First project, single speed

It's not too much for me but I'm still convincing my wife that I need this third bike in the first place so it may be a problem!

I'll keep checking ebay in case anything comes up on there.

Thanks for all the input guys, I really do appreciate it.

Incidentally, so far I'm loving the project! All I've done is take things apart but it still feels good! God knows what I'll be like when stuff starts going back on!!

I reckon it'll come out nice, don't worry about that.

What sort of price would your wife consider reasonable for cranks?

I reckon I'd get away with £40. Just been having a browse and these caught my eye

http://www.velosolo.co.uk/lasco.html

They're £42.

I'm going to partly fund the build by ebaying the surplus parts such as shifters and the old drivetrain parts so if I can tell her the new parts are 'free' i'll be fine ;)

Don't want to sound cheap but I'm trying to keep costs down without bolting a load of tat onto the bike. May prove tricky!

Those Lasco things are awful. Come as standard kit on practically every 200-dollar 'Fixeh' in Wal-Mart. I'm guessing they're actually worth about a tenner.
You're better off scouring eBay for a decent road double. I got my SRAM Rival compact for £45 on eBay, it had probably been used for about a year. Even came with the original GXP BB.
Perhaps look for a decent 105/Apex/Rival/Mirage/Veloce chainset?

just buy a single ring for the crankset that came with the bike. job done

(you can't use the ones that are on there as they are biopace, i.e egg shaped)

I hear you Indra. If you're looking for history and character then a re spray is not the way forward.

I've often heard that I'm a bit style over substance!

But I have heard many people say "build a sub-£100 fixie". It's not easy and you will inevitably compromise on something......

This is my build with my paint job that melted pretty quickly!

1 Attachment

If you looking for stuff on a budget, look at the classified section here. It's better to get good used stuff rather than new crap stuff.

44/17 is right though, just use the cranks you have! Biopace rings will work, mate had them on his ss hack so really you just need new chainrings bolts. http://sheldonbrown.com/biopace.html. Sheldon talks about how they are suitable here, the tension difference isn't too bad.

Ah, in that case I will probably use the chainring from the existing one. Gives me a good excuse to clean something else up!!

If I use the existing crank/chainring that will be a big saving which I could put towards some better wheels for example.

I've cleaned up the chainring and cranks and I think they look fine. I'll be using the existing 52t chainring and will probably get an 18t sprocket.

Before

After

I would get a 19t or a 17t cuz with 18t at the back and 52 at the front you will only have 9 skid patches. (Not a problem if you're running with a freewheel) 17t gives 17 skid patches and 19t gives you 19 skid patches. (And also gives your legs a bit of a rest)

Gave the frame a really good clean and got all the decals off. There are patches where the lacquer has come off the paint though so I'm thinking of getting a can of halfords lacquer and just giving it a once over. To be honest I thought about just painting the thing matt black but then I think that you all might have it right telling me to leave the paint as it is!

What are people's thoughts on the bars that came on the bike? I'm thinking I might use them and install tt style brakes in the ends and retape them. I'm not looking to make a time trial bike but if I could make it more easy for me to get into an aero position on this then at least it's something different to my normal road bike.

Love the frame!

I have a black Raleigh Pursuit which I've converted. It has the same drop outs as yours, and I was lucky with chain length that I didn't need anything to take up chain slack.

I fitted a rear wheel from a Genesis Flyer with an 18t freewheel, and I'm using the 52t chainwheel that came with the bike. It's about 76 gear inches which is pretty high, but I like it. Makes hills an enjoyable challenge.

Sub £100 SS bike?! Try sub £50! ;-)

So if your bike frame is anything like mine (which it certainly looks like), and you're retaining the 52t chainring, you should be able to bung on a SS rear wheel, take some chain links out, and your good to go!

I think you're about right with 'sub £50'. I sold the shifters for £15 which pretty much covered the cost of the bike!

Moving on with this slowly but surely. Just waiting to get some bar end aero brakes and a single speed sprocket and spacers and there won't be much left to get on there for now.

Gave the frame a really good clean and got all the decals off. There are patches where the lacquer has come off the paint though so I'm thinking of getting a can of halfords lacquer and just giving it a once over.

If you Scotchbrite the frame to a matt finish and degrease it properly, this will work but only last about a year. It just isn't durable enough.

If you can chat up a local car painter, a coat of 2K lacquer instead will give real glossy depth to the original paint and last for many years. It's a five minute job after the cleaning and prep, and will use the 100 to 200 mL of lacquer left in his gun...

Here is the latest update. I have retaped the bars that came with the bike and replaced the brake levers with cannondale bar end levers. I have also refitted the original cranks and 52t chainring after cleaning them up. I have polished up one of the wheels so far and also fitted new tyres.

As you can see this is a cheap build and I think the net cost of it will be about £60. I'm selling all the surplus parts on ebay.

Next step is new brake cables, refit the (now white) brakes, polish the other wheel, 18t sprocket and spacers and then take it out for a spin....

I know this isn't the most amazing transformation or the prettiest bike but I've learnt a lot doing this and I'm happy with the way it's turned out. Still got to put the back brake on but it's pretty much finished.

If I were to change anything it would be the handlebar! It's all one piece so I can't remove the horrible middle bit, although. A tempted to hacksaw them off at the joint and stick some end plugs in there!

Thoughts?

Do you mean the tri bars?

dont hacksaw... ffs haha

Yeah the tri bars. They're not the most elegant looking things ever but they are all one piece so I can't remove just them without replacing the whole bar (unless I cut them off!)

I'd quite like to have them on there to be honest but I think they make the bike look front heavy if that makes sense?

I can't post a new thread as I'm a newbie but I picked up this Phillips (I think) frame for £25. I've stripped everything off it (bar the cranks and bottom bracket) and started to strip the paint too.

I'm just wondering about respray - a lot of people seem to think it's not worth doing yourself. I rang Armour Tex in Hackney and they quoted £75 for the lot (powder coat, colour and lacquer) which seems like a good deal, but at the same time it's my first conversion and I would like to do this as cheap as possible (and also do everything myself).

Is it possible to do a decent job with the can and then perhaps get the lacquer done professionally?

Cheers!

How hard is it to get a decent finish with a rattle can? I'm quite happy spending time on the prep, sanding etc

Not sure if the links works so have tried to attach

2 Attachments

Thanks for the post - I wound up here after gooling for a Raleigh Vitesse single speed project!

I've had mine since new and am about to take it off the turbo and give it some winter miles.

It's all original apart from the bar-tape, chain and cassette!

1 Attachment

Could probably use a smaller frame.