Hi everyone!

Spring is finally arriving and my bike has been calling my name. I commute to work when the weather's nice (22mi hilly round trip) and want to learn more about taking care of my bike myself and giving it a few upgrades.

I have a '08 FW40 Felt- nothing special and the color is ugly and it's consistently gotten me from point A to point B over the years without a problem. But when I pulled it out the basement this AM to give it a clean, it was looking pretty rough. All the components, save the pedals, are original and relatively low end and I think reaching the end of their lifespan.



I'm an all or nothing kind of girl, so I would like to give it a good overhaul:
- Paint the frame to free myself of the orange.
- I haven't shifted a gear or used the front brake since the first week I've owned it. So, switch to a single gear and streamline the things I don't use.
- Upgrade to better wheels.

I'm not a racer and speed is not my primary concern but the bike weighs about 20lbs now and it would be nice to lose a few

So, how do I go about this thing? Youtube channel recommendations? Book recommendations? How to choose components?

Kelly

if it's aluminum.. just strip the paint. then you won't have paint prep.

Single speeds need two brakes. If you do go single speed you'll need a chain tensioner so it will look silly unless you get an expensive eccentric hub or bottom bracket. The color is fine. 20 lbs is not at all heavy. If you want a new bike just sell this and get a kilott.

Also, that bike doesn't look low end at all to me. All it needs is a good tune-up with new tires, chain, brake pads and cables / housings. Then learn to use the gears and front brake. If you really feel the urge to try SSFG, then buy a new decent quality SSFG bike at your LBS.

#kilott

The bike looks fine. As Tejano said, it just needs a tube up and replace the consumables (brake pads, chain, cassette)

Looks like a pretty nice bike to me and others have already mentioned the difficulties involved in singlespeeding a vertical dropout bike, but before doing anything else...

you really should listen to TejanoTrackie and learn to use your front brake

More to the point: the front brake is the one with far greater stopping power.

Thank you everyone for your replies!

To respond to a few concerns that you all had. When I've biked in suburban/urban areas in the past, of course I use the front brake solely or in conjunction with the rear brake. But now I'm biking in a rural area with tar and chip roads. When I use my brakes with almost any force, they usually hop. And I don't know about you, but I would much rather have my back wheel hop than my front thus primarily back brake use. The traffic is very low; I only typically use my brakes when I've reach my destination, to slow my descent down a hill that has a rough patch at the bottom or for a bear (real story) or a cow (yes, also happened). Maybe I'm still missing the plot but I don't see where I need or should be primarily using my front brake in this situation.

Regarding shifting and cadence, yes I know what they are and their purpose. I've done a good bit of indoor cycling and am aware that 90-120 should be my goal; that it's more efficient, etc. But truthfully, I don't like downshifting for hills and if that means that my cadence drops to 60, 50, 40 or that I need to stand up, so be it. Is that really such a bad thing?
[MENTION=158317]sickz[/MENTION], thank you for your comment re painting. The frame is aluminum so it's good to know that I can just strip it with a chemical paint stripper then sandpaper it. Is Sheldon's page on painting enough to go by?

Dude, you aren't listening. If you are "hopping", you don't know how to use your brakes. It's got nothing to do with the kind of roads. Learn to use both your brakes. Otherwise you'll run into a bear or a jackalope or whatever. The whole "back brake is safer" thing has been debunked repeatedly and there is no reason not to use two brakes. There is no advantage to removing the front brake. The weight difference is negligible and it will make you look dumb, like someone sticking a spoiler on a jeep. Learn to use your gears. The fact that you aren't using them reflects that you have poor control over your bike.

Honestly, if you are doing 20 mile commutes, that bike isn't bad as is, aside from replacing/cleaning any old busted parts. Just because you haven't "shifted a gear" or "used the front brake" doesn't mean you never will want to. Maybe you just aren't experienced enough to use them yet, or see the "benefits" of using them. Knowing how things work, and being able to use them, out of "muscle memory" when needed, will make those things seem less cumbersome or unnecessary. As far as paint goes, take it apart, spray paint it the color you want(plan on never being able to sell it) and be done with it. If you feel like you only use/want one brake, use the front brake. Switch it to the side the rear brake is on. Maybe you only use the rear brake because you favor that side for some reason when you are riding, ya know?

If you simply want a single speed bike, get another frame and build one, or just buy one that's already a fg or ss.

Good looking bike as is, but not a good candidate for single speed conversion.

I'll echo what others have said, "learn to use/depend on your front brake".

The bike just needs some TLC. If it has 6 year old cables and rubber, it's time to replace them. Check the chain for wear and re-grease the bearings. Did I mention that it's a good looking bike?

My wife has that exact same bike. Solid ride. If you want to SS I'd sell it and get a different bike. Like others said, not the best candidate.

Hi Kelly,
To answer one of your questions, Yes, Sheldon's page on painting is enough to go on.
Cyril

I have an old F70 with carbon stays and it is an excellent bike. Give it a tune up with new cables/chain and it'll be like a new ride.

Okay, okay. You all talked me into it. I'll leave my bike alone except for new brake pads, cables, chain, etc.

So, if I do want to build a bike from the ground up as a learning experience, is getting something like this just stupid?
https://charlottesville.craigslist.o...969950290.html
(off my local CL)

That frame is a perfect candidate for conversion to a singlespeed or fixed gear bike. How can you go wrong for $5 !

just make sure it's the right size for you

It's 22" according to the listing. My other bike, which is just a hair small for me, is 54cm. So hopefully 56 would be okay.

then go for it