Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - First day Fixed!

UPDATE:So I'm going through some tough financial times currently (as I'm sure lots of other people are) and it turns out I may have to sell my bike. How much do you guys think I could get for it if I put it on craiglist or something?



Original Post:

So today I bought a fixed gear from a girl at my school who had to sell it off quick, so I picked it up for 50 bucks. My original plan was to sell it on Craigslist for more than that and save up money for a road bike, but since it fit me I decided to give it a spin on my commute.

I love this bike. I thought for sure that a fixed gear would be too weird/hard to commute on (the whole way there is uphill) but I actually found it easier to get up the hill than the last time I tried...I really like that there is nothing to think about, and no way to wimp out...you either ride the bike or you walk. Awesome.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my newfound appreciation for fixed gear bikes...and I'll definitely be keeping this one around for awhile. =)

(And I'll probably put up some picture of it/me riding it as soon as I can get to that.)

pics go

That's great! I similarly stumbled into the fixed gear world (although I had the misfortune of overpaying for the first one out of ignorance, an educational experience which you seem to have avoided). Now I'm building my next bike up the way I want it, and though its taking a while (and having the frame sitting around, unused while I gather bits and pieces, is torture) I can't wait to eviscerate the asphalt on a steed of my own breeding.

FG is awesome, that is for sure.

I'm curious to see pics but can you at least post some specs on what you are riding?

I wish I were more knowledgeable on bikes to post all the info, but this is what I can figure out:

Frame: Focus SS-100(Made in Japan, with a sticker that says sold at Wheels Unlimited, which actually happens to be in my hometown!), lugged steel
Front Brake: says Schwinn Approved
Front wheel is Shimano Deore
The crank arm says Schwinn Le Tour
And the handlebars say Sakae Custom Japan on one side and Road Champion on the other with a laurel wreath thing around the words.

The person I bought it from said her roommate's boyfriend worked on it at the Bike Oven. And now for a picture!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2455/3589916398_cd714b32f2_b.jpg

That's a pretty cool looking bike! Definitely worth $50, although the saddle looks pretty gigantic on it :)

Not a bad score at all. Now, before everyone hassles you about it, let me recommend that you change out the pedals in favor of something with foot retention. It's not the biggest deal in the world in your case, since you do have a brake, but I think you'll find that it adds a whole new dimension of control to your FG riding.

Thanks y'all! I train for work this weekend and hopefully start up on Monday, so once I get my first paycheck I'm heading straight to the LBS and changing out the saddle (it's bloody awful! pain...lots of pain), probably the grip tape (I'm thinking yellow or orange to go with the Focus color on the frame) and something for the pedals. I rode with cages on my last bike and I liked those alot, so I'll probably just pick up something like that. Oh, and dhs, that saddle IS huge. I honestly don't know who would fit on that size frame and need a saddle that large, haha.

$50? Nice.

is it just me or does that look like a heeeyooge gear ratio?

definitely worth the $50. grats.

is it just me or does that look like a heeeyooge gear ratio?

definitely worth the $50. grats.

Thanks! How do I find out what gear ratio it is?

x/y

where x is the number of teeth on the front gear
and y is the number of teeth on the back sprocket.

just guesstimating from the pic, it looks like the fronts somewhere around 48?

I honestly think the bar tape looks great as is. It's got a really nice classy look to it. Orange or yellow would make it a lot louder.

x/y

where x is the number of teeth on the front gear
and y is the number of teeth on the back sprocket.

just guesstimating from the pic, it looks like the fronts somewhere around 48?
That front is a 52. The back looks like a 15 or a 16, haha.
Good thing there's a brake :)

Spot on dsh, it is 52/15. I don't even know what that means for me, but I suppose it's good to know!

52/15! wow thats huge. glad to see thats working out for you.

Nevermind, I just read sheldon's page on fixed gears and I am officially enlightened on the subject. I feel quite proud of myself for making it the 2 miles uphill to school yesterday!

Here's how I think about it. One full rotation up front = how many rotations in the back?

In your case, one crank rotation = 52/15 = 3.46 back rotations. So every time you pedal a full circle, the back tire rotates 3.46 times.

The question is probably less about whether you made it, and more about how your quads feel today.

That's great! I similarly stumbled into the fixed gear world (although I had the misfortune of overpaying for the first one out of ignorance, an educational experience which you seem to have avoided). Now I'm building my next bike up the way I want it, and though its taking a while (and having the frame sitting around, unused while I gather bits and pieces, is torture) I can't wait to eviscerate the asphalt on a steed of my own breeding.

Good luck with your build! And I just wanted to say I loved the last bit of what you wrote, I can't remember the last time I heard someone use the word 'eviscerate'.

Yikes. That's a humungous gear. I have a teammate who built up a FG to do timetrial training. He uses a 52-16.

Here's how I think about it. One full rotation up front = how many rotations in the back?

In your case, one crank rotation = 52/15 = 3.46 back rotations. So every time you pedal a full circle, the back tire rotates 3.46 times.

Ok, that makes alot of sense. Thanks!


The question is probably less about whether you made it, and more about how your quads feel today.

Haha, my quads feel fine. I managed about 11 miles on the bike yesterday (1 of those miles downhill), but I've played soccer my whole life, plus some rugby, dance, running and swimming thrown in there, so my legs are by far the most fit part of my body. It's nice that these thighs are good for something! :p


Yikes. That's a humungous gear. I have a teammate who built up a FG to do timetrial training. He uses a 52-16.

Now I'm glad I did that ride before I mentioned the ratio to anyone or I probably would have wimped out thinking it was going to be too hard! :lol:

In case you missed the update at the top of the first post, I'm going through some tough financial times currently (as I'm sure lots of other people are) and it turns out I may have to sell my bike. How much do you guys think I could get for it if I put it on craiglist or something?

$50 for enjoyable, solid, dependable, low to no maintenance transportation. Are you sure you can afford to sell it?

Yeah you could sell it.. but not that much over what you bought it for.
Just throw up a price to see if anyone wants it.

If not, get some cheap pedals, clips, and straps and keep riding!

Keep it. As a co-op bike it isn't worth that much because everything there is probably used and old except for maybe the rear wheel (hard to find fixed wheel at the co-ops) and bar tape. Not to say it's a bad bike, but it will be hard get another bike that seems good for $50 and I don't think you can even make a bike at the co-ops for $50 unless they understand you have little money. What are you going to use for transportation without the bike?

If you find a better saddle you could probably sell it for quite a bit more than $50.

That's not to say it's WORTH more than $50, but it's a very nice looking bike and uglier things have gone for $300. It depends completely on your market. If you're in LA, yeah list the thing for $300 and no doubt some kid with your level of experience and a big wad of cash will make an offer.

Worst thing that can happen is you list the thing on CL for "$300 OBO" and nobody offers you anything.

Actually, no. That's the best thing that can happen, because you'll still have the bike.

Hey y'all,

Thanks so much for your replies, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you earlier. (Dells are my favorite computers ever, they do a lovely job of completely crashing and taking all your important info with them...ugh!) Anyway, I was going to use my car as my transportation because the job I was going to take was 40 miles away and biking there was obviously not an option for me. However, I ended up with a job about four and a half miles from home, so as soon as I can figure out how to get over a narrow one lane bridge on a steep hill with a blind corner, I can bike to work again! =) One last question if you all aren't tired of me yet: When I've been riding for about 5 miles or so, especially over uneven ground, the handle bars seem to be coming loose from the head tube...I've found that if I tighten up the headset by hand (I think that's the right name for that part...the round bit that looks like a large washer) it's a good fix on the fly, but it doesn't last long. I accidentally dropped the bike one day and the handlebars were actually askew, so my dad and I loosened the headset and turned them back,and then tightened it, but it's coming loose again. Is it just that I need to keep tightening it all the time?

Thanks again for all y'alls help, one day I hope to be knowledgeable enough to come to someone else's aid. :lol:

Congrats on landing a job (ANY job)!

And if your bars are turning, you have to tighten the wedge bolt in the stem (the silver elbow thing that holds your bars). There is a bolt right on top.

...probably.

haha, thanks! it took forever to actually get the job (and now I'm only a month away from going back to school and having to quit!) but at least its something! and thanks for the tip...if tightening it up doesn't work i guess i'll scrounge up some money and see what the bike shop has to say about it.

Hey y'all,

so as soon as I can figure out how to get over a narrow one lane bridge on a steep hill with a blind corner, I can bike to work again! =)

where's that?

where's that?

In Valencia on the way to Magic Mountain. It's not horribly steep or long, but it is too steep for me to get easily over it with any sort of speed at all. The only way to avoid it is to add about 3 miles to my trip.

Take it to a shop for a $15 headset adjustment. If you catch it early enough, you can save the headset. If it's been doing this for a long time you'll have to get a new one (about $30 parts and $30 labor, maybe less).

Take it to a shop for a $15 headset adjustment. If you catch it early enough, you can save the headset. If it's been doing this for a long time you'll have to get a new one (about $30 parts and $30 labor, maybe less).

thanks! i'll take it in next week hopefully.

Nevermind, I just read sheldon's page on fixed gears and I am officially enlightened on the subject.

sticky