You go by BCD; BCD has to be the same for both the chainring and crank in order for proper fit.

Thanks Everyone!

does anyone else have one of the IRO build kit v1?

http://www.irocycle.com/irobuildkitv1.aspx

I had the same issue, First couple rides I actually thought that I may have been bleeding... Not the case. After a while you wont have this issue. If your riding a fixie or anything with stiff skinny tires you may want to brace yourself for bumps or uneven pavement by getting slightly off the saddle. Just hover over the seat as you pass the uneven pavement. pretty soon it will be second nature.

Can this be the dumb questions section too?

Does anyone have a good link or description of how to flip flop a flip flop hub? I've checked out http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html and obviously found a lot of info. If I'm just changing from fixed to freewheel (as it stands, both are the same size gears), I'm guessing I don't need to mess with adjusting stack bolts on the crank and all that. I just need to pull back on the wheel enough to set the chain tension right after the flip flop. Is that right?

Yup. Provided you have the same number of teeth on each side, OR horizontal dropouts, tooth sizes within 1-2 teeth of each other and chain trimmed appropriately to allow proper tension with each cog.

Thanks! I've got horizontal dropouts..so I think I'm set on that front. Both the freewheel and fixed are 18T (this is maybe a weird decision, granted). So if I decide one day to drop the rear cog to a 15T (or smaller), would that require more than adjusting the axle in the horizontal dropouts to ensure the chain has proper tension?

That depends where your wheel currently sits. If you have plenty of room, you just move the wheel further back. At the most, you'd just have to remove a link or two if there's not enough room to tension it that way.

Okay, Total Newbe here, started building my first fixed gear bike. I am wanting to use the bike for commuting, fun. I have already purchased a Fuji Track Pro with the carbon forks. I am looking into which crankset I should get. I began looking at Campagnolo Super record Carbon 172.5 as a possible, but then being a newbe I thought that I should ask some folks that know if there are any reasons that I shouldn't/couldn't use this for a fixed gear bike. Feedback please

Are you sure the Carbon costs enough? Why not go for titanium? jeezus. Are you locking this thing up to poles or doing something competitive?

Pedal strike and toe overlap.

Thanks, What length crankset would be better? The frame is 56cm

depends. i have a 56 and ride a 165. but from my understanding the pedals make a bigger difference.

* WARNING NOOB QUESTION AHEAD *

Just bought my first fixed gear bicycle - Windsor The Hour - and I am having a lot of trouble stopping. I've tried the skidding method of leaning over the handle bars and applying pressure, but the pedals continue to turn and basically throw my right foot - dominate leg - out of the straps. I know you guys aren't watching me do it, so you can't give me advice on technique, but my question is this: would a lousy gear ratio make it terribly hard to stop - even when applying a ton of pressure? Thanks in advance.

First things first. Skidding is not a good way to stop, especially if you are leaning forward and unloading the rear wheel. You need to learn to back pedal by applying pressure in the opposite direction while the rear wheel is still turning (not skidding). The stock gearing on the Windsor Hour is too high for road use (48 x 15 or 16), and will make it hard to start and stop. I suggest you replace the rear cog with an 18T to lower the gear and get used to riding and stopping fixed. Also, I recommend putting the brake on the front wheel. You may be able to use the stock rear brake with a longer nut or may need a new caliper with a longer bolt. Finally, riding fixed requires good foot retention and the stock pedals / clips / straps are poor quality. You need something that will keep your feet on the pedals when you are trying to pull back.

I appreciate your help. Thanks a lot!

If you want to learn how to skid; lean forward in the beginning of performing a skid so you shift the weight of yourself from the rear of the bike toward the front, a good indicator/ rule of thumb is "ballz to the stem", meanwhile locking up your legs.

A brake can never be replaced by skidding and back pressure through.

For a fixed gear, I'd suggest shorter arms.

Personally, I'd use 165mm.

I didn't want to start a new topic, so I decided to post a question here.

Earlier today I took my stem and spacers off my steerer tube and noticed some light rust (just surface rust). Is this an issue? Am I supposed to put some grease on the steerer tube before reinstalling the stem and spacers?

Thanks.

That surface rust isn't going to do much, don't worry about it. There's no need to use grease.
However what I would suggest is moving your bike to a drier storage place or wiping it down better the next time it makes contact with the elements.

newb question here:

im having trouble clipping into my toe clips on my fixie. its hard to flip the pedal over with my foot as its moving. its a silly problem, but does anyone have any tips??

Practice / different pedals. Some pedals will be easier to flip, but for the most part its just a practice thing that will get easier over time. Crappy answer :(

thats pretty much all i needed to hear. i figured it was just a practice thing but wanted to make sure i wasnt missing some huge step or something. thanks verbose

Do your pedals have a tab to help flip it up so you can slide your shoe in? Different pedals have different designs, some lack tabs altogether, and some tabs are larger than others. The pedal on the bottom (Lyotard mod. 23) was explicitly designed for fixed gear use with a large tab to make it easier to flip the pedal up.

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/pedal-tabs.jpg

The Lyotard mod. 23 was in production from the mid-1930s until the late 1980s so despite the fact they haven't been made for quite some time there are still quite a few around. Other manufacturers, e.g. MKS and SR make similar pedals with large tabs, and more recently White Industries' "Urban Pedal" is a close, albeit expensive updated copy of the original mod. 23 pedal. The only problem (IMHO) is that WI pedal doesn't have a ridge to hold a slotted cleat, but I rather suspect I'm one of only a very few people who still uses slotted cleats on a regular basis.

no they dont, these are pretty cheap clipped pedals i got from the lbs. nothing special, i will upgrade eventually.