I'm going to get in trouble for this... but I think it's worth it :)

[ChrisEyles]

I just won this cracker on ebay last night

Mrs Chris is of the opinion (perhaps quite rightly) that five bikes is already far too many for a man with only one bum to sit on them with... and she's going to learn about the new arrival (and the admittedly really quite long drive to pick it up) quite shortly.... but I think it's going to be worth it

Here it is - a 1960s BSA Goldcrest fixed gear conversion:

The seller reckons it might originally have been a SA 3-speed rear hub, but doing some googling I think a 5-speed freewheel might have been more likely.

I've never ridden a fixed gear bike before but have wanted to try one for ages. I've been keeping half an eye out for a suitable five/ten speed to do a conversion on, and then fell a bit in love with this... even the "Goldcrest" name is spot-on, given I'm a keen birder, both on and off the bike.

The seller reckons the cranks are a touch close to the chainstays on one side so may be some faffing around with axles (which will no doubt be joyful since it looks like a cottered crank) but otherwise sounds like it's in pretty good condition, and the pics suggest a nice balance between tidy paintwork and good patina.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

That looks lovely, service it and then start putting some miles on it.

 

[atalanta]

Mrs Chris may be right, but just remind her of all the things you *could* be spending that money on... "birds, booze and fast cars" as ol Georgie Best put it?

 

[ChrisEyles]

Haha, very true!

I'll pop up a couple more piccies when I've picked up the bike... and will try not to catapult myself of the bike on the first ride (there are some very steep downhills around us and I'm not quite sure what my top sustainable cadence is!).

It *is* pretty though, isn't it?

 

[Welsh wheels]

Buy her something nice to make up for it.

 

[Mark Grant]

Only 5?
You need to try harder!

 

[biggs682]

@ChrisEyles that was in my watching pile and i wondered who won it , well done you it looks like a superb machine

 

[ChrisEyles]

Thanks @biggs682 - small world, isn't it! The seller showed me some pics of a few other very nice vintage bikes he owns when he was telling me a little about the bike's history and obviously knows his stuff... so I wouldn't be entirely suprised to find he had an account on here too!

I've been pipped at the post so many times on ebay, where you watch all week and suddenly the price goes silly at the last minute, so I was really pleased my luck was in for this one, it looks smashing.

Very excited about picking it up!

 

[mustang1]

If I were in your situation, i would say something like:

"I want you to come with me to pick up my new bike. Which one of your millions of shoes will you wear?"

 

[ChrisEyles]

 

[TheDoctor]

If I were in your situation, i would say something like:

"I want you to come with me to pick up my new bike. Which one of your millions of shoes will you wear?"

That'll work fine. I did that recently, and the swelling went down after a week

 

[mustang1]

That'll work fine. I did that recently, and the swelling went down after a week

Are we talking about bruises or a blue pill scenario?

 

[ChrisEyles]

Finally picked the bike up today It was a bit of a marathon drive, but thoroughly worth it! Looks even better in the flesh than it did in the ad pics including some gorgeous gold-ish cromo plastic mudguards.

Haven't been able to take the bike for a proper spin yet as the brake blocks need tweaking into position and the whole thing a quick once over to check for any loose bolts etc but I've got a day off tomorrow so plenty of time to play with my new toy

Gearing is 46/18 so about a 2.55 gear ratio with 27" wheels. Since it's my first time riding fixed I'm not sure how I'll get on with it, but the 52/20 gear on my 27" wheeled ten speed has always felt like it would make a good fixed gear, and that comes out as 2.6, so I guess it should be about right. I'll be sure to steer clear of the steep downhills until I've got used to spinning a bit quicker though!

Here it is shining in the sun:

 

[ChrisEyles]

A quick couple of questions for the fixed riders on here - how exact does the chainline have to be? To me this looks a little off perfect, but how much tolerance is there without risking throwing the chain and locking up the rear wheel?

Also the drive side crank is really close to the chain stay. I'd say there was less than 1mm clearance, which I guess means the two could contact one another if there's any flex in the frame or play in the cranks. Is this likely to be an issue do you think? If so, is it possible to "dimple" the chain stay using a vice and a bit of steel bar perhaps?

There is quite a deep dimple to allow the chain ring to clear the chain stay:

Finally is there any rule of thumb for what constitutes a good chain tension for riding fixed? The current tension I would be perfectly happy with on my single speed (freewheel) bike, but does it look like there is too much slack for a fixed sprocket do you think?

Thanks for the help! Looking forward to getting to grips with a new load of riding and mechanics skills for riding fixed!

 

[ChrisEyles]

Went out for a first ride on the bike, planning on heading to the coast and back for a nice flat 40 miler.....

Got about two miles from home and chain snapped

Wasn't even putting in *that* much power when it happend, though it was up a hill. Is this more common with fixed gear than with freewheel bikes? Is it perhaps a sign that I need to get the chain line better than it currently is perhaps? It's the only chain I've ever broken, it was quite a shock when it went!

I was planning on ordering some new tyres for the bike anyway so I guess I'll add a new chain to that order.

Unfortunately that drive side crank does also rub against the chain stay under power. Can't decide whether to crimp the chain stay a little or to try and find a new axle... the difficulty there will be that the seller said he couldn't shift the BB fixed cup (a problem I've encountered on a few other bikes).