Fixed gear frame.
 

Hi everyone,

I need some info.
I'm looking for an old road bike (on craigslist) to convert it into a FG since few months now.
BUT I can't decide myself what should I buy.

Yesterday I went see a Nishiki but the frame was 'ugly' and no horizontal dropout. I think it was some kind of triathlon bike, I really dont know.
For the moment, I have the choice between a schwinn traveler or a trek.

anyway, I need to know what kind of things I need to look at before buying one. (size, dropouts,..)
and what kind of things I will need to buy to build one.(hub, wheels, crank,..)

Or is it more simple to buy a Mercier Kilo TT at my local bike shop.

I would prefer to buy an old one and spend few hours/dollars on it.

what do you guys think?

(Sorry for my english, it's not my first language :rolleyes: )

Well, building a conversion will allow you to pick out and get quality parts if you so desire. That said, you might end up spending about the same on a kilo tt (which is a really solid bike to start on) on the parts for a decent conversion. As far as simplicity, kilo tt, but you could find a decent frame and convert for (possibly) less money as a conversion can cost as much or as little as you want it to.

Building or Buying really depends on how mechanicaly inclined you are and how deep you want to get into it.If you don't like mechanical Work, just buy the Kilo.If you are willing to do the work and to deal with the occasional Problems ,doing your own build is awesome.The money depends on what you want for Parts,but that goes for the Kilo as well.You may find yourself wanting better Parts for it later on as well.You can do a conversion for as little as the Price of a Cog(Suicide hub) or a Trackhub.Just keep in Mind that if you do build ,you're gonna need Tools.

Since you asked what to look for...Size,Size and Size.Also horizontal Drop outs,Alu Rims and a decent Crank(Removable Chain Rings and NOT A ONE PICE CRANK-those are useless).

i agree with Build your own; unless you're mechanically inclined (or at least have a bit of experience working with bicycles), a build isn't a good idea.
You might want to consider picking up a Kilo TT, then upgrading the bike one part at a time.
Once you've replaced things like bottom brackets, cranks, forks, etc., you'll have a better understanding of how everything works and can then probably buy a new frame.
as a bonus, you'll 1) already have bought most of the parts as upgrades, and 2) have a second bike you can throw fenders on and use to lock up or ride in crappy weather.

Thanks for all your answers...
I think I'm going to buy an old road bike (Yes, I have some tools).
But, would something like this one do the thing (I'm not talking about the size or the "would it fit me or not"), but I haven't found much about "Senator" bicycle, does it mean that it's a POS (piece of ****) ?

I don't want to buy a Bianchi neither a oldy-walmart bike.

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/bik/593853347.html

i can't tell if it's a camera distortion or what, but that fork looks suspect.

ed: i don't know that manufacturer, but i feel like the bottom bracket might be a little big-- usa (not threaded) bb?
shoot him an email. if it's the press style usa bb, don't waste yr time.

See the secondary brake levers, for braking from the tops of the bars? Those are called turkey levers. See the aluminum disc between the rear cog cluster and the spokes on the rear wheel? That is called a dork disc. See the stem mounted shifters?

OK. These three elements, turkey levers, a dork disc and stem shifters, are the way you can instantly tell that an old bike is a crap, department store ten speed from the bike boom era. In more detail, this bike has steel rims and a cottered crank, also major league crap. It is not worth $40 and personally if i saw it in a dumpster i would leave it there. I would try and find something else.

I think you should just get a Kilo TT and start riding. You have a lot to learn and you might as well be having fun riding a solid entry level bike while you're at it. It's way harder to get all this stuff figured out "in theory" before you actually have a bike to check out.

go with the schwinn for sure! I've converted two 80s schwinns myself and both are great bikes with no problems. Plus they last forever and can take a beating. Just yesterday, in fact, I slammed full speed into the back of a taxi which stopped inexplicably and without warning and while my chin was split open, the bike rode away completely unscathed! I love old schwinns and will ride them forever.

Dodo101 if you go the conversion route
there are tons of cool old road frames out there.
Look for a frame that 1) fits, 2) has horizontal dropouts
and 3) has decent tubing (labels saying Reynolds, Columbus,
Ishiwata, etc.). Steer clear of French bikes unless you want
to hassle with idiosyncratic French thread/size standards.

Japanese bikes from the 80s can be a good value. Miyata
and Panasonic can be found and had for not much money.
Bridgestone less so but still can be found. Vintage old bikes
can sometimes be scooped up for a song. A fellow on the C&V
forum found a fully-chrome Schwinn Paramount with a Campagnolo
drivetrain for $150. An unlikely find, but it is incentive to look.

As others have said the buy-a-starter-fixed-gear route is much
less hassle but you will have something cool and comfortable for
long rides if you take the trouble to find a nice old road frame and convert.

add to that:
avoid one piece or usa bottom brackets. doing so will mean you'll either have to ride a bmx bb or get an adapter.
(though you usually only find them on crap)

It's not only for the money that at don't want to buy the mercier, it's just that I would like to work on a bike. Last time I had so much 'fun' with that old schwinn beach cruiser.

what about that Schwinn Traveler http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/bik/590163633.html

I don't know alot of it, neither the guy. What does it worth ? I have to make an offer.
But I don't even know if it fits me.

I it would, How much would you give him?

you missed the crimped dropouts...the real deal breaker.

How tall are you Dodo?

about 5'10

You can find a better bike than the Traveller with a little looking, but if you want to get your hands dirty, and it's cheap, go for it. The good thing about that bike is that everything will be standard size (menaing easy to find parts for, just don't loose the seatpost shim) and the only real bike tools you need should be a crank puller and maybe some cone wrenches. You can do the headset and bottom bracket with channel locks. You've got to start somewhere. I wouldn't put much money into it however.

You might want to try posting a WTB (want to buy) ad on craig's list. Someone might have a garage queen just waiting for you.

There should be tons of bikes in the 54 cm to 56 cm size
(that's center of bottom bracket to the top of the seatpost)
size that should fit you. I say start scouring local thrift/stores,
swap meets, etc. in widening circles looking for old vintage bikes
with decals that indicate the tubing. . .

But the Mercier/Flite is a fun bike if you go that route.

I didn't even know that my size was 54 ~ 56, I was thinking more between 52 ~ 54.

Thanks for the info!

Well that's just a rough guess. If you have short
legs and a long torso it is possible that you need a 52-53
with a long stem. . .I'm about 5-9 and I ride a 54
ideally, can go up to 56.