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Singlespeed & Fixed Gear "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

How to build a fixie

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Old 12-11-06 | 10:27 PM
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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
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Old 12-11-06 | 10:40 PM
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Here's a recent thread on the subject:

https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/251062-thinking-about-building-fixie.html

Of course, (ahem) Bike Forums has a search function...
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Old 12-11-06 | 10:45 PM
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Read this thread. The links provided will probably teach you everything you will need to know (and a whole lot more).
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Old 12-11-06 | 10:56 PM
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That links thread REALLY should be stickied.
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Old 12-12-06 | 07:25 AM
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https://sheldonbrown.com/fixed/index.html

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

Youll get everything you need to know on these pages
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Old 12-12-06 | 10:43 AM
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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.
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Old 12-12-06 | 10:57 AM
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Originally Posted by lymbzero
Anyone have a scan of it?
If not, maybe I could scan mine.
For free online a bunch of places...

First google hit
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Old 12-12-06 | 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by AugustineB
I recently really got into cycling and am training for a double century.

does anyone else find this to be funny?
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Old 12-12-06 | 11:18 AM
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rtfm
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Old 12-12-06 | 11:20 AM
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Originally Posted by scotthorrigan
does anyone else find this to be funny?
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.
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Old 12-12-06 | 11:25 AM
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Originally Posted by scotthorrigan
does anyone else find this to be funny?
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.
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Old 12-12-06 | 11:41 AM
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Originally Posted by scotthorrigan
does anyone else find this to be funny?
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.
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Old 12-12-06 | 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by lymbzero
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.
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.
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Old 12-12-06 | 12:36 PM
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Originally Posted by caloso
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.
Dean Karnazes is a freak. I'm not even going to go into atrocious autobiographies.
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Old 12-12-06 | 12:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Aeroplane
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...)
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Old 12-12-06 | 12:50 PM
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Originally Posted by scotthorrigan
does anyone else find this to be funny?
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.
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Old 12-12-06 | 01:50 PM
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Originally Posted by AugustineB
Anyone know how to build a fixie?
Call Jason Lee. He'll hook you up.
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Old 12-12-06 | 02:45 PM
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Bikes: 20-year old (upgraded) Supercycle Medalist, Specialized Hardrock, never ending assortment of mid-repair old 10-speeds

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.
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