Charge Plug

So isn't there a 1 1/8" Alter? The Integralter was made in both sizes iirc, you could just get one of those.

Cinelli Groove is 1 1/8 similar look

It would look pony.

Ps I have a groove stem fs.

The Cinelli is a great part. Very fine made. I ride it on my street race bike. But on my charge Freestyler it doesn´t fit and it looks "not made for an fixie".

I ride it on my street race bike...

By 'street race bike', you mean a hybrid?

not made for fixie? a stem? i didn't think stems had anything to do with gear prefrences.

why are you buying a stem that looks correct, why don't you buy one that suits you

Stem choice is a lot like.......

Methinks it's more like Changing Room;

but surely its more grand designs

I've got a Plug at the moment, and I've changed a few bits and bobs on it, but I was wondering what the next step is, where should I go from here?

Considering one of either Carbon Forks or new wheels- what would you do, and is there anything else I should be looking at doing first?

Currently I've just put on a fixed gear and removed the back brake, as well as changing the pedals, saddle and stem. I've also got some new bars to go on.

have you considered getting a new frame? ;-P

Leave the frame - It's a good (albeit heavy) frame, and bombproof.

Not strictly true! http://4416.co.uk/?p=3071

Me either. Looks nasty.
So you'd recommend leaving the forks too? I figured a bit of lightness wouldn't go amiss.

Yeah it's a Spoon saddle. First thing I put on it as the pink cammo bucket looked awful.

Why do you want to upgrade your parts? - I'm guessing performance rather than looks, right?

What is it you don't like about your bike at the mo?

I wouldn't drop too much on a plug that you can't take with you.

In terms of upgrades, nice wheels make a difference - but that's a chunk of money. Everything after that just makes minor inprovements. Prolly not worth it if is already comfy.

What tyres are you running? - might be worth upgrading those before wheels.

Yep, performance really. Though I'm a bit of a hipster at heart.

There's nothing I don't like about it, per se, I'd just like to improve on what's already there. I'm not going to drop thousands on gold-plated carbon brake levers or titanium allen bolts just to save a few pounds, just seeing what can be upgraded cheaply. There's a wealth of second-hand forks and wheels available that I'm guessing would be an improvement on what I have already.

I guess you can say it's something to keep me occupied. I was the same when I had a car, constantly changing bits here and there to make it a bit nicer, more individual if you will, I just have this insatiable need to tinker with things.

Tyres are standard Vittoria Rubinos. They seem alright, and I don't plan on changing them 'till i've skidded the life out of them (although I suspect London's potholes and shite road surface will kill them long before I ever can)

Wheels and tyres are often a good place to start if you want bring the weight down a bit. Not only do you have to drag the weight of your wheels up hills, you also have to spin them around, which soaks up more energy the heavier they are. So you benefit from every gram saved on the wheels/tyres works in more than one way.
A carbon fork could also bring the weight down quite a bit, and in addition improve the ride quality (in my experience, carbon forks ride better than steel ones, and carbon vs alu forks are no match at all)

Ive finally gone and done it after much umming and ahhing

I spotted rutlands ebay shop doing plug freestylers for 300 ( 09 unspinnable ones ) and as id still not got round to sorting my old raleigh out, what with moving and finding out im going to be a dad etc, i worked out the wheels would cost me atleast 150 for good ones then tyres, cranks, bb, bars etc itd get stupid, so i sold the raleigh before for 70 quid without my seat and ordered the plug and i cant wait.

been dragging a carrera hardtail round since i moved because my dad wanted my full sus gt for spain so he went n bought that n forceably swopped with me ( ill remember that when my kid gets a good bike lol )

the brake levers on the plug arent my cup of tea so if someone wants to give me some dirty harrys let me know ;)

oh and its in the hideous colours which rock :D

hopefully itll withstand my considerable bulk n help me lose some of it

charge plug is a great intro to the world of fixed gear riding... enjoy it!

i was 18+ stone when i started riding my charge plug and it never complained once. they are tough bikes.

Still got mine (2010) and it's been good. I've destroyed the back wheel though. I snapped a couple of spokes a while back, and have had several more go since then. About to build a new back wheel for it (my first build!).

You'll enjoy it! :)

Had my plug since 2008. Hit plenty of brick walls on various forum rides, no problems. The wheels suck a bit though, I've replaced both.

Still ride it to this day, and will keep riding it :)

charge plug is a great intro to the world of fixed gear riding... enjoy it!

i was 18+ stone when i started riding my charge plug and it never complained once. they are tough bikes.

Be wary of this, they are duplicitous little fuckers. Mine apparently told my mountain bike my arse stank like a brown dogs the other day.

im up at about 21 stone atm, hence just buying an otp instead of building one, plus im skint so its the cheaper option.

ill have to be very nice to it or lock it in the shed away from other bikes

any tips on making the wheels last ??

got it before, built it, checked it, rode it, boss, first time clipped in too, feels so much nicer than the mongoose id ridden.

any tips for getting the chain tension right, i had it but by the time id tightened it properly it was slack ?

turn upside down, loosen bolts, push wheel back with one hand, tighten bolts with other, simples.