dpc1192

So I really want a fixed gear.

I have a Trek 7.2FX now which is a road bike without drop bars basically. It's similar to the Soho just a cheaper bike. It has 24 gears and I want to convert it into a fixie and just leave the front brake. If I asked them to do this at a bike store would they think I was crazy? How much would it cost me for the new crank and labor?

Thanks Alot

PedallingATX

you are better off just buying a new bike. That Trek will not be able to be converted. It has vertical dropouts which make it virutally impossible to run FG unless you are willing to drop serious $ on an eno eccentric hub. Just sell it on CL and buy a bike that was made for FG use. Even an old road bike w/ horizontal drop outs would work, but the bike you have will not work. Save yourself the headache.

EDIT: Or, if you have an extra $350 lying around, just buy a kilo TT from www.bikesdirect.com. It's a pretty good fixie.

I <3 fixies

dpc1192

welll ****tt

I might just ride this baby around for a while... just got some red oury grips and thinking about getting a red velo saddle to match.

how much faster is a fixed gear than a 24 speed?

skuz

Your bike would be quite expensive and difficult to convert. Your bike has vertical dropouts, a common feature on many geared bikes. What this means to your fixed gear pursuit is that you have no way of tensioning your chain without a derailleur present; fixed gears use horizontal dropouts or track fork ends that allow you to move the axle back and forth to tension the chain, while your bike relies on the derailleur to provide chain tensioning.

That said, it IS possible to convert your bike to a fixed gear. There are two ways of doing this: finding a 'magic' gear, and getting an eccentric hub wheel built. Eccentric hubs are expensive, but they work: it would probably cost half of what your bike originally did to get an eccentric hub wheel built, and then you would likely have mismatching wheels!

dpc1192

hmmm well then sounds like a hopeless dream!!

I might just take it in to my LBS anyway and see what they say.

dayvan cowboy

Multi-speed bikes are "faster", since a fixed gear only has one gear ratio and a multispeed bike can have higher ratios. That being said, strength of the rider is far more important in determining how fast you can go. I can ride faster than some of my friends on my fixed when they're riding geared bike but at the same time i have a friend who can ride faster than me fixed than i can ride on my geared.

dpc1192

hmmm I thought fixed gears were fasted because of the constant build of momentum.

so my Trek 7.2FX could keep up with the fixies?

rogwilco

Well, of course.

The only technical advantage a fixed drivetrain might have over a geared one is weight.

Personally I think that having or not having gears doesn't usually matter much, it mostly depends on your legs.
Just look how different the usual cadence of pro-cyclists is; the gear ratio doesn't always determine speed.

CaptainCool

no, physics does not work like that

The 7.2fx won't be holding you back. Not the most aerodynamic, but it's solid. Maybe get some 28mm tires and bar ends. Ride it up a mountain.

It would make a terrible ss/fg anyway.

dpc1192

hmmm well then maybe I'm just an idiot too susceptible to gimmicks.

my 7.2fx is a fine bike for a 17 year old.

rogwilco

A fixed-gear bike is not a gimmick. It's very useful, can look great and under most circumstances is just as fast as any geared bike.

And considering you are used to riding a semi-hybrid like the Trek, a decent fixed-gear bike will probably feel quicker and more responsive to you.

dpc1192

yeah..

i really do want a fixed gear argh

dsh

So would a "decent" lighter geared bike. Don't confuse the guy.

Riding fixed is not faster than riding geared, except under a very few circumstances which you'll probably never encounter. If you want to just "go fast", then that is not a logical reason to get a fixed gear bike.

There are plenty of reasons to want a fixed gear bike, but additional speed over a geared bike is not one of them.

rogwilco

Sure, but another good thing about fixed-gear bikes is, that they are generally cheaper than decent, light geared bikes.

deep_puddle

HAhHAHAHAHAhahaa

True if the road bike rider is very weak.
try going down a hill faster than a road bike on a fixed gear. a mountain hill.

keep your road bike, and buy a fixed. they are two different animals.

rogwilco

Yeah, so you found one situation where a fixed-gear definitely is inferior to a bike with a freewheel, there are a few other situations too - so what? What I said is still true.

cavit8

No it's not. Even just going on gear ratio alone, most road bikes have bigger gear ratios than the average fixed. Unless someone lives in Flatlandia and is pushing 52-13.

It is true though that you can buy a better quality fixed gear for cheaper. Good groupo=$$$$

rogwilco

Look, I wasn't talking about races or anything like that. Of course if every second counts having gears is an advantage, but how often is that the case for most cyclists? And if you have a lower gearing you just have to pedal a little faster.

Just like a Porsche seldom can drive any faster than a Smart under real life conditions, despite being a lot more powerful.

robotkiller

There are two ways of doing this -- using an ENO eccentric hub (total wheelbuild probably costing close to what a off the rack Fixed would cost) or finding the magic gear that allows sufficient chain tension to run a single speed. You have to precisely measure your chainstay and use an online magic gear calculator to figure this out. The magic gear option is extremely limiting. Otherwise, you can use a chain tensioner device to make your bike a single speed. It hangs off the derailleur hanger (ie Surly Singleator). These things suck - noisy, ugly and add resistance which defeat the purpose of running a single speed. You can't use the Singleator to make your bike fixed, though. It won't work.

jtgotsjets

Sell your trek and buy a fixed gear on bikesdirect. This is by far the easiest an cheapest solution.

lverhagen

I have never seen such a lack of noob-hating on this forum in my entire time on bikeforums. It's rather refreshing if I do say so myself.

Anyway, I would keep the trek and ride it around till you have enough money to buy a kilo tt. Then you will have two decent bikes built for each of their respective purposes.

Noobert

thats a really bad idea. Just keep the 7.2 the way it is.

It would be a waste of money, and sad to strip all of those nice STI parts off it.