Yet another question here. I had originally decided on a Bianchi Pista for my fixed but due to not being able to find one anywhere and being told it will probably be a couple months before anyone can get me one, I have decided to go a different route.

I have decided to go with the Surly Steamroller frame. I am actually going to be ordering this next week. I will be having this put together from the ground up. I was planning on using the Surly New Hubs Front and Rear Track for the hubs. I would like to go with Mavic Rims and am undecided between the Open Pro or MA 3. What are the benefits to either one? Is either one going to yield a better ride or some other feature I can't live without?

Now where I am left at is what to use as far as cranks, chainrings, brakes, etc go. There are a lot of names that I've come across, but don't really have a clue as to what is good or not(beyond the obvious Campy and Shimano). I would also like to try and find these components in black if possible.

If it helps I plan on putting a lot of miles on this bike so that may influence any suggestions.

Once again an upfront thank you for any suggestions. Maybe someday I can provide some useful information!

what is your budget?? are you concern with brand names? weight?
i don't see much different between the open pro and the ma3. one suggestion
is to get 36holes wheels and a front brake if you are riding in the street.
i would not get cranks longer than 170mm. if you like drops, get drops else get
bullhorns. get a flipflop hub to so you have gear options.

as far as rims, the openpro is definitely a better rim. it's sturdier and stays in true longer. however, i know a lot of people who ride ma-3's and like them. i'd pay the extra $10 per rim and go openpro though. it comes in black, too.

as far as black brakes, the 2003 shimano 105 comes in black finish. i believe you can get a pair for $50-$60 new.

as for the rest, i don't know... it's a process of looking around and see whan you can find within your budget. if you have the money you might want to buy a complete track component group, like jasonyates did. it would be nice to find a LBS that is willing to help you out with the search.

I don't have an unlimited budget, but I do want good, quality parts and am willing to pay for that. Very few brand names even ring a bell with me so that really isn't a concern.

If the open pros stay true longer than that would be worth the extra money by itself. What hubs would be 36 hole and what would the benefit of 36 over 32 hole hubs. I know that the Surlys I was looking at are 32.

I had forgotten about the Shimano 105 brakes being available in black. I guess that takes care of that part.

Where I can find this complete track group at? That sounds like it may be a good option.

Some web sites that I check out for track stuff are:

fixedgear.americancyclery.com
www.bikecult.com/works
www.ucycle.com/fixed
www.businesscycles.com
www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/fixed.html

For general stuff like brakes, seat posts, etc:

www.chucksbikes.com
www.icyclesusa.com
www.cambriabike.com

Surly hubs and Open Pros sounds good for your wheels. Other components like seat posts, handlebars, etc. are pretty straight forward. I would just get cheap stuff.. For your cranks, track cranks are different from others because they only have one chainring and they are spaced to work with the track frame/rear wheel. Additionally, different track cranks also require different bottom bracket sizes. Most companies have a bottom bracket that they recommend with their cranks, which is probably the easiest way to go, but as long as you have the right size (Sugino 75 cranks need a 109mm bottom bracket for example) you should be ok.

-Jason

Additionally, if you go to www.businesscycles.com and click track equipent, then click components, there is a link to a picture index which I find pretty cool. He has close ups of a lot of different brands of stuff for you to look at and compare.

-Jason

the track group is here: https://www.chucksbikes.com/gp004.htm
after you buy that, you'll just need a stem, handlebar and saddle, essentially. miche is good quality stuff too. i use miche hubs on my bikes.

in theory, 36 spokes build a slightly stiffer wheel that will keep in true longer, since each spoke does less work. in practice, the difference between 32 and 36 is pretty negligible, especially on a rim like the openpro. it might make a bigger difference on a crappy rim.

THe Miche group at chuck's bikes for $285 is hard to beat. Use the hubs for you're wheels and mich cranks etc. I picked up that group a few weeks ago, just waiting for the wheels to arrive. THe finish on the Miche Cranks is beautiful I must say I can't say for longevity or ride yet. The only drawback I can see so far is that the BB is 107mm which is nost a standard for Shimano so you are stuck with that miche BB or Phil wood BB in the long run but this is a minor complaint. The hubs are extremly smooth spinning. As for rims I personaly like Velocity rims ( I have to be different hahaa).. check out the Velocity AeroHead and Fusion rims.

You might want to double check, but I am pretty sure a track crank will not work on the steamroller. The stays are to wide.

I'm currently running a Campy Pista crankset (old style, 151 BCD) on my Steamroller. These 165mm cranks clear the shainstays by about 7mm by using one of the longer Shimano B/B......I think something like a 113??? Chainline is pretty good....I may be off maybe by 1mm.
But yes, the stays are pretty wide so some track cranksets may just barely clear the stays when trying to achieve a good chainline.

I looked at the specs listed on Surly's website and it says track crank compatible. This leads to another question, though. Are regular road cranks able to be used with just a single chainring?

Most definitely.......but chances are, to achieve a perfect chainline, you must mount the chainring on the inside of the crank spider. Mounting the ring on the outside would definitely give a cleaner look but you may have to play with a couple of different length B/B's to get it just right.

formerly GEORGE

i have a road crankset on my road conversion, with the chainring on the outside... the bike shop guy, though, did pick the BB that worked with that setup. and the crank clears the chainstay by about 1.5mm. i haven't had any issues so far.

Since someone has brought up the Miche group, Can I use that group to convert an old road bike? i.e. will the BB fit a road frame? It seems to be cheaper just to get the group rather than converting piece by piece.

I put the chainring on the outside and spaced the hub for chainline then built/dished it.