Hi guys,

My name is Sigmundur and I come from Iceland, I have been dreaming about having a fixed gear bike for one year now. The thing is that there is no bike shop here in my little country with population of 290.000 people that sells or has information about fixed gear bikes. I was spending time in my grandfathers garage and saw an old bike hanging in the ceiling. I do not know how old it is and my grandfather says that he has never seen this bike before. So it is my bike now. So if you guys could tell me what I need to buy to make it a nice ride, maybe the first fixed bike in Iceland I will send a picture of the bike as attachment.

I intend to take everything of the bike, repaint it, buy new things: saddle, rims, front brake and if I have to buy anything else, please let me know. It would be great if you guys could point out things I have to change to make this a decent ,,Fixie". Because I have never even seen one in real life.

This is the bike:

Free bikes are never a bad thing! As far as i remember, Khalhoffs weren't top of the line, but it certainly wouldn't be a bad project bike. The frame itself looks to be in good shape.

lots of information is available on Sheldon Brown's website, read here: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html

and for the actual conversion process, read here: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html

sounds like you've got a good project on your hands.

this is where people have the most fun, finding old projects and converting them. im jealous that you still have your fixie virginity and are about to break it

Cutest post ever!

Here's a good link:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html
A nice overview.

Google found me these two:
https://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1741294
also a good overview;

This is much shorter, but gives you an idea of what's going on with less reading:
https://www.ehow.com/how_14191_convert-bike-fixed.html

Good luck!

You just need a rear wheel with a fixed hub which has a cog and lockring.

Here are some wheels from Sheldon Brown's store: https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/wheels1.html#622
You will also need a cog and lockring: https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/fixed-sprockets.html


Check to see if the current wheels are 27" or 700c. If the original wheels are 27", you should avoid a 700c wheel since you don't have enough room to move the pads down adequately to contact a smaller diameter rim.

Sick frame!

If you need to order parts:
www.nashbar.com

https://www.benscycle.net/

There are more but only two that i can think of right now.

Have fun and good luck.

You guys are the best!
It is great that I can get help from you. The capital city of Iceland is Reykjavík and it is only 187.426 people here. My biggest problem is that we only have 4 bike shops in Iceland. So when I gave them a visit to get some information they did not even know what I was talkin about. So if I measure the frame I will be able to order fixed rear weel from the states

The one thing I hate about living here is that if I buy something from USA I can double the original price. Because the taxes in Iceland are crazy.

No need to measure the frame. You can just check the tire directly for the size. The size will be printed somewhere on the sidewall.

You don't even necessarily have to order stuff from the USA. Alien bikes, for instance, is based in Norway. https://www.alienbikes.com/

There are likely a bunch of other euro-based online stores that cater to fixed gear, but that one immediately comes to mind.

Ohh nice, I've also been looking for stores in England. If you know anything about that please let me know, I could not do this with out you people!

https://www.hubjub.co.uk/ -- a good fixed gear shop in the UK.

Do let me know if you ultimately need to order from the US. I can most likely have whatever shipped to me and then reshipped to you in a way to minimize your taxes.

https://www.probikekit.com/

I haven't ordered from there, but they seem to have pretty good prices, and people order from them who live in the states. Hope that helps.

You probably dont need to measure anything. Judgeing by the age of the bike I would say it is safe to assume it has 27" wheels, in which case simply buying 700's which are standard road sizes will suit you nicely. Judging from the bits I can see from the picture I would venture to say that bike was built in the mid to late 70's. I would suggest looking into a new crank/bottom bracket and a wheelset at the very least, as well as a newer front brake/lever if you plan to run one (I would suggest it at first). Sugino makes the messenger and you could get the bottom bracket and crank/chainring together for about 130. Wheelsets can be found for anything from about $120 up to, well, a lot. All those prices are US currency. I would look around ebay etc for parts, but if you're going to paint the frame I would strip the bike and paint it while you order a wheelset and cranks so you can have a rideable machine, then feel free to fine tune bits you find uncomfortable. Hope it helps!

for me the best way to learn about fixie is by communicating with people in this FG/SS forum ... just go to random threads and ask about new stuff that u do not understand/ stuff that you are not familiar with... day by day you will know what you want for your bike (since people's opinion are different it is the best for you to find out what you want to put onto your bike by youself).... i hope this could help you...

Rae,

https://jensonusa.com/
https://bike-components.de/
https://cyclecomponents.com/

All these ship international. Didn't know Nashbar does, too? I did know ben's does, though - bought various parts from them.

By the way, cyclecomponents is the geographically closest to Iceland webshop - they're in Sverige.

Hahahah... actually, this subforum may be the worst place for getting actual info. Rather, go to the mechanic's forum, you'll get answers there, sometimes from Sheldon Brown himself! Sheldon does not, ever visit THIS subforum, guess why...

Yo Sigmundur I have some Suntour track cogs kicking around.
I could ship them to ya if you want--if you promise to post pics
when it is all done. Free and ****. I've always been fascinated
by Iceland--what with the Icelandic Sagas and all. The best
one--Njal's Saga ends with the lawyer being burnt alive in his house
(as you probably know).

Back on the issue--is there a velodrome in Iceland? Those guys
might have some old bikes kicking around, if there is.

cuz there are bunch of hipsters?
lol idk... y is that?

No. I actually think the folks 'round here are very friendly. I wouldn't hang around if they weren't. It's just that people just don't take stuff too seriously.

but i always get the answers for all of my questions... and jokes are refreshing....

HubJub is a good place for parts. Will, the owner will answer all your questions and make sure you get exactly what you need. Also, his shipping prices are very fair.

For other bike stuff I like https://bike-components.de/. They have very reasonable shipping rates too, although they can be a bit slow sometimes.

Either way both shops will be a lot less expensive than crazy Iceland prices. A very good friend of mine works there and I shudder when he tells me the prices of things.

BTW, good luck with the wind!

hubjub seems to have pretty outrageous prices. I can almost get for US dollars what they sell for pounds.

Like the ENO Eccentric hub: £110.00 at hubjub vs. $135 at Ben's. I'm just saying, 'cause I think noone should be ripped off like this.

Will is far from a ripoff. Prices in the EU are higher than the US. Period. For us in the EU VAT and customs are already factored in, plus how much does Ben's charge for shipping?

I used to be quite fond of Sigur Ros but not so much anymore. Bjork just attacked a photographer apparently.

(sorry for the off topic Iceland tangent. I would love to visit someday. I also live on a volcanic island in the middle of the ocean, although the climate is somewhat different)

$34, with the provision that you can get quite a bit more still shipped for the same price. You can easily find this shipping quote, but I could not find the shipping quote for HubJub, so I have to return the question: how much do they charge for shipping within Europe, for an item such as a hub?