tatejern

Okay so, total noob here asking, no, begging for advice. I've decided to get an older bike and do a conversion, because I'd rather have a less than stellar beater bike I can make better and be proud of, while learning along the way. I've decided that I'll be purchasing this bike https://norfolk.craigslist.org/bik/3967224991.html I don't mind that it's heavy at all and I kind of like the history of it haha. It needs new tires, and I need durable inexpensive recommendations (I'll know when I go and buy it what size they are). Also, I'd like to know what the best conversion method would be; either buying just a hub and using the old wheel, getting a totally new wheel set, etc. Also, would I need to buy a new crankset or would the one on the bike be satisfactory? Which option would be most cost effective, easiest, most durable? Just trying to get a general idea before I totally jump in. I have a total budget of about 300 if need be, and I already have lights, nice pedals, and riding equipment, so that wouldn't be part of the budget. Thanks so much

Oh and if possible, I'd like a flip flop hub but if it's not worth it I don't have to have it.

Mumonkan

make sure it fits.

durable and economical tires are ones like vittoria randonneur or panaracer ribmo

itd probably make more sense to get a wheel set from velomine.com (for ~$100+) instead of buying a new hub and spokes and trying to figure out how to rebuild it or paying someone to build it for you

cranks are probably fine, though youll need single speed chainring bolts and the cottered crank might not be the best choice in the long run

b-ride

It's going to be cheaper and faster to buy a pre-built wheel and slot it in there, rather than chopping out the old hub and building up a new hub into the old rim. The only reason to do that would be to keep the rims matched.

The only issue may be that those are old 27inch wheels and a new wheel would be 700c, meaning that the calipers on the rear brake might not reach the rim without a little adjustment or, possibly, at all.

The cranks will be fine. Choose a reasonable gear ratio, keep the brakes on while you learn and then once you know if you like riding fixed gear you can begin to upgrade your components.

tatejern

Any recommendations on brand or size of a new wheel set? And will I need a new chain?

tatejern

Would these work? They seem to be a reasonable price, but I am concerned if the front brake will fit or not. I don't mind not having a rear brake, but a front is a must.
https://www.roadbikeoutlet.com/fixed-...FYuk4AodEj0AKg

Mumonkan

those would fit but like b-ride sez, might need a new brake with smaller wheels

try these or these. same size wheel and they will be a hell of a lot lighter
keep in mind you will need to know what the spacing is for the dropouts when ordering wheels

yes you will need a new chain because a chain is not supposed to be made of solid rust

tatejern

Awesome thanks so much. And lol yeah i figured. I read a little bit about chains on sheldon brown but I'm not exactly sure what size is best

Mumonkan

depends on the rear cog, typically a fixed gear cog is 1/8ths but they can be 3/32 also, so buy the chain accordingly

something like the kmc 410 chain will suit you just fine

tatejern

Also with spacing, I'll measure it tomorrow and see if it's a match for those wheels, and thanks again for the links I appreciate it!

Mumonkan

if you get wheels from velomine they should be able to space them according to whatever your bike is

Jandro 

Solid advice.

tatejern

Alright so I bought the bike, took it home, and started stripping it down. Got the brakes, crank, handlebars, etc. off. The only two things left are the fork and part of the crank. Do I need to remove these to get a really good clean or are they fine where they are?
Pics: https://imgur.com/a/ufvap

flyingtaco

You should definitely take out the BB cups and the fork so you can regrease the bearings.

tatejern

I'm totally stumped on how to do that. I'm sure it's super simple but I'm having a brain fart. How would I go about taking that stuff out?

tatejern

Ive tried doing the method where you unscrew the top bolt on the handlebars a little bit, and then use a hammer and gently hit it to try and pull the bottom half out, too, but have had no luck

highonpez

It's probably above your paygrade at this point to take the headset apart. And unless it feels rough you probably don't need to. To take apart the bottom bracket you need a lockring tool and a pin spanner for the other side. That'll get to the innards. I'd suggest a new cartridge bottom bracket and new crankset, as I've never been a fan of cottered cranks. (If you are replacing the cranks, then I'd just take it to a shop to have them take the bottom bracket out, because you're probably never going to use a pin spanner again.)

europa

Lots of advice, so I'll tell a story.

My Europa was still more or less as I bought her in the eighties. I'd just bought a new bike with all the wiz bang stuffery and my beloved old Europa was just sitting in the shed going nowhere. Then I heard about fixed gear, and thought I'd give it a go. I took out my beloved Europa, took off all the gear stuff, spun on a track cog (didn't need to redish the wheel), and went riding fixed gear. Yes, it was a suicide hub set up but I was using brakes to do the stopping business. Some months later, I'd convinced myself that I loved this fixed gear carryon so I ordered a set of cheap track wheels from my lbs - Velomine and the like weren't available to me and it was early in the whole fixie craze so wheelsets weren't common. Anyways, I now had a proper wheel set ... with eighties brakes, so, when I could finally afford them, I bought some long reach Tektro brakes and discovered the joys of stopping. The old brake levers were a bit ho hum but patience on ebay provided a set of Shimano600 aero levers. The B17 came courtesy of a generous tax return. This whole process took nearly two years and the point of the story is: you don't have to do this in one hit, you can take your time and turn your bike into a thing of joy over time as you can afford it.

tatejern

Update: So I'm going to use the original cranks for now, so I don't have to worry about removing the BB. However, I went to a bike shop and they said since it's an old bike it requires some sort of special key. They offered it to me for $100. No surprise, it's the only bike shop around me and it's just a big MAMIL hangout/circlejerk lol. No used bikes, cheapest road bike is like 2 grand. Oh and when I brought the frame inside the store the guy was like oh that BB is rusted in and the cranks won't move that whole bike's a piece of crap can I show you some of our new bikes? Yeah noooo, and I can move the BB with my fingers smoothly, I think I'll be fine using my feet.
Anyway, with these two wheel sets:
https://www.velomine.com/index.php?ma...spog9vf2k595p2
and
https://www.velomine.com/index.php?ma...spog9vf2k595p2
I'm not sure, but would the first wheel work for a fixed cog? I know the second one will, but if I can save money, I want to haha.

Mumonkan

technically yes, but it would be whats called a suicide hub since theres nothing to keep the cog from unthreading from the hub when you backpedal

tatejern

Oh, alright yeah I'll definitely dish out the extra cash for the better wheels. Oh and again thank you everyone for all your help and advice, I really appreciate it!

tatejern

Would these work? They seem like a good deal the only thing is my bike has 126mm spacing and these are 120, is there a way to make it work?
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/m...965957598.html


edit - nvm I'm not driving 4 hours for wheels

these are closer - https://richmond.craigslist.org/bik/3967351584.html

seau grateau

Herein lies a problem:



The rear wheel has no axle.

tatejern

would these work?
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/m...965957598.html

Leukybear 

The wheels pictured are different from what he says in the description. He mentions "deep v" but both pictures show low profile rims. I would check them out in person.
From the pictures, it seems solid. For the price, there's not much to lose. Also he's accepting OBO.

jankdc

Looks like they would work. Make sure the axle runs smooth and there aren't any broken spokes. You may need to true them, but that's not a big deal.