sketchy fixed gears
 

Anyone else riding a beater/sketchy set up? I ride an old 70s Apollo conversion with a suicide hub (just used red loctite, no lockring, didn't redish the wheel) and a quick release rear wheel. I have a brake, wouldn't ride this ghetto set up with out it. I've got seven bikes, including a fairly nice road bike, so I converted my old apollo for a cheap as possible for something rip around town on. It' been 8 months or so and I've yet to have any problems, I can skid and the loctite holds fine, I doubt I would ever be able to take the cog of the wheel.

I want to hear about other peoples sketchy set ups. I'll try and remember to take a picture of mine and post it here.

I'm excited about this thread. :)

I also have a suicide hub with a quick release. Couldn't care less since i think skidding is stupid and pointless. Quick release seems to hold alright, I just switched to an allen-headed skewer and I'm trying to compare clamping force.

someone was selling a conversion on clist a while back and they had zip-tied the rear sprocket to the spokes... :-/

This sounds suspiciously like makeinu's stupid chain post. Can we get an i.p. check here Mods?

that'd be a lot sketchier if "you" actually built those, like you claim on here, and not just lace them up and take them to a shop, which is actually what happened. :D

(i wish that rim wasn't machined)

Yeah my winter bike (thank god winter is over) is so out of true that the tire rubs on the frame (this happened last day of winter). It's also a suicide hub, and it has two brakes but I still threw down some winter skidding (on snow and ice) it doesn't take too much force to skid on snow. Also I put on new axle bolts and stripped the axel (so I added some washers as spacers where it wasn't stripped (yet)). It worked well though! I was very proud of her making it through the winter.

i dont have the cojones!

used to a while ago on my first bike. rotafixed suicide hub, bb lockring, no loctite, no brake. the rear was a quick-release. sometimes the tension would slip slightly. I'd throw a chain often, usually from back pressure. (when it would happen, I'd either slow to a stop or scrape my shoe on the road) never, ever again haha. my cog never slipped tho!

ha.
I really hope no one was stupid enough to buy that POS.

I rode without brakes and with stripped lockring threads for like a day. The lockring still held on by like 2 threads, but the cog would always go backwards when i back pedaled. I threw my chain once while doing about 15m.p.h. it was terrifying.

Adriano--are those wheels really that sketchy? I mean sure it is not ideal, but haven't people used low spoke count wheels in the past? I remember reading some article that you had linked in a thread once and it made it seem like it was okay. I donno, I sure wouldn't do it but I donno if you would experience sudden wheel failure or anything like that.

the spoke count is notably lower and likely more risky than a large majority of wheels, but this spoke count is not unheard of. i initially did not want to actually do any part of the build myself, but upon hearing the plan, every shop in the great city of philadelphia refused to take on the job. i could understand that, but i was my only option left so i took on the lacing myself. the deep profile was annoying, but i got them laced and worked the tension up fairly solidly and as evenly as i could. being that this was already a foolhardy plan, i decided to let a professional finish the job. im still living!

i actually prefer the machined sidewall because im getting a brake. i had another odd plan for some interesting brakes, but ive given up and am going with some tried and true tektro r720s.

This threat took a turn for the worse.......Here's my sketchy fixed gear"http://thumbnails17.imagebam.com/320...f732069260.gif [U]
The Crank Bros pedals and fender are worth much more than the rest of the frame- Its an old Raleigh i spray painted after sanding all the rust off then got my LBS to dish the old wheel and spin a cog on. I had a brake, but it broke, and I don't feel like investing 30 bucks in a caliper. Yeah yeah, call me whatever you want- i ride very slow and there's no traffic in my tiny midwestern town.

those "pm"s are "p" for a reason *facepalm*

sorry! they were humorous.

bnr

Acronym Definition
BNR Bulgarian National Radio
BNR Biological Nutrient Removal (sewage treatment)
BNR Banca Nationala a României (National Bank of Romania)
BNR Bell Northern Research
BNR Body Not Recovered
BNR Big Nerd Ranch
BNR Bengal Nagpur Railway (now part of Eastern Railway)
BNR Burlington Northern Railroad
BNR Binary Number
BNR Boston Restaurant Associates, Inc. (former stock symbol; now delisted)
BNR By Name Request
BNR bladder neck resection
BNR B-type Noise Reduction (Dolby Labs)
BNR Bureau of Natural Resources
BNR Build Not Received
BNR Big Nasty Rascal
BNR Bird Nest Roys (band)

Hmmm... which one applies here?

Here's what I want to know, Adriano: why did you insist upon doing a wheel build like that? I'm guessing it was to be unique or to look good, in which case why not get a different frame? And, since you have a Kilo, I'm guessing you don't have the pocketbook to be replacing your wheels on a whim if they do fail. There are so many ways to make a bike unique without making it structurally weak, so why mess w/ the wheels? Just to see if it could be done?

Have you seen the prices on spokes lately?

This is my sketchy fixed gear. My winter/lock-up bike. Rotafixed with red lock tite and a BB lockring.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2331/...c2aeaa6cc8.jpg

It actually looks good in this photo; it's much uglier in person.

duude why did you have to make that frame a "sketchy fixed gear"? I love that frame!

i had been using and liking a rolf vector comp front wheel, and then, my rear wheel was stolen. i started exploring my options and had my eye on a couple off the rack wheelsets, but these hubs and rims came up at rock bottom prices. a build with these was cheap enough and seemed interesting so i did the research and proceeded. it was a gamble as i wasnt totally sure how they would turn out, but theyve proven strong. i like them, but many dont. thats a quick summary, but i might not have addressed everything.

i know!

then, i used cx rays, haha.

It was sitting around, not doing nothing. I needed a beater and trust me, that frame is beat. It rides very well considering its put together out of crap I had laying around.