Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - My "new" singlespeed Raleigh Technium

I bought a junky old Raleigh Technium a little more than a year ago. I rode the bike for about 11 months, then the derailers started getting funky and really messed up. :mad: This really pissed me off, so I decided I was going to make this bike a single speed. I also decided it was going to get a paint job. I'm not too good when it comes to doing stuff right the first time. It usually takes me 2 or 3 times to get stuff right, because I'm soo lazy. Well, here are some before pictures.

http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010092.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010094.JPG

I went down to the local hardware store and bought a 1/2 pint(not enough!!!) of some cheap green rustoleum paint and a spray can of primer. I sanded the glossy look off the frame and got all the loose chips off. My biggest mistake though, was not taking all of the decals totally off. You can really see my lack of preperation in the finished product.

Primer:
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010100.JPG

I was too lazy to take everything off, so I just taped it up real good first.

First coat of green:
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010104.JPG

Me painting second coat:
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010107.JPG

After 2 good coats and a 3rd light coat I called it a day.

Look at the mess!!
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010118.JPG

I cleaned the junk up and left the bike outside to dry.....another BIG mistake!!!

12:30 at night.....pouring rain:
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010122.JPG

I was finished painting...but I still needed to make this thing 1 speed. I ended up taking the cassete off and using the second biggest cog. I put some spacers in to get everything lined up right and it turned out well. I used JB cold weld to keep it all on. It probably wasn't the best way to do it and i probably ruined the wheel, but I usually don't do things right.
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010127.JPG

I needed spacers to get the chainring to stay on my crank. I didn't want to put the other chainring on, so I ended up taking out the big grinder thing and cutting of the little things from the old chainring.
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010132.JPG

After that I all I needed to do was to put everything back together and test her out.
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010133.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~yikes235/photos/P1010138.JPG

The paint turned out kinda crummy, but I wasn't expecting much for a first try. When this paint starts to come off I'm going to try to do it the right way. I'm going to buy better paint and shoot the primer with my gun instead of a can. I'm also planning on stripping it down to the metal.

Well, sorry for the long post...I just wanted to share my "new" bike with you all. Any comments or advice would be appreciated!

Nice looking bike, I do like the green color however sloppy you say the paint job is.

Also when doing a conversion from geared crank set to SS crankset you can buy SS chainring bolts for cheap, which are shorter and tighten enough to secure the chainring onto the crankset. A set of SS bolts costs me 5 dollars at my LBS, and I always keep an extra set on hand, never knowing when I will get the urge to build up my next project.

Quick question though, are you using brakes? If you have a cassette in the back, that would mean you are riding a SS bike and not a FG. Unless you did something to stop the freewheel/coasting action of the hub, I would have to worry about your ability to stop. At least with a fixed gear you can skid/back pedal to slow your speed down, on a SS you don't have that luxury. Although I have seen people coasting around here on SS bikes without brakes, it just doesn't seem safe to me, call me old fashion.

Phil

(Yeah I am enough of a chicken I put brakes back on all of my bikes, or perhaps I am just getting older)

Haha, no I'm not that crazy.....I just haven't put a brake on yet. I plan on only putting a front brake on, because when I had 2 brakes I rarely used the back. It didn't really stop me too well. I'm not sure if I want to put on my old brake lever or a differen't one off of my BMX bike.

Nice project. I rode a Technium when I was between bikes in college. Probably rode it for about 4 or 5 months. It's my cousin's bike, a nice purplish/pinkish color. I've started wondering recently if my cousin still has it. It wasn't being used at all and it would be a good fixie in another life. Have fun!