looking for advice!

[deeks]

hey guys i'm deciding on what I would like to do and weighing the positives and negatives.. anyways the noobiest of noob questions is to follow

I would like to switch from riding fixed to a casual singlespeed bike.
right now I have a Raleigh gran prix conversion with black deep v weinmann non machined wheels. From what I hear is this frame isn't the best, so help me decide what to do...

so here is what i am asking should I:
-buy brakes levers and components and sell my wheels to buy machined wheels
or run brakes on my machined wheels till it wears through the paint lol.

OR

-sell the whole bike as a whole and buy a decent budget bike from bikesdirect like a kilo TT or the cheaper Windsor Hour.
thanks.

[highonpez]

If you want a "casual singlespeed" I would just flip your rear wheel and add a freewheel and brakes. A conversion sounds perfect for that and I loved my Raleigh Record in that mode.

I wouldn't worry about non-machined, but that's a personal aesthetics thing.


(For comparison's sake, I own a The Hour and it's a nice bike, but isn't nearly as comfortable as the Raleigh was.)

[GMJ]

You like Raleigh, at least enough to own one. I say buy a flipflop like HOP said so you could always come back,

Buy a Rush Hour. The newer models look sweet. Or a Back Alley if price is an issue. Just don't, for the love of god, get a flatbar version of the Rush Hour. Markup for no functional purposes, and I hate the way it looks.

[deeks]

If you want a "casual singlespeed" I would just flip your rear wheel and add a freewheel and brakes. A conversion sounds perfect for that and I loved my Raleigh Record in that mode.

I wouldn't worry about non-machined, but that's a personal aesthetics thing.


(For comparison's sake, I own a The Hour and it's a nice bike, but isn't nearly as comfortable as the Raleigh was.)

that seems to be the easiest method, my only real concern would be if the brakes would squeal like none other and just ruin the rims. I was looking at maybe selling my rims and getting these possibly and adding spacers if needed. http://www.ebay.com/itm/230749361654...=p5197.c0.m619

[deeks]

You like Raleigh, at least enough to own one. I say buy a flipflop like HOP said so you could always come back,

Buy a Rush Hour. The newer models look sweet. Or a Back Alley if price is an issue. Just don't, for the love of god, get a flatbar version of the Rush Hour. Markup for no functional purposes, and I hate the way it looks.

thanks for the reply! yes they do look nice aha, and i'm not a fan of flatbars so don't worry! lol

[ddeadserious]

The brakes will squeal, they will suck in any wet weather, and they will eventually wear the paint of the rim unevenly and they will look bad. You'd probably be best to buy a new wheelset. Since you have Weinmann wheels now(I'm assuming DP18's), you could just grab a new set of those for $110, or upgrade to Velocity rims like these.