hey all, i want to get into riding fixed, but am on a highschoolers budget; can anybody tell me if it'd be worth getting this frame?

http://toronto.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/556313825.html

HI MAM

as frames go it doesn't get much cheaper. i'd say it's worth a case of beer as long as it's not cracked and has no rust inside.

Highschooler budget... what is that? rich? jokes... No idea, but that frame has been up there for quite a while.. You will have to go and check the condition.. has it been crashed? the downtube doesn't look too healthy in the pick. Might be able to get it for a 6pack by now.

"Tops never stops!"

So that's where you were when I was throwing snowballs at your window on the way back from the Y. An ol' lady walked by and said "looks like she's not home" haha

It looks like a worthwhile investment as long as (like Jeremy said) it's not critically damaged and you're tall enough - it does look like a reasonably tall frame...

I'd say that the bigger problem is going to be finding a helmet that'll fit properly on a head made of poo.

For reals? That's high-larious. Yeah, went down a did a little shopping and picked up ze Roger.

Tell us your inseam and height, there are often nice frame on CL, like that Vitus listed today for $165. All you need are some cranks, wheels and a chain.

aww crap i just noticed how big it is, i'm pretty shor (5'8'') so no go for me, there was a miele for 200$ a while back never got to call the person about it though, anyone know the person perhaps?

oh my inseam is 29"
would that vitus be a good buy? or should i wait for the weather to clear up before picking anything up? hmm

I'd say that if you meet the guy and he will go down to $150, then yes, the Vitus is a pretty good choice. It *might* be a bit big for you, I would suggest seeking out a 52cm frame, or thereabouts.

The only problem you may encounter with the Vitus is that the dropouts are vertical rather than horizontal, so you have to figure out a chainline that will work. I haven't ever converted a frame with vertical drops but I believe some of the guys in this thread have, maybe they can chime in with some advice on how to do it.

Here is what Sheldon Brown has to say about conversions: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html

Greetings from the lone star state.

I highly advise any nerds in here to make the trek next year. I will even if I have to out of pocket. It is total nerdvana. And Austin in general is about one of the coolest little cities I've been to. Lots of bikes. Lots. And tons of group rides.

Too bad I've been hold up in my room with the flu the last couple of days. Not to mention the 20+ hours it took us to get here - very long story. No matter, I'm on the mend now.

I missed all the cafuffle yesterday, but for anyone interested, you gotta see the nerd crowd turn on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg's interviewer - Sarah Lacy - during yesterday's keynote. She's currently being crucified.

Hopefully our travel back tomorrow will be less eventful but somehow the rain here and snow there lead me to believe that won't be the case. Send good juju our way all.

Keynote Cafuffle:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LxZ6-O5R1zs

Sarah Lacy Speaks:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ccLJnICdJGI

The simplest thing to do would be to get an eccentric hub (like an ENO) but if you're on a budget I doubt that'll work out all that well for you.

You could always mess around with different cogs and chainrings to try to find the "magic gear" but unless you've got a huge parts bin full of stuff this can prove to be tricky as well... I think there are calculators online that can help with this but I don't know how good those are.

Honestly - I'd wait for a frame with horizontal drops to come up... Even on conversions I've done with horizontal drops (shorter ones, mind you) I've had to mess around with half links and such just to get the chain tension right.

Yeah, I think Matt is right, reading Sheldon's site makes it sound like a vertical-drop fixie project is a lot more hassle than it is worth. And a 54cm frame may be too big for you anyhow.

yea. just to chime in I'm 5'8 as well.
54cm is a bit on the larger range. but is def. ridable if need be. I have a 54cm bike and it works, its just not perfect.
Try a 52cm or 53cm for a good fit :)

5'8 here as well, DITTO!

Hey is there something fundamentally wrong with FSA Gossamer cranks? This isn't fixed or SS specific.

Nothing that I know of. From what I hear they're a better choice than the TruVativ entry level cranks. Might want to ask Mike about it if he doesn't chime in here.

Maybe check this one out?

http://toronto.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/601832866.html

Nishiki Olympics are nice little bikes. That's a very reasonable price unless it is totally pooched somehow.

thanks for your help guys, i think i'm going to be waiting until the summer time comes around unless i come across something i can afford, that way i have some time to save up, i'm thingking my budget would be around 2-500.

anywho i'll be keeping my eyes out for now but if anyone sees something feel free to chime in :D

thanks again for all your help guys

wow...

just..

wow...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhHhXukovMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5j4McFzies

4 mins of my life gone

that's what she said.

I've worked with those a bit at work. They aren't great but I don't think they're bad either. The bearing in the BB's aren't the smoothest, they go together a little rough, the threading on the bolts is inconsistent. Basically they are more of a pain to install and don't spin as smoothly as higher end cranks. If you can live with that they should be fine. Just make sure the pinch bolts are tight and that the dust cap isn't over tightened. You kind of have to keep an eye on them because they aren't torqued onto anything. The dust cap holds them loosely in position and the pinch bolts hold them on. If the dust cap is too tight they won't spin well and if the pinch bolts come loose they could fall of. That isn't a flaw in itself, just something to keep an eye on periodically (not difficult to do).

I think the only thing "fundamentally wrong" with them is the name! I mean c'mon "Gossamer"???!!! Who came up with that??