Keirin Vs Road Frame for 1st Time Fixie Frame

im in Japan, and wanna get a fixie after trying my m8's back home. His was based on an old road frame. Ive been riding BMX and raced XC for a while, what kinda frame geomatry would be best, and ideas?

as im in Japan, it seems kinda a waste not to get a Keirin frame, but they are expensive! id only be using it for commuting/riding around, no skids or the like

any help would be great, thanks

A keirin frame would be undrilled for a front brake (correct me if I'm wrong chaps, of course) - thereby you would have to unneccesarily violate an expensive frame to ride it safely on the road (and if its your first fixed, you do need a front brake to be safe). There's always the clamp-on keirin brake though...

As you are used to BMX and XC you might the angles on a kieren frame a bit steep. I'd get a good quality road frame and convert it.

Elvis As you are used to BMX and XC you might the angles on a kieren frame a bit steep. I'd get a good quality road frame and convert it.

YEAH go with a roadie convertie.brake it out n stuff.if you enjoi it more get yoself a tight fixie.with some geometry that tight. damn im running out of words to put an 'ie' after.

buy a kieirin frame bring it back here sell for $£euro make mo money and buy something else a little slacker. Or buy a kierin frame and a new fork so you can run a brake for if you like kierlin frames. Riding a fixed wheel with a brake is not hard.

+1 ^

if your in japan you might as well get a keirin bike, try looking for a cheapish one, there are threads on here about places to look. if you dont like it there are plenty of people in london who will buy it off you.

Kalavinka kalavinka kalavinka- nicest guys ever!

Sorry my first post looked a bit dismissive actually, either way a keirin is beautiful but a conversion is (usually) cheaper - you'd probably have to change something/do some work on either bike option (ie, fork for the keirin) but then if I had the money and could find a suitable replacement fork then I'd go with the keirin, real pretty.

so +1 on Tommy's option. (Just please don't drill the original forks!)

buy a non NJS track bike, and spend all the money you save on better parts, you will be happy

or as you're in japan- kalavinka do those brake clamp kits for like 20 squids so no real loss.
only prob is you have to find the shop!
Also go to Punch in Asakusa- fsck me it like the bike porn thread in a space of 10m squared.

I just got a Keirin frame and I absolutely love it...if you are in Japan, you might as well take advantage and get a Keirin frame...they look pretty, are lovely and fun to ride and if you leave Japan and come back to England for instance, it will be an easy sell-on if desired...

could you pick me up some white tyres?

im gonna be in Japan for a year, so would have to post them back to you from here.

and thanks alot for the info guys! Im in Kobe, and not Toyko, which, having seen the threads on here of the Keirin shops in Toyko, sucks! will have to just look around i guess. Got a quote on an OCEAN frame, but they are £600 or so, which, funnily enough, i cant afford.

the main problem is that im 6ft3, so finding a non-custom frame over here is gonna be tough i think

ocean is the only custom option for you

ill make you a frame, by the time your back from japan i should be good at it.

there is somewhere over there like a njs scrapyard just piles of frames and bars you can sort through, obviously might need a repaint and more but cheap at $150 a frame .

will an old njs frame be strong enough for a 14stone guy to ride street with?

(ive been reading the thread about njs strengh, but there didnt seem to be a final conclusion)

ocean used to be vivalo, now they are making street fixed gear bikes for tricks and stuff, the strengh of a kerien bike is the same as all bikes if you push it hard enough it will break, however, since most kerien bikes for sale will be used you should look for dents on the bike and ripples near the joints, run your fingers along the tubing just near the headtube to see if you feel anything a bit weird, but if you do find somthing ask the shop owner about it, it might just be the paint job of somthing. there porbably wont be anything wrong with the bikes though as i think every rider has to change bike at the end of the season even if its fine.

proper kerin bikes are made to be light, that compromises some strength, as there is less metal, thats just the way it is.

that said you probably wont notice it unless you ride into something, then it might be the difference between a dent and a crack.

i have no idea how much 14st is, but i doubt your weight will crush a bike like a tin can.

personally i would rather have a few extra grams and some extra strength, but that is personal preference.

these frames aren't riden around namby pamby on the track they can deal with a lot of stress so you cruising around the streets aint going to break it.

which is why they have the njs stamp for fucks sake

@chris chrash 14stone - 185lbs or so, 85kgs i guess

and Billa, sorry, dont know much about keirin, so i guess your confidence in them explains everything, thanks!

billa these frames aren't riden around namby pamby on the track they can deal with a lot of stress so you cruising around the streets aint going to break it.

yes but they have to be thrown out once they are in any kind of crash (i think), and have a lot of money riding on them, so any frame builder is going to make them lighter rather then stronger, not saying it wont hold up to the stress of the street or track, just saying that some strength is compromised in favor of less weight.

also NJS is not a stamp of quality, or strength, it is a mark that the technology and materials used in creating the bike does not give a rider an advantage over other riders with NJS equipment.