infestedguy1

hey everybody, i have two questions that maybe some of you can help with. the first is this, i have a friend who is about to convert her ss mtb (surly frame) to fixed. she is running a surly "new" hub right now. the hub, as most of you know, is threaded for freewheels on both sides. without getting another hub, what is her best option to go fixed? should she thread on a cog and locktite a bb lockring on it, or what? it needs to be a relatively cheap fix. although she is stong, she only weighs about 110, so i don't think spinning a cog off would be a problem. the second question is this, i'm about to build my second fixie. its a surly steamroller frame i'm getting dirt cheap. anyway, the previous owner had it powder-coated, but i really don't like the color. have any of you painted over a powder-coat finish? and if so, what process did you use? thanks ahead of time.

pitboss

as far as the paint goes, depends. If you want it powder coated new, PM xcutterx...I believe he has had some work like this done.
As far as Kryloning/Rustoleuming, just go into the search field on the SS/Fixed header page...lots o' posts on this!
Good luck

Jonny B

Powdercoat is just regular paint, in powder form. The item is heated (with the powder held on by static electricity), and the powder melts and forms a thick, smooth layer of paint. Just sand it down and repaint as you would with normal paint.

As for your friends fixie problem, I've heard good and bad stories about the BB lockring approach, but mostly good. Since she's so light I'd say go for it, just tell her to make sure she tightens the sprocket onto the lockring, not just the hub.

nhorscro

Back in the '80's when I used to convert my road bike to fix for a couple months each year to do grass track racing, I used to use my regular freewheel wheels/hubs with a fixed sprocket and a BB lock ring. I never needed locktite and back then I was a 150 pound sprinter. We would often slow down by slightly hopping the back wheel off the ground and applying back pressure to the pedals. The lock ring held up fine. So I think she should have no problems with that approach.....with or without locktite.
At a track day my club organized 4 years ago, a 6'3", 220 pound guy "forgot" to keep pedaling after he crossed the finish line at the end of a sprint. he's really strong and the rear wheel skidded and the sprocket started to unscrew, but he realized in time and started pedaling again!! No one knows hoe he managed to survive that one!