Howdy,

I understand that it is hard to find a mountain bike w/ horizontal drop out and the earlier 80's vintages may have this drop out.

It also sounds like it is expensive to get the adapter for the rear wheel.

Besides these to points I'm trying to sort out the pro's and con's of road bike, vs. mt. bike fixed gear set ups.

Potential advantage of Mt. frame to me would be:
1. Higher ground clearance for bottom bracket. (might range from .5 to 2 inches higher) to help keep pedals from scraping.
2. relaxed geometry may be more comfortable for some.

Disadvantage anticipated:
1. More weight
2. May have problem with limited fat tire selection, lower pressure and much greater rolling resistance.
Can 700's be put on mt. bike.

I'd appreciate any feedback/suggestions from someone who has made a fixed gear bike out of a mt. bike.
Thx

I have built up a 1988 Kuwahara Shasta and a 1987 Kuwahara Cascade into fg bikes... the Cascade was the top level mtb that Kuwahara offered and was hand built with Ishiwata quad butted tubing and is fully lugged while the Shasta has Ishiwata triple butted tubes and lugged and was their second in line model.

The 1988 is the nicest Shasta model built as it has better tubes than it's predecessors and is almost identical to the Cascade although the frame is a touch heavier.

Both have had their flat bars swapped for rando drops as I prefer these and both run flip flop hubs with fixed gearings on both sides.

Both have touring geometry and the Cascade was originally built as a full on 26 inch expedition bike with braze ons for multiple bottles, pump, and even has a spoke holder on the stay.


1987 Kuwahara Cascade


1988 Kuwahara Shasta


The Shasta after I first built it... you can really see the slack angles of these frames.



Prior to getting i's drop bars and on the job...



I have built up numerous other mtbs and ss / fg bikes with frames with similar geometry and their owners are very pleased.

As far as speed goes... I don't find that I give up much at all with the 26 inch wheels, especially with the Cascade as the 26 by 1.5 Marathons roll very fast and floats over stuff I would be dodging on my fixed road bike.

iro is selling a fixed mountain bike wheelset for 90 bucks. pretty good deal imo.

How good is a $90.00 fixed wheel set ?

They must be using slave labour and pretty low end bits to make these.

It was in the bargain basement, so i guess it was scratch and dent or stuff that's discontinued. it was iro disc brake fixed hubs (seems to be formula hubs) built to velocity razor rims. They had 3 available, looks like they're finally sold out though.


the bargain basement is good stuff. got some silver velocity aeroheads for 10 bucks each

I got a Raleigh M50 off craigslist for $80 bucks. Slapped a rigid fork on it and a 105 road double converted to a single, running it 1x7. Fun bike, probably the best kind of bike for riding through a city even though the fixie kids would say otherwise.

As far as tires, i'm using 1" Ritchey tom slicks with mr tuffys. They go up to 100 psi and they're rugged enough to handle anything i've run into.

If you're considering making a FG MTB, you'll prob need to get an eno hub if you can't get good chain tension using half links. And you can use 700c wheels on a 26" mtb frame, but you'll need some kludgy adapters to get the brakes to reach the rims properly. You'd probably be better off getting a 29er frame if you want to use 700c wheels.

If you're thinking of building up an urban MTB, i def recommend it. It's a very fun bike to ride.

it may be fun, but where is the ZEN

Check my sig. Total cost after tomicog was $400 CAD. Lots and lots of fun and can be done cheap. I would recommend finding a ss mtb with disc brake hubs and getting a bolt on cog.

Sixty Fiver, those bikes are fantastic.

I have 2 fixed gear mtbs. One is an late 1980's Wheeler with horizontal dropouts, the other is a s/s specific frame with track fork ends. If you are determined to make a fixed mtb there are several options.

Get a s/s specific frame like the on-one or the outcast26 from bikeisland.com
Use a frame with sliding dropouts
Find a frame with horizontal dropouts
Eccentric hub
Eccentric bottom bracket adaptor.

Both my bikes are fast and comfy. One is set up as a winter/rain around town bike. 42x18 with full fenders, moustache bar and 1.25 slicks. The other has 1.35 slicks and is set at 46x16. No need to worry about tire selection, 26" slicks go as narrow as 1" and can run upto 110psi. The biggest issue I've had is the rear wheel. Not a lot of options for fixed mtb wheels and hubs. You will need at least a 130mm hub, 135 is better. Not spaced to 135, but an actual 135. Road hubs do not work on mtbs. Or use the wheel you have and get a surly fixxer.

700 wheels will work with brake adaptors, or a disc wheel works as well.

I bought a fixed gear mtb wheelset from bikeisland for $115 last year. Weinman rims on "alloy" hubs. No name at all even on the website. No problems at all so far. I was worried about the hub and threading, but I installed everything correctly and the threads are in excellent shape.

MarkusNomadus - another option for you might be to get a singlespeed cyclocross frame - you get the higher BB clearance, reasonably light weight, and can run a range of tires widths - all 700cc.

I ran across one of these a while back at the bike store, and thought they looked pretty cool- don't see 'em in the current lineup:
https://www.fisherbikes.com/archive/model/397
https://www.fisherbikes.com/archive/model/425

Thanks for all the flood of great ideas.

Re: Mt. bike brakes with 700 mm wheels. Rear wheel won't be an issue as I won't have one. Can front cantilevers be adjusted modified to work with 700 wheel?

What is a sliding dropout??

Are eccentric hubs a reasonable chain adjustment option in terms of expense, availability, chain alignment, function etc. ?

26" wheels weigh less and have less air drag, because they disturb less of the air around them. Great for drafting.

The shorter spokes and smaller diameter rim make it a MUCH stronger wheel. Get 1.5 or smaller profile tires. I feel I get the best roll with 26x1.5

road clearance is high, consider that bigger wheels will get you more clearance, wich would put you further from the ground. Wich would created more drag from the wind (you go slower).

The geometry is upright wich is not great but with some drops you can get as low as you want.

You will be surprised how fast these things go.

Doesn't Surly sell some mountain frames that are ss/fg compatible? Also, on-one has some ss/fg'able frames.

Here's one with track dropouts, 700c (29r), flip/flop ss/fixed, and a rigid fork. $370

https://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MOUNTAIN-BIK...QQcmdZViewItem