Fixie Project

[Smurfy]

Oh dear, I fear my bike was made entirely with hate!

I had a brief glimmer of hope when I remembered that it has Sapim spokes. But alas, it appears that Sapim are made in Belgium, not Italy!

 

[Rahul Sapariya]

Yeah but expensive bike components have been made with love with top secret recipes and the best engineers who have contact with with unicorns and faries

Your bike will have been made with hate by poor starving children and the bike will tell you this every time you ride it

I just think that sometimes things are over-rated. Like how people go on and on about 'park tools' tools. I've found cheaper equivalents that work better at times. Park tools are extortion imo. It is the same with campagnolo. I make bikes and fix bikes for a living and I generally take my time making bikes, using parts that work. Campagnolo are good, really good but the prices they charge for the components is ridiculous. Fair enough if the parts were twice as good as something else and twice as expensive, but they aren't twice as good, they are slightly lighter and feel a bit more smoother. And then you get people who talk about wheels and stuff, saying that (insert really good wheel here) is really good and it reduces rolling resistance by 2% and the rim allows for 4% better braking. For me, There are 3 types of wheels, a cheapy wheel that works but the performance is a bit rubbish at times, then you have the decent wheels which work and performance is definitely good, and then you have the top end of stuff where there is only a slight improvement on a few things but they charge stupid prices. My problem for the stupidly priced things is that you get people who buy these things and then they talk about it with such love, almost like they look down on other people. Fair enough if they race for a living or ride their bike often but it is those people who look down on others for not wanting to spend money on items like that. Basically, my whole point is 'if it works, why replace it then?' I don't like STI shifters or the campagnolo equivalent, why people continue to tell me to get that is beyond me. Why people tell me I should go for clipless pedals when I prefer toe straps because there aren't any cool looking shoes for spds, is beyond me. Why people tell me I should stop riding a fixed gear when those people, in a race, I still beat them on my fixed gear...and I don't brag about the parts on my bike, I am a cyclist and a bike mechanic, I have a hatred for expensive things because then cycling creates a divide, whereas I see cycling as something that is affordable for everyone to give it a try.

That's my 2 pence (I'm British, not American so it is 2 pence)

 

[colly]

You have a point there Rahul.

Better equipment in all kinds of sports will maybe give you an edge if you are performing. But, and it is a big but, if you personally don't have the ABILITY to make use of that edge then it might well be a waste of money.
There is nothing wrong with buying the best bike, golf clubs, tennis racquet, or whatever, if that is what you want to do and can afford it. It is, after all, very nice to own and use things that are superbly made and function sublimely.
But if you are buying the best just to brag about it and make yourself 'look good' then I personally can't see the point.

I would however really love a hand made stainless frame.

 

[Rahul Sapariya]

You have a point there Rahul.

Better equipment in all kinds of sports will maybe give you an edge if you are performing. But, and it is a big but, if you personally don't have the ABILITY to make use of that edge then it might well be a waste of money.
There is nothing wrong with buying the best bike, golf clubs, tennis racquet, or whatever, if that is what you want to do and can afford it. It is, after all, very nice to own and use things that are superbly made and function sublimely.
But if you are buying the best just to brag about it and make yourself 'look good' then I personally can't see the point.

I would however really love a hand made stainless frame.

It's always nice to have a good quality item but I just think at a certain point, it just becomes stupid. Of course everyone can buy what they want, just don't brag about it to me I remember last year when I was looking at a bike magazine and there was this saddle, possibly a san marco, and apparently it gives you 4% more in performance...price? £300. And I remember one of my friends saying he was going to buy it. His bike always gets new groupsets and stuff. Every model, probably ends up on his bike. And he always brag! God how I want to just screw his screws up in his clips up tight...bike justice

 

[Cyclopathic]

It's always nice to have a good quality item but I just think at a certain point, it just becomes stupid. Of course everyone can buy what they want, just don't brag about it to me I remember last year when I was looking at a bike magazine and there was this saddle, possibly a san marco, and apparently it gives you 4% more in performance...price? £300. And I remember one of my friends saying he was going to buy it. His bike always gets new groupsets and stuff. Every model, probably ends up on his bike. And he always brag! God how I want to just screw his screws up in his clips up tight...bike justice

I'm with you on all of that. There is definitely a point at which spending twice as much on an item will not make it twice as good and things that encourage elitism can be discouraging to others who might be put off cycling because they feel it is all like that. Having said that though I have just bought some valve dust caps made from the same material that is used to protect the space shuttle from metoir strikes in space. The dust caps have been hand crafted by Mr Campagnolo himself who carved them from a solid block of the expensivisium-wieghsnothingium taking four years to complete the task. After that they were polished with the preserved tears of Eddy Merckx to make them aerodynamic and I can assur you it is not just a gimmick they really do work as when I put them on my raleigh 20 I immediately felt far more superiour to anybody else on any other bike who does not have such good valve dust covers.

 

[Pennine-Paul]

I have just bought some valve dust caps made from the same material that is used to protect the space shuttle from metoir strikes in space. The dust caps have been hand crafted by Mr Campagnolo himself who carved them from a solid block of the expensivisium-wieghsnothingium taking four years to complete the task. After that they were polished with the preserved tears of Eddy Merckx to make them aerodynamic and I can assur you it is not just a gimmick they really do work as when I put them on my raleigh 20 I immediately felt far more superiour to anybody else on any other bike who does not have such good valve dust covers.

Mine are better than that,they're made from invisibleium,
They weigh nothing

 

[Cyclopathic]

Mine are better than that,they're made from invisibleium,
They weigh nothing

Post a picture of them and if I like the look of them I'll buy them off you for an amount of money that lets everybody know that I will not compromise on quality. I love invisibilium, I hear it's the new black.

 

[Pennine-Paul]

I would but i took them off to clean them and i can't find them any where

 

[grayhamzyvicz]

I'm back, had a couple of really long weeks in work recently so I haven't really been able to do anything with the bike, but parts have started to come in from the internet orders, handlebar tape etc etc.

I got the bike back from being powder coated and it looks superb (in my opinion anyway). I got it painted a chocolate brown colour, and I will have white seats and a red seat/handlebar tape.

Might not be to some peoples liking but I think it'll look good. Each to their own and all that!

I've got a flip flop hub on the rear wheel, but for now I didn't even choose to get the freewheel on one side. I'm stuck with fixed, although I always know it can be included for a reasonable price at a later date. My main reason for building this is to cycle to the golf course or gym, or when I go out at weekends with my daughter. All these cycles will be completely flat travel, so I thought I'd add a bit more 'excitement' with the fixed gear, and extra challenge. If I hate it though I will convert to freewheel, but I'm pretty sure I'll love it. I'll probably give my daughter a laugh as well when she sees her dad unable to control his bike!

So far my costs are
£136 for the bb, chainset, wheels, sprocket and chain
£60 to powder coat the frame and forks
£35 for a spanner (32mm) to attach the forks to the frame again, handelbar tape, a brake cable, and a saddle
I'll probably get the bb fitted at the lbs for about £15ish so I'm hoping all in it'll cost less than £250. I think it'll be worth it. I feel attached to it already!

I have one small question I have just put on the wheels to the frame, the rear slotted in nicely, but the front 'screws' dont seem to fit into the slots on the forks (if there is a technical name i'm sure i'm about to find out!) it is a minute difference though. Is there any recommended way i should squeeze them in? Should I just tap it with a hammer? Or file the frame a bit (i know it has just been powder coated but i'm sure the wheels fitted before i sent it away so it could be the extra layer of 'paint' preventing it from slotting in. I'd like to get them in whilst removing as little of the powder coating as possible. If the powder coating is removed slightly from inside the slots I could just get touch up paint from Halfords?

God I hope this make sense

 

[Smurfy]

I have one small question I have just put on the wheels to the frame, the rear slotted in nicely, but the front 'screws' dont seem to fit into the slots on the forks (if there is a technical name i'm sure i'm about to find out!) it is a minute difference though. Is there any recommended way i should squeeze them in? Should I just tap it with a hammer? Or file the frame a bit (i know it has just been powder coated but i'm sure the wheels fitted before i sent it away so it could be the extra layer of 'paint' preventing it from slotting in. I'd like to get them in whilst removing as little of the powder coating as possible. If the powder coating is removed slightly from inside the slots I could just get touch up paint from Halfords?

When spindles, nuts and q-r skewers meet paint, there is only ever one winner! If you're sure the wheels fitted before spraying, just remove paint from the appropriate place. Who's going to see that the places where the spindles, nuts and q/r skewers touch doesn't have any paint underneath?

The only alternative is chrome plating, but that's not a very nice thing to do to a bicycle frame, and is very expensive.

 

[grayhamzyvicz]

Ok i'll try tapping it with a hammer and if not I'll file the paint off until the wheel fits.

Next problem! I fitted the bottom bracket today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77667089@N05/6859817628/

and placed the rear wheel/sprocket in their place
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77667089@N05/6859818998/

The put the chainset where i believe it should be (i haven't screwed it in yet)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77667089@N05/7005937889/

It seems to stick out a small bit as you can see, but that is as far as i can push it in (using my hands only)

But there is no way the chainline is straight
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77667089@N05/6859821268/

It's not even close, i'd say about 10mm out.

Have i installed something wrong, or do i need to make adjustments to get them to align. Or is it not possible to get them to align?

I'd say it is a good centimetre out, although if someone could tell me how to do accurate measurements, i'd clarify how much it is out.

Thanks again in advance

 

[YahudaMoon]

Is that a real track chainset ?

If it aint a real track chainset you can put the chain ring on wrong I believe ?

In other words put the chain ring on the inside of the spider.

Also when you screw the spider on this will take it in a bit more.

 

[YahudaMoon]

I can see from the pic. It ain't a track chainset / crank / spider.

 

[colly]

I think the bb for a track/fixed set up is narrower than a road bb.

On my recent conversion the centre line of the bb shell to the centre line of the chain ring was 42mm and the centre of the rear hub to the centre of the rear sprocket was also 42mm.

42mm being the 'chain line'' and it was exact.

 

[jim55]

you need a spacer or two o n the rear hub as well ,apart from the crankset seemingly not being suitable the fixed cog looks to close to the spokes,on my fixed it has a good cm between the spokes and the inner run of the chain ,and the crank defo doesnt look right
iv just checked mine and the teeth of the ring on the crank are a lot closer to the chainstay ,id say you have two things wrong ,crank is totally wrong ,and spacers on the hub