First steps in building my fixed gear
 

i have an early 80's Fuji Del Ray. It has horizontal drop outs so i dont need to worry about that, but im having problems finding out what to do once i remove all the excess parts. Do i [I]need[I] to buy a new wheel set? ive got 27" wheels and i dont know if i can find a fixed gear 27" wheel set. Or can i just easily convert the rear wheel? If so, how do i go about doing that?

If this has already been discussed in great detail, let me know. ive tried searching but didnt pull up much, maybe i used the wrong key words.

thanks
Eric

Your new friend = www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed

If you want to be super-ghetto, you can probably make a suicide-hub from your existing wheelset by removing the freewheel and rotafixing a track cog on there with loctite. A smarter thing to do would be to get a new wheelset (700c wheels work fine on a 27"-wheeled bike) or even just a new rear wheel. The rest is just style-points.

couldnt i take the gears off the rear wheel, then put on a fixed gear cog and a lockring? i know i would have to dish the wheel and shorten the chain, but would that not work?

easily convert the rear wheel? no. you'd have to relace it to a track hub, but this could be a fun learning experience. or do a suicide hub, which a lot of people don't recommend. if you have the cash, just buy a new rear wheel.

i need to replace it with a track hub, then what is on it now?

im about to start searching but can anyone recomend a good site to find a 27" wheel?
once i would get the new rear wheel, then would it be adding the cog and lockring?

27" wheels are becoming more uncommon, as well as the tire selection in that size.
i would seriously weigh the option of going to a 700c.

if your set on 27" you might find something over at nashbar.com
or on sheldon brown's website.

if i used a 700c wheel wouldnt i have to alter my brakes?

http://cgi.ebay.com/27-ROAD-BIKE-TRA...QQcmdZViewItem

this is what came up with an ebay search, seems kinda shady though. Once i got a new wheel, would i only need to add the lockring and cog?

please read these two links before you ask any more questions:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/deakins/...onversion.html

thanks, ive been there, it was pretty helpfull. can anyone recomend a site to find a 27" track wheel?

keep reading :) http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/wheels1.html#630

yeah i read that part. i was wondering if anyone had anything other than what mr. brown recommended

nope. it's obsolete. sheldon likes obsolete stuff a lot.

i say keep the brakes and rotofix a suicide hub with locktight. see if you like it. worst thing that happens is you strip the hub in a couple of days. i decided i like it, stripped the hub and bought a real wheelset.

that way you can find out if it's for you relatively safely for minimal cash.

ive rode a fixed gear before, my brother has one, i enjoyed it, but im also thinking about making it a flip flop since right now i just use one gear. having both the free wheel and the fixed would be really nice.

measure the reach of the brakes and see if 700c works. i've had two bikes that were designed 27 that worked with 700c.

you can easily get a 27'' track wheelset on ebay. they are always up for grabs. here is a decent pair:

http://cgi.ebay.com/TRACK-FIXED-GEAR...QQcmdZViewItem

but again, 700c would be better, even if you had to get a new brake (i didn't have to). then you must choose a gear and purchase the appropriate cog and/or freewheel and chainring (if necessary) and shorten the chain. then you need a lockring, rim tape, tubes and tires. you are ready to ride. i did this with no problems, but there are people on these forums that will tell horror stories about conversions. i guess it's different for everybody. i say just dive right in!

700c arent that much smaller are they? ive never seen a frame my size with 700c's on it, does it look funny, or is it even noticable?

nope, not noticeable. go for it.

some road frames already have low bottom bracket heights and the change of wheel size can put you into dangerous territory depending on the make. just something to think about.

True and not true.
I have an old english style Binchi frame. English style frames have a really low bottom bracket. Very low. I pedal scrape all the time and I've never had an accident. I run 700cc and 170mm cranks.

how is there a not true in there? i said some. i've had one bike with horrible pedal strike and 165 cranks and others that were fine with long cranks. pedal strike can be really horrible if the circumstances are just right, not to mention it wrecks your pedals. potentially pedal strike can lift the rear wheel off the ground and immediately make you wipe out directly in front of traffic.

I've had some nasty pedal strikes and I've never lifted up my rear wheel. I only had one pedal strike where I was scared ****less and that was because I passed my friend on his vespa and he didn't like that too much. He decided to race and I was on the inside corner and I was more scared that he was going to hit me. The pedal strike wasn't such a big deal, although the ground took a chunk from the corner of my pedal.
I used to ride a bmx bike and I pedal scraped all the time on that, so that may be why its no big deal for me. I'll have to do some measurements, but I don't think its possible for a bottom bracket to get any lower on a road bike than on my bike.