Hi,

I'm new to biking and really new to fixed gear cycling. I bought a cheap aluminum fixed gear on ebay and I really enjoy riding around with the fixed gear, its pretty different than any other bike i've ever ridden. My question is, this bike has a flip flop hub with a fixed gear on one side and a free wheel on the other. With the hub using the free wheel gear the chain runs in a straight line from the crank to the wheel, but when I use the fixed gear the chain runs at an angle to the crank. Like there should be a spacer in between the wheel and the gear. When I am riding I can feel tension when i'm pedaling, like the chain is binding a bit. Is this normal or is there a way to fix this? I could have the chain too tight but i've experimented with different tensions and and any looser and there is slack when I'm pedaling. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Chain line looks pretty okay but the camera isn't exactly spot on to really be able to tell and as people usually tell other threads similar to this one - If you have chain line issues it really should be properly measured by your LBS probably.

Wow...wtf? Thanks. It probably would have been more helpful if you didn't post anything.

Your bike looks slick though. Make sure if you SS you have two breaks though...I can't tell if there are any on the bike from the pic.

Hey don't worry about it. I don't take offense to random forum insults.

I currently don't have brakes although I am going to be adding a front brake soon.

Thanks, I will be taking it in to have it checked out soon. Is it normal for the fixed gear to be right next to the spokes like this one is?

Totally a-ok. As long as it's not moving around on the hub and secure with a lockring then you are stylin'

Also a few mm discrepency is generally regarded as kosher. If you really are concerned though that it's funking up your drive-train then I would just do a peace of mind check with your local grease monkey bike mechanic.

Cool. Thanks for the replies. I got the bike real cheap so I wanted to make sure this is fairly standard and not some consequence of my penny pinching purchase.

you probably want some kind of strap/clip or other method of retaining your foot to the pedal as long as you are going to be riding around fixed with no brakes. then again, maybe you want your foot to slip and your body to hurt really, really bad. the money you saved on the ebay bike can be put towards the hospital bill!

yay no foot retention!

I suppose that would suck pretty bad if my foot slipped. I have pedals with cages but they are hard as hell to get into with the fixed gear.

you can do a rough measurement of your chainline at home if you have a metric ruler.
just measure the center of your frame to the tooth of your chain ring.. [and then do the same with your back wheel.. measure from the center of your hub to the cog .. the rear measurement should be 42mm most likely] and for a perfect chainline your front measurement should be 42 as well.
hope this makes sense.

no foot retention + no brakes == no worries!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OH5W1Z23wPg

Thats pretty nuts in SF.