Fixed Gear Road Bikes

[poopipe]

My Dad rides on LOOK pedals on his fixed Niel Orrel, they are the equivilant of SPDs. He has crashed a few times on road bikes over the years and his feet have always come out. He still got hurt more times than he did on his mountain bike though...

I might be able to sort you out with a bike if you want, he has far too many.

I'm gonna start on flatties and if it doesn't work I'll think about spds or clips.

I've discussed it with the missus and while she applauds my decision to get a "sensible" bike she says I'm not allowed any more shit lying around the house until I've got rid of "that stupid bloody trials bike that you never ride anymore"

I want to build it as a project cos it'll stop me spending money on my bmx which really doesn't need any new bits so it's gonna be a case of getting an old steel frame and worrking up from that. I'm putting a limit of £150ish on spending - including paint n stuff. Bits would be very much appreciated but as I say, I can't start on this till the mod's gone.

[Muel]

I'm gonna start on flatties and if it doesn't work I'll think about spds or clips.

I've discussed it with the missus and while she applauds my decision to get a "sensible" bike she says I'm not allowed any more shit lying around the house until I've got rid of "that stupid bloody trials bike that you never ride anymore"

I want to build it as a project cos it'll stop me spending money on my bmx which really doesn't need any new bits so it's gonna be a case of getting an old steel frame and worrking up from that. I'm putting a limit of £150ish on spending - including paint n stuff. Bits would be very much appreciated but as I say, I can't start on this till the mod's gone.

I don't know about frames, but we've got loads of wheels and cranks and stuff, isn't your bike a T-Lite? My brother is just about to buy a bike, maybe we could meet up and we could look at your MOD and you could look at some of our stuff?

[poopipe]

I don't know about frames, but we've got loads of wheels and cranks and stuff, isn't your bike a T-Lite? My brother is just about to buy a bike, maybe we could meet up and we could look at your MOD and you could look at some of our stuff?

that sounds like a plan - I've sent you the spec & stuff before I think - we'll do all that by pm/msn etc rather than clog up the main forum though - drop me a pm if he's still interested in the mod, I've got a t-pro frame as well.

** apologies for all the hyphens - I'm really busy and can't concentrate on proper english

Edited July 17, 2007 by poopipe

[JT!]

Why not just get a normal roadie. Or have i missed the point?

[Walleee]

Why not just get a normal roadie. Or have i missed the point?

We are trials riders, we like to make stuff hard for ourselves, why ride over a rock when you can ride round it???

I expect it's 'something to do' for thee aule poopipe, he might be starting to feel a bit useless now that he has fulfilled his duty and need's something to keep himself occupied :P

[Tomm]

Roadies are pretty boring though when you think about it. Anything that makes it more interesting/dangerous has to be a good thing. Plus they'd be pretty light with no sprockets/shifters/mechs/freehub etc.

[poopipe]

We are trials riders, we like to make stuff hard for ourselves, why ride over a rock when you can ride round it???

I expect it's 'something to do' for thee aule poopipe, he might be starting to feel a bit useless now that he has fulfilled his duty and need's something to keep himself occupied :P

He's pretty much hit the nail on the head there, a normal bike is too easy to be any fun.

[future orange 660]

going around corners is the most difficult bit...since you cannot coast around with the crank high so pedals hit ground when banking..

[anzo]

Sounds deadly!...loadsa fun.

Bit too energetic for me though, and seeing how I live on the bottom a massive hill, either way its a f**king nightmare.

[Bigman]

I don't know whether it has already been said, but a mate of mine who is a fixed gear cycle couirer in london has heard of a guy who runs a brakeless fixed gear bike in san fransisco working as a courier, nutter!

Adam

[nmt_oli]

I rode one on a velodrome two weekends ago, and i have to say, while kinda fun, i would never ride one on the road, even with brakes. I forgot a few times and tried to coast and it nearly kicks you off the bike.

spds are a must i think, do really help.

[will]

Fixed is f**king awesome. Make sure you've got spd's and a front brake.

[Muel]

I rode one on a velodrome two weekends ago, and i have to say, while kinda fun, i would never ride one on the road, even with brakes. I forgot a few times and tried to coast and it nearly kicks you off the bike.

I've done that, wasn't fun. And I did it a couple of years ago.

Riding on the road is fun sometimes, you can get to places that you never thought you would ride to, but it is boring.

[future orange 660]

single speed a normal road bike.

110 rpm ***

[poopipe]

single speed a normal road bike.

110 rpm ***

thats just too easy.

Will

since you ride one you might be able to help...

What's the deal with hub spacing on these things? I've not been able to figure out whether there's a standard. Cos I'm intending to do this on a tight budget I'll most likely end up with a mid 80s style frame but I dont really want to rely on a 20 year old wheelset if I'm going to be stopping using huge amounts of pedal pressure.

Also - what size frame would be appropriate? I know nothing about this cos I've never owned a big wheel bike - I'm 6'1" ish with normal legs and I like small bikes.

I can't see the need for brakes at all - I've managed a year round here with none on the bmx with only one near miss in traffic (which would've happened with or without brakes cos to be honest I wasn't paying any attention). I appreciate the issues with going downhill but there's only one hill in Cambridgeshire and I could probably go the rest of my life without needing to ride down it

[JT!]

He's pretty much hit the nail on the head there, a normal bike is too easy to be any fun.

Get a space hopper then?

[Muel]

thats just too easy.

Will

since you ride one you might be able to help...

What's the deal with hub spacing on these things? I've not been able to figure out whether there's a standard. Cos I'm intending to do this on a tight budget I'll most likely end up with a mid 80s style frame but I dont really want to rely on a 20 year old wheelset if I'm going to be stopping using huge amounts of pedal pressure.

Also - what size frame would be appropriate? I know nothing about this cos I've never owned a big wheel bike - I'm 6'1" ish with normal legs and I like small bikes.

I can't see the need for brakes at all - I've managed a year round here with none on the bmx with only one near miss in traffic (which would've happened with or without brakes cos to be honest I wasn't paying any attention). I appreciate the issues with going downhill but there's only one hill in Cambridgeshire and I could probably go the rest of my life without needing to ride down it

I'll ask my Dad about all that lot, he is 6' 1/2" so you will probably take about the same size. We has an old bike which was once a fixed, he has a newer one now so knicked some bits off it, I'll ask him if he wants to get rid of it, we need the space really but we might want to meet up about this T-Lite, my brother is making his mind up whether to get a T-Lite or a new T-Mag.

I'll get back to you.

[will]

Hub spacing is 120mm same as a standard road bike, on the newer ones anyway I'm not sure about old old ones. I got my ambrosio hubs of ebay for 45. The whole thing cost about £150 - £200 tops. Run it without a brake, but when you start riding it really fast and weaving through cars and traffic jams, which you will start doing there's no avoiding it. You will probably have to get one

Sizing, I went into my local bike shop name dropped Campag record components, carbon frame etc... and said

"Can you help me identify the correct frame size" they were more than eager to help.

Beyond that its up too you, track frame of ebay, or an old road frame with the inward facing horizontal drop outs. There is a big topic on OTN about fixed riding and of course there is always a font of information to be found on Sheldon Brown (rip)

Edited July 18, 2007 by will

[chrishayton]

i think im gonna try running single speed for abit and see how much it annoys me only having one gear, then i might try fixed

[Bionic Balls]

i would seriously advise having a front brake (at least)....maybe only until you get used to it...

at full whack you won't stop for a long ol' time without one..

and you can endo .

riding backwards when you get to the traffic lights is my favourite part ...

and as above- watch yourself going round corners...since you can't coast, the pedals do get real close to the floor..

adam

[Tomm]

I read on a website once about the 'bike courier olympics' that are held in America somewhere. One of the events is longest skid on a fixed gear. And apparently the record for bunny hopping a road bike is over a metre

Road bike sizing:

In order to establish your correct frame size you will need, first of all, to accurately measure your inside leg, (in cm).

The inside leg length (in cm) is measured as follows:

- Stand straight up on your bare feet (do not wear any shoes).

- Position the inside of your feet approximately 200mm apart.

- Pull a tube with a diameter of approx 35mm (or the back of a book) firmly to your crutch until you can feel it against the bone.

- Position yourself in the middle of the tube or book.

- Measure the distance (in cm) from the feet to the top of the tube both in front of you as well as behind you (see image, right). Add those two sizes and divide the respective result by two. The result is your inside leg measurement.

HORIZONTAL GEOMETRY (Horizontal Top Tube)

Use the formula: Inside leg measurement (cm) x 0.65. The resultant size should be rounded up or down to whichever is the nearest frame size option.

SLOPING GEOMETRY (Sloping Top Tube)

Use the formula: Inside leg measurement (cm) x 0.65. Deduct 4cm from the resultant size and round up or down to the nearest frame size option.

[poopipe]

I read on a website once about the 'bike courier olympics' that are held in America somewhere. One of the events is longest skid on a fixed gear. And apparently the record for bunny hopping a road bike is over a metre

Road bike sizing:

a metre!! how the hell do you tuck a roadie that high?

nice one on the sizing

[Mark W]

I've ridden my friend's fixie and I've also ridden one around Manchester Velodrome before, and they're sooooo nice to ride. I'm thinking of banging one together as a cheap get-around bike. When I ride up to Oxford St on my BMX to do some shopping or whatever, I hate leaving it there just 'cos I know how important it is to me - even with two locks on it. So yeah, having a cheap, fun bike to get around on would be ideal.

They just feel different to a road bike, the actual surge of power you get when you accelerate away hard, and the way you resistance pedal to slow down and stuff - it's just a feel thing, and it feels really good. They're efficient too, cheap to fix and maintain, and you also got Cool Points from all the other people around

I'm thinking of having a crack at Bike Messengering over the autumn/winter too, so a fixie's gonna be useful for that too...

EDIT: Pedals-wise, what about flat pedals with loosely done up toe-clips? Easy enough to get your feet out of, but will mean you're more anchored to the pedals than just running flats?

[Fixed Pants™]

My friend has hybrid pedals, clippy on one side, and small vp caged type ones on the other side, perfect.

[Dr. Nick Riviera]

right, f**k it, a bicycle i shall build!