What do i need to build a fixie?

Off-topic
1

Ok, i have searched and couldn’t find anything so here goes…

I am thinking of building a fixie.

Apart from a frame and this: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Track-single-speed-fixie-groupset_W0QQitemZ230328481897QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Sport_Cycling_Parts?hash=item230328481897&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318 what else do i need?

I know i will need 2 wheels… does the back wheel need to be built up specially? Will the hub that comes with that kit just need to be laced into the rear build?

Any help appreciated!

Cheers a bunch!

Jono

2

rims, spokes, nipples, tires, fork, spacers, headset, seat post, post clamp, brakes (optional but highly recommended), pedals, possibly a chain tensioner (depending on frame), a rear cog, tools, time, money.

I am probably missing a few bits but that should get you started.

For most of my biking questions I go to MTBR. They have a great forum over there too.

edit: missed your question about the wheel build. Build up the rear wheel with normal 3X lacing. I would be tempted to lace the front wheel radially but I don’t know how smart that would be with a hub of unknown quality.

3

double posted :frowning:

4

Get a Chain Tensioner too.

If you get a frame with horizontal dropouts then you will need one of these. http://www.danscomp.com/products.php?cat=PARTS&show=ChainTensioners

If it has vertical dropouts you need a kit like this. http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/15164-075_RENRL6-3-Parts-664-Single-Speed-Parts/Rennen-Rollenlager-Single-Speed-Chain-Tensioner.htm

Those will keep your chain tight. With horizontal dropouts you can do it by hand and just tighten it up a lot. But it is way easier to keep it tight, and a bit more safe if you aren’t using brakes to have a chain tensioner doing the hard work.

You will also need a rear cog, since that set doesn’t include one.

For just starting off I would go with a slightly larger cog, as it will make it a bit easier to control the bike.

I would also start with at least a front brake. I just got a new fixie, and I must say I’m wanting a brake already. I can ride it and skid no problem, but I also haven’t been in any really dangerous spots yet. It is kind of like having a helmet. You may never hit your head, but if you do, you will be happy you have one.

The chain they are supplying you with is also a pretty cheap one, and if you aren’t using a brake then I would put the money into a nicer chain like a Sram SS chain, again it is an insurance thing, you don’t want your chain to snap and there is a lot more pressure going into a chain on a fixie.

Also don’t be a fixie hipster, get a real bike frame, make sure it fits you, or you will be complaining later.

For pedals you will probably be using cages to start, so make sure you get a pair that are comfy. I have crappy cages on my new bike and they dig into my toes on my front foot when I try and skid, so make sure you get some nicer ones.

5

a note on your frame, unless it’s designed for single speed the bottom bracket will be low and you will be at risk of pedal strikes on turns with normal length cranks. You need to use slightly shorter cranks and narrower pedals with a normal road frame or you will have a nasty accident.

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Thanks for the replies everyone, its much appreciated :slight_smile:
I am pretty busy with work at the moment and stuff but will write a more detailed response hopefully tonight.
Cheers.
J

7

I don’t think you can use a chain tensioner for vertical dropouts. The tensioner would have to be strong enough to withstand the forces in a fixie drive train, and I’m not aware of any such thing.

My fixie has vertical dropouts. I built it with a mountain bike frame, which is nice because it has a higher bottom bracket which provides more pedal clearance when turning. When I built it I calculated what chain ring and sprocket combinations would work for the frame I had. Alternatively you could figure out what combinations will fit by trial and error, changing either the ring or sprocket by one tooth difference at a time.

Also, I don’t think you really need a tensioner. I have track nuts like these on my fixie, and I’ve never had them come loose.

8

yes the jockey-wheel style tensioners are made for single speeds, on a fixie when you back pedal the side with the jockey wheel will go tense, flattening it against the frame and allowing the normall tense side to go slack. This then allows your chain to fall off just as you’re trying to use it to brake. Oh damn. I have built a singlespeed mtb with vertical dropouts by spending ages arseing around with the chain length. This might be your only option if you have a vertical dropout frame.

As for track nuts, I’ve had trouble with my wheel shifting but my dropouts are only semi-horizontal and face forward, so tensioners aren’t an option.

9

You may want to go with a flip-flop hub.
I’ve heard that some people like the ability to switch between fixie and single speed every once in a while.

10

Checkout Sheldon Brown’s website. Also, Google “fixed wheel” or “single speed”.

I bought a fixie ready made a year or so ago. Great on the flat and rolling country, but dreadful on very steep hills, up or down. At the moment I am running it as single speed with a freewheel.

11

Since I’m too cheap to spend money on parts, I ride a POS fixie that is the result of converting an old ten speed Schwinn. If you can get a hold of an old mostly complete bike, the only part you’ll need is a fixed wheel for the back (I know some people who converted their old road bike wheels into fixed wheels by pulling off the cassette and just lock-tighting a fixed cog on, but that’s a really sketchy way to do it). Once you have a wheel and a bike, you can just rip off all of the redundant parts that are no longer useful!

Note that this method doesn’t result in a proper bicycle, but it’s a nice way to build one up quickly for next to nothing.

12

What he showed on ebay was a flip flop.

I’m pretty sure the tensioner I posted though would work. It doesn’t move. You bolt it into the quick release, then adjust the tension, then bolt the other part in at the derailleur. So it is bolted into two spots, and doesn’t move at all once it is bolted in.

I think too, if you are going to build a fixie, you should at least make sure that the drive train is legit, if anything happens to it, then you are boned, and it is always nice to have a bike that will last.

13

I just built a fixie

You need to determine the size of the wheel chain(40-50) and what size will be your rear cog(14,15,16). This determines the geared inched and if u want to ride hills you better stay in the 70-79 range. True fixies have no brakes but do u have the guts.

14

I forgot to mention, you can also get half chain links to fine tune a chain if you need them, so you can get the chain just the right size.

15

I’m suprised nobody mentioned this:

You’re going to need a whole lot of smug! Fixie riders are very smug, in the complacent kind of way, and you just wont look right riding along with a big smug smile and attitude. Don’t forget to try and smugly draft/race every non-fixed gear road bike you see. When they shift gears and put you in their dust, become even more smug, for you must be the better rider, you only have 1 gear! Clipless pedals? No way, rat-traps are much more smug.

SMUG SMUG SMUG!

16

I ride a fixie and enjoy the smell of my own farts.
I have even been considering getting a Mac and Prius.

17

Hah, I used to see fixie riders doing that, and then try and race them on my coker just for fun.

I can’t wait to try clipless on my fixie though.

O and John’s post made me laugh.

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The Smugness is key but a side backpack and dirty mustache are important variables as well.

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This: http://www.mcbains.com.au/index.php?q=node/540

By far the easiest way to do it, and, depending on your level of skill building bicycles, maybe cheaper than doing it yourself- much like buying all the parts to build a unicycle may end up costing more than just buying one already made.

If you’re dead-set on building one yourself for as cheap as you can, find an old steel frame bicycle with horizontal dropouts (they don’t have to be rear-facing) that seems to be in good shape, and go down to your LBS and have them order you a rear wheel (or build one for you) and then enlist the help of someone knowledgeable to get you all set up on it.

Matt.

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Yeah, stopping is for pussies!