Hello,

Long time rider, first time fixer. I was hit by a car in June '05 (2 broken legs, broken collar bone, etc... I am better). I want to make a nice fixed gear bike outta the old Litespeed Classic frame (God bless titanium!!!). Can I tell you what I am thinking and y'all tell me: (1) Nice. (2) NO!!! Or (3) A-OK, but I would do xxx instead. Any advice will be much appreciated.

1) Eno Eccentric - flip/flop hub (rear)
2) Eno LTA hub (front)
3) Mavic - Elite wheel set (de-tacoed and rebuilt)
4) Eno Cranks
5) Stem - Bianchi Componenti
6) Bar - Deda Elementi Pista
7) Seatpost - Bianchi Componenti
8) brakes - (set-up?)

What am I leaving out or not taking into consideration?

Thanks, Hondo

Sounds like a nice setup, but why use the old rims on new hubs? a new set of rims would not be that expensive, and would make the buildup much easier. THose hubs will cost a good chunk of money, and the with the spokes and labor to build them into wheels I think it's false economy to reuse old rims even if they never were bent. If you're looking for ways to save money re-use some of your other old components. there is no reason you need Eno cranks, and you don't even need a fixedspecific front wheel. basically it's all about that rear wheel, and the right length bottom bracket to get good chain line. everything ater that is gravy, but if you go to the trouble to build up expensive wheels do it right.

If you want to run brakes, you really only will need one for the front. Not sure what sort of arrangement (if any) your fork has for a brake, but if it's drilled for short (or standard, these days) reach calipers, I can't recommend Shimano 105s enough. They're a blazing $60 (for front and rear) from Nashbar right now, offer (very nearly) the same power and precision of far more expensive brakesets, and come in a nice sinister black (in addition to silver).

For aero levers, the $40ish Cane Creek SCR-5s (got a pair of those on my Steamroller) and Shimanos are both fine. For cross/flat bar levers, Tektro RX 2.0s seem to be the lever of choice (and your bike looks a little less lopsided should you decide to only mount one of these levers). I had one on my Jamie Roy for a short period of time before I sold it, and it worked great.

Unless you're getting some kind of a deal on the ENO cranks, I'd go with something different. They are good, but they don't have many choices as far as chainring sizes in the road-range (just 44t, according to the website). Maybe some Sugino 75's or even a DA pista crank would work better. If you're getting a new BB too, you could go Miche.

just be cautious if your having any sort of knee pain - riding fixed can damage your knees if you're not carefull or if your are recovering from an injury. I would highly recommend brakes, as the back peadaling to slow/stop yourself, while excellent for strengthening muscles, is a common source for causing issues. Also, DO NOT run too big of a gear. Start small, then work up to bigger gears. As far as brake lever type and placement, maybe go with a cross lever set up since you are running a drop bar. Are you reusing the mavic elite rims on the eno hubs? Sounds like a sweet project, just make sure it doesn't float away it'll be so light...