haywood5179

I have wanted a fixed gear for a couple of years now, but haven't acted on the want yet. Now I am thinking it may be time for me to break down and get one. I have two different routes I can go right now and wanted to get some opinions about the two.

The first is to head over to Harris Cyclery and pick up a new IRO, bianchi or fuji bike. I could get any one of the three for around $600 once I have a front brake installed.

or

I can purchase an old Miyata frame I found in my size. The frame is from the early 80's and the paint is pretty beat up. I figure I would need to paint it over the winter. It would come with seat post, head set and bottom bracket both of which would need a rebuild. He is asking $75 for the frame. Is this a reasonable price? I have attached a picture. I would need to purchase a stem, handlebars, cranks, wheels, chain and rear cog. I have a seat I can use. What are some good sources for affordable wheels? So far they seem to be the most expensive item for the bike. I think the cheapest I could purchase all of the above for would be about $300.

Is it worth it to spend $300 for a bike built around an old frame or should I just spend the money and get a new bike?

Thank you for any help.

modmon

the wheelsets from irocycles are a favorite around here for fixies on a budget. there are lots of threads about cheap wheelsets on this forum, so do a search first.
i think that $75 is extremely high for just the frame... but if it fits you and you like it, and youre pressed for time and have the funds, go for it. otherwise, take your time and check out some thrift stores in your area. ive found really nice complete roadies at thrift stores for a 'high' price of 29.99. used to be less a few years ago.
once you get a frame, work on getting the wheelset first. this will be the most expensive part you will have to buy. all the other components can probably be found cheap in your LBS's parts bin. or you could ask some of the members here to help you complete your part search. a lot of us here have a parts bin the size of a small car.
you wont need to spend $300 building a fixie around an old frame if you cut the right corners. its always more fun building a bike from scratch then buying a prefab.

powers2b

We sell quality used Miyata frames for $75 - $100.
I would say that's a fair price.
I would rather resurrect an old bike than buy a new one.
If you change your mind later you could always transfer many of the components to the new frame.

Enjoy

BlastRadius

I bought an 81 Miyata 310 for $60 and an 8x Miyata 710 for $60 both complete and in very good condition.

stevo

300 is cheaper than 600.

soupless

$300 is cheaper than $600, but consider what you're getting. A frame that is over twenty years old with parts that need to be replaced/rebuilt. Plus, my personal soapbox is being fit correctly, especially with a fixed gear.

Just playing Devil's Advocate. I hope you get a bike you love. But I think I'd love a de-stickered pista with a carbon fork

filtersweep

There is nothing wrong with a 20-year old frame. But he can do better than a Myata at that price: $75-100 should get you a better tubeset with paint in "good" condition... with a serviceable headset.

A pista is only maybe a sub-$100 frame, and a carbon fork is extra.

I wouldn't pay more than $60 for a frameset with bad paint.

Serbaside

It hell building up a frame. Takes time to search for each part at the best price etc... But in the end its worth it. Also when you need to take something apart I found it easier to do with a bicycle I assembled not a factory.

peripatetic

I'll attest to the hell of building up a frame--it's VERY time-consuming. Unless you have every tool and parts are easy to find and the acquire. 75 bucks seems high to me, also--I just bought a really nice used complete Miyata bike for 100--if I were to convert it, I'd at least be able to keep a lot of the parts and not buy new ones.

Also, if you've never ridden a fixie, you might want to consider getting one already built--maybe used or something, a beater. I did this because I was spending all of this time trying to find cheap parts for a build, and realized one day that the first thing I wanted to do was actually RIDE a fixie. Now that I have, I've figured out how I want to build my own, what configuration I want, and plus, I now know where I can buy the parts. Here in NYC, from my experience, the idea of scrounging up cheap old parts out of some LBS's bin is a pipe dream: fixed gear bikes are definitely a source of income for the shops, and they charge for anything. Basically, BE PREPARED. If you don't have tools, that's going to cost you, and if you don't know how to do everything, that's going to take time.

You're lucky that you're in vicinity of Harris Cyclery, though--talk about a resource! I'm sure they'd help you with a conversion, considering Sheldon Brown's pages and general philosophy.

Personally, the raving environmentalist that I am, I think there are too many NEW bikes being sold, and not enough OLD ones that have ever been ridden. Re-use, man, re-use, don't C-O-N-S-U-M-E. If you think about it, it's kind of an integral part of the general fixed gear philosophy.

All IMO, of course.