Originally Posted by mihlbach
recently I cracked my Bianchi fixed gear conversion frame after about 2000 miles. The BB shell developed an inch-long crack. Now I'm using an old Motobecane frame (a real one, not the new fake Motobecane USA).
I'm guessing that a lot of these older frames just aren't built to withstand the abuse that they get with a fixed gear.
The BB shell should not have cracked unless there was something wrong with the frame to begin with. How many miles did the frame have before you converted it? You should check with Bianchi, if you're lucky they may do something for you.
I don't see how riding fixed is inherently more abusive than any other type of riding. My dad does loaded mountainous touring in all weather conditions on a 1978 steel frame with tens of thousands of miles on it. And it's not particularly high end steel. Either you're mistreating your bikes or you've had bad luck getting frames with inherent structural problems.