idee fixe

Quoted message said:

SJS seem to have a good selection

....in particular, I was looking at their "own brand" double-sided
cartridge-bearing track hubs at £39.99 a pair. Anyone know anything
about these? They seem to be a /very/ reasonable price.

d.

The message <[email hidden]>
from davek <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

So, main outlay will be the rear wheel.

Presuming it's got a screw on hub then you can probably just redish the
existing wheel and screw the sprocket up nice and tight by honking it up
a hill. The only new item you should have to buy for such a conversion
is the sprocket itself!

Nik

davek said:

t.

Quoted message said:

I haven't seen the bike yet but I'm hoping it will be a good candidate
for conversion (for a bike more than 20 years old, horizontal dropouts
are a given, yes?). My friend tells me it has a single Stronglight
chainset - this should make getting a good chainline easier, yes?

So, main outlay will be the rear wheel. Where is the cheapest place to
buy track hubs? SJS seem to have a good selection, but is there anywhere
else I should look?

Why not start with the hub you have: remove freewheel, put on fixed gear
cog (do it up TIGHT) and muck about with the spacers and a spokekey to
achive chainline (you might end with a dished wheel the wrong way round,
but that only adds character)

Go ride, save some money and get a proper hub later (Gold-tec, Suzue
(on-one.co.uk))

---
Marten Gerritsen

INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL
www.m-gineering.nl

nik said:

Presuming it's got a screw on hub

Of course! I didn't think of that. So it could be even cheaper than I
thought... Excellent!

d.

nik said:

The message <[email hidden]>
from davek <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

So, main outlay will be the rear wheel.

Presuming it's got a screw on hub then you can probably just redish the
existing wheel and screw the sprocket up nice and tight by honking it up
a hill. The only new item you should have to buy for such a conversion
is the sprocket itself!

You might not even need to redish, depending on the BB and/or
possibilities of fiddling around with axle spacers. And don't forget
some/most fixed sprockets are "sided" so mounting them one way will
give a different chainline to mounting them the other.

Tim

davek said:

I haven't seen the bike yet but I'm hoping it will be a good candidate
for conversion (for a bike more than 20 years old, horizontal dropouts
are a given, yes?). My friend tells me it has a single Stronglight
chainset - this should make getting a good chainline easier, yes?

Almost certainly horizontal: if they're not, someone's replaced them.
Long ones are better.

The Stronglight chainset sounds like a keeper: you can always try
different bottom bracket axle lengths if you get really stuck, and it'll
be compatible with modern chainrings of the appropriate BCD.

Quoted message said:

initiation into the art of fixed gear cycling, I'm hoping this project
will also introduce me to the arcane world of wheelbuilding). Is this a
good idea, or should I buy a new rim for the project? Or is this not a
good project for a novice wheelbuilder - should I get someone else to
build it for me?

If you can get yourself on a wheelbuilding course, or get your hands on
a copy of _The Bicycle Wheel_ by Jobst Brandt, you should probably be
able to get a reasonable wheel put together on your first attempt. It's
one of those skills where an amateur can do quite a good job,
given enough time and patience.

Personally, I'd go for alloy rims in preference to steel, if that's what
the bike comes with. If you're happy with the existing braking though,
keep the current kit.

Quoted message said:

And what cheap hubs do people recommend? I don't mind if it won't last
all that long because even a cheapo hub should last at least long enough
for me to save up my pocket money for a Goldtec or maybe even a Phil
Wood. And what about sprockets? What are the good/cheap makes?

Cheaper to space and redish the existing back wheel, as other posters
have described. Miche do a decent mid-priced track hub set, although
bizarrely for a track hub the rear requires dishing.

Ten quid buys you a TranZmission 18T sprocket made out of not-too-bad
cheese. You can pay lots more for EAI jobs, or a few pounds more for
Dura-Ace ones in smaller sizes. I certainly wouldn't pay less.

Check the lockring is included in the kit if you decide to buy proper
track hubs.

Quoted message said:

One other question: what pedal systems do people use for riding fixed? I
presume clips/clipless are better than platforms, yes?

Right now I'm using platforms: fun but slow, and they make slowing/
braking interesting too. I'm hoping to switch to clipless on it soon,
but I'm learning those too: need have the standard traffic lights
pratfall before I'll risk transplanting them to the fixed.

Clips and straps seem to be quite popular too. The only concerns I'd have
personally are with ground clearance and tightening the things while
moving. They're much cheaper than any clipless system of course (3 quid
for straps, clips from the spares bin at the LBS for me).

Talking of ground clearance: check the wheel size the frame was designed
for. If it expects larger wheels than the ones you want to fit, the BB
will hang lower putting you at greater risk of pedal strike. More
importantly, you'll have to think about different brake calipers.

--
Andrew Chadwick

davek said:

So, main outlay will be the rear wheel. Where is the cheapest place to
buy track hubs?

Pour superglue into the freewheel and leave to set.

Sea water might have the same effect, but you'll have to leave it a bit
longer...

--
Mark.
http://tranchant.plus.com/