Wythnail

Hey y'all

I recently built up a Jamis Beatnik frame for my roomie's girlfriend into a bmx bar single speed for her to go to and from work every now again. This was the first time I had worked on a frame that was younger than me (30 years) and when I was testing it, it felt good, fun, light, snappy.

I haven't been riding my fixed for a couple months now, mainly because I haven't been riding much at all. I jumped back on it the other day after finishing the beatnik and it felt heavy. I felt like I was fighting it. Some of that is just that I'm out of shape and out of the routine. Some more of that is that its the dreaded 70's road to fixed conversion thing. That means the BB is spindle and bearings, the handlebars are butchered drops, the wheels are 27 1/4s (there were the first wheels I ever built)

I was putting thought into getting one of these trendy new steel frames with the straight forks and everything and putting together a purpose built fixed gear. SO...

my question is just how much of a different experience have you found riding old steel fixed vs. new steel. Night and Day? Night and Dusk?

My current:

ufbeans

The trend in steel tubing has been toward larger diameter tubing. Stiffer I guess but not sure if you'll notice much of a difference. Obviously there are exceptions. If you like your geo and you have some decent butted tubes you would get more from a fresh bottom bracket and light weight wheelset. New chain and light tires will help with that sluggish feeling. If your drivetrain is fresh then just consider gearing down. New simple steel track/track street specific frames are plentiful and cheap if you feel like a change to some modern gear. Life is short - upgrade.

seau grateau

Depends on the frame. The one you have looks to be pretty low-end for its era, though IMO those frame can be really nice for comfy cruising. Just don't expect it to be a go-fast bike.

Wspsux

Differences are in geometry and steel quality