Muirfield

I have a huge dilema.......or at least what i consider a huge dilema.
I am currently in the market for a fixed gear bike. But the dilema lies in whther i should convert my current bike or buy a complete (ie-pist, iro, khs etc). The problem is i am on a huge budget. Some bike stores around SF have told me that it would end up running me about the same to convert my bike well as it would to just buy a pista. If i did convert what parts would it make sense to replace etc.?
if i were to buy a new rear wheel like a velocity does it make a difference that i currently have 27in wheels and the velocity is 700? also ( sorry about the overload of questions) when it comes to buying new cranks, bottom bracket etc......how do i tell what size shell and length spindle i currently have or would need to purchase? my bike is from what i am guessing is from the 80s and has horizontal rear dropouts etc. sorry again about all of the questions....
muirfield

OneTinSloth

if you're going to convert, you can probably just get away with replacing the rear wheel, and a decent wheel shouldn't cost you more than $350. if there's anything else you might need, it'd be the bottom bracket, and basically, all you need to find out what spindle length you'll need is a ruler, or caliper to measure the optimal chainline for your frame and do a bunch of other math that i'm too tired to recall at the moment....or have a shop do it for you.

you can run a 700c wheel in the back if you're a) not going to run a rear brake, or b) get a long-reach caliper.

if you do a conversion, you'll learn a lot more about how a fixed gear bike comes together, whereas if you just get a complete stock bike, it'll be all set up and dialed. personally, if it's your first, i'd convert and learn about it, then get a nicer frame down the line, and swap the parts over.

Jamtastic

yep . exactly what i did. i just had a rear wheel built for about 175.00. that was it. Ive ridden it for about 6 months now so i just ordered a prebuilt bike. Its the way to go if you want to learn..

Muirfield

i have seen cheaper wheels on the IRO website.........[url]https://www.irocycle.com/fixedgearandsinglespeedbikeframesfromirocycleinc/id67.html ............are these any good? They are velocity aeroheads, how do i find out what spacing i need in the rear? also, since im on such a budget how about IRO's other parts (hubs, cranks?). If i were to convert this current frame, would most of the parts actually fit on a newer track frame later on?

Aeroplane

The IRO wheels have received fairly good reviews on here. The consensus is that if you set them up right, they will treat you well. If you buy just the hubs and build them up yourself you can save money on shipping.

You find out what spacing you need for the rear hub by measuring the distance between the rear dropouts. It will probably be from 125mm to 135mm.

I've got no experience with IRO's other parts. From what I can infer, they are pretty standard quality generic parts. Probably won't fall apart on you, but certainly not high-end.

As far as parts fitting on a track bike later, that all depends on a number of factors. Most track bikes have 120mm rear spacing, so if you get a 120mm hub and use axle spacers, that should help. Crank compatibility depends on BB. Stem compatibility depends on the headset, headset compatability depends on the fork, etc.

In my experience, the only things that I can count on to go between to bikes are the saddle, front wheel, and pedals. Even pedals can be a wash, if the cranks have french threading. But, if you know what you are doing when you switch over, everything can probably be kept.