Don't do that, though.

6'2"

haha no i dont wanna do that. no ghetto rigging for me.

not meant to insult, the ghetto rigging comment. this might actually be the option i take. 4 months eh? i REALLY wanna flip flop though. as for getting something better in the future, that's not gonna happen for a long long time. i'd like to identify the year on this bike if anyone can help me out with that, you would also kick ass.

not meant to insult, the ghetto rigging comment. this might actually be the option i take. 4 months eh? i REALLY wanna flip flop though. as for getting something better in the future, that's not gonna happen for a long long time. i'd like to identify the year on this bike if anyone can help me out with that, you would also kick ass.

You're probably not going to be able to use a flipflop unless you buy a new BB. To convert a bike properly it will take a few hundred dollars. You have to ask youself if a frame worth ten dollars is really worth that. If not find a better frame to start with or settle for cutting corners. A well done suicide and a brake is alot is alot safer then trackhub with no brake.

Rebuilding a wheel with a POS 27" rim is throwing money down the toilet. Buy a complete new wheelset or make do with what you have.

frame is only worth 10 bucks? hrm. i will have to replace the BB because it wont align with a flip flop?

I just finished my conversion of that exact bike yesterday, and had a couple of suggestions if you're still planning on working on it. If you want to keep the cranks, just use the inner chain ring. I picked up a Craigslist rear 27" fixed wheel with 120mm spacing and it aligned with the cog. I did use two washers (1/8" ea.) to the inside of the frame to keep from having to bend the frame in to meet the hub. I still plan on changing the handlebars, seat and pedals, but I can do that in the future when I find deals and have money.

frame is only worth 10 bucks? hrm. i will have to replace the BB because it wont align with a flip flop?
Bingo. That frame is solid, but yeah, $10 is a good estimate. It's a low-end touring bike with suicide levers (sheldon has an entry on that) and stem-mounted shifters, two of the hallmarks of budget bikes. And are my eyes deceiving me, or are those seat stays bent?