OneTinSloth

my favorite:
van tuyl 50cm pursuit frame w/kinesis 650c STRAIGHT blade forks (barspins, people, barspins) high flange dura-ace hubs, cxp33 rims, selle italia flite TI seat, sugino 75 cranks, campy bottom bracket, time alum pedals.



my baby:
lotus 48cm track frame, phil woods laced to black open pros with black spokes (radial front, 3x rear), old dura-ace road cranks, beefy BMX chain, cnielli pista bars (not pictured, but they're on there now, i swear!), suntour superbe seatpost.



the bastard child:
romic 49cm track frame. crazy stupid geometry. dura ace hedaset, suntour bottom bracket. campy dropouts in the rear. crazy eagle emblem on the forks.


i'd have it built up, but every time i build it, 1) i have to take the lotus apart and 2) i end up hating it, 3) something stupid happens....yet, i still have it hanging in my bedroom.

Track lover

Hey OneTinSloth, that is a nice frame you got there (the last one).
Who makes it? Romic? Can you give me more details about it? Material, geometry, website of maker, size.

What interest me are the chainstays. Because of the curved seat tube, the chainstays must be shorter, right?

Tell me more!

OneTinSloth

yeah, it's a Romic, custom built for a rider by the name of trey gannon (no clue who he is). there's a message written on the top tube signed by Ray Gasiorowski, who died in '96. the company is based in houston, TX.

my particular frame is made of reynolds 531.
seat tube: 49cm
top tube: 58cm
chainstay: 38cm from center of dropout to center of BB

all measurements are center to center.

the weridest thing about the frame aside from the super long TT, is the fact that when it's all built up, the seat post is almost straight up and down. it looks pretty gross, but it rides pretty smooth. someone actually said to me once that this was the best they've ever seen a curved seat tube look, i had to disagree. older KHS aero frames look MUCH better.

all the welds on it are emaculately smooth, and the seat stays are that cool diamond shape tubing.

this is a website that i found for info on romic https://tandem-fahren.de/Mitglieder/C...Timm/Romic.htm which has their contact info, but no official company website.

it's a decent frame, pretty stiff, i just don't like the long-ass top tube. last time i set it up though it felt pretty good, but my cranks didn't fit right on the spindle...they were SUPER loose and creaky. they're old dura-ace road cranks that fit fine on a shimano UN7-something BB, or on a campy BB spindle...the one on the romic is a suntour. i keep going back and forth on whether or not to sell it, because it's a great frame (nicer materials than my lotus), but it just doesn't fit me right.

i picked the frame up used at my LBS.

if you have any other questions, or something email me at bob_thesofaking AT yahoo.com

jasonyates

I don't think the chainstays would be shorter, but the wheelbase overall should be shorter since the rear wheel can sit closer in to the curved area.

-Jason

OneTinSloth

the wheelbase isn't shorter, due to the EXTREMELY long top tube. the TT on my lotus is around 52cm, and the TT on my pursuit bike is about 51cm. by contrast, the TT on the Romic is 58cm. what results is a really short-feeling rear end, a super long front end. and since the head tube angle is pretty steep (not sure what it is exactly), it steers kinda quick. all these things add up to this bike riding like crap unless it's set up JUUUUST perfect, and by perfect, i mean everything, seat angle, seat position, seat post height, stem length, stem height, handlebar position, chain tension all has to be perfectly dialed in down to the mm. also, the weird seat tube angle (almost straight up and down) combined with the long top tube, and my being rather short forces me to push the seat really far forward in the seat guts, which results in the feeling that the BB is directly underneath you while pedaling. and THAT leads to leaning really far forawrd and putting a lot of pressure on your hands and wrists at the handlebars.

the bike really forces you into a strange position. i'm convinced that whoever this "trey gannon" is, he must have had the lower body of a 5'6"-ish person with the upper body and arms of a 6'4"-ish person, or he was/is an orangutan.

BikerRyan

The chain tensioner is made by Surly, your lbs should be able to get one for you. It works very well and it comes with two springs - one for pushing down, the other for pushing up so you can choose which setup works best for your ride.

-Ryan

pitboss

Here's a pic of me on the way to work, via the LFP in Chicago (the rifle is for rollerbladers).

Dave Stohler

OK, here's my latest Fixed/SS bike. I couldn't figure out whether I wanted a road fixed gear, or a trail-riding SS, so I compromised.

Specs:
Arraya rims (touring bike)
Sovos flip/flop hub
16 tooth fixed, 18 tooth free
Shimano 600 Crankset
45 tooth Salas inner ring, 42 tooth Shimano 600 outer ring
KMC track chain, with half-link
Profile stem and bullhorn bars
bar-end levers
Dia-Compe rear caliper
cheap cantilevers front
cheap aftermarket fork
Specialized Nimbus 700x38 tires
Brooks saddle
Kalloy seatpost

Grunk

Bianchi Pista 2003
Soma Rush Fork
Nitto Drop Bars
Open Pro/Promax Wheels
Spray Paint Decal Removal


cory

Arsbars

hey Grunk how did u remove the decals.. i was looking to do that too.

Grunk

I used a Rustoleum Grey spray paint. The decals are still underneath. I didn't even take the bike apart. It matched up pretty good.

cory

roadfix

Grunk........nice rims.......what are they??

Mine'sAPint

Here's my first singlespeed bike Done on the cheap with a lot of bits I've taken off my other bikes.

Circa '98 Ridgeback aluminum frame.
XT Cranks from ebay
XT Levers swap-outs from the LBS
Surly Singulator from ebay
Chainrings and cogs from ebay
Wheels from my MTB that's getting converted to disc brakes
Bontrager bar that I swapped for a flat bar on my hybrid
Stem from my wife's old GT MTB
Etc. etc..

Currently riding 32x16 with the intention of slowly increasing that as I develop some hill climbing legs




Think I'm about 1mm off a perfect chainline:


Cheers,
Ian

OneTinSloth

i believe he or she said they are mavic open pros.

MinesAPint try removing some links from the chain and setting the singlator to push up instead of pull down. i read on the surly site that that's the way it's supposed to go if you want to avoid the chain skipping over the freewheel teeth. (it's not like it'll actually happen, but it'll allow more freewheel teeth to engage the chain, and i think it looks a little better too).

Mine'sAPint

Ah, I wish that worked for me The chainstays on that frame are somehow quite low and only really allow the Singulator to push up a cm or so, not enough to take up much slack. Also, although it may not look it, there's just fractionally under 1 link of slack chain there, I just can't quite remove it. I'm considering trying 34/17 or 36/18 since the larger cog in the back might allow the Singulator to push up more... either that or a half link :confused:

OneTinSloth

yeah, a different gear ratio will definitely change how the chain meets up at the end, you might actually end up finding the perfect SS gearing for that bike, which would allow you to forgo the singleator altogether, which would be really hot. it looks to me like you could take at least two links out of that chain (especially with the singlator in the pull down position), but i've never really worked with a singlator before, so i'm not familiar with it's particulars...anyway, i like the way that bike looks.

it's so frustrating when you're less than half a link away from getting the chain perfect...

oh, quick question for anyone out there: why do people run easy gear ratios on MTB singlespeeds? shouldn't i be able to run a 44/16 on a MTB? i bet it probably has something to do with frame geometry and wheel size...

Mine'sAPint

I can't see anything that would stop me running 44/16 or any other ratio on my MTB. I think that most people have them set up that low so they can still make some pretty steep climbs off road. As for me I have some fairly decent hills on my commute and I went for a ratio such that I can't QUITE get to the top of the steepest (I've only recently stopped being unfit and non-exercising). When I can make that climb I'll try a slightly higher gearing.

Fixed Up North

This is the first fixed gear i've built, and my first post. I built this up a week ago and it is a blast to ride. I bought the frame at a garage sale and built it up with parts from around the house. The wheels are off of my Steamroller, although they are returning to the Surly soon. My plan for this bike is to make a single speed once I figure out the brake situation for it.

Dave Stohler

Nice old Trek there. Any info on it?

Fixed Up North

The Trek was a garage sale find from my Grandfather. He picks up old road bikes for me. I took most of the parts from it and built up a geared bike for a friend, then put on a 165mm Sugino crank, DIY bullhorns, borrowed the seat/post from my mtn. bike. This is set up with a 15t cog and a 42t chainring right now. Its is a lot of fun to ride, but I need to play with the drivetrain so that I can move the wheel back in the dropouts a bit for a touch more tire clearance. The Michelin Jet barely fits in back. I will mess with that when I turn it into a single speed.

shrimpx

just wondering... why did you purchase a new bianchi if you were planning on replacing the handlebars/wheelset/chainring/fork?

seems that you could have built a much better bike for the price of the pista plus the price of those parts. maybe i'm wrong.

Grunk

I already had the wheels on my road fix conversion, along with the bars. The bike shop swapped the chainring for me for free. The fork was the only thing I bought. It was $90. Now I have two bikes. One that is too small, but I leave at a friends house so we can go on spontaneous rides. And the Bianchi, which I commute to work on everyday. i guess buying another complete bike allowed me to have two bikes, but put the good components on the frame that actually fits me.

shrimpx

ah, that makes sense.

Makoa

Finally, here's my fixie:

Motobecane Super Mirage, stripped, painted (rust-o-leum), 42x16. The only non-converted part is the rear wheel, which is a Suzue Basic F/F on MA3 rims with DuraAce cog and Surly lockring.

I'm loving every minute of it.

Thanks to all for your help getting here.

Turbonium

single gearing must be really light.