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I have built up a couple of Fixed Gear bikes but have failed to document the process, to date. I did, however, publish this series of articles on How to Convert a Vintage Road Bicycle to Single Speed Design. With the exception of hub and cog choice, much of the information offered pertains to Fixed Gear conversion also. Hope this is a help.

Don't be a fool!

http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...amp-Fixed-Gear

-Kurt

Honestly, I mean this in the nicest way possible and coming from sussex county boy....

Fixed Gear in Northern NJ is masochism.

Get a geared bike unless you are just gonna ride in Pompton Plains and Lincoln Park.


...and don't remove the brakes. Unless you're on a track there's no reason not to have brakes.

How old are you? This graphic might apply here.

The older I get the more I want to coast.

Bike fit is a personal preference, but I would think that the best fit for someone 5'7" would be more in the 55cm area. My wife is 5'4" and rides a 53cm (men's frame). Of course, your inseam is more important than your height. I'm right around 6' and wear 32-34 inseam jeans (I have long legs). I ride 63cm or 25" frames (not racing geometry). If I were to build up a fixed gear for myself I'd probably look for a 60-61cm frame.

Lucky for you, 53-56cm frames are pretty easy to find. I imagine you'd look a bit silly on a 48cm frame.

I don't ride fixed gear, but it seems there are plenty of fixed (and SS) riders in my neighborhood. It's pretty hilly, but I mostly see the fixed gear bikes on the "main drag" of restaurants, record shops, bars, etc. Come to think of it, most I see aren't even riding, but rather standing in groups with their bikes.

This might be the wrong forum for your post, follow Kurt's link. Personally, the more I work on vintage bicycles, the more I want to keep them the way they were originally intended.

+10 Wrong forum.

+1 The older I get, the more I like my knees. Gears give you choices. Want to stop coasting? Pick a higher gear and go faster.

+ a Bazillion.

The biggest determining factor of whether you are coasting or not is YOU

Coasting on a bike is one of the simplest pleasures known to man.

+1 wrong forum. Mods should prolly have moved this already...shouldn't they?

steps 2 and 3 don't make sense. Why would you have to take the cassette off of a track hub?

I got a 53cm frame you can have pretty cheap.

You...don't want to coast anymore? There's an easy solution to that. Pedal. Teach yourself something about cadence rather than forcing yourself to pedal because your bike is making you do so.


+11001293801238091230 to moving this / etc

I don't understand the anti fixed gear vibes around here. Seriously, anyone can ask pretty much anything about any vintage bike topic in this forum and answers are mostly constructive approaches. Even if someone foolishly attempts to rattlecan-spray his schwinn and stick colnago decals on it, he's warmly welcome here. But if one wants to ride fixed, he automatically gets negative comments, why?

If someone wants to ride with just one gear to get some masochistic exercise i don't see the harm.

+1 on the commuter-fixed gear. It will cost you much less to maintain, a lot less can break. My commuter is a SS and it's great how little i have to invest in time and money to keep it going

Coasting too much? Isn't that why they invented a gear shifter? The first time you go down a steep hill on a fixie, you will be thinking of those good old days when you could coast.

streik, once you've seen a nice road bike with a bunch of its road bike bits ground off, it's just hard to get excited about someone looking for a vintage road bike to convert.

It seems like every time someone posts here in C&V expressing an interest in riding a fixed gear bike, there is backlash against it. I say let them find out for themselves if it is for them or not. Converting a frame to fixed is not un-reversible (it shouldn't be anyway). I ride both fixed and geared, I'm 51, my knees are fine, I enjoy the variety. Also I think doing a basic conversion is a good way to learn some of the mechanics, and different aspects of fit, gear ratios, crank length, pedal strike (careful!), hill climbing, etc.

I think a fixed gear is fine. I have one, among my many bikes. I wouldn't want it as my only bike. I only ride it occasionally. And I enjoy it when I do. I'm in a hilly area, too. I go more slowly and not as far on it.

I agree! while they may not be vintage for the money, time and aggrivation of converting I think this is the best way to go.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...essenger_x.htm

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/uno.htm

last year I really really wanted a Bianchi San Jose but I like the Fantom Uno just as much at half the price. I am not much of a fixed gear person so the 'flipflop' hub is great.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...7&d=1276712768

steel frame goodlooking (IMHO) sloping fork crown

The vibes aren't anti-fixed - Sixty Fiver and a bunch of other C&Vers share info on their completed fixed/SS bikes and no one complains. But you'll notice that SixtyFiver and other CVers contribute at SS/FG, because there is an entire forum on this site DEDICATED to answering the OP's questions. There isn't a hate for fixed gear, but there is a frustration with answering questions better directed elsewhere.

Uhhhh...no? I don't know anywhere on this forum where people encourage faking bike brands, rebranding lower end models, or falsifying anything. Your allegation is completely unfounded.

The issue is whether or not this question is appropriate on this forum. This is not a fixed forum, so why would should questions about fixed conversions be continually addressed here? There are hundreds of users at SS/FG who would be much more helpful with links and sharing info on the process.

One of my favorite fixed gear conversions is a vintage Raleigh that a guy I know who is on a domestic pro team rides in the winter. He left all the derailleurs and shifters in place and just slaps a fixed wheel in there and a shortened chain. It's the funniest thing to see the faces of people after 60 miles into a hard training ride when they realize he's on a fixed gear :lol:

It's one thing to convert an old bike and an entirely different thing to destroy one in the process.

That's true, it shouldn't be, but sometimes people have access to an angle grinder and too much time on their hands ;)

But, I'd imagine that since the OP is worried about kickstands, he won't be wrecking any bikes that I'd care about.

I'm only 5'6" and 52 cm is the absolute smallest frame I'd consider. What's your cycling inseam?

You should probably leave the brakes on whatever bike you get, also.