Hi guys,

New to this forum and this is my first post. I have a 10 speed 1970sish? Raleigh Sprite. I got it off my LBS for 15 bucks. Since it has horizontal drop outs and I have this need to own atleast one fixed gear bike (if I do it on my own) for around town commutes I had some questions on the matter. I have been to web sites like Sheldon Brown. There is gangs of information on there but I think I just wanted some public opinion from people who have done this before or on what people actually think about it. I would buy one but I don't want to to spend that kind of money on a brand new fixed gear bike for something I would only be using on cross-town commutes considering I live smack dab in the middle of texas hill country and have other bikes good for that. What are some good tips you guys have on the rear wheel building, or maybe some suggestions on resonably priced bike gear I may need to buy for this conversion?

thanks

If you want it done cheap...

Go to the LBS and have them order you a 27" wheel with a track hub. They make them, J&B importers has them available to shops. Also, get a new chain, cog, lockring, tubes and tires (if needed), and get a 107mm bb. Your chainline will not be perfect but it will be loads better than if you didnt use that bb. Strip the bike of all geared parts, slap on the new wheel and bb and chain, Go ride.

Word on the street is that conversions usually end up costing more than buying a new bike, and can be a boat load of trouble trying to get chainline aligned, unless you have a way to get parts for free/work-trade. Unless you go with just singlespeed, in which case it's just pull off the unnecessary components and put on a freewheel...
This notion seems outrageous at first, but the cost builds fast when you start adding up the costs of new rear wheel or wheelset, cog and lockring, new chainring, probably new bottom bracket, new chain, new brake if your current wheels are 27 inch and you switch to a matching 700c, as well as any other associated maintenence/hidden problems that may pop up, etc.

But, all that aside, it can be a great experience and a wonderful way to learn about working with bikes and bicycle maintenance. I built a conversion myself, but I also had access to a bike co-op at which I could do work-trade for parts. If you don't mind going used, there are actually very few new parts that you need, and the single largest expense will be a new rear wheel.

Building a rear wheel usually isn't much cheaper than buying a new one already made. Even cheaper, take a look on craigslist and see if anyone has a wheel with a fixed hub in your area. Make sure to check it for trueness, broken spokes, bearing smoothness, etc unless you don't mind fixing these things yourself.

In my opinion, it comes down to the question of what you want the bike for and how you want it to come about. Fastest and cheapest (especially when you consider the time you would spend building one) the answer would be just by a cheap track bike... but if your goal is to take some time (a couple weeks to a couple months) searching for the lowest price parts and build a connection with a bike by building it yourself, go for the conversion!

The cost of a conversion depends on one's abilities but of course there are compromises no matter what route you take. I built my first FG around '84 and all it cost me was the price of a cog and fully functional beater... it was a Schwinn of some sort. I'm sure you know the routine of stripping the unnecessary crap so I'll spare you the diatribe and focus on the rear wheel. All that was needed was to remove the freewheel, spin the cog on, loosen the axle so that I could shift most of it over to the non-drive side and set the wheel into the frame. Then I began dishing the wheel so that the chainline was correct and the rim centered. Once this was accomplished I made up the appropriately sized axle spacers from nuts, spacers and washers lying around from 'donor' bikes/wheels. Once the rear wheel was properly dished and true I filed down all spoke ends that may have been peeking above the spoke nipple tops otherwise I would have had frequent flats.

It may be a good idea, when using a road hub, to just be safe and epoxy the cog onto the rear hub... you don't want it loosening up if you are inclined to do skid stops.

This is a cheap way to build a fixie and I still build my beater commuters this way. Sure the rear wheel is basically rendered disposable for anything other than as use for a fixie but then the better methods do cost more.

This is the reason I usually try to discourage conversions. Too many people want to take a frame made for 27" wheels and fit 700s. The BB will be lower to the ground and even if you go to 165 or even 160mm cranks, the risk of touching a pedal down in a turn is increased quite a bit. And on a FG that's not a pretty sight to behold... I've seen it more times than I cared to.