donaldmax (OP), where are you?

I would like to mention that I was in this kid's shoes not long ago. I read Sheldon Brown's site, bought an old Raleigh Sports, a used fixed gear wheelset....and bam, 120 dollars later I had a fixed gear bicycle. Granted It isn't exactly what everybody wants and I did get lucky in my finds, but it can be done.

Bikes Direct has Windsor Hours for under $ 300. I wound up getting a Vilano that works about the same for what you want to do and it was easier to just get an internet bike and have the wheels trued. Beyond that, you'll only have to tighten the bolts to make sure it's torqued properly. Once you break it in, you'll come to love it. The Vilano I have is one of my favorite bikes. It was $ 259 delivered and I had to have the wheels trued, but after putting in about $ 345 altogether, it's riding nicely to this day. June 2010 is when I got it, so it'll be 2 years old this summer. Relatively inexpensive, nobody has stolen it and it's reliable.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/thehour.htm

I have a feeling he won't be back.

Just do it!

All those smart guys who pointed out your lack of experience - where'd they get theirs? Unless you have a stash of bike stuff they're probably right when they say that buying complete will be cheaper. On the other hand, you don't learn much if anything when you buy complete, you won't build your stash of bike parts, and you'll probably have less fun. There's also a pride of ownership thing with a bike that you built yourself that you just can't get from a store-bought bike.

I learned from maintaining my bikes. I didn't learn from the frustration of being a newb trying to build a bike from scratch over the course of weeks/months.


Seriously, I still haven't seen this "FUN" that people swear happens when you build a bike from scratch. I have fun when I'm outside riding my bikes, not when I'm at home waiting for parts to arrive.

Boom.

I like both, as long as you already have one bike to ride while you're building another.

Sig-worthy. Even the best "quality" custom builds should be done by mechanics. Even though I know how to put my own stuff together now, it was something I learned by earning my bones sitting in a bike shop having my knuckles cracked, getting dirty, frustrated and having someone there to explain it to me. I did it for free because that was the cost of having an experienced bike mechanic show me. Trust me, I'd rather always have the LBS build up my bikes now that I have some idea of the amount of frustration that goes into finding out that crank you've drooled over for the last six months, saving, eating cans of refried beans and never drinking a beer for had a Q factor that was just a tad too small for your BB, only to have to go and do hours of double-checking to make sure each part not only is what you want, but that it is compatible. I go to my LBS - tell them what I want - they ballpark it for me and if something goes wrong - they're going to fix it.

/caseclosed

I guess that's why they still have both chocolate and vanilla.

That's crazy talk.

Chocolate. Mac. Alabama Crimson Tide.

Oh my god. derpouts. Day improving already. Haha!

I am a huge advocate of repairing and building one's own bike...but, it can be frustrating due to the myriad different sizes of everything on a bike.
My son wanted to get into cycling, but wanted simple. No gears, but wasn't sure if he wanted to go fixie with his first bike. He also wanted to pay for it himself. Enter SE Draft light. Bottom of the line single speed/fixie flip-flop hub deal. Steel and durable. Got it super cheap on Ebay around $200.00. Started riding it, and figured out what he wanted to upgrade. Switched out a few parts and rides it more. He is learning how to work on it himself and by riding it he is figuring out what parts he likes.
Eventually he will replace the frame and wheels, but he started out riding a new bike, and has gained a ton of mechanical experience in the process.
Oh, and part of the reason sonny boy went with the SE brand is loyalty... dear old dad rode for them waayyyy back in the day.

I decided to make the fixie lol. It will only be expensive if you don't manage your budget and if you dont have the patience to seek out those bargains on craigslist. The only major factor is the compatibility of the parts which I don't think its too hard. Well, I will update you guys with my completed fixie and show that a complete newb can make one and still have fun while keeping it cheap. :D

I'm hearing a voice-over flashback in my head featuring Scrod.

Be sure to keep a tally of all the costs in a spreadsheet so we can tell you that we told you so :)

That's one way of doing it and certainly the least stressful IF you can trust your LBS to do good job. I had such a bad experience of the shop not even fixing the things I specifically pointed out (such as the practically inoperational rear brake - which you do need on a freewheel bike in the wintertime - plus selling me a new rear derailleur when they should have straightened the hanger...) and also generally botching the service (mismatched bb/crankset, rearwheel QR open when I took the bike for a test ride, I could go on...) that I decided it's best to learn enough so that I can do most of the things myself and at least evaluate the quality of work on stuff I can't actually do on my own. So even if you have the LBS do all the work, it is a good thing to know enough to be able to tell when you're not getting what you paid for (still would like to learn to build wheels, though).

Building a bike from scratch is going to be expensive, but if you have patience and start with 2nd hand stuff (both frame and parts) it's not necessarily too expensive, considering the amount of learning involved. I wouldn't do it if I didn't have one bike to ride already, though.

I will bet anything that you can't come in under the price of a complete built by Fuji, Surly or anybody who has an entry/mid-range bike pre-built for consumers.

I see what you mean. My point was lost amid the wall of text I produced. In short: What everybody here who has experience building, wrenching or maintaining their bike has is a beginning. But we found ways to add to the bicycling communities we are in, specifically, through co-opting our time, funds by asking questions and buying locally or breaking things and going through trial and error (which isn't the best). I'm not even close to the best wrench, but my passion for bikes developed alongside my apprenticeship with my friend and local wrench. That friendship grew from my willingness to do menial tasks like parts washing 30 year old wheels, cranks and other crap. You can't learn why if you just order some parts on eBay, open a box and say "this looks like what Sheldon meant!" Start from the beginning, always.

Will you please do the exercise I suggested earlier?

I started today on my first-ever bike build, which will someday be a single-speed sweetie. I have a frame, a fork, a lower steering head bearing cup and a seat clamp. Can't get much more beginning than that.

furyus

Don't do it, Donaldmax! I got off cheap on my build, and it still cost > a whole, brand-spankin'-new, fixed gear bike. I am the ghost of your Christmas future, and it is a future without gifts under the tree... or health insurance... or enough coal to heat the gruel...

Just make a suicide fixie from an old road bike. I'll bet you can make one dirt cheap. Heck I helped a guy do this for under $50 counting buying the bike from Craigslist. I did get him to keep the rear break until he gets a real fixed gear hub setup because I didn't want to hear that the gear came lose and he couldn't stop and got hit by a bus

Ready though if your set on doing this why not buy a used working bike you like then replace the drivetrain parts to go fixie. Then change other parts after. It would be a lot easier.
A good place to start would be if you have a local bike kitchen type place. I've gotten amazing parts (wheels, tires, forks, frames, etc) by going to the bike kitchen here and volunteering and or paying the crazy low prices they ask for parts. I built an entire bike this way for $20 and was able to use all tools for free and ask others there for help on making choices and doing stuff that I don't have the physical ability to do (I have physical limitations do to injury)

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

fiiiixed

Seconded.

Why spend good money to make a bad bike?

Really dude? It's bikes we're talking about. not the inner workings of a flux capacitor.FGSS is as simple as it gets, it's not like building a 15K TT/Tri bike with all internal cable routing and PITA behind the BB brakes.

Chai tea just came out my nose. It kinda stings.

so..... don't do this..... everyone that posted that said they did, and did it for cheap, are liars and cheats.

I did it. I regret it. Knowing what I could have gotten for the cumulative price is absolutely f*cking sickening.

I'm soon going to try and sell my conversion, and tell you the truth, I hope I can sucker someone into paying a third of what I put into the damned thing. Don't get me wrong... I love the bike... Great learning experience... etc, etc... But I'd much rather be cruising around on an FTP....

Sh*t gets real expensive, real fast.

See, I bought a Kilo TT, started swapping **** out as I started riding more and gaining more experience.

Most of the parts I bought for it will probably go on to my new frame whenever I decide to upgrade, but my TT is still running strong.