Which bike for a project?

Hi there,

I'm looking for a cheap decent bike to convert to single speed for short but regular city use.

This is really a project on a budget as its just to get me from home-work-gym type thing. Thats not to say I don't want to make it look nice though! I don't want a huge project... something that will be easy enough to swap over and then some light cosmetic stuff/repaint etc.

Whats a good bike to start from? I'm 5ft 5/6 female... research tells me I want a frame between 50-53cm? I used to have a 49cm Condor which was very comfy, though maybe I should have had a bigger frame back then... and its seems the smaller frames are hard to find.

Peugeot seems like a popular choice for projects, are there particular models to keep an eye out for and what should I expect to pay?

Many thanks in advance for the advice. Dummies guide please..... :)

peugeot´s are nice, but threads can cause a problem if this is your first conversion..
i would keep my eyes on something english, with a set of functional wheels, if you want a single speed.

look at the clearance of the wheels(brake reach), eyelets, and the diameter of the seatpost (a decent roadbike has + -27mm)...
those are give aways wether it's a proper roadbike or a gaspipe budget tourer..

not that a tourer is horrible.. just good tips for finding a hidden gem..

Hi, thanks for the reply.

What brands would you look for for something english?

I did spot this in the meantime....http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/vintage-peugeot-road-bike-53cm-frame-ideal-fixie-ss-project/1018673024#photo-content

I should probably go for something a bit more 'complete' I suspect though, rather than a ground up build.

don´t go for that.. it´s a french nightmare...avoid it like the plague.. not worth 70, even if it was fully build up..

about english vintage brands i just don't know enough to tell you what is shit and what's 'good'..i only know theyre ussually build with threads and diameters that are now considered somewhat universal... hope someone else can help you with that

That doesn't look very good value. You'll get most for you money on here I reckon, and the seller is more than likely to be of help with any questions..

Lol, gotcha's! :)

What about Raleighs?

Well if anyone happen to stumble across this thread and has anything/knows of anything suitable do let me know!

PS some cheaper English brands: Dawes, Raleigh, Holdsworth, Falcon, Claud Butler etc loads more no doubt! Also there will be Peugeots with English thread and more regular seatpost sizes, just ask about.

Just steer clear of peugeots. Raleighs are great, same with falcon, elswick, Dawes.... Anything else really that's British (just give it a google). You can find good frames on the classifieds here..

I bought a Falcon (whole bike) a couple of months ago with the intention of going fixed with it for that price (£70). Check it out here:
http://www.lfgss.com/thread104346.html

It is probably gas pipe but certainly doesn't feel as heavy as my gf's steel raleigh, or my other friend's steel raleigh for that matter. Which makes me think not all gas pipe frames are created equal. I say for whatever bike you look at, if it feels surprisingly heavy to lift, it is heavy. Otherwise fine!

Converted it to SS real cheap the other day by way of picking up some used wheels on here with a freehub (£25, needed them anyway as the old wheels were pretty screwed), allowing me to just leave a single cog on there from the included cassette and wang on some spacers (Velosolo do a good set for about £12 that allow you to adjust the chainline accurately - I'd avoid the spacer sets that come with only two wide spacers).

I'm well pleased with it now and it cost hardly anything. Will add some new pics to my thread soon.

P.S that method only works for single speed though, not fixed. Hence my new project: http://www.lfgss.com/thread107051.html

Just steer clear of peugeots. Raleighs are great, same with falcon, elswick, Dawes.... Anything else really that's British (just give it a google). You can find good frames on the classifieds here..

This.
I've done a Peugeot 80's conversion - Eng thread so was ok. But doing a Raleigh now - http://www.lfgss.com/thread107171.html

I love mixte frames so maybe try one of those?
There's one in the window of:
The London Bicycle Repair Shop
Shop 2-3 Benson House
Hatfields, Waterloo
London, SE1 8DQ

Remember to be careful with Raleigh's and other bikes they made because some have wider BB's.

Raleighs with cottered cranks will have 26tpi 71mm BB shells. Modern sealed BBs won't fit them. The only (cheap) options are to keep the original cottered cranks or keep the BB cups and try to find a cotterless axle of the correct length.

aw shit....