FatNewbie from Seattle!
 

Hi everybody,

I'm Rae,17 from seattle who ride ghetto bike and currently building my fixie bike, excited to be here i hope i can get all my question about bikes in this forum since im building my fixed gear bike for my senior project. I ride bike for fun and to keep my body in shape haha....

weeee.....

Hi Rae, where are you going to HS that building a FG can be your senior project? That's cool, I wish I'd been able to do something like that.

Say hi to us in the PNW regional forum, too, and

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

haha i go to shorecrest highschool.... in shoreline, yes im pretty lucky that i can build FG as my senior project but idk how am i gonna tell my teacher why does it cost so much to build a fixed gear bike when u can just buy regular road bike for 200bucks haha....

i see that u live in kent... u go to highschool too?

No, I am way past high school! If your teacher asks why it costs so much, just steer him or her over to the SS/FG forum, and they will find out quite soon. Or. do a search for Wal-mart bikes :eek: !

If you're going to bother making a bike into a FG, make it a good one.

Photos of the project when you can?

East Hill

well it is not a conversion bike
and yes i will post my bike photos when its done....

how much does average track fixed gear bike cost? i calculated mine total cost is about $700...

is it worth it that much with parts: sugino messenger crankset, surly cog, formula hub, weinmann dp-18 rims, sparton frame, tange seiki levin headset, sugino BB, and others are cheaper stuff....


Rae

The SS/FG folks could give you a better idea on the cost, but what you're putting into it does not surprise me at all. Are you going to ride at Marymoor?

East Hill

i actually never been to marymoor park.... y?
i usually ride to lake forest park/downtown/alderwood haha...

Rae

Me at Marymoor:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...l/IMG_0767.jpg

I'm racing against myself :D .

East Hill

wow! thats amazing! actually i've never been to a track .... i know i know i am a newb...

i will go there once i finish with my fixie bike... because i dont wanna go there with my ghetto le tour road bike...haha ...amazing!

Rae

It's a lot of fun once you get past the idea that you are going to tip over! You can ride around the velodrome anytime that a race is not being held. The strange thing is that the faster you go, the easier it is to ride at an angle. I think I went around the track six or seven times, and it wound up being quite a workout :) .

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...l/IMG_0775.jpg

This is the bike I was riding, so I would not worry about taking your ghetto LeTour. Just get out there and enjoy :D .

East Hill

Welcome Rae,
I built my fixie a few years ago out of an 80's era Trek for dirt cheap by using the info here on Sheldon Browns amazing website. All I had to buy was single cog (16 or 17 tooth?), a lockring, some short stack bolts, and then redish the rear wheel. It came out great and is a blast to ride around town, but if you want to make a velodrome racer, better do it the right way or buy one that's track ready. Seems like you can get into a Bianchi Pista or a Fuji for around $600?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html

But it's his senior project, so he can't get one that's track ready. Otherwise that would be a great solution.

East Hill

yes that is right...lol
will there be bike specific requirement for a velodrome race?

You'd have to check with the track racing people, but normally brakes are not allowed (too much danger of crashing). You can take lessons at Marymoor if I'm not mistaken. Try asking in the PNW forum, or the Track Cycling sub-forum for more reliable information. I don't think there's any bike specific requirement, so much as the equipment requirements.

East Hill

oh i see... well im actually more to trick fixie... than track racing... but both are nice stuff that i am interested in...lol:D

Anything that keeps you on a bike, man, anything that keeps you on a bike :D .

Good luck with your project!

East Hill

haha thank you...