Fixed/Singlespeed mountain bikes

Anyone got one?

Still considering what to buy my girl. She likes the fat wheels and upright position and flat bars of a BMX, but wants to do be comfortable riding 10 to 20 miles on it (which is where the BMX fails).

I've been thinking of various bikes, but this morning some of the singlespeed mountain bikes I've seen online have taken my fancy as they might be perfect for her.

Anyone got one or advice on what to look for, what's good and not?

how about a onone inbred???

dialled bikes love/hate. has one of those phil EBB's so tensioning/wheel removal is piss easy.

Why not pick up an old MTB and junk all the excess and by a single speed kit, just a thought?
When my Vee's eventually turn up with the postal strike and all, I hope to be riding my first MTB conversion as my commuter.
Then, I hope to find a donor vehicle to build my first fixed!

I do, but it might be too extreme for you guys:

Seriously get any MTB, pitch the gears and buy that all in one DMR kit for 32 pounds.

scott not scot what size?

You know, I have no idea. Perhaps I should find that out first!

Yeah I am into trying that shizzle too - slicks for winter / knobblies to join my mud-loving mates (but they wear body-armour! eek!).
I just bought a pair of 26 inch wheels - rear has a White Industries ENO hub so can fix / SS any frame. I also bought a resprayed pre-2001 GT steel frame that I know is too small for me! But we'll see what happens..
If you can get a bike/frame that she likes and fits her well, then perhaps get a ENO built up? The hubs can be gotten for much less over in the states than here ($120 vs. £110).
SS is a trend in MTB too so I would suspect that the off-the-shelf bikes have similar drawbacks to 700c ones..?

Saw one of these ages ago i think its the best of both worlds
BMX looks but you can do further distances

Don't know your girl's girly rating so maybe not this colour

bu here you go. i'm kinda temted but i think i'm a bit too tall

Felt Sector 24" Pink

A veritable bargain!

http://www.londonfgss.com/discussion/2124/for-sale-kona-unit/#Item_1

My main ride is a '95 Diamondback Ascent (cr-mo double butted), the bike is also single speed, set up for winter duties (narrow semi-slicks, mudguards, lights).

Last night I put the original forks back on after having run around on suspension forks for the last couple of years.

What a difference! It feels lighter, bombproof and the change in geometry has made the handling soooo sharp - almost caught myself out this morning it turns so quick.

For cheap commuting in winter a steel MTB is ideal. It'll take anything you throw at it.

Top Tip: - get some slime strips - my tyres are getting cut to shreds from glass, I can even see the slime through a couple of gashes but these strips have reduced my puncture count easily by 80%. I've had shards of glass thorns and even a nail in my tyre and have only noticed because of the noise they start to make on the road!

ChrisNW, get some of these
the best tyres for the road full stop.

Theres a guy near me who rides a mountain bike frame with a fat tyre on the front, and a skinny one on the back (its a converted freehub) with drop bars. Looks awesome :D

I'm running a converted Raleigh Yukon MTB from the early 90s, Reynolds 501 frame with 700c wheels and a fixed rear hub (I've also fitted track ends in place of the original dropouts), works really well for my work commute, nice upright position and even my lardy arse can drag it up to 25mph so it nippy enough. I'm very tempted to put a pair of 26" wheels and knobblies back on it and go play in the mud. I seem to remember DMR do clamp on brake mounts, so you could move V-brake/canti mounts between 700c and 26" wheel positions on the forks.

i'm thinking bout trying to track down a steel kona and switch it single. Is fixed a nightmare off road?

Scott, lovin' the mtb. I'm probably moving Bath way next year so I'll definitely have to sort myself out something like that. By the way I'm still in the Q for a bag aren't I?

velocity boy [quote]scott not scot what size?

You know, I have no idea. Perhaps I should find that out first![/quote]

come on man! it's easy enough to size an mtb (roughly)

is she:

small?
medium?
large?

extra large!?

short girls are not worth bothering with (despite their filthy minds), as you can't have a go on their bikes.

but, you could do worse than Mrsmit's suggestion of a Dialled Love/Hate. if you wanted something with a slight bling factor..

the EBB does work exceedingly well.

Yeah, though it's still at Witcomb. Any non-shit mtb with the gears swapped for spacers and the changers removed. Easiest conversion EVER.

Converting this bike at the moment

Sorry for the gay pic but had just got new camera and was playing with settings. Got a rear wheel, bidding on a surly tensioner on ebay, unsure about chain or front ring. Tempted by Middleburn Uno but is expensive and only 34T. Got other cranks lying about and even a 2pc Charge SS set I could strip off another bike but I what similar inches to my fixed which is about 70". I'm guessing my sprocket is 14T. Any advice? Do I need a new chain?

Ok, I'll try again. Got the tensioner and started straight away, Think I must be pretty thick not to know this, but I simply tried to swap over a rear wheel from my Stove only to find that the axle is too short. Obvious now but the cartridge means the frame is much wider there on a geared bike, d'oh. Can I replace the axle with a longer one? I can't be arsed to convert a MTB wheel, particularly since I have a SS rear. Any pointers?

My beast,

If you are going to convert an Old Mountain bike ... Get a decent rear sprocket, the on-one cogs are pretty decent, the cheapy gusset ones I had load of chain skips with.

If you have a 7 speed free hub body (like mine) I am pretty sure a lot of kits won't fit, mine has about 7 or 8 individual spacers so it will fit anything, also allows you to tweak the chain-line easily.

I've got a lovely HOPE QR seat clamp for sale if anyones interested

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread23122.html

http://www.londonfgss.com/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i41.tinypic.com/2evspx3.jpg%5B/IMG%5D last bikes zach rear hub, single speed, 12t freewheel and superb quality, lets me run a 25t front. perfect gearing for street, rythem sections and singletrack

(how can i make the picture smaller?)

http://i41.tinypic.com/2evspx3.jpg