Can this fixie be built better?

In article <[email hidden]>, Lobo Tommy

Quoted message said:

Surly Steamroller frame, Suzue track hubs, Profile bar and
stem, Michelin tires, Selle Italia Nitrox saddle, Kalloy
post, Mavic MA3 rims, Sugino crank (49T), 15t track cog,
and an RX100 front brake

Can you build a better fixie than this using the
Steamroller frame?

Better? I don't know. I suppose "more suitable" would be a
more accurate term. And that is contingent on your
expectations, budget, intended use of the bike, etc...

Here's my .02. The 49/15 chainring/cog combination may be
hard on your knees. I'd go for lower gearing. I live in a
relatively flat city - Toronto - and my chainring/cog setup
is 48/17 with 165mm cranks. At times this setup is a bit
much: Once the drive train components wear out they'll be
replaced with a 47/18 setup (or thereabout).

From a maintenance standpoint, if you plan on extensively
using the fixie in snowy or rainy conditions (i.e as a
commuter) you may want to opt for hubs that utilize
cartridge bearings. I use a set of Phils (These are
expensive!) but I believe Miche and others make cartridge
fixed gear hubs. Every Spring I just pop the old cartridge
out... No setting cones.

Regarding the crankset; bear in mind the BB height of your
Steamroller. The longer the arms the more the possibility
you may grind a pedal while cornering - especially over
uneven terrain. Said grinding of pedal may be followed by
intimate contact with the blacktop - a painful experience!

Bars, stem, saddle, seatpost etc... No comment. Let your
sense of aesthetics, budget and experience dictate these. I
prefer threaded headsets but this may not be an option with
your flavour of forks.

As far as the MA3's. I'm riding on a pair of these now
(36hole) and once they wear out or crack they'll be replaced
with your basic single wall non anodized aluminum variety of
rim. For my needs, there's nothing in the performance of the
Ma3s over less expensive options that justifies the cost.
And you should note; quality of wheelbuild is just as
important as wheel components in determining the strength
and durability of your wheels.

Happy riding luke

(Lobo Tommy) said:

Surly Steamroller frame, Suzue track hubs, Profile bar and
stem, Michelin tires, Selle Italia Nitrox saddle, Kalloy
post, Mavic MA3 rims, Sugino crank (49T), 15t track cog,
and an RX100 front brake

Can you build a better fixie than this using the
Steamroller frame?

Surely the question should be "can you build a better fixie
for this money by not wasting a pile of cash on a
Steamroller?" For my money, the Fort 7005 Track is a better
lightweight general purpose frame, and the On-One Pompino is
a better bomb-proof street bike, and they're both cheaper
than a Steamroller, by enough to allow an upgrade to Miche
hubs and cranks. Maybe this doesn't apply where you are.
You're running about the same spec level as my hack bike, so
if that's what you built it for you're probably close. 49x15
is pretty tall for a hack bike, but they're your knees :-)

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included May contain traces of nuts Your
milage may vary

Quoted message said:

Can you build a better fixie than this using the
Steamroller frame?

No, dog, that's the Jones.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY
MIND_______________________ ------------------"Buddy Holly,
the Texas Elvis"------------------ __________306.350.357.38-

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden]__________

empbt6-<< Surly Steamroller frame, Suzue track hubs, Profile
bar and stem, Michelin tires, Selle Italia Nitrox saddle,
Kalloy post, Mavic MA3 rims, Sugino crank (49T), 15t track
cog, and an RX100 front brake >><BR><BR> << Can you build a
better fixie than this using the Steamroller frame?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

<BR><BR>

whaddyamean 'better'? Sounds fine altho a 49/15 is a pretty
tall gear( I use a
42/16). I wouldn't use MA-3 either, we have a bunch of
eyelet pull outs. Either Velocity Aeros or Ritchey
trekking rims..both about $30.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(43)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali
costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Luke-<< From a maintenance standpoint, if you plan on
extensively using the fixie in snowy or rainy conditions
(i.e as a commuter) you may want to opt for hubs that
utilize cartridge bearings >><BR><BR>

Suzue Promax are cart bearings..The 'basic' hubs are not. I
agree, Phils are the best, have them on both of my
bikes..Fixie and road bike.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali
costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Lobo Tommy said:

Surly Steamroller frame, Suzue track hubs, Profile bar and
stem, Michelin tires, Selle Italia Nitrox saddle, Kalloy
post, Mavic MA3 rims, Sugino crank (49T), 15t track cog,
and an RX100 front brake

Can you build a better fixie than this using the
Steamroller frame?

Jobst would use MA2s from his stockpile ;-)

Peter Chisholm said:

[...] I wouldn't use MA-3 either, we have a bunch of
eyelet pull outs. Either Velocity Aeros or Ritchey
trekking rims..both about $30.

Peter, you'd said good things about the MA-3 in the past.
E.g. on Nov 23, 2001, in a thread with the subject 'Building

wheels for 'heavier' riders' said:

When new, I listened to those that called the MA-3 a
'dog(Jobst) and others that I think were more [censored]
about the MA-2 going away than the design of the MA-3.
Now after a year or so of building dozens of these, I
can say they are good rims, not expensive and make a
GOOD wheelset...from my experience, not just looking at
a picture on a web site(jobst again).

Has the MA-3 changed since then, or ... ?

Tom Ace

Kinky Cowboy <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

by not wasting a pile of cash on a Steamroller?" For my
money, the Fort 7005 Track is a better lightweight general
purpose frame, and the On-One Pompino is a better bomb-
proof street bike, and they're both cheaper than a
Steamroller.

Umm... On which side of the pond?

Whitfit.

According to Lobo Tommy <[email hidden]>:

[order of post changed]

Quoted message said:

Can you build a better fixie than this using the
Steamroller frame?

Potentially.

Quoted message said:

Surly Steamroller frame,

Why the Steamroller? They seem like nice enough frames, but:

1. I don't like threadless headsets
2. "Surly" is a marketing front for QBP, a big supplier
in Minnesota. The actual frames are made by robots
in Taiwan.

Quoted message said:

Suzue track hubs,

The Suzue basic hubs are pretty nasty. I'm about to try a
set of Promax instead.

Quoted message said:

Mavic MA3 rims,

I've never heard anything good, but I don't really know. I
have an Open Pro on my fixed and it seems nice.

Quoted message said:

Sugino crank (49T), 15t track cog,

That's way too huge, I think.

Quoted message said:

and an RX100 front brake

Sounds like a nice time.

---
Lars

Luke said:

In article
<[email hidden]>, Kinky

Cowboy said:

On 24 Apr 2004 17:25:32 -0700, [email hidden] (Lobo

Tommy) said:

Surly Steamroller frame, Suzue track hubs, Profile bar
and stem, Michelin tires, Selle Italia Nitrox saddle,
Kalloy post, Mavic MA3 rims, Sugino crank (49T), 15t
track cog, and an RX100 front brake

Can you build a better fixie than this using the
Steamroller frame?

Surely the question should be "can you build a better
fixie for this money by not wasting a pile of cash on a
Steamroller?" For my money, the Fort 7005 Track is a
better lightweight general purpose frame, and the On-One
Pompino is a better bomb-proof street bike, and they're
both cheaper than a Steamroller, by enough to allow an
upgrade to Miche hubs and cranks.

<snip>

I'll go you one better Kink. Why bother with a dedicated
single speed/ track bike frameset at all? I've two fixed
gears - a Medici and an Alcyon (local housebrand) that
utilize older road frames with horiz drops. Both bikes can
accomodate racks, the Alcyon takes full fenders panniers
etc.... and these can be built up into multispeed bikes
when inclined.

These frames are not of shoddy quality: they use butted
tubes (531 and Brain) and ride wonderfully. For those, like
me, who're on a budget and prize versatility, few options
yield more value than converting an older roadie.

luke

Couldn't agree more; I've got a 1983 Raleigh Record Ace
(full 531C tubeset, and spaced 120mm at the back!) converted
to fixed, even rode a time trial on it a week or two ago,
and a 1986 Hirame (Kuwahara) Osaka Pro, Ishiwata 022 DB
CroMo tubes with the 126mm dropouts squeezed together by a
Miche track hub. Both bought new and still going strong.
Can't compete with my dad's Hobbs, which he bought second
hand in 1947 and rode to work nearly every day until 1990,
still ready to ride in the shed "just in case I want to go
back to fixed", as he said last week.

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included May contain traces of nuts Your
milage may vary

In article <[email hidden]>, Kinky

Cowboy said:

Can't compete with my dad's Hobbs, which he bought second
hand in 1947 and rode to work nearly every day until
1990, still ready to ride in the shed "just in case I
want to go back to fixed", as he said last week.

Kinky Cowboy*

<snip>

Wow! That has to be a record!

luke