Well, we had a nice snowstorm here, which finally gave me the excuse I've been looking for to put this little monstrosity together. Those of you who hate fixie conversions can close your eyes for this next part:


Okay, now that that's over, here's what it is: a tankish, pink Schwinn Marada, with a handbuilt rear wheel (Nashbar fixed hub, Sun CR18 rim) and a track cog repurposed from a tossed out fixie wheel I found in the alley. The chain runs onto the small chainwheel, giving a ridiculous 26/16 drivetrain. The studded tires came from a bike shop closing sale.

It moves very well thru the ice and snow, though it has issues with deep snow and slush. However, out riding it about the last day or so, I saw plenty of stuck cars and absolutely no stuck bikes, probably because if you get stuck on this thing you just get off it, pick it up, and move, where in a car you just sit there spinning your wheels and smoking your cigarette (at least this seems to the representative behaviour of the marooned drivers I saw on my rides). I've been thru my neighbourhood, the above street is pretty much par for the area. I don't think this bike can even make ten miles an hour, but it sure is fun. I left the brakes on, but have yet to touch them-- way to easy to control this thing via the drivetrain.

I'd really like a Surly Pugsley, so those of you who hate what I've done to this bike can paypal me some cash. Once I get enough for the Pugsley, I'll return this bike to it's geared form.

riding through the snow is awesome, though i've never gotten to try it with studded tires. Never thought about doing such things with a fixed gear, every time i've done it though, i ended up with a fixed gear because the derailleurs and cogs would be filled with snow and couldn't shift.

Awesome little build that makes me want to go out and ride. don't think any of my bikes can handle the 16 inches of snow we got in western virginia.

that is a pretty pink schwinn. how do you keep the chain tensioned? Oh we had a bit of snow here too

How many Mary Kay products do you have to sell for that?

As far as being angry over making it a fixie, it does not look like you hacked anything off, so who cares. Have fun on it.

Regarding studded tires, have you ever tried some 700c x 35? I was thinking about putting a pair on one of my bikes, but since I have never tried studded before, I just don't know if they would work out. I just want something for a few (<3) inches of snow.

pee your name into it?

Oh, man. That's what I want to build next.

Gives me dangerous ideas, I've got a purple Raleigh in the garage, hmmmmmmmm off to check the weather forcast .....

Nice Mirada! Local friends of mine swear by riding fixed gear in the snow as it offers lots of control. I'm a single-speeder on my main winter commuter, and I just finished this morning putting its snow tires back on (700 x 35mm Schwalbe Marathon Winters) after having 700 x 28 Paselas on it for the warm season. Drivetrain is now 40/22t with a Stronglight 49D-clone Nervar crankset and 40t Stronglight ring. I also had to swap in a new bottom bracket as wet-weather commuting did a number on the previous one. I agree that the studded tires aren't particularly useful in loose snow--there's nothing to grab on to, but on ice, they're terrific. Here's a pic from last year's first big storm.



Neal

I'm in the "pee your name in the snow" camp. I hate winter more every year. Not enough to move to Florida or Arizona, but grrrrr - I can't stand it.

Interesting bike Pogue.

After living in Georgia for a few years, I came to the conclusion that I just traded one irritation for another. There were too many pine trees where I lived and I found I am allergic. Every Spring, that yellow-green death fell like very fine snow and coated everything. I would be miserable for months.

I'm much happier up north now.

Pictures borrowed from a quick internet search.

Weren't you worried about guys seeing you on that thing and trying to get your phone number?

You stole the Energizer Bunny's ride!!

Man, pink all the way to the stem and bars.
It's still one cool bike. Must be fun to cut through the slop.
I always wanted to sneak onto the Charles River one early Sunday morning during a frigid winter with a MTB and ride down the middle of it.
(there's a Youtube video somewhere of 2 guys doing just that.)

At least you had fun this weekend. While I got the cross country skiis out yesterday and put a few miles down, today was an eight hour shift of shoveling out half (yes, just half) of my driveway. The cat 4 climb half, so I can at least get home from work on Monday. Ended up in bed by 1930 tonight absolutely aching. Now tomorrow morning I go over to my neighbors and see if I can get the truck out. Real fun weekend - haven't been on a bike since Wednesday.

Very nice . . . . . . . . and obnoxious enough that the VCU students should be lining up with fist fulls of cash begging for a chance to buy it.

I'll be glad to loan you my snow thrower!

Snow on my deck and burying my pagoda one winter. No fun at all!





It's too bad the initials of your employer don't stand for what they used to. Twice they deposited us in different parts of the country and both times, it was a great change of scenery. No hope of that benny any longer.

Don't they need you to work from home in say, eastern TN or northern AL, in places where winter lasts about 8-10 weeks, and most snowfalls are guaranteed to melt in 48 hours or less?

You're right. They'd probably cut my salary if I moved to India too.

Have been thinking about somewhere on the edge of the Ozarks, but I'm not a lover of riding hills either.

I'm much farther north, but the storm missed us entirely. Still, we've got snow cover from earlier storms. Not having driver's lisence, cycling in winter is 2nd nature to me. I particularly love trail riding in the snow, though you have to find somewhere relatively flat, as you just won't make it up any hills except by pushing. We regularly ride in down to -15C.

So Zorro, just how much of that nasty white stuff fell in your yard over the weekend?

This;

They're reporting 8". Seems reasonably close to what I would have guessed from looking at my driveway.

Will be a couple days before I attempt to get out to the shed again.

I'll take snow over pollen any day ... we had about 15" of snow here just north of Boston on the coast. What kills me is the amount of salt they coat the roads with ..

Scott

Go to Sears. Buy 8+ HP snowthrower: big wheels, lights, tall-mouthed bell, 2-stage, long extension cord to start it in the garage (btw: they deliver). Cut down your driveway task to 2 hours. Have wife pat you on the head, then go wrench on bikes.

as much as I like cycling - I like this more

I used to have a Wheel Horse tractor with a plow blade among other attachment, left over from my days in Western PA. Unfortunately, the last killer snow we had down here (2005), it was hit by a pickup truck while I was plowing the driveway/hill. Bent the frame in half, missed me by about six inches. Since 2005 we haven't had any snows that I would have needed something larger than a shovel, and money was way too tight to consider such a luxury.

The real fun is to realize that, for the first time in my life, I'm completely bereft of motor vehicles that can handle winter. My 2-wheel drive S-10 was pulled out of my neighbor's driveway this morning so I could get to work, and the Porsche 924S isn't going to see sunlight for at least another week.

If you are riding in the snow, SS is indeed the way to go. You really don't want road salt on and in those derailleurs, unless you plan on changing them every season. Canti brakes are advantageous as well, both for cleanup and stopping power. Nice set up