asaur: The formula hub is great: at the end of the season pull out the bearings and replace'em with the ones available from Phil Wood and you'll be golden. The front brake is kinda a personal thing. A lot of people seem to like the cross-top style lever, even more so if you're going to be changing your bars a lot. Paul Components makes great but pricey levers. The Diatech Goldfinger is another good option if you can fit it on your bars. Some people like to use their brake a lot and if you're one of them you'll want a larger, easier to reach lever. If you want it only as an emergency backup, get something smaller that won't get in the way.
After swearing off Archinect for a couple months, of course its the bicycle thread that pulls me back in...
Thanks for the info. This thread is great, I had never heard of a fixed gear bike before this thread and after reading all the great stuff and seeing all the clean lines and awesome bikes, I had to buy one. I thought about a conversion on my old road bike, but 'The Hour' was such a good price I figured I would just go with something new. Anyway, love the clean lines and zen like feel of riding the bike.
140mm stem?!?! did you order the frame too small or something?
I'm rocking a 105 on my angus and am thinking about bringing it down to 95 (its a classic 3T stem a buddy is trying to unload) to bring the cockpit in.
Nahhhh man. I just like the feel of having a 140mm stem. Brings me over the front wheel more. You know how the Angus' geometry is tighter and more responsive than the Mark V pro? Well, I wanted to be able to ride the center of my riser bars when sprinting, or grip the handles when riding through the city.
Makes sense, I rock the middle of the bars right next to the stem when I want to drop down if I'm drafting or in a headwind. I want to get a steeper fork eventually to tighten things up a bit as maybe next year I'll venture up to the closest track to get some racing in. Regardless of the fork though, the Angus is definately better looking than a Mark V, but I think the quill stem has a lot to do with it for me.
saw the windsor and it seems like a sweet deal. question about the geometry though... i'm sort of in between the 56cm and 61cm frame and wonder which way i should go? i'm closer to the 61... but i don't really like going bigger than i'm used to...
I bought a Windsor (56cm) about a month ago and it is a very nice bike. Rides great. I would check ebay for a 58cm bike, bikesdirect.com has several windsors on ebay for a little cheaper. Good luck.
Track-ish frame geometries typically run smaller than road geometries: my conversion (posted on the first page of this thread) is a 55cm and my IRO Angus is a 53cm. There is a slight bit more stand over on the IRO, but not enough to compensate for the numerical difference. The best thing to do is always size out the frame, but the next best thing can be to find out from the dealer/manufacturer what the standover height is for the bike and work from there. Of course you're getting a track geometry for it to be twitchy, so some people will size down when given the choices you have.
I have no riding experience with the Windsor, but I'm surprised they don't offer anything for the Windsor between 56 and 61. The Mercier from bikesdirect.com is similarly priced I believe, and is just a repackaged version of the KHS Flite 100 I believe. I'm gonna say go check out bikeforums.net and ask in the ss/fg board on people's sizing experience. You'll probably get some flack for wanting a Windsor as its a heavy frame and not exactly the best components, but I'm sure there is someone on there that would be able to help you out.
Seems the Windsor 'The Hour' has alot of the same components as the Bianchi pista and it is about half the price. You will probably end up replacing much of the parts on the Bianchi just the same. And if you are just looking for a decent track/road fixie I think the windsor is quit a good deal. Just my opinion. What do you mean "dished out?"
anyone know anything about a SR (Sakae Ringyo) Semi-pro? i've got one eyed on craigslist and it has a horizontal dropout. frame looks really good and i want to try to see if i can build a fixie rather than buy one.
asauer:
yes, and people have been complaining about the components on this years Bianchi. but with the Bianchi if you replace all the components you'll still have a nice frame (quality of welds, tubing, weight, etc.). if you have the extra money to blow, look at the IROs (sported by archinect's own JohnProlly and myself), good frame, decent components, amazing price for what you're getting. plus if you destroy the frame in a crash you can get a replacement for 1/2.
my friend's wheel last friday after getting sideswipped by a car. they hit him, gunned it, and in the process ran over his wheel. thankfully the frame (a colnago TT frame from the Polish national team) was fine.
It's the bicycle thread that has brought me back too.
Asauer, the 48:16 gear is pretty long, about 80", and has issues because it gives a ratio of 3:1. This means that (assuming that you are ambidextrous in the lock and skid) you only get two skid patches on the tyres (also the longer the gear, the harder it is to lock). For this reason I have just bought a 17tooth cog for the rear. The 48:17 gear is only 75" and has 34 skid patches so it's much easier to manage tyre wear, and to skid in the first place. Most of the fixies on the London messenger circuit have a gear length in the high 60's.
Lock and slide is not so tough, even on the 80" gear. Find some smooth, wet, tarmac/concrete and have a go. Limacon, the bouncing-the-back-wheel thing is actually the same thing as the lock and slide, it's just that when the tarmac/tyre interface is particularly grippy the wheel bounces rather than slides...
Having taped my Condor fixie with black electrical tape I am about to stencil "Ma Bitch" on the tubes where it would have said "Pista". Love ma bitch.
Replace it when your cranks still wobble even when fully screwed in, or when it breaks and the now rotten bearings spill all over the road. In the meantime clean off the rust and use plenty of white grease to help stop it getting any worse. If it rusts in place then the only option is the surgical cut-and-shut procedure...
I'm running 48:16 and have no problems locking and skidding; Although, I haven't tried the 17tooth cog. I also find the side lean helps in fishtailing to a stop.
ACFA, looks good, riding brakeless, and no pedals too! you are the man. I jest. Welcome. Enjoy.
JP, the 48:16 is a lovely gear, and fine for skidding, apart from the fact that it only creates two skid patches and thus necessitates taking off the chain and moving the wheel around so that the tyre doesn't just wear through on those two patches. Which is an arseache, which is why I moved to the 17.
front brake is the FIRST thing going back on after i get this thing together.
as i am a designer, i've got my aesthetic plan well laid out before i even know how i'm getting this thing back together. all shiny metal, blue, and white. made a white and dark royal blue logo and will print to a decal that'll go around the top tube... matching blue grip tape, and some blue tires.... rest of it will be as shiny as i can get bare metal to be...
my brakes are called "kartner bar" so it's ok as ornament...
last night i went to the LA bike kitchen. took off the BB which seemed to have never been taken out ever before. so that took a good 30 min just to remove. cleaned all the crap out and regreased the bearings. feels a lot better now but apparently i stink at dialing in how tight the BB should be.
getting a parts list together and searching the LBS's:
bulletproof crank
42t or 44t chainring
brake lever
IRO flipflop wheelset
15t and 18t cogs (15 will be fixed, 18 free)
toeclips
michelin speedium tires in BLUE.
found a powder coater that'll do bicycle frames for a reasonable price. so i'm gonna spend some time and strip the paint this weekend. also found a 1/8" chain in blue as well... but i think that might be taking it too far. but hey... why not right?
btw the bike kitchen in LA is an awesome place. really friendly people. i was a little intimidated at first as i really don't know anything but they were a big help and have essentially quadrupled my knowledge of bicycles in just a few hours.
your Windsor, I believe, is from the original Windsor that established the name in the industry while the hour is a different establishment that bought the rights to the name.
i'm told by greater minds than my own that mine is actually a cinelli knock-off that windsor used to fabricate in mexico...but your explanation would explain why i got no response from windsor when i asked them about the provenance of my beloved carrera sport.
bicycles
well i also own the front half... not sure how to resize an image so it fits on page...
asaur: The formula hub is great: at the end of the season pull out the bearings and replace'em with the ones available from Phil Wood and you'll be golden. The front brake is kinda a personal thing. A lot of people seem to like the cross-top style lever, even more so if you're going to be changing your bars a lot. Paul Components makes great but pricey levers. The Diatech Goldfinger is another good option if you can fit it on your bars. Some people like to use their brake a lot and if you're one of them you'll want a larger, easier to reach lever. If you want it only as an emergency backup, get something smaller that won't get in the way.
After swearing off Archinect for a couple months, of course its the bicycle thread that pulls me back in...
Pixelwhore,
Thanks for the info. This thread is great, I had never heard of a fixed gear bike before this thread and after reading all the great stuff and seeing all the clean lines and awesome bikes, I had to buy one. I thought about a conversion on my old road bike, but 'The Hour' was such a good price I figured I would just go with something new. Anyway, love the clean lines and zen like feel of riding the bike.
Yeah, sure, you guys have bikes. But do ya have bitches to go along with em?
or a 140mm Cinelli Pinnochio stem?
fyi: I didn't mean "bitches" in the literal sense. She's a very nice girl who likes to rock onesies and wallabees.
I swore it off too Pixel, but my email notification brought me back.
140mm stem?!?! did you order the frame too small or something?
I'm rocking a 105 on my angus and am thinking about bringing it down to 95 (its a classic 3T stem a buddy is trying to unload) to bring the cockpit in.
Nahhhh man. I just like the feel of having a 140mm stem. Brings me over the front wheel more. You know how the Angus' geometry is tighter and more responsive than the Mark V pro? Well, I wanted to be able to ride the center of my riser bars when sprinting, or grip the handles when riding through the city.
Also, I like the way it looks.
Makes sense, I rock the middle of the bars right next to the stem when I want to drop down if I'm drafting or in a headwind. I want to get a steeper fork eventually to tighten things up a bit as maybe next year I'll venture up to the closest track to get some racing in. Regardless of the fork though, the Angus is definately better looking than a Mark V, but I think the quill stem has a lot to do with it for me.
pixel-
saw the windsor and it seems like a sweet deal. question about the geometry though... i'm sort of in between the 56cm and 61cm frame and wonder which way i should go? i'm closer to the 61... but i don't really like going bigger than i'm used to...
a center for ants?
I bought a Windsor (56cm) about a month ago and it is a very nice bike. Rides great. I would check ebay for a 58cm bike, bikesdirect.com has several windsors on ebay for a little cheaper. Good luck.
Track-ish frame geometries typically run smaller than road geometries: my conversion (posted on the first page of this thread) is a 55cm and my IRO Angus is a 53cm. There is a slight bit more stand over on the IRO, but not enough to compensate for the numerical difference. The best thing to do is always size out the frame, but the next best thing can be to find out from the dealer/manufacturer what the standover height is for the bike and work from there. Of course you're getting a track geometry for it to be twitchy, so some people will size down when given the choices you have.
I have no riding experience with the Windsor, but I'm surprised they don't offer anything for the Windsor between 56 and 61. The Mercier from bikesdirect.com is similarly priced I believe, and is just a repackaged version of the KHS Flite 100 I believe. I'm gonna say go check out bikeforums.net and ask in the ss/fg board on people's sizing experience. You'll probably get some flack for wanting a Windsor as its a heavy frame and not exactly the best components, but I'm sure there is someone on there that would be able to help you out.
You'll end up replacing EVERYTHING on the windsor. Go with an Iro or a Bianchi. Windsor's are junk if you're a serious rider.
My friend Nash bought one and his wheels dished out in a week!
John Prolly,
Seems the Windsor 'The Hour' has alot of the same components as the Bianchi pista and it is about half the price. You will probably end up replacing much of the parts on the Bianchi just the same. And if you are just looking for a decent track/road fixie I think the windsor is quit a good deal. Just my opinion. What do you mean "dished out?"
anyone know anything about a SR (Sakae Ringyo) Semi-pro? i've got one eyed on craigslist and it has a horizontal dropout. frame looks really good and i want to try to see if i can build a fixie rather than buy one.
asauer:
yes, and people have been complaining about the components on this years Bianchi. but with the Bianchi if you replace all the components you'll still have a nice frame (quality of welds, tubing, weight, etc.). if you have the extra money to blow, look at the IROs (sported by archinect's own JohnProlly and myself), good frame, decent components, amazing price for what you're getting. plus if you destroy the frame in a crash you can get a replacement for 1/2.
My daily driver... 2007 Raleigh Mojave 2.0 in Black and Silver.
my friend's wheel last friday after getting sideswipped by a car. they hit him, gunned it, and in the process ran over his wheel. thankfully the frame (a colnago TT frame from the Polish national team) was fine.
<img src=http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i36/gregtheripper/P1010024.jpg width=420>
lets try this again...
city bike, hop on and off buses, ride short distance
It's the bicycle thread that has brought me back too.
Asauer, the 48:16 gear is pretty long, about 80", and has issues because it gives a ratio of 3:1. This means that (assuming that you are ambidextrous in the lock and skid) you only get two skid patches on the tyres (also the longer the gear, the harder it is to lock). For this reason I have just bought a 17tooth cog for the rear. The 48:17 gear is only 75" and has 34 skid patches so it's much easier to manage tyre wear, and to skid in the first place. Most of the fixies on the London messenger circuit have a gear length in the high 60's.
Lock and slide is not so tough, even on the 80" gear. Find some smooth, wet, tarmac/concrete and have a go. Limacon, the bouncing-the-back-wheel thing is actually the same thing as the lock and slide, it's just that when the tarmac/tyre interface is particularly grippy the wheel bounces rather than slides...
Having taped my Condor fixie with black electrical tape I am about to stencil "Ma Bitch" on the tubes where it would have said "Pista". Love ma bitch.
bought a fuji supreme frame today and making a project out of it. my first fixie! (and my first bike building project).
test rode the frame and the steel feels so smooth. removed most of the stuff... and have to run to the shop to get a chain tool.
question: the BB has some rust on it... how do i know if i should replace it or not?
Replace it when your cranks still wobble even when fully screwed in, or when it breaks and the now rotten bearings spill all over the road. In the meantime clean off the rust and use plenty of white grease to help stop it getting any worse. If it rusts in place then the only option is the surgical cut-and-shut procedure...
I'm running 48:16 and have no problems locking and skidding; Although, I haven't tried the 17tooth cog. I also find the side lean helps in fishtailing to a stop.
Pizel, maybe if you guys weren't drinking and riding, you wouldn't have gotten hit.
i kid i kid
Nice frame tho' - remings me of the KHS TT frames!
all the crap is gone... now to get it fixied up. tonight i'm getting a gameplan set w/ a friend that knows what they're doing.
chain rings came off the other day... need to get a good wheelset. looking at the flip-flops from IRO... anyone ride these?
crap... resized
ACFA, looks good, riding brakeless, and no pedals too! you are the man. I jest. Welcome. Enjoy.
JP, the 48:16 is a lovely gear, and fine for skidding, apart from the fact that it only creates two skid patches and thus necessitates taking off the chain and moving the wheel around so that the tyre doesn't just wear through on those two patches. Which is an arseache, which is why I moved to the 17.
front brake is the FIRST thing going back on after i get this thing together.
as i am a designer, i've got my aesthetic plan well laid out before i even know how i'm getting this thing back together. all shiny metal, blue, and white. made a white and dark royal blue logo and will print to a decal that'll go around the top tube... matching blue grip tape, and some blue tires.... rest of it will be as shiny as i can get bare metal to be...
ACFA...i'm riding iro. good stuff. quick!
I Heart my Iro. ACFA... The front brake is ornament, which is crime. heh.
I'm about to scoop some NEON green 700c tires from some shop in NL. Should look pretty good with the orange frame.
PsyArch, I'll try the 17t cog. Are they as common? I feel like i've never seen them in the shops around here. Maybe i'll order one from Ben's Bike.
Trackstar will probably have at 17t if you can't find it at your regular LBS.
my brakes are called "kartner bar" so it's ok as ornament...
last night i went to the LA bike kitchen. took off the BB which seemed to have never been taken out ever before. so that took a good 30 min just to remove. cleaned all the crap out and regreased the bearings. feels a lot better now but apparently i stink at dialing in how tight the BB should be.
getting a parts list together and searching the LBS's:
bulletproof crank
42t or 44t chainring
brake lever
IRO flipflop wheelset
15t and 18t cogs (15 will be fixed, 18 free)
toeclips
michelin speedium tires in BLUE.
found a powder coater that'll do bicycle frames for a reasonable price. so i'm gonna spend some time and strip the paint this weekend. also found a 1/8" chain in blue as well... but i think that might be taking it too far. but hey... why not right?
btw the bike kitchen in LA is an awesome place. really friendly people. i was a little intimidated at first as i really don't know anything but they were a big help and have essentially quadrupled my knowledge of bicycles in just a few hours.
Just to add some variety:
I just picked up a new commuter- '71 Schwinn Typhoon, original green w/ 144 spoke rims and whitewalls! rollin on a gross, baby.....
I'll try to get a pic up, hopefully with a PBR tallboy in the background like Pixel's.
nope, this is taking it too far:
ACFA - just dropped my frame off at a powder coater this morning actually.
why are you stripping the paint? my guy's including the thread-masking and bead-blasting in the cost of the coating...
2 frames + 2 forks = $200. Standard RAL colors though, nothing fancy.
And for the record...I Heart My Windsor too, though it's a late 70's Carrera Sport, not 'The Hour' which I haven't ridden.
Ordered up a new saddle, headset and crankset 'cuz I'm selling my old parts to a friend who I've turned to the dark side.
And by dark side i mean fixed. 'natch.
edit: my windsor is on page one of this thread too...with the black bullhorns and the strange kickstand.
mightylittle:
your Windsor, I believe, is from the original Windsor that established the name in the industry while the hour is a different establishment that bought the rights to the name.
wikipedia
true dat.
i'm told by greater minds than my own that mine is actually a cinelli knock-off that windsor used to fabricate in mexico...but your explanation would explain why i got no response from windsor when i asked them about the provenance of my beloved carrera sport.
THE HOUR = FASTEST BIKE EVER
Sam Whittingham 2002 in a recumbant Varna Diablo II set the speed record at 81.00 mph (130.36 km/h)...
Damn!
suggestions for a good crank to use?
i found a set by bulletproof that's not too expensive... i don't want to spend an arm and a leg getting expensive parts.
Bulletproof will do you fine until you decide to start investing.
Ok... the Queen does "bike".
This is my bitch. 52-16, flip/flop, trek road frame with everything ground off the tubes, carbon time pedals.
QofE,
That is a hot machine.
Will post some team creative steeds in a day.
process of building my fixie...
firstfixie.blogspot.com
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