jayhawkpanic

Hey

New to the forum. Been riding bikes my whole life and after a 10 year hiatus, I'm back baby.

I rode a buddy's fixed gear the other day and fell in love.

I just bought a new giant hybrid for longer rides but now must have a fixed gear with drop bars I don't want to spend more than 300$

Question

Should I build an old 1972 Raleigh record frame probably using the eighth inch kit, or buy a fixed gear like from critical cycles? Any other brand recs are appreciated. Both would cost a bit over 220$ when all is said and done.

Thanks

TenSpeedV2

Don't buy anything from Critical, Retrospec, BigShot, etc. They are garbage. $220 is not a huge budget, so you may be best off converting that Raleigh.

jayhawkpanic

Thank you.

Are there any brands that make quality fixed gear bikes with drop bars that aren't over $500.00?

SquidPuppet

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seau grateau

Or maybe Aventon.

theknightisfree

buy a used bike on craigslist.

Scottybigs 

The Raleigh record frames, if I recall, were just basic hi-tensile steel. You could convert it to fixed, yes, but in my opinion it's not a frame worth putting the money into.

^ you'd do better to find a used vintage steel road bike of better frame tubing quality. Something with either Tange, Columbus, Reynolds, Ishiwata etc. -- just make sure it's double butted chromoly of some kind. That way if you decide to convert it back to a road bike or sell it, you'll at least have something of value. Not to mention, any steel frame of said quality will ride way better and weigh less than your current Raleigh.

prooftheory

Your won't allow you to build a reasonable bike. Building up a bike is almost always a more expensive proposition than buying complete, usually even for people who already own lots of spare parts from which to build up a bike. It seems like it will be cheaper but the going rule for building up a bike is to take whatever budget you think you are going to spend on the bike and double or triple it. Even using the Eighth-inch kit will produce a sub-par bike that you will ultimately be unhappy with. Kilo TT

veganbikes

That budget is way too low to get something decent. Generally if you are looking under $300 you are losing money because it is such low quality the parts aren't likely to be very durable or the bike is not likely to be safe or the parts while crap will work but aren't worth the high prices they are charging (even though it seems cheap).

Building a bike yourself can be quite rewarding but is expensive and generally more so than buying a complete bike unless you outfit with crap parts in which case you are losing money again. Conversions can be cool but if you are just buying a cheap kit and not trying to restore the glory of the bike or the bike you are putting the parts on isn't of quality materials or construction, it just isn't worth it.

Save up some cash and look at some nicer bikes. Those sweet Kustom online sw8 fixies bro aren't worth the headache

TenSpeedV2

^ good advice. Should be a sticky in here.

79pmooney

Or - build up that Raleigh. Ride it, Keep your eyes out for a better frame and swap the parts.

In 1976, I put a cog and lockring on a wheel and put it on the UO-8 beater I had been riding. Like you, fell in love the first ride. Rode that bike into the ground, every mile fixed. Replaced it with a nice Japanese built Schwinn. Kept riding it. Became a Sekine, then a Miyata, then a Trek, getting a little better at every step. Never put large sums of money into. Total (non consumables) expenses? $2000? Years? 40 Miles? ~80,000.

Things are getting more expensive now. A real expense ($500) was having the Trek seatstay caps repaired and the frame powdercoated. 30 year old frames have histories. If that frame was known for issues, I WILL see them. Early '80s Trek seatstay caps for example. Also my hometown of Portland now "gets" how valuable those old, horizontally dropped frames are. Not $25 any more. Still, not a whole lot of money for what I have gotten out of it.

(If you have a bike that works so you are not desperate, you have a far better chance of landing that 'find".)

Ben

bonsai171

Building up the Raleigh is probably a good choice. I converted a Schwinn Letour a few years ago to fixed/free. Here's a breakdown of some of the costs (which will probably get you under budget):

Alex R450 Rear track wheel $77 (mine came with a 1/8 track cog and lockring)
$40-$50 for a new tire/tube
$10-$20 brake pads
$20-$30 1/8 chain
You may need a new chainring too (assuming you can replace on your current crank) 1/8 Origin8 ~$20


All together, that's about $200, and would give you a new rear wheel and drivetrain. You may need to replace the front tire too (esp if its the original-probably dry-rotted!) but since you are on a budget, you could find a decent quality 27X1.25 tire and keep the original rim (upgrade later!). All together, this should keep you at your budget. Besides bike parts, you might need the following tools (probably should tighten down the rear cog before riding):

1/8 chain chainwhip like Park SR-18 (~$22)
Fixed gear lockring tool like Park HCW017 (~$15)

Been riding with this setup for about 500 mi now, so far no visible wear.

Dave

jayhawkpanic

Thank

jayhawkpanic

You

jayhawkpanic

All

veganbikes

danke schön herr @TenSpeedV2. We should have a sage advice thread, my second piece of sage advice, frying the leaves and sprinkling a little salt on them can make for a nice treat or could add some great flavor to a sauce ; )

TenSpeedV2

I see what you did there. I don't have the thyme to come up with something as clever as that.

Carcosa

Quit being so cute you two. Hands above the covers!

Broctoon

I'll echo the opinion that it's usually better to build up a bike yourself than to buy one complete. It is not less expensive, at least not apparently so, or not at first... but it's more economical in the long run.

I currently own five bikes, and I've been through three others in the past few years. I got most of them as frames and built them up, part by part. One of the few that I got complete has also been modified and upgraded a lot to suit my preferences. I'm convinced this process gives a guy a much better bike. It also gives me more satisfaction and better appreciation for the bike.

I sometimes see killer deals on new bikes, and I think I could have saved myself a lot of money and work by buying one as opposed to building. Then I look closer and realize the factories cut a lot of corners and use cheap parts to keep the prices so low. I've also seen a lot of friends buy some pretty nice bikes and still have to spend money on upgrades or modifications to get them dialed in right, or even on repairs.

One thing I'm really certain of is this: cheap bikes (whether factory built or custom built with low-end parts) are only good for occasional/casual riding. If you're serious about biking, you need to spend the money for good stuff. Doing otherwise is a sure formula for disappointment and frustration.

NormanF

If you live in the suburbs or a small town, buy a Kilo WT. If you live in the big city, buy a cheap hi ten bike that thieves will overlook for your FG ride.

veganbikes

Hopefully you will get time to ketchup!

Hey what ever nasty filthy dirty unhinged passion we do in the privacy of this public forum, is our business! Now I will put my squid tentacles back under the covers ; )

SirSoyrizo

Raleigh for sure. Plus you will have fun building it and you'll most likely learn why it was the better choice. Research around but stay away from those < $300 bikes, you'll be better off in the long run

Zoroman

But the real question is --- is that free range Kale you are using in that recipe??

79pmooney

That's Kale as in the Michigan fight song, "Kale to the victors valiant! Kale, kale, kale".

Ben

ecnewell 

If you decide you really would rather ride a shop-built bike, you might take a look at the Fuji track. I rode one around Chicago for a couple of years and loved it. It's definitely nothing fancy, but it never gave me a lick of trouble in about 3,500 miles and was a nice smooth ride. You'll get a butted CrMo frame to start from, with the benefit of track dropouts, and you can upgrade components as you like.