Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Singlespeed & Fixed Gear
Reload this Page >

i'm new to this whole thing!!! help is needed.

Search
Notices
Singlespeed & Fixed Gear "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

i'm new to this whole thing!!! help is needed.

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 08-13-10 | 08:10 PM
  #1  
Thread Starter
Junior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
i'm new to this whole thing!!! help is needed.

hey guys so i am totally new to this, i really want to build my own fixie or atleast get all the parts so my friend can put it together.

i know pretty much all the parts i need, but what are some of the better companys that make parts for fixies? or are they just normal any other parts on bikes?

this bike i want to build is mainly for the streets, and getting around.

anyways if i am missing anything feel free to add in, since i am new to this.

thanks alot!!!

Hugo
youngage is offline  
Reply
Old 08-13-10 | 08:13 PM
  #2  
plowmanjoe's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 525
Likes: 17
From: NYC

Bikes: 09' Cinelli Vigorelli, 95' trek 950

it's much cheaper to just buy a complete depending on what your budget is.
plowmanjoe is offline  
Reply
Old 08-13-10 | 08:13 PM
  #3  
squeegeesunny's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,213
Likes: 0
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...eed-Start-Here!

We get this question asked daily.
squeegeesunny is offline  
Reply
Old 08-13-10 | 08:17 PM
  #4  
Thread Starter
Junior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
thanks!

i cant find the list of brands and stuff.

and i know i would like to buy a complete, but for starters whats a good price for the fixie?
youngage is offline  
Reply
Old 08-13-10 | 08:29 PM
  #5  
plowmanjoe's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 525
Likes: 17
From: NYC

Bikes: 09' Cinelli Vigorelli, 95' trek 950

for brands you have to just search the forum for suggestion threads. like what's a good (insert part)?
plowmanjoe is offline  
Reply
Old 08-13-10 | 08:37 PM
  #6  
squeegeesunny's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,213
Likes: 0
$400~600.
squeegeesunny is offline  
Reply
Old 08-13-10 | 10:16 PM
  #7  
plowmanjoe's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 525
Likes: 17
From: NYC

Bikes: 09' Cinelli Vigorelli, 95' trek 950

it's more like $300-infinity
plowmanjoe is offline  
Reply
Old 08-13-10 | 10:17 PM
  #8  
squeegeesunny's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,213
Likes: 0
You'll end up replacing some basic stuff on a $300 bike anyways and that'll come out to be $400+.
squeegeesunny is offline  
Reply
Old 08-14-10 | 07:45 PM
  #9  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 191
Likes: 1
From: NYC

Bikes: Current: Wabi Classic, '91 Bridgestone Rb-1. Past: '92 Bridgestone RB-1, '02 Lemond Zurich, '91 Trek 520, '85 Schwinn Madison, '80s Panasonic conversion fixie

Originally Posted by youngage
hey guys so i am totally new to this, i really want to build my own fixie <b>or atleast get all the parts so my friend can put it together.</b>
Ha, I like your thinking. Not to dampen your inspiration, but consider:

the price of a frame, which is going to be chosen first before parts. If you have a frame with non-standard sizing (seatpost, headset) you'll avoid having to send parts back.
Also consider the price of tools.
Then, a good wheelset. Don't forget tires/tubes, and rim tape. Add another chunk of change for cogs and lockring, if they aren't already installed.

Add all these up, and it makes sense to go with a complete bike, where you can just ride the hell out of it, learn how to work on it, figure out how you want to customize it, and go from there.

Also, learn how to use the search function. (I find google better than the forum search feature). Cuz if you're building your own, you'll be using it more often than you think
KDNYC is offline  
Reply
Old 08-14-10 | 11:59 PM
  #10  
FastJake's Avatar
Constant tinkerer
 
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 8,040
Likes: 156
From: Madison, WI
If you're good at wrenching on bikes, you can build your own fixed gear from an old road bike with horizontal dropouts. I once built one from a Schwinn Le Tour for $28 (the bike plus parts!) So don't think you HAVE to spend $300-$600 right away to have a decent bike.

I suggest starting here: https://sheldonbrown.com/deakins/how-...onversion.html

Last edited by FastJake; 08-15-10 at 12:20 AM.
FastJake is offline  
Reply
Old 08-15-10 | 01:45 AM
  #11  
Member
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
From: Fullerton, CA
Bikes can come cheap when you craigslist em. Like fastjake said, if you wanna go out and buy an old road bike and convert it into a fixed gear, it really doesn't take too much. I was thinking about doing this for a while, but decided to go with a complete bike from bikes direct. Got a windsor hour which i put maybe 25 miles a week on and I love it to death. It was cheap, 280 shipped. The components aren't great, but really I'm only like two months into have a fixed gear so I really don't care. Since you'll be new to all this, I would suggest you not invest a bunch of money into a bike that might end up sitting in your garage. It happens to a lot of people. I'm always seeing cl ads that say, bought the bike, didn't ride it.

Now if you feel that you're definitely gonna like the bike, maybe you might want to spend more. Building a bike and selecting all the parts would probably be a lot of fun. And the freedom to customize it any way you want is great. But like someone above said, it's pricey. Even with the cheapest parts you're still looking at $600+ if you buy everything separately. Also, for your safety and for the sake of the bike, it would be helpful to have a friend who knows bikes really well or just take it to the lbs.

To sum it all up...

FG conversion
PROS: cheap, fun to build, need to find the right frame size
CONS: might be a bit ugly, requires bike knowledge

New complete bike:
PROS: Looks pretty, little to no work required (could also be a con if you like the building process), medium priced ($300+)
CONS: Will probably spend more money to customize parts

Custom built:
PROS: It's what you wanted, can't really ask for any more than that, fun to build
CONS: Expensive ($600+), if you can't build it yourself labor costs will be added

I would suggest that you just find a nice BD bike like a kilo. It's moderately priced and it's ready to ride. And if you don't like it, you can probably just put it on craigslist for a price slightly lower than the original and someone will buy it.
crispyblunts is offline  
Reply
Old 08-16-10 | 03:05 PM
  #12  
Thread Starter
Junior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
so i guess i will look for a frame first?

once i find it i think i will end up craigs listing the parts and ebaying the parts....

any notable companys to look for? i want the bike to be colour fullll
youngage is offline  
Reply
Old 08-16-10 | 03:07 PM
  #13  
EssEllSee's Avatar
Kilo TT
 
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 741
Likes: 0
From: Salt Lake City
Originally Posted by youngage
so i guess i will look for a frame first?

once i find it i think i will end up craigs listing the parts and ebaying the parts....

any notable companys to look for? i want the bike to be colour fullll
Honestly unless you have tons of knowledge, or have an over abundance of cash, buy a bike from bikesdirect.com
EssEllSee is offline  
Reply
Old 08-16-10 | 03:17 PM
  #14  
dsh's Avatar
dsh
Oh, you know...
 
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 2,834
Likes: 0
From: DC

Bikes: '74 Schwinn Sports Tourer (Polo), S-Works E5 Team Festina (Chorus 11), Trek 2200 Bonded Carbon (Fixed), Trek 920 (7 speed IGH), Chesini Olimpiade SL (1x7)

Eighth Inch is reputable and cheap: https://www.eighthinch.com/products.html
Origin 8 is reputable and cheap: https://www.origin-8.com/


Neither of these guys are high end as far as quality goes, but they are cheap and you can color coordinate.
If you stick with them, you may be able to build a complete bike for $600 or so.
dsh is offline  
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
drop
Mountain Biking
12
10-30-12 08:27 PM
riding4life162
Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational)
5
10-21-12 12:00 PM
PennyCycler
Road Cycling
27
06-21-11 02:00 PM
MuppetMower
Singlespeed & Fixed Gear
28
04-07-11 09:36 AM
RobE30
Classic & Vintage
13
07-21-10 05:06 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.