Since the weather here in NE Ohio is starting to get nasty, I usually hang up my nice CF road bike and switch over to my MTB. I've always hung out on BF in the Roadie forums, but decided that this winter I will delve into the hipster world of single speed/fixed. I found an old 12-speed sitting in someone's treelawn with a sign that said "FREE". Since I always drive with my bike rack on my SUV, within seconds the bike was mine.


Its funny that the previous owner thought they could get more speed with the stylish aero bars.



Lots of rust to deal with.



Quality cable routing job (note:tape) done by a professional.



Now lets fast forward two weeks after hours of stripping paint and sanding rust spots. Three coats of gray primer. Note that the entire bike in the background weighs as much as the frame in the foreground.



I sawed off the derailleur hanger and grinded it to match the other side. I also took a torch to the braized on bits and pieces to get rid of anything dealing with the gear system.



Clean bottom bracket without all the braized on cable routings. That's it for now but I will continue this post till the projects completion. Please note that I am a total NOOB when it comes to SS/FG so I may ask for help in the future.

looks like a nice start. keep us posted.

Looks good in the white. What color are youl looking to do? If I cant unload this Scott frame I have I might head in this direction as well.

wow, where in NE ohio are you. thats where i live, and i never find anything good for free. i would love to find a donor frame for fixie project.

How long did it take for your to sand it down? I have an old Dave Scott, and the local powder coater will strip & powder it coat it for about $100, and trying to see if it's worth my time.

I live in Hudson and there were actually two bikes sitting in the tree lawn but I left the girlie bike there. My wife would never go for a SS bike. She loves her road bike too much and sees no point in riding without tons of gears.

It wasn't too bad. I bought Citristrip from Lowes and applied it to the bike over 3 days. Spray it on, let it sit for several hours or overnight and then take a scotch brite pad to rub away the paint. The stripper probably cleaned up 90% of the paint down to bare metal and I used a detail sander to get into the tight spots for the remaining paint. Sanding all the rust took only a half hour with the electric sander.

I purchased DupliColor auto paint (gloss black) from AutoZone which is my next step in this project.

Two months later and I'm finally finished with my SS conversion. I went with a gloss black and red color scheme. Unfortunately I couldn't find another red tire so that will have to wait. Total cost $125 on eBay and my LBS.


Note that I purchased a threaded to threadless stem converter so I could use the modern stems and oversized drop bars.

I removed the large chainring (52T) and kept the 40T and installed short stack chainring bolts. I was so pleased to find a red tire and a red bottle cage.

Note I still have the 6-speed cassette on the rear wheel since I need to test out the ideal gearing before I commit to a single sprocket. Too cold and snowy to ride and the trainer just doesn't compare to the road.

My nice new Tektro brake levers and handlebar tape installed today.

Very nice.

Very classy conversion. A nice rebirth for that bike.

How did you do all that for just $125? It costs that much for just a basic track wheelset.
Nice bike, btw.

I am curious too. The black looks good and it will look even sharper when you match the front tire.

Note that he didn't replace the wheels, he's just using one of the sprockets on the rear cassette.

That's nice. Now, come to CA and do my old bike up right nice.

Bike $-
Rear Tire $7.00
Stem Converter $10.00
Stem $20.00
Handlebar $9.00
Handlebar Tape $11.00
Brake Levers $30.00
Brake Cables/Housing $8.00
Primer/Paint/Cleaning Supplies $15.00
Bottle Cage $15.00



$125.00

Bike- FREE
Rear Tire- $7.00
Stem Converter- $10.00
Stem- $20.00
Handlebar- $9.00
Handlebar Tape- $11.00
Brake Levers- $30.00
Brake Cables/Housing- $8.00
Primer/Paint/Cleaning Supplies- $15.00
Bottle Cage- $15.00



$125.00

i want a rear wheel for 7 bucks. goddamn.

looks great!

Tire, not wheel.