Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Brazeons

My fixed has no brazeons, so i have yet to find a good solution to keep a water bottle or my bicycle pump on the bike. Right now i am using electrical ties and duct tape. I am the ghetto james bond!

Can a normal joe like myself add his own braze ons? You know, drill a hole and install whatever it is that holds the allen head screw in? OK, how about a really non mechanical guy?

I'm planning on spending some dough to get the frame sandblasted and powdercoated, is there some place where i can get the thing sandblasted, powdercoated, AND add 2 brazeons and it wont cost more than say, 150$

Is there some other solution that i am missing? What did they do back in 1974 when my bike was new?

well, if your bike has no braze ons, then, it is most likely a track bike. are there brakes on the bike?

if you're hardcore, you'll never ever use or need braze ons, and, if you are doing like, a 104 mile ride from Chicago to Milwaukee, just duct the damn thing on for a day, and when youre finished, take the thing off and enjoy how your bike looks sans frame pump and water bottle cages.

or, why dont you buy bolt on cages?

track bikes dont like water bottle cages and frame pumps. the track police might arrest you...

The old Trek road bike I just rebuilt has no bottle cage braze ons. It had some metal bands that go over tabs for the screws on the cage. You can see them on the top of this picture:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=12676

That said, there a number of bottle cages designed to fit where there are no braze ons. Also, instead of a pump, you can carry a CO2 cartridge.

While you might be able to drill and tap a steel frame to mount a bottle cage, you really don't want to.

$150 is a reasonable expectation for a powdercoat and blast job. I don't know if you can get braze-ons as part of the deal at that price, though. Check around with motorcycle and car custom shops if you don't have someone local who specializes in bikes.

For strapping on a bottle cage, pipe strap clamps (the metal ones you tighten with a screwdriver) work very well. And they're indie as all heck. :)

I think you can get bottle mounts that are rivets, rather than braved. Just drill the hole, put the thing in the hole, and form the rivet with a rivet gun. I had the same problem on my Fort, I found some little plastic straps with nuts set in the ends, they didn't work very well; then I found a seatpost-mounted cage holder that is quite good, unless you have a Brooks or a wedge pack :( I forget who made it, but Profile do one too, and a twin version if you're very thursty.

I would avoid the rivet method. Depending on your frame the steel is very thin in the center of the tube. Have a pro do the work if you nee it done.

http://www.twofish.biz/bike.html

Check this site...a cheap solution to your problem. And if you want braze-ons and can get it done at a reasonable cost, then get them regardless of the supposed "purity" issue. I'm awaiting delivery of a Rock Lobster track frame on which I spec'd two sets of bottle bosses. Funny, I haven't seen the, what was it, "hardcore" guys riding in this 90 degree/90% humidity climate I dwell in. Apologies to Camelback, but hydrate or be an idiot.

Is there some other solution that i am missing? What did they do back in 1974 when my bike was new?[/QUOTE]

Here is what I did for one of my wife's' bikes that didn't have any braze ons. It works and you can remove it if you no longer like the dorky look on your nice sleek fixed gear bike.
www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/accessories.html#bottles

fixedgearhead

Go see your local frame builder. If you want to learn the skills yourself, practice on someone else's bike;-)

In the 70's braze ons were a lot less common. Builders worried about the integrity of the tubes, so most accessories attached by bands around the tubes, bolted together. This extended to cable stops and brake bridges.

Put on as many braze-ons and other alterations as you like; what's 'hardcore' about conformity?

what's 'hardcore' about conformity?

you're obviously not familiar with the hardcore scene.