It's crazy the local bike shop in my town is selling 70's road bikes for $25 a piece. Reason being the shifters/chain basically don't work, but otherwise the bikes are in moderately good condition and easily convertable.

what makes this thread different from the sticky -- your ss/fixie pics?

really just post your pics/stories there.

the whole thing about track bikes being expensive, about the 'bling', etc is a bunch of crap. you can get good/great parts by trading, swapping out parts, being diligent on ebay, etc. money only really becomes an issue when you 'need' the bike right away.

if you want to go anal/stingy/frugal/cheap whatever and see how little money you can spend, then get a crummy old road bike and get all your parts from the parts bin. but granted there are good parts in those bins if you dig.

bah.

Eeek, and I was almost on your side.

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2005...ttWaters-1.jpg

Couldn't have said it better myself.

slopvehicle, what kind of tensioners are those! they look like they really work...i've been on a mad search for ones that stay put on a conversion.

It looks like a Surly Tuggnutt to me, but it's not that clear in my eyes. I'll post some thought as well. I started out riding conversions, one of favorites being an old blue Benotto that was quite heavy but just my size, 61.9 cm to be exact, at least what I saw my lbs measure. Anyway, it was fixed up nice with a Brooks Pro, Profile Airwings. Alex rims and some cheap Suzue hubs. It was a beast to get up to good speed, and it really got me in pretty good shape. Then a Pista and now a Steamroller. My point was just trying to get a feel for different style frames that could be fixed or already were. Got bored with one frame, went to another, and so on.....
I do have a digicam, but it's back in Minneapolis. Oh wait, my sister has one. I'll post a pick of my Steamroller, my Pista is here too, but not all together. You can only bring so much bike stuff on the Greyhound for free, me was broke.

That's a really sweet looking bike, but I never saw it on the streets of Mpls when I was there. Is it new?

They're the spur tensioners that people have occasionally mentioned in this here forum.

I wrote about 'em here:

http://www.slopvehicle.info/blog/?p=14
http://www.slopvehicle.info/tension/star_tension2.jpg

I mostly use it to:

1) keep the wheel sorta in place when I adjust tension
2) feel safe whilst skidding / appplying lots o' back pressure-- I don't want the wheel popping out the front of the dropouts, and I suppose this makes it a bit less likely to happen.

<killsurfcity you said it yourself that you want a track frame and wish that you could afford one. So why the argument?>

please i beg you... THINK before you post! my point is clear... i don't need to spoon feed it to you. this is not what this thread is about, and this is my last post in regards to it.

<I don't care what type of bike you ride just be honest with yourself.>

you got some nerve.

<You started the thread by saying there is more self expression in the type of bike that you ride>

read... think... post. i hate to be mean... but if you refuse to make an effort to understand very simple statements WITHOUT reading into them, than i'm sorry, but i can't help you.

<that's offensive - why be a separatist?>

i'm sorry to offend... i didn't realize this was such a sensitive issue.

<enjoy all bikes - while you are at it enjoy everything.>

read previous post again with an open mind.

<I am just stirring things up when i should really be doing some work.>

then you're wasting both our time.

that must be some conversion! post please!

very nice filtersweep!

that's rad! the deals that can be had on road frames in some places are amazing. if i had more room i'd start picking some up... when i finally get a decent size living space it's on.

<You started the thread by saying there is more self expression in the type of bike that you ride>

read... think... post. i hate to be mean... but if you refuse to make an effort to understand very simple statements WITHOUT reading into them, than i'm sorry, but i can't help you.


and I quote "but there's something about a personally customized conversion that i think shows a bit more self expression "


What exactly did he not understand?

Oh, and if you could try and be a little less of a nazi about what people post in "your" thread, that would be great.

sorry... i'm much nicer than i sound i can assure you. you have to admit, your post didn't make it sound like you were on... wait... i don't have a side. lol

nice bike by the way... i dig miyatas, and that one has pretty tight geometry too.

i know what i posted. it's very frustrating that you can't tell the difference between these two statements. i am however, sorry to offend.

I should probably buy myself a tensioner. This is my Colnago Sport conversion with gold deep Vs laced to Miche Primata track hubs.
http://img438.exs.cx/img438/3995/aug2920050394lu.jpg

wow... that's beautiful. nice work. how do you stay in that saddle tho? :D

Please expand on that and tell me the difference between these two statements.

"You started the thread by saying there is more self expression in the type of bike that you ride"

vs.

"but there's something about a personally customized conversion that i think shows a bit more self expression "

Also...
There is obviously a fair amount of confusion over your original post. And if, as you insist, all these people are either not reading or misinterpreting your original post then why don't you please enlighten us all and elaborate on your original thought as opposed to debasing everyone.

Thanks. I rest my haunches on the very back of the seat. It is a bit weird to look at, but I kinda worry about that whole impotence thing.....hasn't happened to me, but I still stay mindful of it when I ride.

Have been posted before:
http://www.pbase.com/wojtek_burkot/i...4416/large.jpg
FGG #2402
All steel and alu, customized a lot, wouldn't swap for real track bike (hilly 30-40 miles round trip commute).

beautiful vobopl! i dig the curved seat-tube and chromed lugs. what kind of frame is that? nice walls too btw.

ok, but i must re-iterrate that i really don't want this to be the topic of this thread.
the biggest difference between these two statements is the "i think". i know this seems small, but this means that i stated this as my opinion and not as absolute fact. an opinion is open to the challenge of other opinions, and can change based on new insights/information/experiences. stating this as absolute fact would be very arrogant.
"but there is something" is also very important... it means that this is a feeling i get, not something absolute.
the person you are quoting here took his personal perception of what i said, ignoring the ambiguities of my statement and delivered it back at me as a statement of absolute truth.
if he would have said... "i think you are wrong, and here is why..." this would have been a much more fruitful exchange.
i do admit the fault in causing all of this ruckus... i should have been more responsible in my initial statement, so that it was clearer to everyone exactly what i was saying.

Heh, no, I just got a really good deal on my track frames ;)

http://boxwood.subtle.org/se/albums/...ho01.sized.jpg

'82 3Rensho Super Record Export, a variety of parts. New wheels since this pic was taken...

That's sensible.
I guess in the future, to avoid such confusion and annoyance, just try to clarify before attacking and demeaning people. Misunderstandings happen quite often on here and it's in everyone's best interest not to take things too personally (directed toward everyone, not just you).
And to keep with the theme of this thread, I will post a picture later (when I get home from work) of my now-defunct conversion.

I have posted her before, but this is my first fixie conversion. It is a late 60's Wearwell from out of Wolverhampton. Steel frame, original handlebars chopped/flopped, original saddle. Everything else is new or cannibalized. Spicolli VW bus inspired rattle can paint job. She is the beater for commuting and gettin' around town.

agreed. communication via text and smilies only can be very difficult... i think we could all stand to attempt to communicate more clearly and be less reactionary to vague posts.
i appreciate your effort in resolving this matter... we could do with more of that.

looking forward to seeing the ride... even if it is defunct. :D

wow... so many nice conversions! this is great to see. i notice a lot of bullhorns... it seems like they are somewhat more common to conversions. why do you think that is? i have horns too... specifically because i tend to ride with my hands on the flat part when seated, and with my hands, up on the horn parts when standing... and when i HAD drops i never used the dropped part, the angle is just soo extreme for me.

I like the horns better for a more head up position to ride in traffic without being up too high. Normally ride on the flats for cruizing, and on the horn ends for climbing or to become a little more aero and of course skidding!

My Bianchi XL EV2 has drops and I use them on her, but rarely in traffic. Besides, she is made for speed.

"I'm curious...anybody out there been riding a conversion for over 5 years?"

Yes. In the seventies and eighties (and prolly before), a common form of winter training was to remove to freewheel, derailleurs and shifters from your bike and slap on a 3/32 track cog plus bb lockring. Shorten the chain. When the weather improved, toss the chain and re-install the mechs. You would never remove the brakes from such a setup. This way you could work on cadence, and not worry about winter grime caking your mechs.

A couple of manufacturers even sold derailleur bikes with flip flop hubs as part of the standard setup for a bike, so you could use a track lockring in the winter if this made you feel safer. Usually found on entry level bikes; I won't tell you which ones though; I don't want you guys snapping up my sources of cheap vintage flip flop hubs ;).