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Old October 19th 07, 02:02 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Duncan Smith
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Posts: 449
Default Making a fixed-wheel bike

On Oct 19, 12:47 pm,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:
Following recent bike misadventures, I'm considering taking up a
friend's offer of an old frame, to turn it into a fixed-wheel bike.

He says it's an old touring frame with "relaxed geometry".

My main concern is that the bottom bracket will be too low and I'll keep
catching the pedals on the ground, something that I've done several
times lately on my old Raleigh hybrid.

What else do I need to consider?

I konw it needs to have horizontal drop-outs. What about axle spacing?


You can always fit shorter cranks (160mm?) if you're worried about
pedal strikes. You might be allright with the drop-outs on an older
frame as they tend to be more diagonal than vertical so you could get
enough fore and aft positioning of the wheel to tension the chain - if
not, you could pop on a tensioner like this one:

http://www.on-one.co.uk/index.php?mo... &PAGE_id=140

If you get a flip-flop hub you can run fixed on one side and a
freewheel on the other. Need to decide whether to have 1/8" or a
3/32" chain and cogs (or a mixture of both). Most fixies are 1/8, but
you could run 3/32 just as easy. If the chain is 1/8 you can run both
kinds of cog, but you can't run a 1/8th cog on a 3/32 chain because
the cog will be bigger than the chain.

I'd say it would be easiest to get a track hub, then you may as well
go for a 1/8th setup. Again, 'On-One' do a good wheel build for just
under £100 - pretty good and about a third of the cost of 'top end'
kit.

You'll also something like a Hozan C-205 Lockring spanner
http://www.hubjub.co.uk/etc/etc.htm for keeping the cog on - unless
you never brake by pedaling backwards as pedaling forwards will only
tighten the cog.

HTH,

Duncan

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