Fixie Advice

spasypaddy

Finally cleaned out the garage and my dad's old raleigh is a 1978 raleigh bike, will it be possible to turn it into a fixie?

Greenbank

Yes.

spasypaddy

thanks for confirming, what should i be looking at and what do i need to buy/do?

Greenbank

My point was that any bike can be fixed. To know what to do we'll need a few more details.

First of all you need to read:

http://fixiefaqs.xwiki.com/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome

spasypaddy

ok well i was told last time that the back of the bike needed to have some form of dropout which type does it need to be? vertical or horizontal?

bianco

horitzontal is prefered, but you can get special hubs that allow the back and forwards play the horizontal drops would give you.

spasypaddy

what would i need to buy assuming that my dropouts are ok?

would a relative beginner as a mechanic be able to convert it?

peejay78

i think the answer is yes, but you need t follow instructions.

there are ways that won't involve changing the chainring and rear cog, but it won't look that nice.

spasypaddy

i took it into a few shops this morning and the first one want £130 for new wheels as they are 26 x 1 1/4 and the front fork is bent. Its a solid steel frame which needs a respray. Is it really worth doing it? It'll also need new handlebars and probably brake levers...

bianco

exactly the same as what my cycle wants doing, apart from mines got horizontal dropouts.

I though it was worth it

spasypaddy

well im going to go back on monday to my LBS as i now have some more info on my rims and say i can source them for 9.50 a rim, can you recommend any hubs?

hubgearfreak

spasypaddy wrote:

i took it into a few shops this morning and the first one want £130 for new wheels as they are 26 x 1 1/4 and the front fork is bent. Its a solid steel frame which needs a respray. Is it really worth doing it? It'll also need new handlebars and probably brake levers...

is it a special raleigh? 531 tubes, etc? i assume you meant steel tubes frame, not solid steel?
if not, no it's not. be realistic. you could get a nicely built fixed wheel bicycle new for £400, and £100-£200 secondhand.

Monty Dog

I expect your wheel size is 27x1 1/4 - you can use 700c wheels but you'll need deep-drop brakes to fit the slightly smaller wheels. By the sounds of it, you need to do quite a bit of work and you'll have to decide whether the sentimental value of the frame justifies the efforts. You could probably find a more suitable frame that requires less effort and cost - or even buy a complete bike if your mechanical aptitude isn't up to the task - but part of the fun is tracking down all the parts and putting it all together - you'll learn a lot that way and get a lot of satisfaction.

dreamlx10

"...will it be possible to turn it into a fixie?"

No, but you could convert it to a "Fixed" if you want !!!

spasypaddy

i told my mum how much it was going to cost and she decided for me by taking the bike to the tip!

bianco

Why not give it away to someone on the forums instead?

I'm sure someone will have enough parts to do it, no need to throw it away.

dreamlx10

"will it be possible to turn it into a fixie?"

No, but you could turn it into a "FIXED" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!