Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Yah talked me into it - my fixed project

Long time lurker, entranced by the idea of a fixie. So I decided to build one up. Read up on how to from Sheldon Brown and started gathering pieces & parts.
I bought an old (1983 +/-) Bianchi frame off EBay for $20. It is just about the size frame recommended by the LBS after a FitCycle trial. The seller said it was from a project that never took off.
Old 27" Rigida hoops with Ariya hubs. Redished & respaced rear wheel, and mounted a track cog with a BB lockring & Locktite.
Dia-Compe front brake, Shimano levers (can't bring myself to cut down the dummy). Pedals, stem & seat I had laying around, along with the Twofish strap-on bottle cage & seat bag.
Dang, this thing is FUN! Rides great, although I still forget I can't coast every once in a while. Now that I've decided I like it, time to tear it down to strip & paint. Black or red? It will be my commuter & short ride bike.
The attached picture is from a set documenting road hazards for the city. One heck of an open seam in a bank parking lot.
Thanks for the inspiration guys!

looks like a good start. what gear ratio did you go with? how long are those cranks? they look a little long... perhaps it's just an optical illusion since the wheels are in that big crack. if they're too long you might scrape them in a hard turn.

also, if you don't get a new rear wheel laced up with a true track hub and left hand thread lockring (hint hint), then i would at least rebuild it so you have a solid axle. under hard pedalling or back pressure that quick release may do just that...

excellent introduction into the world a fixed-gear cycling...thanks for showing your project.

Tink,

Why not celeste?

looks like a good start. what gear ratio did you go with? how long are those cranks? they look a little long... perhaps it's just an optical illusion since the wheels are in that big crack. if they're too long you might scrape them in a hard turn.

also, if you don't get a new rear wheel laced up with a true track hub and left hand thread lockring (hint hint), then i would at least rebuild it so you have a solid axle. under hard pedalling or back pressure that quick release may do just that...

Good points. The cranks are 172.5, so I know I've got to watch my turns. I like to spin, so I wimped out with a 43/18 gear set. As I get used to the fixie ride, this should change. By my standards, some of you gents run some tall gears!

And it's just that: a good start, on the cheap. It still needs solid axles, paint, and a real bottle cage, at the minimium.

Or maybe I can get that Bianchi Pista I saw in New Orleans........

"It still needs solid axles"

Why? Quicker is better, IMO.

"It still needs solid axles"

Why? Quicker is better, IMO.

As I understand it, rear QRs tend to loosen or 'walk' under the push/pull of fixie use. Nutted solid axles afford higher clamping force to prevent this.

Plus, this is to be my beater/commuter/short ride/errand bike. QRs make it easier for someone to make off with a wheel. I've got a release on the brake lever, so the front brake is adjusted to work with it's relase open. Close the brake release, you've got a parking brake. Between the fixed gear and the 'parking brake', and the size (63 cm) it may be really funny watching some unathorized fool jump on this bike and try to ride away.

As I understand it, rear QRs tend to loosen or 'walk' under the push/pull of fixie use. Nutted solid axles afford higher clamping force to prevent this.

exactly.


Between the fixed gear and the 'parking brake', and the size (63 cm) it may be really funny watching some unathorized fool jump on this bike and try to ride away.

sometimes i want to leave my brakeless fixie with eggbeaters unlocked somewhere just to watch someone try to steal it and completely wreck.

as for the color, i like moonshot's suggestion of celeste. or black as you suggested and then perhaps outline the lugs with celeste...

"As I understand it, rear QRs tend to loosen or 'walk' under the push/pull of fixie use. Nutted solid axles afford higher clamping force to prevent this."

I've used exclusively QRs for the past 15 years. never once had a wheel slip.

fixxer myth.

I've used exclusively QRs for the past 15 years. never once had a wheel slip.
fixxer myth.

Not exactly, I tried the QR route on my fixie and it did not work. I could not prevent slipping no matter how tight I clamped the lever. Once I changed to a solid axle and track nuts I haven't had any problem. I do ride some hills in 42/16 and I'm pretty heavy so I can put a lot of torque on the rear hub.

YMMV. ;)

"Not exactly, I tried the QR route on my fixie and it did not work. I could not prevent slipping no matter how tight I clamped the lever."

I would presume it has more to do with the quality of the cam than the sole fact that's its a QR. Find it hard to believe i've (and others have) just been lucky for scores of thousands of miles.

Then again, i'm 160 in my winter weight...

Greeting from New Orleans, fellow Louisianian. :)

"Not exactly, I tried the QR route on my fixie and it did not work. I could not prevent slipping no matter how tight I clamped the lever."

I would presume it has more to do with the quality of the cam than the sole fact that's its a QR. Find it hard to believe i've (and others have) just been lucky for scores of thousands of miles.

Then again, i'm 160 in my winter weight...

rider weight and gear ratio may be a factor in the holding power of the quick release. before i built up my fixed wheelset on my first fixie, i had it set up as a ss by removing the cassette body and replaced it with a bmx free wheel on the original wheel. the hub had a quick release. i weigh 155 pounds, but the quick release could not hold the wheel in place under hard pedaling. i was running 52/16. so perhaps it was my gear ratio, where as khackney's weight could have been the problem.

either way, i don't think it is proper equipment use to run a quick release on a fixed hub, just as running a fixed cog and bb lockring on a road hub is not proper either. in both cases i'm sure scores of folks have never had a single problem with either of the setups, whereas there is probably just as many people who have had problems with these setups. i don't think it's fair advice to tell someone they can run a setup that could potentially fail without giving them a warning. just because it works for you doesn't make the potential problem a myth. tons of folks run radial laced spokes on semi-tangent hubs. i'm sure almost all of the people doing so have never had a single problem and never will. however, if your flange fails and you send your hub into the manufacturer, they're going to tell you where to put that hub when they see how it was laced.

as for the color, i like moonshot's suggestion of celeste. or black as you suggested and then perhaps outline the lugs with celeste...

Now that sounds like a cool paint scheme.

Hail & welcome, Nolageek. New Orleans is the only major metro area I have ever visited, in the United States, that I would actually want to live in full time.

"either way, i don't think it is proper equipment use to run a quick release on a fixed hub"

if rider weight/strength or gear ratios were the consideration, would a QR not also slip on a multi-geared bike with horizontal drops under the same condititions?

Dont know what constitutes proper, but i know it works for me. I guess if it fails in another 15 or so years, i'll consider replacing with a solid axle; not gonna waste my 7 bucks in the meantime. my $.02.

peace,

steve

I would presume it has more to do with the quality of the cam than the sole fact that's its a QR. Find it hard to believe i've (and others have) just been lucky for scores of thousands of miles.
Then again, i'm 160 in my winter weight...

Could have to do with the terrain you ride as well as if the dropouts are painted, powder coated or chromed. For reference I weigh 200 - 205 and my fixie is powder coated. The skewer I was using was a non-descript all steel variety. In our group here we have 13 or 14 fixed gear bikes. None of us use skewers on the rear. That said, I know a lot of fixed riders do use them. If it works for you, then by all means, go for it. It's funny, I can't use skeweres, but my rear hub is a converted road hub with lock-ring. Never had the first problem. Just goes to show that there aren't always black and white answers. :)

if rider weight/strength or gear ratios were the consideration, would a QR not also slip on a multi-geared bike with horizontal drops under the same condititions?


I would have thought that too. My late 70s Raleigh has chrome horizontal dropouts with Campy QR and it has never budged. That's part of the reason I first used QR on my fixie. Riding fixed, when you can't "pick up a gear", I think you put more force on the drivetrain. That's why riding fixed makes you stronger, faster, smarter and better looking. :D