This is my fixie. I found the frame at the end of someone's drive way. It did say Schwinn on a plaque, screwed to the front of the frame. The original stuff on the bike as you see it are the cranks, pedals, fork, bars and of course the frame. I used a die grinder to strip all the paint off, which took a long time. It was a lovely cream color. After I striped it I decided I liked the raw look so I sealed all the metal (frame, bars, fork) with a clear all purpose metal sealer. The wheels chain and rear cog are new. Not cheap either. I guess that's the price you pay for trying to keep up with fads, although fixies are pretty fun to ride. The front cog has 39 teeth and the rear is 16. The hub on the tire is flip flop, but i don't have another cog for the other side yet. In the spring I plan on getting a 20 tooth for the other side. Other updates I hope to do this coming summer are new cranks, pedals, seat and stem. Stem mostly for comfort during braking. You can see from the picture what I'm up against. Ouch. I hope to find something flatter so I can push into the bars without hitting on the stem too hard.
If you ride a fixie or any sweet bike send me a pic and tell me about it. I am always looking for ideas for my next bikes, especially touring bikes.
5 comments:
What do the different tooth counts do?
The different tooth counts make it easier or harder to pedal. Making you able to go faster or slower. It is just like switching gears on a 10 speed, except I can only run on gear option unless I switch my tire around or put on a different time. You can go to http://www.allcitycycles.com/tech/gear_calc/ play around with the different numbers and read the great info they provide.
Joe, I think by having a vintage frameset the tasks you're up against are not going to be as easy as you might think. In order to keep from hitting on the stem, the only viable option I see is to go with a bmx stem and riser bars of some kind (however I would think it to be near impossible to find something compatible as well as it would kind of ruin the vintage look you have going). Since you have what's called a quill stem, you might have some luck stopping in at One On One Bike Studio and looking around in their basement for another vintage quill stem with maybe a shorter forward throw but I'm not so sure you're going to have much luck. Vintage road bikes just weren't designed with brakeless fixed gear riding in mind. Ideally, you would want to convert to a threadless stem. If you can make that happen, you'll have a bunch of stem options. I've just never looked into that myself so I'm not sure if that means you'd need a new fork, but I'm positive you would need a different headset (if that's even possible). For the new crankset, since you seem to be more price-conscious, I'd recommend Pake, Origin8, or EighthInch for a track crankset. Remember, by switching to a 3pc. crankset, you'll also need to get a new bottom bracket (yours is most likely euro, but could also be american or even mid). You shouldn't have a problem finding pedals (assuming you're now riding 3pc. cranks) for a good price. I know Origin8 and EighthInch also make good track pedals for their price. Seats can be tricky to find one that works good for you. Honestly the only way to find the right one is by trying as many as you can! You can do a test by sitting on them before you buy em but that only goes so far, cause the real test is the test of time (being ridden). A saddle can feel good just sitting on it, but riding 10 miles may be a completely different story. Brooks is the first that comes to mind in road saddles that have stood the test of time, but they are also quite spendy!
My personal opinion, turn this thing into a vintage track bike because you really don't have many options as it is. I think it would look mean with some classic track bars or moustache bars on the stem you have now, 3pc. track crankset with a monster front chainring, and a classic racing saddle like a Brooks Team (or something less pricey but with similar styling). Get a different bike if you're concerned with skids and tricking. It's not worth the time, money, and frustration to make it something it's not. I say that with love.
Peace bro.
if you wanna save a few bucks some stuff is on sale now...
http://www.cyclingcloseouts.com/Products/EighthInch-Crankset-in-Silver__Eighthinch_Crankset_Silver.aspx
http://www.cyclingcloseouts.com/Products/Origin8-Silver-Track-Pedals__072774416080-spc-SD-005.aspx
you'd have to measure your post to see if this would fit...
http://www.cyclingcloseouts.com/Products/Origin8-Silver-Seatpost__072774520343-spc-SD-019.aspx
you'd wanna make sure this would fit in your stem clamp too or else find another stem that it would fit...
http://www.cyclingcloseouts.com/Products/EIGHTHINCH-Bullhorn-Handlebars-Silver-40cm__813315010032-spc-SD-002.aspx
AAAAAAAhhhh. I wish I had money to throw down on some bike stuff but it's not looking good. Thanks for the heads up though.
Post a Comment