will be joining the ranks soon
 

I've just commited my trusty commuter that have served me well in the past to a life(for now) as a fixie. It's awaiting surgery at the lbs, great guy mike that's gonna replace the wheel and chain and strip all unneccessary hardware off. It's my baby, but i just got a skinny new mistress that weights half of my baby so i figure i'll switch to riding a fixie for my commutes, it'll be good training.

my question is what should i change on it if at all? I'm gonna slowly change out components if needed to streamline it further without killing the possibility of switching back to stock. How much does a new track crank cost? any advise is always welcome.

Personally I'd put some bullhorns and some clips and straps or clipless pedals. But thats just me.

nice.. thats the era of scwinnn that brings back memories for me.. i remember being a kid and seeing the stoners ride those with those hikinng boots with red laces, flipping the bars upside down.. homeless style.. and doing really long wheelies..

as for cranks.. you can get decent ones cheap.. but dont those have large bottem brackets? i think they do.. it must.. youve go a one piece crannk on it.. thats a whole diff. story.. i dont know.. theres gotta be a way though..like bmx three piece..

as for streamlining.. take everything off.. i donnt think itll be going back to stock..

I agree with the pedals and bars. Platform pedals on a fixie are not for the newbie fixie rider. The bars you have look like they'd chop and flop into bullhorns quite nicely. The biggest and most noticable upgrade would be wheels; obviously the rear, but also the front.

i'm going with clips so i don't have to bring my road shoes everywhere. and mainly it's cheaper than buying a new pair of look pedals to match my current ones.

Whats the benefits of bullhorns?

everything is coming off but it'll still be a tanks at easily 25+pounds. If i ever decide to sell it i can get a really good price as a stock 65 schwinn. But it'll stay a fixie for a while.

They look sexy.


And I'm sure theres some sort of performace something or others they do too..but they look so nice.

I find it easier to climb and sprint with bullhorns because they give you lots of leverage. Outside of that I really couldn't say anything...except they look so so nice.

Good platform for your hands to learn the ways of the skid.

You took it over to Bicycle Station? If so, he's got cranks there.

Bullhorns are fun to have around as an alternate. Anyway, experiment and feel it out budget/comfort-wise. You'll find it's pretty easy (at the start) to get the bike the way you want it.

'Horns are good for me because I almost never use the drops. On my roadie, I'm always riding the hoods or tops. That + style / cheap bars to do it with = no-brainer.

Sheldon brown and others have a one pc crank converter that'll allow you to convert to modern bb's. Under $20, I think. It'll cost you abt $100 for the parts to switch it completely, probably less. I'd also get a modern wheelset. Watch CL in your area, or Ebay. I landed a NICE tubular / Suntour set with new tires for $50. Patience and constant eyeballing the 'net will get you what you need.

Nice bike. I have a deep, newly found respect for most Schwinn's.

so how much would bullhorn bars cost? I think i'll hold off on the crank since they work fine now, just a bit heavy and i can't afford a hundred just yet. where can i get new wheels in the city? what's a good somewhat cheap set that i can get. I think mike is only changing the rear wheel so i figure i'll change out the front too if it's not too expensive. I have 27in on them right now, should i switch to 700c?
i think i'm gonna slap some yellow bartape on the dropbars right now to try out a new color. what'd u guys think?

This is what you need, citizen.

http://www.speedgoat.com/product.asp...t=20&brand=700

Lighter than any others I've seen and a little more compact. All for a comparable price. And Speedgoat is good to work with plus free shipping.

you should sell it now for "a really good price" and get a cheap, used road bike to convert that at least has a normal bb shell and three piece cranks... and isn't "electro-forged". you're sort of polishing a turd with that bike.

If you really wanted to, you could flip those drop bars over and saw them down. That's a pretty inexpensive solution.

how dare you call my baby a "turd"!!! it's a great steel frame that rides super smooth and hard to find nowadays. I don't wanna part with it cuz it's my trusty steed. and i don't wanna chop the existing handlebars cuz it's also original '65 part. i'll just slowly add parts and if i really find a good deal on a frame then i'll switch them over, but for now i don't want to canabalize my dear dear bike. but about the wheels....

Oh, for heaven's sake, if that's your baby I suggest that you just leave it alone and find another bike/frame as a fixie project. You'll probably end up ruining the value of it anyway. Find the correct saddle and make it all original.

I used to have a Super Sport similar to yours but it was a darker brown. I heard that the frames are fillet-brazed chrome-moly. They are nice bikes and not turds.

I'm going to have to agree with smurfy on this one. I bought a cheap schwinn sprint lugged steel frame for ten buck complete with all the original parts, for a bit I was thinking, I should restore this bike, then I came to my senses. As we speak I have finally finished and the only part that is orignal on this bike is the frame and seatpost (because its some wierd size I can't find).

It might suit you better finding a cheap-o frame that you can go crazy with and get just the way you want so you can enjoy riding fixed to the fullest.

word. plus, you're talking about replacing the cranks - you're gonna be wanting a 3-piece crank, not the 1-piece that the bike is built for. leave that electroforged beauty the way it is.

i'll just have it converted for now and later when i have money and find a good deal on a frame i'll move the stuff to the new frame and build that up and revert it back to it's original shape. cuz a frame with crank and handle will cost too much right now unless something great comes along.