Fixed Gear Bike?

Quoted message said:

Hi,

I would like to buy a fixed gear bike for commuting. I went to a dealer and tried a single speed
bike, but it didn't have the properties that I read about, nor did they have a bike that did.

I am looking for a bike that is:

1) Single speed.
2) Will not coast (if it moves, you are forced to pedal)
3) Will let you pedal backwards to move backwards
4) Will let you slow down by slowing down the pedalling
5) Equipped with "regular" (eg: handbar) brakes (front and/or back)

This leads me to ask the following questions:

1) Is a single speed bike the same as a fixed gear?
2) If so, is there a more specific name for what I am looking for?
3) Are such bikes sold, or is this a custom job?
4) What are some brands/models?

If it is any help, I live in Houston, TX (in case someone knows of an LBS that can handle this).

I'm sorry if I don't have all the terminology down pat. I just read about this today and I would
like to find one.

Thanks in advance.

It kind of sounds like you might be looking for a track bike with brakes.

e.g.,

cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗ 7298

(Note I am not affiliated with, nor have even the slightest interest in, the auction listed above.
It just happened to be the first track bike I found on eBay a second ago.)

Good luck.

-Bill Asher

Make one yourself! I did. Get all kinds of info at:

sheldonbrown.comfixed conversion.htmlOpen ↗

I built mine from an old Puch SLX frameset and spare parts around my basement shop (the Bike
Dungeon, according to my wife). I bought an older crankset, brakes, and another saddle quite
inexpensively on eBay. Reset the rear spacing myself, as I had the tools to assure good alignment,
but any competent LBS should be able to do it.

I got a really strong fixed gear wheel from Polly ([email hidden] of Toronto) with a
flip-flop hub that accomodates a fixed cog on one side and a freewheel cog on the other (the
wuss-out side IMHO). I've got a 700x28 tire on it. It has held up to my 200 lbs without a wobble.

--
Wishing you flat hills, tailwinds & friendly dogs, Pat

<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,

I would like to buy a fixed gear bike for commuting. I went to a dealer and tried a single speed
bike, but it didn't have the properties that I read about, nor did they have a bike that did.

I am looking for a bike that is:

1) Single speed.
2) Will not coast (if it moves, you are forced to pedal)
3) Will let you pedal backwards to move backwards
4) Will let you slow down by slowing down the pedalling
5) Equipped with "regular" (eg: handbar) brakes (front and/or back)

This leads me to ask the following questions:

1) Is a single speed bike the same as a fixed gear?
2) If so, is there a more specific name for what I am looking for?
3) Are such bikes sold, or is this a custom job?
4) What are some brands/models?

If it is any help, I live in Houston, TX (in case someone knows of an LBS that can handle this).

I'm sorry if I don't have all the terminology down pat. I just read about this today and I would
like to find one.

Thanks in advance.

Quoted message said:

It kind of sounds like you might be looking for a track bike with brakes.

Close, but I'm looking for something with beefier tires that can be ridden upright. The
gearing/behavior of a track bike, but with a mountain bike or cruiser frame.

Quoted message said:

Good luck.

-Bill Asher

Thanks!

"P. Hardewig" <pjwig<nospam>@fuse.net> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Make one yourself! I did. Get all kinds of info at:

sheldonbrown.comfixed conversion.htmlOpen ↗

It seems like the project may be beyond my abilities. For one thing, I would prefer an upright bike,
something with beefy tires -- like a mountain bike or cruiser.

I do have an old road bike in my garage, and it does have horizontal drops. I bought it for $15 from
a garage sale. If I do convert it, it will probably be for goofing around on so I wouldn't want to
spend much to begin with, nor would I want to pay an LBS to take care of the job for me.

Looking at the frame geometry, it doesn't look like it can accomodate very beefy tires at all. The
tires are actually pretty wide (for a road bike anyway) to begin with.

Quoted message said:

I built mine from an old Puch SLX frameset and spare parts around my basement shop (the Bike
Dungeon, according to my wife). I bought an older crankset, brakes, and another saddle quite
inexpensively on eBay. Reset the rear spacing myself, as I had the tools to assure good alignment,
but any competent LBS should be able to do it.

I got a really strong fixed gear wheel from Polly ([email hidden] of Toronto) with a
flip-flop hub that accomodates a fixed cog on one side and a freewheel cog on the other (the
wuss-out side IMHO). I've got a 700x28 tire on it. It has held up to my 200 lbs without a wobble.

Hmmmm, I glanced through Sheldon's "do it yourself", but I'll have to take another look. I imagine I
can remove the derailleur and rear brake myself. The big question will be how much will I have to
fork over for a fixed gear wheel, and will I have to fudge with anything else (other than shortening
the chain).

Quoted message said:

--
Wishing you flat hills, tailwinds & friendly dogs, Pat

Thanks for the info. I'll re-visit Sheldon's site.

In article said:

"P. Hardewig" <pjwig<nospam>@fuse.net> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Make one yourself! I did. Get all kinds of info at:

sheldonbrown.comfixed conversion.htmlOpen ↗

It seems like the project may be beyond my abilities. For one thing, I would prefer an upright
bike, something with beefy tires -- like a mountain bike or cruiser.

You're going to have some problems with finding that pre-made; neither of the normal markets for
MTBs or cruisers is interested in fixed-gear riding. Coasting is a good thing off-road from time to
time. Most will come with vertical drops. If you absolutely had to have such a thing, it might be
easiest to buy one of the MTB singlespeeds (coasting) or maybe a cruiser BMX, and see if they have a
hub that will accomodate a fixed cog.

Quoted message said:

I do have an old road bike in my garage, and it does have horizontal drops. I bought it for $15
from a garage sale. If I do convert it, it will probably be for goofing around on so I wouldn't
want to spend much to begin with, nor would I want to pay an LBS to take care of the job for me.

Looking at the frame geometry, it doesn't look like it can accomodate very beefy tires at all. The
tires are actually pretty wide (for a road bike anyway) to begin with.

Quoted message said:

I built mine from an old Puch SLX frameset and spare parts around my basement shop (the Bike
Dungeon, according to my wife). I bought an older crankset, brakes, and another saddle quite
inexpensively on eBay. Reset the rear spacing myself, as I had the tools to assure good
alignment, but any competent LBS should be able to do it.

I got a really strong fixed gear wheel from Polly ([email hidden] of Toronto) with a
flip-flop hub that accomodates a fixed cog on one side and a freewheel cog on the other (the
wuss-out side IMHO). I've got a 700x28 tire on it. It has held up to my 200 lbs without a
wobble.

Hmmmm, I glanced through Sheldon's "do it yourself", but I'll have to take another look. I imagine
I can remove the derailleur and rear brake myself. The big question will be how much will I have
to fork over for a fixed gear wheel, and will I have to fudge with anything else (other than
shortening the chain).

If the wheel on your old road bike has a freewheel on the hub (as opposed to a freehub), then you
might well be able to just pop that off and replace it with a track (fixed) cog. Lot cheaper than
the whole wheel - I think I paid about $13 for a replacement cog for my track bike.

Keith

--
Keith Rickert [email hidden]