Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - First SS Build - 10.00 Fisher Hoo Koo

I heard our University surplus was selling abandoned bikes for 10.00 so I stopped by. I saw several hundred Magnas, Roadmaster's and Huffy's plus various other junk, one Schwinn mtb and a Fisher Hoo Koo e Koo with a horribly bent front fork but otherwise complete. I grabbed a set of allow wheels, a Greenfield kickstand for my daughters bike and the Schwinn front fork as a spare and headed home.

The left fork was bent forward about 3" and outward about 1.5". I cold bent the left fork close enough to mount the front wheel and started thinking how I want to build it up as a SS to keep at the office for lunch hour rides. Since it has no sentimental value, was dirt cheap and I have a decent shop to work steel, I am going to build a set of horizontal dropouts to replace verticals. My mind is running like crazy but I think this is a great start for a first build.

It also has BP chainrings but I think I have a 42t that may fit.

How would ya'll build it?


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/3048445674_b20cdc399e.jpg

I wish I could find 10 dollar bikes. D:

I'd be concerned about the condition of the fork, personally. Then again, if you're talking about making your own dropouts, I guess it's safe to assume you know what you're doing w/r/t bikes.

If I were building it, I'd use this as my template:

http://www.joeschmidt.com/img/surly-pugsley.jpg

^^^ the Surly is wicked cool.

I won't say I know what I am doing with bikes but I can work steel. The condition of the fork is suspect and I plan to look for a replacement. This will be a roadie for the most part so I should be okay until a replacement is located.

I need to scan the ss/fixed picture thread for ideas.

A lot of Universities sell bikes at auctions. I went to mine and found an old Schwinn I had stolen two years ago. Most of the bikes were junk, but there was an Eddy Merkx frame. I was gonna purchase it until some guy beat me to it with a bid of $65...I only had $12 HAH. In hindsight I should have told them that the Schwinn was mine and mentioned the legality of selling stolen goods, but I never filed a police report for it and had no proof it was mine other than I knew all the upgrades on it.

If it's gonna be a single speed, I wouldn't bother with replacing the dropouts, just use a chain tensioner. It won't look that much jankier than having hand-welded replacement dropouts with mis-matched paint, and it'll be way easier. On the other hand, it will also be way less fun, so...