Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Getting started

I'm a road rider looking to get (build/buy) a single speed/fixed gear bike. I have a lot of reasons for being interested in this mainly for fun and to work on form. Looking at new bikes I see they're around $500, so far I've found the bianchi pista, khs flite 100, windsor "the hour" (can't find a 54), fuji track, and iro markV. But if I buy one I don't get the joy of building it and, not everything will be the way I want. I'm interested in a fixed free hub to try out both single and fixed. Right now I'm thinking of buying a 70's frame with horizontal road dropouts and building it up, though I don't really know with what. I'm going to stop by some bike shops maybe tomorrow, maybe thursday to talk to them about this. Any advice is welcome. Other bikes? frames? components? go new, build from ebay? whatever.

That's a pretty extensive list (other bikes, frames, components, new, build, ebay). I've been happy with an old junker frame, a fixed gear wheel and stock or junk pile components.

There's quite a few threads here on how to start up on fixed or single speed. My first bike was a single speed. Spun a BMX freewheel onto an old road hub, flipped the ring to the opposite side of the spider to get the chain line and that was it. After about a month of that, I got a Suzue flip flop on a Alexrims D28 and haven't looked back. Certainly SS is a faster mod as all you need is thread on the hub to get going and horizontal dropouts to tighten the chain.

Single Speed are easier to build than fixed. Just get an old road bike at cheap price, discard all the gear accesorries, install a new chain and new ss freewheel. I have built one myself and it doesn't cost much.

I would agree. Try to find a bike boom racer (70's 80's) complete and cheap. Take off what you don't want. You can use the original wheel for a SS or build a fixed/free wheel. This way you get a good set of cranks, the correct BB, and headset. You can get a wheel built up complete for under 100$ or lace it yourself (great thing to learn). Do a google search on "fixed gear" and some great sites will pop up. Sheldon Brown is a great resource (you may not need others), oldskool track is great, and many others. There is a great knowlege base in here that is more than willing to help.

Good Luck
Chris

But if I buy one I don't get the joy of building it and, not everything will be the way I want.

IRO Mark V's aren't pre-built; Tony, the owner of IRO, will put whatever components you want on a Mark V. You can even do what I did and get the frame, fork, and drivetrain from IRO and piece together the rest of the components yourself. That way you get the peace of mind (i.e. warranty (http://www.irocycle.com/fixedgearandsinglespeedbikeframesfromirocycleinc/id36.html)) of a new bike, while still retaining a bit of the "I assembled it myself, and it's unique" aspect.

I toyed with building a bike from scratch for a while, and also doing a conversion, but ultimately I needed a bike quick and this seemed to be the best, quickest solution (I ordered everything on a Saturday, and the IRO stuff arrived on Tuesday! The rest of the components didn't arrive until later...). Now that I have a nice, new bike and therefore no longer have an immediate need for a bike, I am looking into doing a conversion. I know a couple people that have done this; they first buy a nice new or used track bike and afterward buy a frame and do a conversion from scratch.

One word of caution, though (and I've said this elsewhere on the forums (sorry for the repeat)): I had Tony build me a wheelset, which arrived dangerously under-tensioned. I had to have it re-trued. Otherwise my experience with IRO has been excellent and I would definately recommend them.

I'm a road rider looking to get (build/buy) a single speed/fixed gear bike.

i'm pretty much in the same position.. mainly because i'm tired of chris (infestedguy) harassing me about it. :D
the hard part is finding a tiny frame.. like 46cm. i'm short.

Fuji makes a small track bike think the se or something, might check that out.

If you want to work on form for your road riding imo get fixed. Also I might add if you want fun get fixed :)

An old road frame and a good junk yard type LBS is all you need but I wouldn't skimp on the track hub, though many people have a great degree of sucess with the locktite method. But if your budget is $500 get a good wheel set and an old road frame and you'll have a great bike.

i'm pretty much in the same position.. mainly because i'm tired of chris (infestedguy) harassing me about it. :D
the hard part is finding a tiny frame.. like 46cm. i'm short.

Depends on where you do your shopping, out here in Minneapolis I see quite a few frames that size. Once I build up another surplus of cash I am planing on buying this little cute pink italian 70's frame about that size. A friend of mine is selling the frame which looks near flawless for about 100 dollars if I remember right. Not that I need it mind you, but I like having extra bikes around in case people come over and we start a bicycle riding posse cruising around da hood. Most of the bikes I ride are 59-63cm so they don't fit you people of smaller stature.

Phil

"Single Speed are easier to build than fixed."

huh?

"I've been happy with an old junker frame, a fixed gear wheel and stock or junk pile components"

true dat. plenty of great old rides out there lookin for a new life.