You are reading a single comment by @hoonz and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@hoonz
I just added up the total cost of my first ss/fixie build and it comes to the grand total for everything inc. tyres & painting etc is £ 491.50. I could have spent less but wanted to get it finished (is it ever?) as quick as possible as the primal urge to ride it was just too damn strong. I also wanted it to be looking its best. Paint was £66 on its own, I could have stuck with cheaper stem & bars and a cheaper back wheel, probably saving easily another £50-60. I couldn't use very much off of the bike that came with it apart from the headset, frame & forks - meaning I had to buy everything else.
The best piece of advice I could give is to unlike me to buy a complete secondhand bike, like an old racer. There's plenty of unloved & barely used ones out there gathering dust in someones shed. You may find one that's already converted. Best to pay a little extra for decent quality (future proof) and resonable working order so you can re-use a bunch of the old parts to get you mobile.