I tried out the Nishiki bike and I reallyyyy liked it, but it wasn't too nice up close. It had some rust on it and it was just a little too big for me. Also they didn't really make an effort to help me out with sizing. They were just like, yeah that works for you. So I decided not to go for it, especially since yall said it was a bit overpriced.

I ended up buying the orange Windsor Clockwork over the weekend! (Seems to be exactly like the Motobecane except I like the silver instead of black). Also bought pink pedals (plastic flat pedals which I hope aren't too crappy) and pink handlebar tape. I would have liked a cool vintage bike better, of course, but I honestly don't have the patience to wait around for a great find on Craigslist. I'm hoping the Windsor works out.

hi everyone - check out http://blog.nscu.de & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtPn196LZm4 to see my simple conversion - enjoy it...

Will these handlebars fit on the Windsor Clockwork http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...clockwork.htm? Says they're 25.4, but that means nothing to me. http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Stash-B...027281&sr=8-40

The handlebars will be too small for your stem. You need a small shim to make up for the difference. Either cut up a pop can, or buy this: http://www.retro-gression.com/produc...handlebar-shim

Cool. Thanks!

So I decided to convert my old rodie to a fixed/SS bike. I bought, back in 1980, a Miyata 210 which is still all original. I tore it down the best I could last weekend, I learned I need some bike tools to get the cranks and chain off :)

I threw all the parts in too off (I left the front brake on) into a container. First question, should I be concerned with the stuff I take off? Is there any value to these old components? Trying to decide if I should keep, toss or try to sell.

Having spare/extra bike related stuff around never hurts.

my basement is filled with stuff that never hurt to have around :)

hey fng here from phoenix building up my fixed/free setup. wondrring if any of you are in phx.

So far this is what my build consist of. Will be removing the brakes shortly...haha. Any thoughts and suggestions is much appreciated! Thanks!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=231811

Don't ride fixed gear, I did it for a long time and it wasn't worth it. It's a less efficient and slower ride because you must keep pedaling even downhill, and you're forced to use smaller chainrings and smaller cranks than you might otherwise. Furthermore, if you are used to bikes that coast and ever 'forget' that you're on a fixie, it can/will throw you off your bike. I separated my shoulder because of this and have been dealing with three months and counting of surgery and painful recovery, not to mention NOT BEING ABLE TO RIDE MY DAMN BIKE OR DO ANYTHING FUN.

Oh. Good place for this rant.

Sounds to me like you forgot about the whole no-coasting thing, and, instead of placing the blame on yourself (where it belongs), you went to rant about it on a forum.

It was your fault dude. Heal up and maybe pay a little bit more attention next time.

I've been riding fixed for a couple weeks and love itn was running a coaster for like two weeks before and hadn't been on a bike in around 10 years and then it was mtb lol. yay for fixed gear!

hello, i have a fairly quick question.

I am new to track style bikes and havent ridden a bike since i was a kid (kids bmx, mountain, etc). i am thinking of purchasing a bike to get around my college campus since its huge. i'm interested in the Motobecane Messenger since its fairly cheap and also includes a freewheel cog, since i'm interested primarily in riding a singlespeed.

stats:
female
5'5"
31.5" inseam w/o shoes (w/32.5" )
short torso
57" wingspan (fingertip to fingertip)

from the bikesdirect website i thought that maybe i would need a 54cm bike? originally, anyhow, but after googling "5'5" 54cm" since ive seen other 5'5" girls riding smaller frames, i saw that others asking a similar question were advised not to, although they gave less measurements than me.

anyway, the question i'm wondering, since because of traveling and also my current location, i can't get to a local bike store and try anything out, should i go with the 54cm? or 52, 49 what?

i don't want to be uncomfortably stretched or uncomfortably cramped,

please advise.

@talo palo - you are the classic female with the long legs and short torso, so you want a smaller frame size to get a shorter top tube length. Otherwise, you will have to reach too far to reach the handlebar. I'm a 5'-3" male with a 28" inseam, and typically ride a frame with 49cm seat tube, so I'm estimating that the same size would work for you.

hey, thanks a lot for your help, i appreciate it. so at 49cm, should i be looking at tt lengths of 51-51.5cm or so?

@talo palo

i'm 5'5" with a 29 inseam, also went with a 49cm (surly steamroller, next size up is a 53cm)

i actually prefer the top tube length of the size 53 because i prefer stem lengths of 110-120, but then i'd have to slam my seatpost all the way down

the top tube length of my size 49 is 52.6-52.9cm (actual-effective), so i'll be needing a stem length of 130 to get proper extension (based on bikefit computations)

still waiting for my handlebar, though, so i'm not sure if the stem length i need is indeed 130, more or less, until i try it out on the road

@tejano trackie
what stem length do you use?

It varies from bike to bike. I have a 49cm Kilo WT, which is the same geometry as a Surly Steamroller, and use a 60cm stem on it. I also have a 49cm Soma Rush with a much shorter 515mm TT, and use a 90cm on it. My reach is the same on both bikes. Understand, however, that there are other factors such as HT and ST angle that factor into this as well as the type of bars. I have drop bars with hooded brake levers on the Kilo WT and short bullhorns on the Soma Rush. Based on Talo Palo's data, she's going to have significantly less reach than either of us, such that she's probably looking at a short stem like a 60cm, even with a short TT in the 510mm range.

ok TT, so i'll probably just try out my old 110 and 120 mm stem before i buy a new one

still waiting for my nitto b123 cromo track bars, not sure if it will be comfortable to use for long road rides

Deep track drops are not going to be comfortable for long road rides.

Hellooo from the mountain bike forum! So today, my brother tells me he wants a bike. After I got over my initial excitement, I figure out he wants a fixie. I know nothing about fixies other than the fact that I'd probably kill myself on one since apparently I can't even handle riding a bike with a coaster brake without nearly killing myself while cornering. So, he showed me a couple of $150 HiTen monstrosities, and I told him I'd look around. And when I say look around, I mean sneak over to the fixed gear forum and ask you guys. He said he wants flat bars, but I'm guessing he'll take risers too...just no drops. Brakes (or at least a brake) is probably a plus, though he didn't mention anything about it and I forgot to ask...just me taking a guess based on his previous bike experience. He seemed intrigued when I mentioned flip flop hubs, but it's not a make or break thing. He doesn't care about frame material, but I'd like to see him on something chromoly or aluminum. Budget is a big concern. He's saying $300-400, but I'm well aware of what kind of mountain bikes you get for that price, so I'm trying to get him to increase that, but cheaper is still a good thing.

So, any idea where to start looking? There are a bunch of shops around, so I can probably find a dealer for most of the more well-known brands. Online is fine too...bikes always seem to come partially assembled to the point that I have the tools to finish it up for him.

Thanks guys!

kilo TT... solid bike for that price....

@Zephyr11 - how old is your brother and how is he going to ride this bike ? Is he just going to ride around the neighborhood, commute to school, ride in heavy traffic, take long trips ? Also, why not first check out your local bike stores ? Buying online is fine, but you will need to make changes. For example, the Kilo TT comes with drop bars, which you said he doesn't want, so you'd need to change them. Also the stock gearing is for track riding and is too high for road riding. If your brother is going to be rough with it, then you don't want to get him an aluminum frame or carbon fiber fork.

Good questions, my bad for lack of information. He's 23, going to ride around the neighborhood with his friends. He says he wants to get in shape, but wants to go fixie because that's what his friends are riding. No heavy traffic, no super long rides, minimal commuting. Mind defining rough for me? He has no plans to be dropping ledges with it, and he rejected the big 26" BMX bikes and 26" SS DJs that I showed him before he actually explained what he wanted. However, he's still a 23 year old guy, so I'm sure it'll see like...curbs. He's a skinny guy, so I figure even if he rides hard, he won't dish out as much punishment as a bigger dude. Really though, I've seen him on my bikes, and him breaking it isn't really one of my big concerns. I'd be more concerned about him not maintaining it than him cracking the frame.

Yeah, I figured I'd go check some shops, but I guess I just like to be semi-knowledgeable before I walk into a store. I'd be confident if I were going in to look at a mountain bike, and semi-competent if I were bringing him to look at a road bike or BMX bike, but fixies? Not a clue. Good information on the gearing, btw, thanks. What kind of gear ratio should I have him look at?

As far as changes, I don't mind swapping parts for him (as long as they're simple changes...I don't own a headset press or crank puller, for example), but he does have a meager budget. So unless we're talking about a smokin' deal on a bike with drop bars, it's probably easier to buy what he actually wants from the start. I have a few spare parts lying around, but I kind of doubt it'll be anything that fits the kind of bike he wants.