Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Fuji Berkeley conversion build-up

Hi all,

This will be my first fixie conversion, but not my first fixed gear. I also have a Specialized Langster(which my girlfriend now rides). I love the look of a clean conversion, and I have wanted a Fuji for some time. After looking at classifieds for too long I finally found this fine Fuji Berkeley.

I paid $90 cash for it. Honestly I feel bad stripping it down because all the shifters work so well and it is in very good condition.

Bike Info:

22.5" from center of BB to top of Top Tube
33" standover height
Currently has nice alloy 27" wheels
Diacompe 500 brakes
Suntour friction shifters and derailleurs
Alloy Nitto stem
Nitto drop bars(look to be steel of some kind)
Weight is 31.5lbs (using the no-so-accurate bathroom scale trick)

ToDo:

Strip components
Find a good fixie wheelset
Figure out the crank situation ([B]Bulletproof or something else? Recommendations?)
Hope the Bottom bracket gives a nice chainline
Repack bearings in headset and bottom bracket
Decide on front brake (Will my extra shimano 105 reach? How do you guys like the Diacompe 500?
Decide on front brake lever (BMX-ish lever or cool TT aero one)
Decide on handlebars(bullhorns for sure, but not sure if I want fancy alloy ones, or chop shop)
Missing anything?

The "thinking about buying bike" thread, thank you for your thoughts. (http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=329776)

The following pictures are just the seller's shots. I'll add my own as the bike changes.



http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/bike1-smaller.jpg

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/bike2.jpg

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/bike3.jpg

Great find. Im excited to see this build and how it turns out.
Are you going to run the stock Saddle. I would also upgrade the pedals, and put a nice set of clips on them. I think you have everything covered. Are you going to upgrade the chain by chance?

Great find. Im excited to see this build and how it turns out.
Are you going to run the stock Saddle. I would also upgrade the pedals, and put a nice set of clips on them. I think you have everything covered. Are you going to upgrade the chain by chance?
The Saddle is honestly mint, almost NOS, so someone else might enjoy it more than me(I will probably sell it).. Also I want something a little more sweet looking...

The pedals bring to mind something you'd see in a "Saw" movie; they honestly scare me. Yah, I need to add pedals to the ToDo list.. I'm gonna run toeclips, but I need to research what the best bang/buck out there is.

The chain is almost certainly gonna be 1/8, but I don't know enough about chains yet.. Are there "better" than your average run of the mill? haha..

-chry

A mint Fuji saddle is still a Fuji saddle. I tried to sell mine on eBay, and after two attempts, I just gave it away to the local bike co-op.

A mint Fuji saddle is still a Fuji saddle. I tried to sell mine on eBay, and after two attempts, I just gave it away to the local bike co-op.

haha.. thanks for the heads up..

I took most things off the bike that weren't needed anymore. I didn't remove the rear brake yet because I may end up riding it single speed for a little bit. I'd do that by just throwing the chain back on and riding on the smallest chainring and whatever gear works on the current freewheel. This would only be temporarily, as it is nice to have the bike ridable.

Items removed:
Shifters
Reflectors
Derailleurs
Kickstand
Saddlebag
Item to be removed at a later date:
rear brake, cable, and lever
freewheel and 5 cogs(part of rear wheel)
Items that will be changed in the future:
front brake lever
handlebars
wheels
crank and both chainrings
Items missing from bike:
chain
pedals

So while I had the wheels off I wanted to see if my Shimano 105 front brake would fit; it seemed like the brake reach might make it on the 27" wheels, but when I tried a 700c wheel there was no chance; the pads were well into the rubber of the tire. However, I tried the same test with the Diacompe 500 brake that came with the bike, and that seems to fit nicely. So, it seems I'll be using the Diacompe as my brake (unless I can find some evidence showing that I shouldn't!).

So how much does she weigh now? With no pedals and no chain the bike is 26 lbs, down 5.5 from 31.5 from before the strip. Not exactly a svelte ride, but I did weigh the wheels alone and they come out to 9lbs (just wheels!). I am still going to upgrade the handlebars, wheels, tires, crank, seat, and seatpost. I somehow doubt that is going to bring the bike below 20lbs, but I hope so!

To Do:

Find a good fixie wheelset
Figure out the crank situation (Bulletproof or something else? Recommendations?)
Hope the Bottom bracket gives a nice chainline
Repack bearings in headset and bottom bracket
Decide on front brake lever (BMX-ish lever or cool TT aero one)
Decide on handlebars(alloy bullhorns for sure, but not sure which ones)
Toe Clips
What size cog,chainring? (I already have a 16t cog)
Ok! Here are some pictures:

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/post-strip/stripped-800

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/post-strip/stripped2-800

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/post-strip/fuji-logo.jpg

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/post-strip/diacompe-500.jpg

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/post-strip/dropout.jpg

Weight update.. After looking for a wheelset I found that 2000 grams is actually doable on a wheelset.. so lets say 4.5 lbs with cog/lockring, and the current wheels are 9lbs. 26-4.5 is 21.5 lbs, with a few more things to go; this bike just might end up below 20 lbs after all..

Chry

Replace that bulky saddle and ye-olde seatpost and you'll gain a pound or two right there.

you didn't snag this from boston craigslist, did you? i have a feeling i saw this browsing yesterday.

I believe i saw this bike posted on Boston Craigslist as well. I totally would have snagged it, but it was way outside of the city (providence, RI?)

you didn't snag this from boston craigslist, did you? i have a feeling i saw this browsing yesterday.

Yup!


I believe i saw this bike posted on Boston Craigslist as well. I totally would have snagged it, but it was way outside of the city (providence, RI?)

Yup.. It was in Wellesley; which is like 10 miles from the city. I remember recently seeing a cheery black fuji on Boston CL in Providence, but they wanted $200 for it, which seemed excessive.

yeah chrysiptera, i saw this and was going to jump on it but i snoozed and you won.

Haha, I was gonna ask about Boston craigslist too, I noticed the quix saddlebag right away after seeing it before.
As far as parts go, Simple Living Cycles out in Framingham will give you a good deal on parts (better than you can find on the net). You can get a bulletproof crankset and a rocketring for $43. You can get a decent track wheelset (w/flip-flop hub) for under $100 (I think) there with Sun rims (I think, sorry I forget specifics). So check him out if you get the chance. He has a website, but I can't find it anymore.
Phil is a good guy to work with too, I went back a few times to switch bottom brackets so i could get my chainline nice. GL with the build, let me know if I can impart any more advice from my limited experience.

I was having some serious play in the left crank of my other bike, and it turned out the square taper hole was deformed on the other bike. Since I wasn't going to use the cranks on this build anyway I just put them on my other bike, and good thing; they were steel and very heavy..

So now that the cranks were off I got to look at the bottom bracket, and it has one of those non-symmetrical spindles..

Bottom Bracket info:

On the side it has stamped: 1.37"x24T FUJI
Length from end of threaded section to other end: 146.8 mm
Length from top of square taper section to other end: 123.8 mm
The drive side of the spindle is 6.35 mm longer than the left side
** I'm not using the most exact measuring devices

This is good news since it means I'll be able to put any I.S.O. BB in here... I'm still thinking about the next move..

OK.. Another BB update; the bike is in fantastic condition, and the current BB is actually in good shape. However, I'm realizing that I'm probably going to need a shorter spindle, and then I'll still have to mount the chainring on the inside of the crank. That is well and good, but I could also just upgrade to the Sugino 103MM BB which uses cartridge bearings.

That would allow more flexibily in the crank decision, but the roadblock I'm hitting now is that I found out there are two types of taper for the stinkin square taper cranks!

You can probably flip the spindle so that the shorter side is on the drive side. That's what I had to do on my gfs Fuji Monteray and her Peugeot.

A set of old Shimano 600 square taper cranks + 107mm shimano un bb, running the ring in the outer position will get you your 42-ish mm chainline---i run this myself. The combo won't be much more than $50 if you shop around and it's very classy looking.

...but the roadblock I'm hitting now is that I found out there are two types of taper for the stinkin square taper cranks!
99% odds that it is JIS taper... just get a Tange or Shimano bb.

ok.. I just ordered my wheels from wheelsdirect.com (got the Mavic CXP22 with formula hubs)

And I am heading over to Harris Cyclery to get the BB,crank,etc,etc

do yourself a favor and take those wheels to a reputable shop and have a mechanic give them a once-over to make sure they are properly tensioned, it will probably save you some trouble down the line.

I have one of those bikes, they're great frames and the paint is wonderful.

Part of the reason the bike is still very heavy is that they equipped them with steel cranks and huge pedals with basically as much unnecessary metal on them as possible. The cranks are kind of hilarious, I always try to make people from the Sugino 75 mafia who think any crank under $200 has too much flex ride them around for a while and then reconsider their opinion. Swapping them out for Al cranks and sane pedals will drop a ton of weight. An Al seat post and bars will also drop a lot of weight off of the bike. I don't remember what size seatpost it takes, but it's probably something pretty standard. Also can't remember if stem is for 25.4 or 26.0 bars, but keep that in mind when you replace them. The saddle is not really that valuable even in good shape, but it's not terrible and it's not excessively heavy, it would be fine for a beater if you like how it feels. You could drop a little weight there, but I think when you get those rebar cranks and brick pedals off you won't be as worried about counting ounces.

do yourself a favor and take those wheels to a reputable shop and have a mechanic give them a once-over to make sure they are properly tensioned, it will probably save you some trouble down the line.

pirate; good advice... I've done some basic wheel truing so I can do a sanity check when I get them, but just like with any "new" bike you have to tune it up after a couple hundred miles and I plan to have a real mechanic do it.


I have one of those bikes, they're great frames and the paint is wonderful.

Part of the reason the bike is still very heavy is that they equipped them with steel cranks and huge pedals with basically as much unnecessary metal on them as possible. The cranks are kind of hilarious, I always try to make people from the Sugino 75 mafia who think any crank under $200 has too much flex ride them around for a while and then reconsider their opinion. Swapping them out for Al cranks and sane pedals will drop a ton of weight. An Al seat post and bars will also drop a lot of weight off of the bike. I don't remember what size seatpost it takes, but it's probably something pretty standard. Also can't remember if stem is for 25.4 or 26.0 bars, but keep that in mind when you replace them. The saddle is not really that valuable even in good shape, but it's not terrible and it's not excessively heavy, it would be fine for a beater if you like how it feels. You could drop a little weight there, but I think when you get those rebar cranks and brick pedals off you won't be as worried about counting ounces.

Landgolier: You aren't kidding about those cranks! GEEZ! I took them off the other day and I couldn't believe how heavy they were.. (they are already on my other beater bike whose cranks conveniently kicked it just the other day)

I just took a ride on the bike; the first decently long ride, and let me tell you I hate that seat. Comfort wise it isn't bad, but every time I hit a bump the thing creaks like the dickens.

I got everything I needed at Harris, then headed to a friends house to get to work. It too me far longer to do this than I figured it would; about 5 hours, looking back I still don't know why it took so long.

So; this is what I did:

scrounged around to make one of these home-made Fixed cup BB extractors (Thank you Mr. Brown)
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/images/bbtool-bolt.jpg
Removed old cup-and-cone bottom bracket.

I feared this step the most, but in the end it was totally straight forward.
Installed Shimano UG53 110mm bottom bracket.

I'm not sure I like this BB. The spindle doesn't really spin that freely. For example, after I installed the cranks I spun the whole thing and it would spin for only a couple seconds. In contract on my vintage Raleigh this same test leaves the cranks spinning for a minute or more. Also, the fixed cup is some type of plastic. Plastic in a BB? ... but then again, its only $25.

Put Rocketring on the Bulletproof crank.

Again, this was more trouble than I thought it would be. Problem was that I had no way to hold the "nut" side still. I ended up using some random sheet metal that was bent in a way that I could grab the little groove.
Installed cranks
Checked chainline; exactly 42mm (Again, thank you Mr. Brown)
Cut, installed, and oiled the chain
Put some crummy pedals on (laying around)
Floped-n-Choped the handlebars

I used a pipe cutter for this, if you are careful the cut will not "walk". However, the burr left on the inside is considerable. I had to use a power tool to grind it down enough so as to get the bar ends back in.
Put on a crappy brake lever, and setup the front brake.


After all was said and done I took the thing out on the curb, got on, and set off. Too bad that I got a flat right as I went off that same exact curb. Yes, I got a flat directly in front of my apartment. So yah, back in for a new tube.

Then I took it for a good long ride. I hadn't ridden fixed for 8 months so I wasn't sure if I'd remember, but riding fixie is just like riding a bicycle; once you learn you never forget. However I had forgotten how fast riding fixed was compared to SS. I didn't have a speed measuring thing but a couple times I was flying and my legs felt no-where near their spin limit; I now firmly believe that 165mm cranks really are easier to spin with. Also, pedal strike doesn't seem to be an issue with them.

The brake sucks; I'm not going to blame the Dia Compe 500 because the brake pads are just standard black ones. Tomorrow I am going to get some sweet KOOLStops.

The bike itself rides extremely well, and I'm very happy with how it is turning out. I don't know why but I can almost trackstand this bike already. With my Langster I did more of a Track Wobble.

So; I'm really tired, but I'm going to finish off with a To Do:


Repack bearings in headset
Decide on front brake lever (BMX-ish lever or TT aero one)
Get new brake pads
Decide on which bullhorns
Find new seat post and seat
Find good Toe Clips/pedals


PS: Bike is now 22 lbs with all weight savings done except seat & seatpost

More pictures!

Last night I heard some creaking as I rode, and when I went for a ride today it was getting worse. The sound was like a "click" when I would change the direction I was pushing on the left crank. Like, when I tried to trackstand it would click when I rolled forward, then click as I rolled back. I had brought some tools with me on my ride, but somehow forgot the allen tool for the crank. Since I ruined a crank just last week I rode home by only pressing hard on the right pedal, let me tell you 47x18 gearing with rolling hills is a lot tougher when you can only press with one leg.

After getting home I tried tightening that bolt and it was as tight as I could possibly do it for fear of breaking my wrench. So I figured I'd search sheldonbrown.com, and what do you know, but that you are supposed to grease the bolt threads, the square taper, and the surface of the bolt that tightens against the crank. I had only greased the bolt threads. Interestingly the Shimano UG53 BB came with white grease on only the drive side tapper which I thought was odd at the time, and I find even more odd after reading Mr. Brown's comments.

That seemed to make a world of difference as the bolt glid in even when it was quite tight. I took the bike for a short test ride around the block and that seemed to fix the problem. Other than the seat creaking as I ride the bike was totally silent.

References:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/installing-cranks.html
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html#bottom



More pictures!

Here ya go.

Constructive comments are welcomed but keep in mind this pic is mid build. The wheels are not staying on this bike, the pedals suck, the barends are dorky, the brake lever is HORRID, the brake cable routing is scary, the handlebars need tape, and last but not least; the bike is dirty.

Pictures taken in the Allston area of Boston, behind the Super 88.



http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/buildup/profile.jpg

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/buildup/chainring.jpg

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/buildup/chainline.jpg

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/buildup/ugly-brake-lever.jpg

looks great so far. If the seat goes get a Brooks and keep that retro look going.

I just learned something incredibly obviously but even more important. If your brake isn't adjusted well it won't stop you fast. This wasn't as easy as I figured it would be.

What I just did in the last hour or so.

Clean brake service fairly well
Installed KoolStop MTB dual compound pads
Broke them in and tried it out; braking was no better than with crappy pads
So I moved the lever to the other side because I noticed the brake cable was "flexing" because of all the tight bends; braking was only slightly better, but still nothing to write home about
I then adjusted the pads so they are a hair away from the rim brake service; The rear wheel goes up in the air when I panic brake. Sadly they now squeal like crazy at the same time. Sigh.


This whole process of building up a quality conversion takes up a heck of alotta time. So these are the pads I got. I am very impressed with their post build quality; very nice.

Kool Stop Dual Compound Mountain Pads (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakeshoes.html)


http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/images/koolstop/mtb.jpg

Toe your pads in. It can make a world of a difference. This is to say that you want the front of the pad to touch before the rear of the pad. I usually loosen the bold holding the pad on and put some spacer between the trialling edge and the rim [cardboard], clamp down the brakes and tighten the brake pad bolt. Check and repeat if it doesn't seem the leading edge hits the rim first.

Good job so far, sounds like you have learning lots. Next time you ride it try something for me, get going at a comfortable speed and lift your hands a few inches off the bars without changing the position of your body. Can you do it? If not

Toe your pads in. It can make a world of a difference. This is to say that you want the front of the pad to touch before the rear of the pad. I usually loosen the bold holding the pad on and put some spacer between the trialling edge and the rim [cardboard], clamp down the brakes and tighten the brake pad bolt. Check and repeat if it doesn't seem the leading edge hits the rim first.

Good job so far, sounds like you have learning lots. Next time you ride it try something for me, get going at a comfortable speed and lift your hands a few inches off the bars without changing the position of your body. Can you do it? If not

Thanks for the Toe-in tip; will do.


Next time you ride it try something for me, get going at a comfortable speed and lift your hands a few inches off the bars without changing the position of your body. Can you do it? If not

Did you loose your cell phone signal? :D

I have actually tried this, and my face was headed right for the stem. I have done enough road biking to know that I have too much pressure on my hands, but I'm not sure how much I can adjust the stem, and the handlebars are plain uncomfortable.. I need to decide on what brake lever to use so I can order the TT bar.

heh not sure what happened. I won't preach about fit then, sounds like you are well aware. From the picture it looks like you could shove your seat back and angle it back just slightly but ya... either way better bars are needed.

Toe your pads in. It can make a world of a difference.

These KoolStop pads allow toe in adjustment (they have cupped washers), but man did I find it tricky to do. After probably 20 minutes of fumbling with the thing I finally got the toe in about right.

Squalling is totally gone, but I'd say my stopping power is also down a bit...

make sure the braking surface of the rims are clean. I'll take some rubbing alcohol and wipe them down to get any oil/dirt,ect off of them. If they are really dirty take a rough sponge and clean them then use the alcohol. Some people use brillo pads but I don't like the idea of possibly scuffing/scratching the surface up with those. Also check your pads every so often and if they're glazed take a piece of sandpaper and remove the glaze from them.

OK.. I just found this site that lets you select all your stuff and make an image of what your bike 'might' look like (http://www.pedalmafia.com/mafid/mafia_id.html).. Kinda fun, perfect for a dork like myself :)

So.. I kinda liked this the best, kinda to my surprise. But it has a nondescript black leather saddle, brown sidewall tires, and riser handlebars.. It just seems to match the old school looks...

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/buildup/build-concept.jpg

Note to myself; measured the handlebars, they are 25.4 mm

Lookin good.

Kool stops squeal something nasty when new, especially on a new rim, toe-in is necessary but X-treem turbo toe-in like what it might have taken to shut them up will be less necessary once they wear a little, which will help with the stopping power.

Creaky saddles are usually from loose clamp bolts, and many creaks that sound like other stuff are actually the saddle or the chainring bolts.

The 25.4 stem will fit all risers. I kind of hate risers for no good reason, and I don't ride them because I ride long distances, but tons of people love them. I always thought this bike was so amazingly old school and beachy that it should have some kind of cruiserish bar with white grips, skinwall tires, and a black brooks. I did white tape on mine, which looked great for the 5 minutes it was clean.

I'm trying to resolve the 'tight' bottom bracket, and started a thread in the Mechanic forum:

New Shimano UG53 Bottom Bracket tight (http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=331742)

t
I'm trying to resolve the 'tight' bottom bracket, and started a thread in the Mechanic forum:

New Shimano UG53 Bottom Bracket tight (http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=331742)

OK.. It turns out that it is just bearing seal drag causing the issue; so no worries. The bike is currently sitting in my living room with BB/cranks off, and no wheels. I had to return the wheels to my Langster so I could tune it up before my girl gets back from vacation (she rides the Langster).

I took the cog and lockring off the wheel though, and was hoping to use them for my Fuji(when the wheels arrive). The lockring is a stamped metal POS so that isn't going to be reused, but the cog is a Surly model. It looks pretty well made but for some reason sheldonbrown.com says "not recommended". I haven't dug into this yet, but that is my next step..

Chry

i'm about to check out a berkeley for myself. is the city big enough for two? haha.

i'm about to check out a berkeley for myself. is the city big enough for two? haha.

No, I was here first! :mad:

If the frame looks nice pick it up; they ride really well, and everything is standard size. I'm not sure the weight of the frameset but for a steel frame it is reasonable. I borrowed the wheels/tires off my Langster to do the buildup, and the final weight is roughly 22lbs. I put the wheels back on the langster, an aluminum compact geometry 56cm frame and it weighed only a pound less. Honestly, I'm baffled, but that is what it weighed.

My Fuji is sitting at home in pieces.. I even took the brake pads off so I could finish the Langster tuneup(which is done, rides nice again). I'm going to roll on the Langster(which is SS only now) and the Motobecane until I get the new wheels on Wednesday. Before then I'd like to find a set of risers and a nice brake lever, but hope of finding something local and cheap is fading.

OK.. I think I settled on a seat!

I really wasn't huge on putting a Brooks on the bike, and I think I am going to go with a Sella San Marco Regal. In many ways it fits the bike well because it was a popular road saddle 20 years ago, when the bike was made. Also it looks exactly like I want.. so.. yah, that works.

Here it is on a bike, and than again up close:


http://velospace.org/files/DSCF0451_0.JPG (http://velospace.org/node/1313)

http://www.excelsports.com/image200/San%20Marco%20Regal%20Saddle.jpg

t

The cog is a Surly model. It looks pretty well made but for some reason sheldonbrown.com says "not recommended". I haven't dug into this yet, but that is my next step..

Chry

They don't recommend them because you can get the same thing badged Rockwerks rather than Surly for less money, not because there's anything wrong with them.

Maybe this isn't the place, but I have a white Selle San Marco Regal that's up for grabs if you're interested.

They don't recommend them because you can get the same thing badged Rockwerks rather than Surly for less money, not because there's anything wrong with them.

Ahhh.. That's right, I remember reading that.. Thanks.. Saves me $30 :)


Maybe this isn't the place, but I have a white Selle San Marco Regal that's up for grabs if you're interested.

Honestly I like the white.. I think it'd go nice with the white letters on the side of the bike, but if I went white seat I'd want white bartape.. And since I'm going to ride this around the city nearly every day with no gloves its gonna look like poo in no time.. :(

Let me think bout it

sometimes I wonder about myself..

I took the seatpost out last week hoping that the diameter was stamped on it someplace; well I didn't see it.. But I need a new seatpost and I don't really want to pay retail, so I figured I'd look one more time; guess what, it is right on the silly thing.. sigh.. 26.6mm

Anyway, now I can order that.. yay..

Well well well.. My wheels came from bicyclewheels.com; and I must say they look very nice.. Packaged well, and I am very happy with them so far. I threw on the tires that had come with the Langster (Mondo's or some junk.. One of the tires has a small cut that went through the rubber and there is 2-3 mm of slice that went all the way through. I had ridden them that way for a week or so without a major failure; so I figured I'd give em a try. For a little insurance I put some duct tape on the inside of the bum tire and stuck it on the rear. :)

I also picked up another pair of those Koolstop dual compound brake pads. So, blah blah, I put them on and the bike rides very very nice.. The new wheels+new brake pads stop the bike like a mofo; crazy stoppin powa.

The bike still isn't DONE; but is quite ridable.. I'm pretty sure I want to do drop bars now, and of course I still want to upgrade the seatpost/seat. I weighed it just a few minutes ago and I think it was 22 or 22.5lbs; can't remember. Fairly light anyway.

Ok.. on to some photos. The first two are just basic shots of the front and rear wheel; and the last shot is of me taken in the Boston Public Garden about 2 hours ago.. Enjoy:



http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/front-mavic.jpg

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/rear-mavic.jpg

http://jeremychase.name/pictures/bikes/FUJI/jer-bikes-boston-garden.jpg

nice, ill be heading back to brookline the beginning of september. nice bike

Your Bikes's looking good. I'm working on my first conversion now too. Its a chrome '77 Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2; I've taken off everything (except for the fixed cup on the BB...cant get it off!!!) and am now waiting for parts coming in the mail:
-Mavic CXP-22s with the formula flip/flop (black)
-Sugino 103mm BB
-Sugino RD cranks black
-Sugino 48t ZEN chainwheel
-EAI 18t cog
-700x23 Conti Gatorgrip in the back
-700x23 Vredestein Fortezza up front

Already have my:
-Tektro brake up front (with plenty o' room to drop the caliper since the bike is sized for 27" wheels)
--Selle San Marco saddle

Still need to figure out:
-a good 3/32" chain
-if I can clean & cut the stock handlebars to bullhorns, OK; if not then I need to find something that'll fit a 25mm stem


Once I have everything in hand, I may need to go to my LBS (revolution cycles in DC) and see if they'll take the fixed cup off and install the new BB. Not sure I have the right tools to get the cups really tight on the new one.

Your Bikes's looking good. I'm working on my first conversion now too. Its a chrome '77 Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2; I've taken off everything (except for the fixed cup on the BB...cant get it off!!!) and am now waiting for parts coming in the mail:
-Mavic CXP-22s with the formula flip/flop (black)
-Sugino 103mm BB
-Sugino RD cranks black
-Sugino 48t ZEN chainwheel
-EAI 18t cog
-700x23 Conti Gatorgrip in the back
-700x23 Vredestein Fortezza up front

Already have my:
-Tektro brake up front (with plenty o' room to drop the caliper since the bike is sized for 27" wheels)
--Selle San Marco saddle

Still need to figure out:
-a good 3/32" chain
-if I can clean & cut the stock handlebars to bullhorns, OK; if not then I need to find something that'll fit a 25mm stem


Once I have everything in hand, I may need to go to my LBS (revolution cycles in DC) and see if they'll take the fixed cup off and install the new BB. Not sure I have the right tools to get the cups really tight on the new one.

Read this page from Sheldon Brown about how to make a tool to remove the fixed cup. Shouldn't cost more than a buck or two. (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/bbcups.html) I sprayed mine down with PB Blast and let it sit for 5 minutes before trying and the fixed cup came out remarkably easily.

Your build-up sounds sweet.. The track BB and crank will be nice; I don't really love how the bulletproof/rocketring combo looks on mine.. (reminds me of a circular saw). Are you planning on using a drop bolt for your front brake? That skeeves me out..... :(

conversions all the way mofos

yeah, i'm thinkin that the drop bolts look like a guillotine for my tire. (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sheldonbrown.com%2Fhome-drop.html&ei=ikvKRtvHEaCkeN2K5OkC&usg=AFQjCNEIz9FkIZrpCWaL0zy7pG6y8I05cg&sig2=tXntvwKiZyib-KcVnX1viw) The Tektros that I had on th 27" rims still had another 1/2" to drop the calipers, so I figure/hope I should be OK.

I might give Sheldon's DIY fixed cup tool a try. On the other hand, since I've started ordering everything online for my fixie...I kinda feel like I haven't really been giving my LBS much bizness. They're great, and I kinda feel like a cheap bike-wh*****re buying everything online and then asking them to do the work for me...but then again I'd rather do the work myself and learn about my ride.
Wheels should be here in a couple days, followed by the crankset/BB, then the tires. Fingers crossed I'll have everything together by next week.