new fixie!

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

Quoted message said:

The brakes barely fit with the top of the pads shaved off
-- the frame was evidently made for 27" wheels.

There are such things as "long reach" brakes, where the arms
are longer. I scrounged a pair off a bike abandoned at the
curb -- but I'm keeping them in case I need to convert my 27
incher to a 700 some day due to parts availability.

Sheldon Brown, master of the workaround, has a solution you
might be interested in.

sheldonbrown.comhome drop.htmlOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>,

Benjamin Lewis said:

I've been working on building up a fixed gear bicycle from
scrounged parts for a while now, and I finally got it ride-
able the other day. The frame was rusty when I found it,
and the rear triangle was bent.

Here's what it looks like now, after I finished painting
the frame (old paint and rust cleaned off with a wire
brush wheel on a drill):

cs.sfu.cafixie1a.jpgOpen ↗
cs.sfu.cafixie2a.jpgOpen ↗

It still needs bar tape, and probably a back brake (it's
got just a regular freewheel hub with the cog and a BB
lockring screwed on). The gearing seems to be okay, if a
little high for some hills; it's a 40x14 with 175mm cranks
(yeah, I know they're long, but I couldn't find any
shorter ones I liked and pedal strikes don't seem to be a
problem -- the pedals strike at just a bit shy of 45
degrees lean.)

I've got some toe clips waiting for it, too.

The brakes barely fit with the top of the pads shaved off
-- the frame was evidently made for 27" wheels.

That thing looks really nice! Makes my similar Apollo
conversion look like junk.

Now I just have to check the gearing on mine; I think I'm
using like a 50x14, which may explain why I find it a
pain to ride.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden]
sfu.cawiredcolaOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club

Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

That thing looks really nice! Makes my similar Apollo
conversion look like junk.

Now I just have to check the gearing on mine; I think I'm
using like a 50x14, which may explain why I find it a pain
to ride.

Ryan, I ride mine a lot and use a 42x16 which seems to be
just about right for the average hills around the city
although it would be a bit of a grind up SFU hill.

Benjamin Lewis said:

I've been working on building up a fixed gear bicycle from
scrounged parts for a while now, and I finally got it ride-
able the other day. The frame was rusty when I found it,
and the rear triangle was bent.

Here's what it looks like now, after I finished painting
the frame (old paint and rust cleaned off with a wire
brush wheel on a drill):

cs.sfu.cafixie1a.jpgOpen ↗
cs.sfu.cafixie2a.jpgOpen ↗

That's a nice looking bike! Can you share a little about how
you did the painting? (It sounds like you did it yourself?)
I am interesting in painting some frames I have scrounged,
and would be very happy with those results. I am wondering
about primers, brands of paint, topcoats etc.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mike Latondresse mikelat@no_spamshaw.ca said:

Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]> wrote in news:rcousine-
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

That thing looks really nice! Makes my similar Apollo
conversion look like junk.

Now I just have to check the gearing on mine; I think
I'm using like a 50x14, which may explain why I find it
a pain to ride.

Ryan, I ride mine a lot and use a 42x16 which seems to be
just about right for the average hills around the city
although it would be a bit of a grind up SFU hill.

I did some tooth counting today...The current gear is a
52x16. I'm going to try something more in your range. I even
have a fresh set of 165mm cranks to install on that bike, so
maybe the fixie will get a little more work this year.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden]
sfu.cawiredcolaOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club

Benjamin Lewis wrote:

<< ...175mm cranks (yeah, I know they're long, but I
couldn't find any shorter ones I liked and pedal strikes
don't seem to be a problem -- the pedals strike at just a
bit shy of 45 degrees lean.) ...>>

I would stick with the 175s unless you have real short legs
and would use shorter cranks anyway.

Robert

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

Quoted message said:

I've been working on building up a fixed gear bicycle from
scrounged parts for a while now, and I finally got it ride-
able the other day. The frame was rusty when I found it,
and the rear triangle was bent.

Here's what it looks like now, after I finished painting
the frame (old paint and rust cleaned off with a wire
brush wheel on a drill):

cs.sfu.cafixie1a.jpgOpen ↗
cs.sfu.cafixie2a.jpgOpen ↗

It still needs bar tape, and probably a back brake (it's
got just a

regular

Quoted message said:

freewheel hub with the cog and a BB lockring screwed on).
The gearing seems to be okay, if a little high for some
hills; it's a 40x14 with 175mm cranks (yeah, I know
they're long, but I couldn't find any shorter ones I liked
and pedal strikes don't seem to be a problem -- the pedals
strike at just a bit shy of 45 degrees lean.)

I've got some toe clips waiting for it, too.

The brakes barely fit with the top of the pads shaved off
-- the frame was evidently made for 27" wheels.

Nice save! Are those rack/fender eyelets I see? You've
got the makings of a nice commuter there, I say. Have fun
with it...

I went to Sheldon's site. Look at the picture- Is that bike
made of wood?

.

Quoted message said:

Sheldon Brown, master of the workaround, has a solution
you might be interested in.

sheldonbrown.comhome drop.htmlOpen ↗

Ryan Cousineau said:

Now I just have to check the gearing on mine; I think I'm
using like a 50x14, which may explain why I find it a pain
to ride.

Ouch. The 40x14 seems pretty good for me so far; I
originally thought I might want it even lower, but it's been
fine where I've ridden it so far.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for
which the only specification is that it should run
noiselessly.

Mike Kruger said:

Sheldon Brown, master of the workaround, has a solution
you might be interested in.

sheldonbrown.comhome drop.htmlOpen ↗

Yeah, I was thinking I might do something along those lines.
I remember seeing that before and thinking it looked scary,
but now that I see the details it's doesn't look so bad.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for
which the only specification is that it should run
noiselessly.

Jacobe Hazzard said:

Benjamin Lewis said:

I've been working on building up a fixed gear bicycle
from scrounged parts for a while now, and I finally got
it ride-able the other day. The frame was rusty when I
found it, and the rear triangle was bent.

Here's what it looks like now, after I finished painting
the frame (old paint and rust cleaned off with a wire
brush wheel on a drill):

cs.sfu.cafixie1a.jpgOpen ↗
cs.sfu.cafixie2a.jpgOpen ↗

That's a nice looking bike! Can you share a little about
how you did the painting? (It sounds like you did it
yourself?) I am interesting in painting some frames I have
scrounged, and would be very happy with those results. I
am wondering about primers, brands of paint, topcoats etc.

First I stripped the frame, and took off all the old
paint and rust with a wire wheel on a hand drill (I found
it was better to brush perpendicular to the direction of
the tubes).

I left the fork on, and covered the headset with masking
tape; I also put rolled up bits of newspaper in the various
braze-ons, etc., and taped the inside of the BB shell. I
hung the frame outside from a rope (through the BB shell).

I used a bottle of spray paint by General Paint advertised
as "Marine hi-gloss rust resistant enamel", which cost about
$6 Canadian. This provided enough paint for the frame (two
coats). The instructions say no primer is necessary, so I
didn't use one.

General Paint has a website (www.generalpaint.com), but
after a cursory look I didn't see the paint I used there.
They appear to be Vancouver (Canada) based.

The first coat I did was a little sloppy, and I got a
few drips, so I sanded these down before applying the
second coat.

There are a few spots that I partially missed, and since the
frame was hanging upside down these ended up being more
obvious than I would like. I'll probably buy a second bottle
and touch it up at some point.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for
which the only specification is that it should run
noiselessly.

Quoted message said:

Benjamin Lewis wrote:

<< ...175mm cranks (yeah, I know they're long, but I
couldn't find any shorter ones I liked and pedal strikes
don't seem to be a problem -- the pedals strike at just a
bit shy of 45 degrees lean.) ...>>

I would stick with the 175s unless you have real short
legs and would use shorter cranks anyway.

I'm about 6'2", so my legs are fairly long. I would only
consider getting shorter ones if I thought pedal strikes
might be a problem. They haven't been so far ...

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for
which the only specification is that it should run
noiselessly.

Quoted message said:

Nice save! Are those rack/fender eyelets I see? You've
got the makings of a nice commuter there, I say. Have fun
with it...

At the moment I think I want to keep it fairly minimalist;
that's one of the things I like about it. I have the luxury
of being able to bring my bike into my office where I'm
working at the moment, so I commute on my
touring/randonneur bike:

cs.sfu.cavitali1crop.gifOpen ↗

Fenders and rack have been added since this photo was taken.

I also don't think I'm ready to commute to campus on a fixie
yet; the very end of the ride involves something like 350
meters of elevation gain over 4 km, and that's *after* a 10
km ride involving a number of smaller hills.

I'll definitely have fun with it, however.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for
which the only specification is that it should run
noiselessly.

Benjamin Lewis said:

cs.sfu.cafixie1a.jpgOpen ↗
cs.sfu.cafixie2a.jpgOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

It still needs bar tape, and probably a back brake (it's
got just a regular freewheel hub with the cog and a BB
lockring screwed on). The gearing seems to be okay, if a
little high for some hills; it's a 40x14 with 175mm cranks
(yeah, I know they're long, but I couldn't find any
shorter ones I liked and pedal strikes don't seem to be a
problem -- the pedals strike at just a bit shy of 45
degrees lean.)

Quoted message said:

I've got some toe clips waiting for it, too.

Quoted message said:

The brakes barely fit with the top of the pads shaved off
-- the frame was evidently made for 27" wheels.

It was made for cantilever brakes. Such frames/forks often
have holes in the fork crown and seatstay bridge for
mounting fenders. You can mount a caliper brake there, but
no guarantee the brake reach will match. A "long reach" 47-
57mm caliper is usually a better bet. You could also use
cantilever brakes, of course.

That frame looks like it has relatively little BB drop,
which is why you aren't having any pedal strike even with
175mm cranks.

I agree that a 42/16 gear is reasonable. Your gear is a
little higher - of course, if you lower it, going _down_
hills is more of an exercise. Ryan's 52/16 is painfully high
for street riding if there are any hills.

Benjamin Weiner said:

It was made for cantilever brakes. Such frames/forks often
have holes in the fork crown and seatstay bridge for
mounting fenders. You can mount a caliper brake there, but
no guarantee the brake reach will match.

I see. I guess I assumed that it should work with either for
the same size wheels.

Quoted message said:

A "long reach" 47-57mm caliper is usually a better bet.
You could also use cantilever brakes, of course.

I was thinking of that originally, but I kind of like the
calipers. Besides, I already have a road bike with
cantilevers...

Quoted message said:

That frame looks like it has relatively little BB drop,
which is why you aren't having any pedal strike even with
175mm cranks.

Yeah, it works nicely as a fixie frame (although I'd prefer
something a little taller if I had my druthers). In fact, it
has no derailleur hanger. I'm a bit curious what the bike
was originally.

Quoted message said:

I agree that a 42/16 gear is reasonable. Your gear is a
little higher - of course, if you lower it, going _down_
hills is more of an exercise.

I suppose using the brake is bad form?

--
Benjamin Lewis

Accordion, n.: A bagpipe with pleats.

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:54:52 -0700, <[email hidden]>,

Benjamin Lewis said:

Quoted message said:

I agree that a 42/16 gear is reasonable. Your gear is a
little higher - of course, if you lower it, going _down_
hills is more of an exercise.

I suppose using the brake is bad form?

Not in New Westminster! Save your legs for climbing.
--
zk

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 19:57:44 -0700, <[email hidden]>,

Benjamin Lewis said:

The first coat I did was a little sloppy, and I got a
few drips, so I sanded these down before applying the
second coat.

There are a few spots that I partially missed, and since
the frame was hanging upside down these ended up being more
obvious than I would like. I'll probably buy a second
bottle and touch it up at some point.

I find that it takes generally two cans to paint a frame.
Mixte frames are really tricky to paint. Lots more spots to
partially miss. The last time I painted a frame I
concentrated on painting those places first from different
angles and then sprayed the tubes to just blend them in.
--
zk

Zoot Katz said:

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:54:52 -0700,
<[email hidden]>, Benjamin Lewis

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I agree that a 42/16 gear is reasonable. Your gear is a
little higher - of course, if you lower it, going _down_
hills is more of an exercise.

I suppose using the brake is bad form?

Not in New Westminster! Save your legs for climbing.

I've used brakes descending that hill even with a
freewheel ... although this has more to do with
intersections than grade.

--
Benjamin Lewis

One man's "magic" is another man's engineering.
"Supernatural" is a null word. -- Robert Heinlein

Zoot Katz said:

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 19:57:44 -0700,
<[email hidden]>, Benjamin Lewis

Quoted message said:

The first coat I did was a little sloppy, and I got a
few drips, so I sanded these down before applying the
second coat.

There are a few spots that I partially missed, and since
the frame was hanging upside down these ended up being
more obvious than I would like. I'll probably buy a
second bottle and touch it up at some point.

I find that it takes generally two cans to paint a frame.
Mixte frames are really tricky to paint. Lots more spots
to partially miss. The last time I painted a frame I
concentrated on painting those places first from different
angles and then sprayed the tubes to just blend them in.

I think I *could* have done it with one can if I'd noticed
the partially missed spots sooner, but it will be nice to
have a second anyway for later touch ups. I suspect it will
scratch off much more easily than a "real" paint job.

--
Benjamin Lewis

One man's "magic" is another man's engineering.
"Supernatural" is a null word. -- Robert Heinlein