Bottomfeeder

...is worth doing a SS/fixed conversion with?

It's a Strada from, I'm gessing, mid 70's to early 80's. The steel 27" wheels, cottered cranks and kickstand tell me it's nothing high speed or classic. But I'm wondering if anyone here can tell me if the frame and fork are worth a rebuild?

I'm gonna drop this in the Classic and Vintage forum as well. But thanks if any of y'all can give me your opinion.

DanO

baxtefer

eeeew

[edit] let me add some substance...
if you own it already then go for it. if it involves paying money for it, then forget about it
[/edit]

dirtyphotons

sentimental worth is one thing. but you can probably get another (three piece crank) bike and convert it for less than the cost of converting that one.

Bottomfeeder

I forgot to post a picture. But it sounds like the writing is on the wall.

DanO

Morgie

Do what you wanna do... there are better bikes out there to convert, but if you have this one on hand and wanna do it go for it.. converting is largely about getting the experience and info learned from the process, unless you really put serious dough into a conversion it's not going to be AMAZING... this comes from a conversion rider

sivat

You can make a pretty nice conversion without spending a whole lot of money if you know what to look for. A bike with a nice frame and some usable parts it the right place to start. Since you're looking at replacing (at least) the cranks, and rear wheel, you're already going to spending over $100. In the end you'll have a really heavy conversion and you'll want to continue replacing parts with lighter, better quality parts as you go. It would be better to keep your eye out for a decent lugged frame from the mid-late 80s with a decent set of components. You'll end up spending a little bit more, but you be rewarded with a much nicer bike.

Bottomfeeder

Thanks for the opinions guys. This bike was given to me, so I thought I'd strip the frame and see. There's a guy on the vintage forum who converted one. He says the frame and fork weigh in the neighborhood of 9 lbs! Maybe I'll see if the Bicycle Kitchen could use it for a project and keep lookin'.

DanO

operator

Do it for the sake of putting a bike back on the road!

mihlbach

+1 on all that. Build it up so you have something to ride. Then look for bargains on better parts and frame. I started out with a cheapo junker conversion. Like you, it was a low end Bianchi and it lacked a track hub (rotafixed..yikes). Them I changed every part, one piece at a time, until I had something really nice. Meanwhile, I was never without something to ride and a learned a ton about bike mechanics in the process.

Aeroplane

Do it if you really like green. That bike is a nice green color.

SingleSpeeDemon

Your Bianchi looks so close to my conversion that it's frightening. Look at the "bottle-opener" lugs at the TT and DT junction. Are the HT and lugs one integrated cast piece? If so, the bike is entry-level as you know, but still makes for a nice conversion.

DanO220

My main ride is a Crosscheck with a single ring up front and both single speed and 8 speed rear wheels, which I swap out depending on the mood. So this isn't an urgent project. And after sleeping on it: If I can sort out a reliable single ring crank up front (Otis on the vintage forum built this very frame to fixed and tells me the threads are Italian.) I'm considering a SS coaster brake wheel in the back. I think it would make for a clean, charming cruiser that any of my friends could jump on and ride.

DanO

clintwoodside

this is alot like what i ride... and i'm happy... for the most part.



i did some stuff to it.. (new bars and seat and it came with different then stock wheels and crank) and i paid about 400 after everything... (including the bike its self.)

is this the last bike i am going to buy... no... will it do for now... TOTALLY!!!

(i like the idea of a coster break... i might have to get on that.)

hobbsc

I don't have a whole hell of a lot of experience, but I just "converted" a 1983 bianchi nuovo. It went fairly well. I basically just overhauled the bottom bracket and headset, replaced the wheels/hubs, stripped and painted it.

It was definitely a learning experience for me. I knew squat about road bikes and fixies until I started wrenching on this one. I've worked with mountain bikes for a couple of years now.

Good luck!
cmh

DanO220

Just a bit after reading this I went looking and found a really nice SR Semi Pro 12 speed road bike for $150. And talk about sentimental appeal: this particular old road bike is identical, right down to the color, to the one I road nearly everywhere I went while going to trade school 25 years ago. And it's in pretty good shape to boot.

DanO