Fixed Wheel Bike Build Advice

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  • Am in the process of trying to get a fixed wheel bike build sorted and looking for some advice given that different components don't necessarily fit together like matching lego blocks (much to my dismay) and am keen to get parts right first time
    Looking at going with Bob Jackson Vigorelli. Playing with the idea of going with European parts set (playing along with the idea that its a European rather than Keirin frame) although figure i might have a bit of give on this point.
    Where I'm looking for advice is on the following
    Bottom bracket: have heard some misgivings about Miche but also the standard Campagnolo Pista bottom bracket given the wear and tear your likely to get from road use. Would be happy to change to a more traditional road bottom bracket from Campy or other producers but then I'm concerned about its compatibility with most track cranksets
    Cranksets: I guess this is pretty much tied to bottom brackets - playing with the idea of Campy or Miche cranks - again interested in what durable bottom brackets
    Interested in knowing what the spillover effect of the above is likely to have on hubs/sprockets etc given issues of getting things aligned - will it ultimately limit my choices
    Headsets: apparently basic Campagnolo job should do the trick but interested in whether there's much difference between these that is likely to make a discernable difference other than shaving a few grammes. Any particular headset you'd suggest is the best choice
    Any advice gratefully received...bike purchases in the past have been off the shelf affairs so am loving the whole mix and match aspect but also keen to not stumble before I've even started
    cheers

    gus

  • BB: am running miche and haven't had a problem. and they're pretty cheap. shimano makes loads in different lengths so you can match it fairly cheaply to a crankset of your choice.
    cranksets: am running sugino 75 road cranks on the miche bb and the chainline is perfect and the drivetrain is dead silent, but will match bb with cranks if anything changes. ideally you'd want to match components, but may not always be possible.
    headsets: are you running threaded or threadless? shimano 105 for threaded seem pretty solid. am also running campag chorus for threaded and it's also solid. can't say much about other headsets, unfortunately. chris king makes very nice anodised ones, but you'll be paying for those.

    one of my favourite sayings about shaving grams off a bike was: "if you want to save some weight, go for a piss or take a dump before riding"

  • "if you want to save some weight, go for a piss or take a dump before riding"

    Thing is... roadies do that, wear less, carry half empty water bottles. It's still not enough for them. Bike anorexia

  • If you're really worried about BB life - the look at Phil Wood - comes in JIS/ISO, lots of lengths, adjustable chainline, easy to service and with a limited lifetime warranty. Job done. If you want to spend a little less and are thinking of Campy then the Specialties TA axix bbs are pretty decent (may also come as JIS?). Both have cartridge bearings and will last. Royce also make mighty fine BBs if you've got the cash.

    However, you really need to pick cranks first before deciding on BB, as that tells you want taper/spline system and length you need to get either a perfect chainline or a pretty close one. You can normally find a BB within 1 or 2mm of the recommend length and you won't notice the difference.

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Fixed Wheel Bike Build Advice

Posted by Avatar for Gustav @Gustav

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