90's Free Spirit fixie conversion

[RContino]

I just sold my '72 cb350 so the Nighthawk is feeling a little lonely in the man cave. He's always got the little fixed-gear sprinter to share some chain lube with though. It's good to keep the legs and lungs pumping strong... also amazing how I can squeeze through cross town taxi traffic quicker with the two horses connected to my spine than sucking public bus exhaust fumes while waiting in line on 750cc's of combustion (thank god for highways and suburbs).  .

[windrider]

How many miles per gallon of peanut butter?   (as in sandwiches)

[RContino]

Although high in saturated fat, a serving of peanut butter typically has about 7g's of protein as well as a few vitamins. Just remember that white bread is the devil... stick with 100% whole wheat.

I prefer bringing two juicy mandarin oranges when on the road though - easier to carry, eat, and digest.

[fishball]

Nice looking bike.  My friend races off-road but his favorite do-it-all everyday ride is his single speed.

[Option13]

I love biking. Too bad mine is down for a while so I can fix the shifting mechanism, which has been giving me trouble lately and I'm not going to touch it while frustrated. 

A hipster I know and despise made his own fixie. Took off the brakes, took off the derailleurs, cut the chain, painted it baby blue with a brush and leaves the bolt on front wheel finger tight. Because the bike was originally an 18 speed with a freewheel, he has no way to stop besides the shoes that let you see 6 of his 10 toes. He told me, while I was sitting on my bike, that "Brakes are for p***ies." Likewise for gears. Methinks his future occupation will include "hood ornament".

I won't deny the beauty and simplicity of a fixie (I wouldn't have any of the problems I have now with a single speed), but I'll stick with multi speeds.

[gammer]

I ride my bicycle a bit with my kids. But for (heart pumping) exercise I'm more into...

[ariwhiteboy]

I ride my bicycle a bit with my kids. But for (heart pumping) exercise I'm more into...

Chasing girls in jogging pants? 

 

[Option13]

Looks more like them chasing him.   

[gammer]

Looks more like them chasing him.  

What can I say...they're all after me.

Quick story: My work has me at a temp location (half hour away) for the past year. This location has a brand new gym. So I've been taking full use of it this past year. Anyway, I was chatting with this girl that is always in the gym when I am there and mentioned that I won't be using the gym anymore in a few weeks because I will be done working at that location. Her response was "ohhhh (disappointed), I always try to work out much harder whenever your in there".
"Oh... " I said...

Too bad I'm married.

[Option13]

Too bad I'm married.

 

[geemann]

i was going to ask for some of your fixie pics as soon as i saw it in your signature! i am kinda a bicycle nut job (8 for one person is a little excessive, right?)  tinkering with the bicycles has kept my hands busy and away from my NH. (i am a firm believer that one should not heavily mod a bike until they have ridden with is for at least a season and know what qwirks are there before.)

sorry, slight

long and short, i dig both ur bikes!

-g

[RContino]

Option13 - yup, looks like you've got yourself a hipster friend there. Most of my friends live in Greenpoint/Williamsburg, Brooklyn which is hipster heaven... not uncommon to see brakeless fixie riders wearing a wife beater and flip flops. I actually rode with no brakes for a while but it's much more comfortable to ride with a front brake and it allows me to ride harder without being compelled to cheat every stop sign.

I love the speed/control capability of the fixed-gear... it's almost like manual vs. automatic, freewheel coasting doesn't give the same rider/bike connection that fixed does. Not to mention that I can often move faster than car traffic in the city and take the lane whenever I want.

Is the problem with your derailleur or shifter? You should check the owner's manual - it may be an easier fix than you think. I've always hated derailleur's, in fact it's one of the main reasons I switched to fixed-gear, but I recently had to adjust the one on my mom's mtb and was amazed at how similar it is to adjusting the brakes. Was always too much of an 'expert' to check the manual.

geeman - have any pics? I actually used to restore/convert old police auction road bikes to fixed/ss and sell them on craigslist so I know how easy it is to get attached to a garage full of bikes. We even gave each one of them valiant names (mainly for bookkeeping purposes of course). Any of yours vintage/collectors?

[muttstang]

nice lightweight simple bike. 

I do enjoy my trek.  I had a Giant for many years before that and used the heck out of it in college.  I'm looking forward to getting into our new house where I won't have to deal with as much traffic if we go for a bike ride.

[Option13]

Is the problem with your derailleur or shifter? You should check the owner's manual - it may be an easier fix than you think. I've always hated derailleur's, in fact it's one of the main reasons I switched to fixed-gear, but I recently had to adjust the one on my mom's mtb and was amazed at how similar it is to adjusting the brakes. Was always too much of an 'expert' to check the manual.

I've fixed and adjusted it plenty of time, I'm just frustrated with it. Last time I rode it it started acting up again and I lost all desire to touch it. When the urge to go out again comes back I'll fix it. Until then I'll only want to destroy it.

[geemann]

...edit...

geeman - have any pics? I actually used to restore/convert old police auction road bikes to fixed/ss and sell them on craigslist so I know how easy it is to get attached to a garage full of bikes. We even gave each one of them valiant names (mainly for bookkeeping purposes of course). Any of yours vintage/collectors?

I love the idea of raiding police auctions, many great deals to be had!

I wish I did have some pics, but unfortunately not...  I am currently living in Munich, Germany (until August), which is about 5000 miles away from my garage full of toys in South Carolina.  I am also away from the external harddrive where I keep all my pics.  But I can tell you about them.  I have two semi-collectables and the rest are just special to me for one reason or another.  Here are my babies:

1) 1982 Huffy that was made in the original Huffman plant (the one that made sewing machines) in the final months before Huffy closed the plant and moved all bicycle production to Celina, OH.  It was rusted to hell when I pulled it out of the dumpster, so I have no regrets about stripping off the original paint (what was left of it anyway) and converting it to a fixie.  [there was no way to restore it to anything that vaguely resembled original, and since it did not even work as it was, I decided that anything ridable was better than nothing at all.]

2) 1994 ParkPre. I stumbled across this frame (and actually many of the parts on it) by dumb luck in a buddy's garage, and he said I could have it.  Not until after doing the research did I find out more about it.  (ParkPre made bikes until 1998 until they went belly up, but now they are making bikes again.)  The frame is a tripple butted steel core with a titanium outer layer, this was originally one of their high end race mt bikes.  but now it is my special creation.  the parts i had laying around dictated the build, so it got 700c road wheels (instead of the orig 26" mtb), with a carbon fiber aero front fork (instead of the orig front suspension.  also this was a freebie from another friend who does part reviews for a cycling mag.).  there are two rear brakes that are run off of a single lever on the right, as well as a front brake from the left pull. and finally a single speed with a surely singlerator since it had vertical dropouts and i did not have a spare deraillure.

3) 1972 Schwinn Worldsport. double butted steel frame. orig 10 speed.  everything is original except for the paint b/c it was rusted to hell and i brought it back to life.  it received a two tone yellow/black scheme.  this was the first bike i ever restored.

4) 19?? Amsterdam. i know almost nothing about this bike except that this is how i get around Munich.  i cannot find any history on the brand or anything like that.  it used to be a 3spd with an internal hub, but since the gears are frozen together, it runs as a ss. full fenders, chain guard, built in light, rust everywhere.  it tips the scales at somewhere north of 40 pounds, but i can fit a full case of beer (which is 20 glass bottles in Germany) on the luggage rack without issues.

5) 2008 Giant ocr3. full carbon. mostly original. this is what i put most miles on.

6) 2001 Giant iguana. aluminum frame. nothing original. something to mtb with.

7) 1988 Mongoose.  Double butted steel, full rigid, 10 spd mtb.

8) 1999 GT forrester.  mtb turned beater/commuter. fenders, slick tires, luggage rack, stickers everywhere. so ugly, nobody would want to steal it, no quick releases so nobody can steal it.

cheers,
-g

[RContino]

Sweet, definitely a well rounded collection. I'd love to see a few shots of the Parkpre creation if you ever get access to that hard drive.

[geemann]

thanks dude.  come august, you got a deal!

cheers,
-g