Trying to find a good frameset solution
 

Hi to all, I'm new here.

I commute to work each day...don't even own a car. I'm 56 and have ridden road and mountain bikes for many years. Now though I want a fixie because I simply don't need gears.

I will have to build what I want and I prefer to do so with components I already have plus a few I will need to buy.

Here is my dilemma:
I want a frame that will accommodate fat tires (Schwalbe Big Apple; Fat Frank) on 700c rims which I already have built. I assume I need a 29er frameset to do that. I have a Linus Roadster frameset but there simply isn't room for the tires let alone fenders for them. I do want fenders btw.

Front brake will be a sturmey-archer dynamo drum...no back brake of course since it will be a fixie. Winter tires will be similar sized but likely be studded.

What I'm looking for is an inexpensive hi-ten steel fixie frameset that accommodates the tire/wheel size.

I'm having no luck finding such, naturally.

Any ideas?

I thought about buying a critical bike for 219 and just forgetting about the fat tire thing. Using 35c instead. I would strip its components and replace with mine, incorporating the drum dynamo into a front wheel build. I'll use Planet Bike Speedez fenders since there are no eyelets on their frames.

Is the geometry on the critical bike fixie suitable for a commute?

All thoughts are welcome but trust me when I say I don't need the gears. I've been three-speeding on 26" rims for almost a year now and never shift out of high. I only have one hill to climb in each direction and standing on the pedals is just fine :) Good exercise!

Say fixie one more time, I dare you.

Look at surly's offerings, report back.

i ride my fixie and i enjoy fixies because fixies are the coolest thing around.

my fixie is purple.

Already know about Surly...nice frames but don't need can't I bosses and such...just a clean frame :)

Then get a steamroller.

Or go 650B with your wheels in just about anything.

Say 'fixie' one more time and Ithadan will slap you.

Dunno why you imagine you need fat tyres, 35s, 28s, even the right 23s give a good ride. An old roadie will allow you to run 28mm Randonneurs and full mudguards and you'll have all the comfort you need, a lot of which comes from the frame.

Say 'fixie' one more time and Ithadan will slap you.

Why do you imagine "no back brake of course since it will be a fixie"? With your riding experience you'll understand the control a rear brake can give you. Fixed gear gives a different form of control at the back end and when used in conjunction with a rear brake, gives you a wide range of control at the rear, not for stopping, for controlling the bike, particularly on slippery or poor surfaces.

Say 'fixie' one more time and Ithadan will slap you.

Nothing wrong with a dynamo drum but with modern battery lights, you would be well served asking if you need it. The lights on my Europa give 1,500 lumens of light with a 6 hour life - tar melts at 100 paces and gum trees grow if I aim it at them for too long. I've a more modest set on the Hillbrick. Depending on your actual needs, you may find you don't need to tie yourself to a dynamo hub.

Say 'fixie' one more time and Ithadan will slap you.

You give the impression of buying a frame to suit the pile of bits you have lying around in the shed. This is back to front. While the frame is indeed only a component, it's the heart of the bike and it's the thing you consider and buy first, THEN the ancillaries. Just saying that's the impression you give.

Say 'fixie' one more time and Ithadan will slap you because it's a term that has been used and misused over the last decade to describe essentially hipster types with bikes designed for looks rather than function. Like many junk terms, it's now more of a put down than a term you'd be proud of :50:

(and yes, I can use the old git smilie because I'm 58, own two fixed gears, one single speed and a geared bike :) )