How to build a fixie
 

Anyone know how to build a fixie, know a good website, or have good advice to share?

I recently really got into cycling and am training for a double century, so I bought a better road bike, and now I want to convert my old road bike into a fixed gear.

Thanks,
Augustine

Here's a recent thread on the subject:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=251062

Of course, (ahem) Bike Forums has a search function...

Read this thread. The links provided will probably teach you everything you will need to know (and a whole lot more).

That links thread REALLY should be stickied.

http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed/index.html

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/arti...sonarticle.htm

Youll get everything you need to know on these pages

The Puma Fixed gear 101 guide was an excellent source aswell
Not sure if you could find it anymore.
It had nice hand drawn illustrations.

Described a lot of little details.

Anyone have a scan of it?
If not, maybe I could scan mine.

For free online a bunch of places...

First google hit

does anyone else find this to be funny?

rtfm

I can see it. I know a lot of people who "got into running" and started out with a marathon. It's not a competitive thing, and there's lots of support.

Not really.......I completed my first double century (200 miles) after less than a year of semi-serious road biking and it's not that much more difficult doing it on a fixed gear if the route is fixed gear friendly. :)

Not really. Dean Karnazes got tired of feeling fat and slow so he left his 30th birthday party and went out for a run, one mile for each year. Could be the same sort of thing.

You know, I thought that guide was super cool before I built mine, now I just think it's hokey. Some of the advice is solid, but I think the quote advising people to run brakeless from the beginning is stupid, particularly if you're learning somewhere other than a parking lot.

Dean Karnazes is a freak. I'm not even going to go into atrocious autobiographies.

True. But a useful freak from my perspective. I had my wife read the interview in this month's Outside (see? getting up at 5:30 to ride 20 miles in the rain before work isn't such a big deal...)

Not if he's anything like me. I tend to get really passionate about new things, so it's not uncommon for me to get heavily involved with a new activity/hobby, which could include something like a double century or triathlon.

Call Jason Lee. He'll hook you up.

About a day after I got my first road bike, a $20 (canadian) old-school supercycle, with head-tube shifters, scizzor breaks and suicide bars, I did a 150km ride (Hamilton - Toronto and back) with my friends (on mountain bikes, trailing behind). I was sold. Many bikes, and thousands of km later, I built a fixie and love it to death (probably my own).

He hasn't mentioned how much road cycling he's done, just that he wants to turn his old ride into something classy. If only I could have that original supercycle back, and converted....*sigh*. There's so many old-school 10-speeds out there just begging to become conversions (anything with mounts for suicides, shorter dropouts etc might do better just upgrading the old roadie parts), it's such a beautiful recyling project, and such an effective re-use for so many frames that would otherwise be left to rust in garages and alleyways.