arevalo

Hey all,

Been browsing the forums for the past couple hours or so and finally decided to join the community.

I know a couple of folks who have one but majority of them just ride and have had friends convert their bikes. I am not following the sheep but interested in one for commute but mostly exercise. Thought a fixed gear would be more helpful.


First off, I'm on a super budget about $250. Would I be better picking out parts?

I really need some direction. LOL.

onetwentyeight 

Hit up boxdog on 14th and Guerrero for cheap used parts.

harryhood

or refried cycles on haight/fillmore, or salon de biclettes on fillmore/haight. or cruise for frames on craigslist.

cheapest way to go is to get a complete bike from a garage sale or craiglist, then you can grab a decent and nicely priced rear wheel from IRO cycles (https://www.irocycle.com/id67.html), and the conversion will be easy.

arevalo

Wow, thanks for the quick replies and heads up!


Someone also mentioned Bike Hut? Down at the pier.

Any feedback on that place?


Also, are these shops fair priced? (worried about the $250 budget)

fixedpip

The Bike Hut can be amazing on some days and others you'll come up empty handed. Especially great for small bits. Best bet is to go and talk to them. Their stock comes and goes quickly (as with Saloon des Bicis, Dog Box and Refried).

I've seen conversions for less than your budget in Refried. Again go and talk to them.

One other option is to go to the bike kitchen and build your own. Have a whole ton of frames upstairs as well as a lot of the parts you need. Seen lots of folks building fixies there (as well as someone working on a Nagasawa etc).

wearyourtruth

for $250 converting is definately the way to go. you can find an old steel frame for $5 (or even free) which allows you almost all your money to spend on parts, and as said above, used is a great way to go for a first-timer. i got my wheelset for $60, hubs, rims, tubes, cog, lockring, everything. (surly hub salsa rim). good luck!