Rory O'Brien track path commuter (parts bin special)

Fuck me it’s weird to using fixed for the first time in a decade. Nice smooth ride, dead quiet!
And I can still do skidz!

RIP my knees.

2 Attachments

Very good!!
Have you seen this @Neddos ? Lots of parallels with your beater

Needs a shorter stem, new wheels, and gonna swap the pedals over to clipless for the commute.

The stays on the guards need trimmed down too, but will let them settle in a bit/see if they need adjusted after a few rides.

Chuffed with it tho!

First commute complete. Surprised by the http://cyclestreets.net route, really dodged traffic without weaving through backstreets. I have to cross the centre of Leeds, so there's no avoiding it completely, but decent nonetheless. 6 miles each way, about -2 degrees this morning!

So far so good. Deffo needs a shorter and taller stem, but it all works for now!

How much shorter does the stem need to be? Could you change the bars to something more modern with less reach instead? Might give you some nicer hand positions

That’s not a bad shout. It’s just a case of finding bars that’ll play with a quill stem (26mm clamp size?), and the consequence of a parts bin special and trying not to spend money as part of the goal is to save money commuting by bike. It’s definitely rideable for now.
Cheap inline seat post might work too.

The main issue for now is getting up hills riding fixed, haha.

Less parts bin, more in the bin now.

Have to admit, if I can afford it, I'd like to replace it with something more modern/nicer.

Well, that's a bummer. How did it happened? Were you just riding along and it just did that?

Are you OK? That sort of failure can easily be fatal!

And @clubman
No idea how it happened, don’t actually remember it - but from where I was found I’ve assumed it just failed as I rode along. Was found unconscious in the road. There’s some fairly gory pictures I’ve posted but I’ll save you the discomfort.
Had a helmet on, miraculously didn’t break my collarbone/nose/cheek. It smashed my front 3 teeth back into my mouth (well, broke the bone that the teeth are attached to), which they’ve pushed back into place and I’m at the emergency dentist now getting the smashed ones looked at. Admittedly it has all been a bit inconvenient.

Holy shit, that sounds rough! Great to hear that you're mostly ok and mostly without broken bones or head injuries.
Would be also a great reminder for us all to check front ends from time to time, don't skimp on them and keep torque specs in mind.
Get well soon and hope it wouldn't put you off cycling for life!

The search for a replacement begins
Front runner is this for now:
https://www.brothercycles.com/shop/frames/the-allday/
Any other ideas for horizontal dropouts with good tyre clearance?
This could be a lazy/cheap option:
https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/bikes/road-bikes/cinelli-tutto-plus-flat-bar-road-bike--blue__62435

Mate has texted me to say he has a Dolan track I can have, which is nice! Fingers crossed it’s the right size.