hi everyone,

this is my first post here, but i've been reading and soaking up the knowledge on this board for a few weeks now.

i'm currently a student living in student housing, but i have a class this summer that's a bit too far to walk to. so, i've been looking into getting a bike. i've had regular 10-speed bikes before, so this time, i would like to try riding a fixed gear bike.

it seems the simplest yet cheapest way to go is to take a suitable road bike and convert it into a fixed gear by replacing the wheels. so, i scored myself a free bike, and am now looking for a decent wheelset to go along with it. i don't care so much about the paint and the rust, i just need it to get me around, and to serve as something for me to learn/fiddle around on. i just want to take off the unnecessary things (shifters, etc), replace the wheels, and have something i can ride on. i do plan to keep at least one of the brakes.

but, before i proceed, i wanted to offer the candidate bike to the collective wisdom of this group and get some thoughts and advice.

here are some things i noticed - please let me know if they'll present any problems, etc.

1. the bottom bracket seems way bigger in diameter than other frames i've seen in our student bike rack downstairs.

2. the crankset appears to be a one-piece deal. problem?

3. the stem coming out of the fork seems to be angled in a funky way. should i look to replace the stem/handlebars?

4. the chainrings at the pedals has two chainrings - a 42 tooth one and one a bit bigger. they seem to be riveted together. i would like to keep the smaller one, and discard the bigger one. will that be hard to do? (i do have a dremel, so i could cut it off if that was the only way).

5. any other problems you foresee?

thanks!

and, here are the pics:

No, the simplest and cheapest way would be to buy a pre-made fixed gear. Kilo TT? Other cheap off the shelf fixed gear? If nothing is seized (stem is already above max), frame isn't misaligned/cracked, wheels don't have broken spokes, run true and everything else generally works, you can slap on a fixed rear wheel and be done with it.

Do not invest any more money than that. That bike is worth $2. The quality reflects that.

x1000000

thanks for the reply. nothing is seized - everything works fine, despite the rust in some places.

i wanted to go for an off-the-shelf bike, but i don't have a job, so the only money i have available is about $100 (from my birthday and from selling a few things). i was hoping to convert this by going with the new rear wheel + cog + lockring for around a hundred bucks...

Its really not worth it IMO. If the bike works, I'd just keep riding it as is or just wait till you have the money for an off the shelf bike

You can single speed that bike for the price of a chain tool and an allen key. Less if you have a bike co-op around in your area.

First, I would like to say that this is one of the best noob posts I have ever read. You display that you did put time and effort into reading, and therefore I hope you get the help you need. I will offer you as much as I can.

The bike might not be worth much, but you can make it a cheap fixed gear if you want. Even after the wheelset, you are still only around $100 into the build, which is a lot cheaper than any pre-made fixed gears.


1. It could be that the bottom bracket has a bigger diameter than other bikes, but if you do not plan on replacing the bottom bracket or cranks, there is nothing for you to worry about.

2. This should not be a problem. You got the bike for free, if the rear wheel spins when you pedal, you are good to go for the time being.

3. Only replace the stem and handlebars if they do not fit you. If you feel like you are too stretched out, get a shorter stem, and vise versa. The stem is not angled in a typical way, but again, there is no problem if the bike fits you.

4. I would just keep the chainrings the way they are. Keep the chain on the chainring you prefer (more than likely the 42 tooth) and you will be fine. As far as cutting the outside chainring off and not sacrificing safety, I can not answer that question. Maybe someone else can chime in.

5. I would def. get foot retention (either clips/straps, power-grips or clipless pedals). If you are going fixed which you seem to be set on, def. keep the front brake. I would not put too much money into this bike. Get a cheap wheelset (or rear wheel), a cog and lock ring, some foot retention, and ride the hell out of it.

That's an awesome project bike, you can't beat FREE.
There's no need to spend $350 on a new generic bike when you can play with what you got.

Nothing wrong with that 1 piece crank for a cheapo 1st time bike.Instead of cutting apart the rings just get a cheap BMX ring.

even if you do plan to upgrade later....you can get bottom bracket conversion kits to make your big bottom bracket fit a sealed cartridge bottom bracket. last i recall...you can get one from ebikestop for like 10 bucks.

thanks again for the responses, and for the encouragement. i've been scoping out some wheelsets on craigslist. i'll try to find a decent set, then see how it works out. if it doesn't work with this current bike, i'll try to look for a different frame and use the wheels on that. and believe me - i won't spend too much on this bike, i don't have that much money to spend in the first place!

someone mentioned replacing the chainring with something else (a bmx chainring?). does that mean it's possible to take apart the current crankset? i've never dealt with a 1-piece before - if it's a 1-piece, how do you take it apart enough to put on a new chainring?

also, regarding the front brake - should i just keep the one i have, or try to find a more updated/newer version? i want to be as safe as possible, and the one right now is a tad bit sticky.

thanks again!

(1) Yes. This will work. BMX bikes only have one chain ring on the front and they use these one piece cranks. Low end BMX parts tend to be relatively inexpensive and widely available too.

(2) Yes. Any part of a bicycle can be taken apart with the right tools/knowledge. You'll likely need a 32mm wrench like this:

(3) As always, Sheldon has the answers you seek. https://sheldonbrown.com/opc.html

(4) If the brake works, just use what is there, otherwise you likely just need to adjust the current brake or replace the pads, not the entire brake assembly.

Good luck. Riding fixed gear is a lot of fun and you'll learn so much about bikes as you start to work on them yourself. If you have any more questions don't be shy to ask. We were all beginners once and the whole point of this forum is to make fun of each others bikes... errrr... I mean to share our collective knowledge.

awesome - thanks. i'll look for that bmx chainring after i find some serviceable wheels.

Have fun! I'm almost complete with my first junker bike to fix conversion and its been great. Take the time to clean and relube as you go along. It'll help you learn the parts and it'll offer better performance.

Good job doing research before posting.

Another vote for riding it as it is while you save your pennies for a complete BD bike. You'll be happier in the long run.

handsomeRyan - by the way, that sheldon brown link for one piece cranks is a life-saver. i thought i had read every relevant page on his website, but i missed that one. thanks again, it's going to save a lot of time and headaches.

an update - first problem:

i found a wheelset + lock ring + fixed cog for $100, so i jumped on it. i started to take apart everything, and didn't have too much problems. it was quite fun, actually.

when everything was off - old wheels, old brakes, derailleurs - i tried to fit the wheels i bought. that's when i ran into the first problem of this conversion... (i say first because i'm assuming there will be other hurdles)

the axle on the new front wheel is too wide for the fork. i had assumed that the front axle was big enough to take standard axle/hubs, but i was wrong.

i'm bummed, but it's not a project killer - the original wheel actually works fine. it's just a lot heavier and not as cool looking.

does anyone have any suggestions? should i just run the original wheel? look for a different fork?

next up - i need to get a chain link tool to shorten the chain. i'll put up some pictures once i've got the rear wheel installed and working.

on my conversion i had that problem as well. it was just barely too wide so i just took my God given hands and pulled apart the fork that little bit and set in there. been riding it for over a month now and it has been awesome.

Had a friend of mine do this exact thing w/a bb converter he got from https://www.harriscyclery.com. It ran him 24.99 plus shipping. Truthfully, the OP can just run this bike as a single speed by removing the front and rear derailleurs. Then put the chain on whatever gear you want to use on the rear(I'd go 42x14). Remove a few links, tighten the axle bolts while leaving about 1/2" slack in the chain. Or order a single speed bmx freewheel from any one of a number of online sources. The chainline will probably be ok w/t 1 piece crank. I'd just leave the big chainring to prevent chaindrop and maybe at some point in the future you may want to make the jump to the bigger chainring. Conditioning has a way of doing that to an individual. So save whatever links you remove, you may end up putting them back on.

When I did my ss conversion I got a Sugino 103mm bb from https://www.universalcycles.com Bulletproof 170mm cranks, 46t Rocket Ring, 16t Acera freewheel, 1/8" KMZ chain, 36h and 32h Sun Cr-18 rims from https://www.bikepartsusa.com Brakeset (Tektro) including calipers, pads, housings, cables, levers and hoods from https://www.bikeisland.com Rebuilt a 36h rear Schwinn hub and and old RSX 32h front hub w/stock spokes, but new nipples...again from bikepartsusa. Everything else including the frameset, fork, headset, stem, seatpost, saddle and hb tape I already had. Spent about 200.00 for everything else. Turned out nice. Some of the aforementioned webstores may be of use to you. Good luck w/your build.

well, the OP's budget was 100, and he spent that on the wheelset, so he is where he is. personally, with this bike, i think the best move would be to pull the dr's off and run it as a SS. with a bike of that vintage, the best money would be spent on

tires
tubes
brake pads
bar tape
saddle
pedals
multi-tool

that would be my buy list if i wanted to keep things super cheap with this frame. good luck with the conversion though, i'm all for being inovative with the stuff you have. remember, you can probably always resell the wheels and start over if you think you may be in too deep.

thanks again for the responses.

i tried again to get the front wheel installed, and with a slight bit of force, i was able to get it on.

even though the wheels/tires were used, they're a vast upgrade over the original wheels and tires.

i'm going to hit up a bike shop nearby for the chain link tool so that i can get the rear wheel working. i'll also get some new brake pads and a new cable. i'm going to reattach the original brakes but with new brake pads.

as for the bmx chainring suggestion - i've been looking for a cheap one, but putting it on looks like it'll be difficult, as the current pedals seem to be on there pretty good. i may need to find someone to help with that one.

what school are you in?

That's a great bike to play around with. I bet the newer wheels are like night and day compared to the old steel rims!

For getting the pedals off--try heating up the crank at the pedal attachment area. Even a cigarette lighter might provide enough heat to expand the steel enough to allow you to remove the pedals. Heat does wonders for loosening frozen threads.

I've been planning a similar project. For the chain ring, I've been looking here:

https://www.niagaracycle.com/index.ph...er_id=&sort=3a

Given the nature of the bike it's going on, I can't imagine these < $10 rings wouldn't be good enough.

hey andy, thanks for the link.

i was just about to look into that, because i ran into the second problem of the conversion:

the wheelset i bought came with a cog and a lockring. unfortunately, the cog is made for 1/8" chains. the bike has a 3/32" chain, and the chainrings up front are made for that size.

so, as i see it, here are my options:

1. go for a cheap 1/8" chainring + 1/8" chain
2. buy a cheap 3/32" fixed cog and replace the cog it came with (a SOMA 17th tooth cog).

now i kinda wish i had bought the more expensive chain link tool - the one i bought today only does 3/32."

what do you guys think? option 1 or option 2?

i was planning to eventually replace the dual chainring it has now with a bmx chainring. most bmx chainrings i see seem to be 1/8th", so maybe i should just go with 1/8th everything now?

thanks!