Back in the (fixed) saddle again
 

So, used to ride a 68 paramount track bike in the 70's, San Diego. No velo back then, but I grew up in a beach town that had 3-4 miles of concrete boardwalk. We used to put fixed gears on all kinds of bike, even stingrays. It was a very odd thing to do back then, the only time you saw a track bike in a store it was hanging on the wall as a show piece/odditie. The life of a climbing bum took me away from all that for about 15 years. Then, just before I moved to Washington, I picked up an old Rickert track bike and brought it up with me. got stolen after about a year:mad: Still, I had my mt bike and we have hundreds of miles of single track in capitol forest, so i forgot all about fixed gear bikes. Recently I've taken to riding alot from may-oct with the GF and her 3 teens. Partly to keep my legs in shape for snowboarding which is my latest(12 yrs) passion. They do a "rails to trails" thing up here, and we all love riding them, a few of them are 10-30 miles long. FLAT! It accured to me a couple weeks ago that a fixed gear would be perfect for them, and better for my legs, mt bikes always feel clunky to me on paved. Imaginr my surprise when I did a search on track bikes and found a huge culture of SS/fixed gear had exploded:eek: Kinda cool, really. So, rather then buy a bunch of tools(mine are long gone) and start from scratch, I decided to get a Jamis Sputnik, which I'm going to order today, I'm freakin giddy!:D Sorry if I sound like an old fart telling war stories( well ok, I am an old fart!) but something has been rekindled in my soul.As much as I love climbing, the torn rotator cuffs, blown tendons, torn knee cartilage, etc...make me feel the years. Snowboarding made me feel young again( was an avid surfer back in the day) and I expect get back on a "fixie" as they are now called will do the same. Long winded, sappy ****led -gook rant OFF!:o

Welcome back and glad to have you! You skateboard back in the 70's too?

God, it is refreshing to hear about somebody is getting back into the sport, and has already made a good decision as far as bikes go. Way to go.

Sputniks are sexy. If I hadn't already been in posession of a worthy conversion candidate I would've gone that route for sure.

Thanks for the welcome and encourgement all! Actually was skating in the early 60's, a Red Wing (i think that's what they were called) with steel wheels! Then a ridiculous 4 ft clay wheeled "Sidewalk Surfer" :lol: Since I lived on the beach, we mostly surfed/body surfed/skim boarded, skate boards were mostly for transportion. I got my first car right about when poly wheels first came out, so skating dissapeared. I did get to ride some pools though. I got a serious wrist injury climbing that laid me off for a few months and my partners brother talked me into looking for pools, ditches and catch basins etc..was a blast. I think it was the same drought summer they talk about in Lords of Dogtown. Healed up and went back to climbing. So were you skating or surfing in the 70's?

Lessee, skates were those old steel ones w/ a skate key so you could clamp them over your sneakers. Since most of the kids didn't have one, I'd use one and give another to a friend and we'd both roll around on one rollerskate. Then I got a skateboard w/ poly wheels and sucked, but kept at it anyways and after a couple years, still sucked. Good thing I never gave up riding my bike. Surfing was what kids did in those movies that took place in California. Being from NYC, running from cops and criminals and fighting to keep the older kids from taking our stickball bats from us on the playgrounds was what we did. :)

Dang it! No 06 Sputiks left! I"m going to wait until oct/nov to get one as I like buying from small companies, the LBS that carries them are very cool (small shop, 2-3 employee's, hippy/indy/college kids, fixed gear dweebs) and it's really what I want. Yup, SoCal and NYC: different worlds. Mission Beach was a magnet for hippies, druggies and bikers, but nothing like the mean streets of nyc, i'm sure. did my share of running from the cops though, I was a bit of a JD. Riding in nyc traffic must be...um..interesting:eek: I"m off to the rock gym, ENJOY!:D

...oh yeah...gonna try and get a rush hour or bianchi pista to tide me over off ebay, if I can get one for half price. I"ll flip it when the Sput's come out.

IRO's pretty small. There's Tony, Kerry and maybe a new employee. Check 'em out.

Revisited
 

So, cant get a Sputnik until mid Nov, Iro was out of the frame size I wanted. Broke down and got Motobecane LeChamp to tide me over till the Sput's came in. It's been great on family rides, but still jonesing for a track bike. Saw one my size on ebay about 12 hours before the end. Some frantic research on the net reveled it was made by a respected frame builder in Pa., Superbe Pro hubs,cranks, headset and seatpost. Mavic sewup rims, Cinelli bar and stem, no pedals. Just my size, 48 cm which is a little hard to find on ebay. Got it for 425.00, Dreesens track bike, aluminum frame, about 14.5 lbs, sans pedals.. I"m guessing it was made in the late eighties, gonna try and get a hold of the frame maker and see if he can clue me in. I thought I'd drill the fork for a brake, get some clinchers for it, but Now I think I'm going to leave it as is, as I'm pretty sure this is the original equipment. I'll be riding it on the 60+ miles of rails to trails here, very little bike traffic, only have to slow down in a dozen spots or so to go thru car barriers and cross the odd rural street, so I should be able to get by without a brake. I might get anther set of wheels made, clinchers cuz I've never been that crazy about tubulars for road use. Still gonna get a Sputnik though and am plotting a quiver of road and fixies. Just what I need, another pricey hobby!:eek: Will start looking for some Superbe Pro track pedals, but from what I"ve read, I might as well be looking for the Holy Grail:(

...oh yeah, if anyone has some info on the frame or builder, much apperciated!:D

You done good. Are you sure it's aluminum? Looks like lugged steel to me.
Like, for sure. Anyways, welcome back.

That Dresens is a really, really nice little bike.:) Me likey.

Well, it was listed as all aluminum, but the seller typically deals in pawn shop type stuff, power tools, electronics, etc... the drop outs look way to minimal and clean to be aluminum welds, but I must confess, I dont know much about frame building. could very well be steel, one of the reasons I'm trying to get a hold of the builder, a peter dreesens in Pa. He rides for South Mountain Cycles in Emmaus, PA. I just found a ph# for the shop, no website, I'll give em a call on monday and hope the # is current. I'm gonna give her a spin mid day monday when the trails are empty.;) pray for my tires, as I"m sure they are the originals, though they still hold air at 100 lbs.:D

On further review, it's gotta be steel. check the pics and tell me what you think. Thanks!

I'm no builder, but that definitely looks like lugged steel to me, and I am incredibly jealous of your steal that you got on that thing. That is a ridiculous price for a hand-made frame with a Superbe group. Ridiculous. I guess there are still some deals on Ebay.

Have fun riding that thing, it looks awesome.

Dang, that is one nice bike. Def lugged steel, and certainly of high quality.
Not too bad for a first (track) bike.

I think the size is why I got the deal. Small market, so to speak. Only about 7 bids from 4 different ebayers. 3rd track bike actually(not including the pre-war paramount I never quite finished, god I wish I still had those hubs!) 65' paramount, I think, and a Rickert. Been almost 25 years though, should feel new for the first day or so. No pictures, please!:o