Conversion on the cheap - tips please

Hello,

I've just been given an old dawes galaxy road bike as a freebie, and want to convert it into a (very cheap) fixed wheel.

It's got horizontal drop outs and lovely 531 tubing, so seems to be an ideal candidate.

I went along to Brick Lane Bikes and asked them about it today, but they started quoting me for new wheels, Bottom Bracket, cranks, everything. By the time she had reached £250 of new stuff I told her to stop. The wheels are 27 1/4 not 700cc so I'd prefer not to have to switch everything.

Surely I can do this on the cheap without switching to a 1/8 chain, new wheels etc.

So I thought I'd come here for some tips.

Can I just take off the outer cog from the crank and use the inner one? It's 40 or 42 teeth I think.

can't I just remove the rear freewheel cassette and add a fixed sproket, lock ring and some spacers?

for spacers can I just use wheel nuts like suggested here:
http://paulm.com/on/cycling/fixed_gear.html

is it possible just to shorten the existing chain, by removing links rather than buying a new one?

is there a lot more to it? Do I have to rebuild the rear wheel to make it more even?

HELP please.

Hi there i recently got into cycling and did similar to what your intending on doing. Having gone single speed and then brave enough to go Fixed last week but your probably going through dilemas i went through.

Firstly i'd say i'm no expert but i found most bike shops unhelpful and was only able to take snippets of useful information from them through questions but generally they did nt have a clue so it was like the blind leading the blind!!! None the less i got my first fixie sorted last week and i'm hooked now!!

Ok firstly you could get someone to redish your wheels as apparently its not the same for fixie and single speed wheels i got quoted between £70- £90 to do this which would keep the original 27 inch, but bare in mind 27 1 1/4 are very limited to the type of tyres you can get. They are not impossible to get but not anywhere near the choice you get with 700 wheels stocked at most bike shops especially if you looking at getting slicks prob the closest i got was semi slicks by michelin. and if your pimping your ride forget coloured bands, i have nt found one place yet.(so if anyone knows if this exists let me know)

You could try redishing and trueing yourself but having read up on it you'll be a brave man to give it a go and if you get it sorted i got a load a wheels you can do for me!!! Bike shops said this could be done in one to two days?? how true this is i dont know because i went for the by a second hand wheels set option. Scour ebay and this forum and you can pick up wheel sets or rear sprockets for cheapish without the hassle from bout £50-£130 depending on quality. New you can get a rear 700 for about 75 + 10-15 for a rear sprocket. Not cheap but your bigest outlay! There are conversion kits out there but i really wanted the simple no derailluer look which the kits seems to need and for about £35 quid too.

Bare in mind however your brakes are unlikey to reach as the arms will be too short, i took the rear brake off completely and have only a front one. Old centre pulls ( rears) will reach not sure bout side pulls though.

In terms of chains i did use my old one at first but then got my wrist slapped as was told it could damage the sprocket i had bought if it had'nt already so i bought a single speed KMC one for £6.99, they will try to sell you the BMX ones which are £12 ish upwards (up to you) and shortened it , it came with the snap on links which were very handy. Buy your self a chain tool so you can do this not to much and handy to have.

In terms of cranks, get yerself a crank tool to remove the crank and a deep socket set 15 mm bolt on mine and take the inner ring off, you may find that the crank arm and larger chainring are not able to be dismantled so you may have to scour around for a 2nd hand crank if your on a budget why not try your large chainring first?

Listen to the bottom bracket does it sound crusty and bits crushing around in it when you rotate the crank? if it doesnt its probably ok so why mess around with it? And if it is it could be bearing which dont cost more than £2-3 quid if they can be cleaned up and regreased. Its something you can do later if you want to upgrade, maybe just take it out and check and regrease if needed and refit. You will need to a large adjustable spanner for lock ring and perhaps the right bottom bracket tool so be warned if its old skool a hammer and screwdriver will do.

I found that you need to get yourself a decent tool kit as the most annoying thing was not having the right tools, allen keys, deep socket sets, bracket tools, crank tools and chain tool and not be scared to give it a go! just make sure you remember where all the nuts and bolts go and make sure you tighten the cranks sufficently when you get it all back together!!!!! I dont think it can be really done on a cheap cheap budget unless you get the art of wheel building down to a tee which is now my next mission but none the less its not brain surgery and whats the worst that can happen...your crank arms flying off in front of a speeding milkfloat!!! ONLY JOKING...i survived! Good luck bud

I've just been given an old dawes galaxy road bike as a freebie, and want to convert it into a (very cheap) fixed wheel.

congratulations!

I went along to Brick Lane Bikes and asked them about it today, but they started quoting me for new wheels, Bottom Bracket, cranks, everything. By the time she had reached £250 of new stuff I told her to stop. The wheels are 27 1/4 not 700cc so I'd prefer not to have to switch everything.

hmm, yeah, they are rather overpriced, and most people on this forum agree.

Can I just take off the outer cog from the crank and use the inner one? It's 40 or 42 teeth I think.

only if the chainline is right

can't I just remove the rear freewheel cassette and add a fixed sproket, lock ring and some spacers?

better to rebuild it with a fixed hub. with that you'll be running a suicide hub. you can use a standard bottom bracket lockring + loctite to hold the cog in place, but it's not that recommended. safety first! alright if you don't trackstand, skid etc.

is it possible just to shorten the existing chain, by removing links rather than buying a new one?

yes

basically you'll want to read this before you proceed:

http://sheldonbrown.com/deakins/how-to-fixed-conversion.html

by the way, just removing the freewheel will mean that you have to redish the wheel (centre it on the frame again) and i'd like to say again a suicide hub is really not recommended

I reckon the cheapest way to sort it would be to buy a new back wheel, with a fixed hub. You won't need to worry about the cranks (probably), one of the 2 chainrings should provide you with the correct chainline. Chainline = VERY important on a fixed wheel bike. Surly do a fixie conversion kit for cassette hubs i think, but the best thing to do would be to just get a new back wheel. Keep an eye on the forum - someone will be selling one soon enough, or check ebay, or just pop into blb/cavendish cycles/brixton cycles and buy one. They won't set you back too much for the basic one.

But basically you should be able to get away with fixafying your bike without much trouble at all. You'll probably want:

• Back wheel + cog + lockring (should be able to get this for well under £80)
  
• Chain bolt extractor (£6) to re-adjust the chain
  

I've got a 16T cog you can have for a fiver if you want

Be aware that a Galaxy is a touring frame, so not entirely fixed friendly.

Nice bit of kit, though...

agree with kowalski. keep the galaxy as it is and get another one for fixed.

What's wrong with a fixed tourer? Not 'rad' enough? :P

yeah, at least you can easily fit mudguards to it.

assuming its got horizontal ends and a freewheel hub (not cassette), the cheapest way is: take the freewheel off and fit fixed sprocket, respace and redish rear wheel to get a good chainline, cost: under a tenner, free if you can blag a sprocket. But don't do it this way if you want to take the rear brake off or do loads of leg braking and skidstops.

hippy What's wrong with a fixed tourer? Not 'rad' enough? :P

nah, more like keeping the galaxy as it is. i had plans for fixed mtb shopper moultons whatever... even a freewheel unicycle :P

Thanks for all the advice!

I guess replacing the rear wheel is the best plan. I've done a bit of wheel truing before, but I'm guessing replaicing the hub is a whole different kettle of fish.

So the cheapest option seems to be either persuading a shop to swap the hub on the back wheel for me and re-dishing it, or finding an old 27 1/4 inch wheel with a fixed hub already attached (unlikely).

the front cogs seem easy enough to remove and the BB sounds fine so that shouldn't be a problem.

I guess I could swap both wheels for a pair of 700cc ones, but as you say, the front brake (which i'd like to keep) probably won't reach any more. I have a spare front wheel, so perhaps I'll try this out first.

thanks for all the tips, I'll keep you informed of how it's going, and perhaps even post some pics.

andrewleitch86 - if the sprocket is a 3/32 one and not a 1/8 one, then i'd definately be interested, I could paypal you the money?

When I converted my first fixed gear, I just removed freewheel from old hub, and rotafixed/locktited/extra bb lockring -ed a cog on.

As far as chainline is concerned: I bought some washers from hardware store to respace axle - I was able to slightly move the hub on the axle without the rim hitting the chainstays. I also just shifted my large 52t chainring from the outside of the crank spider to the inside, additionally moving it in with two washers on each stack bolt (again from hardware store).

Everything else stayed the same - whole conversion only cost ~£5 for cog and lockring from lbs bin.

Keep brakes until really confident, then loose back only.

Also get clips and straps or clipless pedals - prevents incidents down hills.

My views only.

the galaxy will be a really cruisy and comfy ride. i had one for 2mths (which is a long time for me).

bristlypioneer Thanks for all the advice!

I guess replacing the rear wheel is the best plan. I've done a bit of wheel truing before, but I'm guessing replaicing the hub is a whole different kettle of fish.

So the cheapest option seems to be either persuading a shop to swap the hub on the back wheel for me and re-dishing it, or finding an old 27 1/4 inch wheel with a fixed hub already attached (unlikely).

the front cogs seem easy enough to remove and the BB sounds fine so that shouldn't be a problem.

I guess I could swap both wheels for a pair of 700cc ones, but as you say, the front brake (which i'd like to keep) probably won't reach any more. I have a spare front wheel, so perhaps I'll try this out first.

thanks for all the tips, I'll keep you informed of how it's going, and perhaps even post some pics.

andrewleitch86 - if the sprocket is a 3/32 one and not a 1/8 one, then i'd definately be interested, I could paypal you the money?

sorry. neglected that fact. it's 1/8th

piran When I converted my first fixed gear, I just removed freewheel from old hub, and rotafixed/locktited/extra bb lockring -ed a cog on.

As far as chainline is concerned: I bought some washers from hardware store to respace axle - I was able to slightly move the hub on the axle without the rim hitting the chainstays. I also just shifted my large 52t chainring from the outside of the crank spider to the inside, additionally moving it in with two washers on each stack bolt (again from hardware store).

Everything else stayed the same - whole conversion only cost ~£5 for cog and lockring from lbs bin.

Keep brakes until really confident, then loose back only.

Also get clips and straps or clipless pedals - prevents incidents down hills.

My views only.

This was the kind of conversion I was thinking of, but consensus seems to be that this is a suicidal route?

I was definately going to keep the front brake, and get pedal straps.

perhaps I'll give this a whirl first and see. I've a fuji track as my main bike, but just fancied something nice and cheap to leave outside the pub etc.

Actually bristlypioneer, i have a 3/32 16t sprocket you could have. Its just the cheap stock one from my pista, but it is chrome!!

I still have both brakes on my conversion, but only until I replace bar tape. However, I have never felt my cog move, and i skid with it and everything.

asm Actually bristlypioneer, i have a 3/32 16t sprocket you could have. Its just the cheap stock one from my pista, but it is chrome!!

sounds perfect, how much do you want for it?

meh, a fiver? or 5 beers? or 4 beers and a brick lane smoked salmon beigel? :)

Note - this is a threaded sprocket - won't fit on a cassette hub... just making sure.

piran I still have both brakes on my conversion, but only until I replace bar tape. However, I have never felt my cog move, and i skid with it and everything.

yeah, i did that for a while... then one day it all broke loose. ride safe my friends!