Fixed/Single Speed Commuting

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  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    I have two sets of 27 x 1 1/4 in wheelsets which I love but they are cheap and getting good tyres was a battle, what's up with that?

    Surely there's enough demand for 27" rims.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • flattythehurdler
    flattythehurdler Posts: 2,314
    I run a 48 x18 and have 3 stretches of 14, 15 and 20% (20% bit only about 50 yards though. It's doable, but sore into a headwind, and it's not geared quite high enough for the flat. Still beats bike maintanence by a country mile.
    Dan
  • wgwarburton
    wgwarburton Posts: 1,863
    48x18 (70.5") is essentially the same as the 42x16 (69.5") I run in the summer and a good deal higher than the 52x22 (63.5") that I use on my winter hack.
    I find it works fine for me- maybe if I was fit enough to ride at 25mph for long periods it would be too low, but realistically I stuggle to maintain an average of 20 most of the time and that's a comfortable 95-100 rpm.
    My morning commute is 4.5 miles, mostly uphill, and my best time is just under 15 minutes (with a tailwind). Going home I've done it in 12 or so and even that's not 25mph.
    With a bit of practice you should be able to spin smoothly at well over 120rpm- if you find that your gear is too low on a fast descent you just have to feather the brakes... I know it goes against the grain but it's part of learning to ride fixed- better to gear low and have to moderate your descents than gear high and blow your knees, IMHO...

    Cheers,
    W.
  • TheBrogueadier
    TheBrogueadier Posts: 89
    Well...

    Decided to stick with the current gearing for a week, see how it pans out, the commte is mostly flat and fairly fast traffic so 53x19 - 75" gear should be fine.. Apart from pulling out of junctions.

    If I end up with problems then I'll drop to a different chainset (the current one is sinfully ugly: a disgrace to the bike almost). and try 69" with 48x19.


    Commuting through Bristol as of Monday on this beastie, been on a blue Trek Equinox E5 (badly fitted TT bike being abused as a road bike) until now!

    http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2007/apr/JamesSims.htm
    FCN: 5
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    Hijacked from the Special Interests thread, this one's for you buns :lol:

    pbpic2719111.jpg
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • Littigator
    Littigator Posts: 1,262
    Can I run 700c wheels on a frame that was made to take 27" wheels?
    Roadie FCN: 3

    Fixed FCN: 6
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    Littigator wrote:
    Can I run 700c wheels on a frame that was made to take 27" wheels?

    usually yes
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    Littigator wrote:
    Can I run 700c wheels on a frame that was made to take 27" wheels?

    700c is 622 ERD, 27" is 630 ERD.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • wgwarburton
    wgwarburton Posts: 1,863
    Littigator writes:

    > Can I run 700c wheels on a frame that was made to take 27" wheels?

    700c rims are 4mm smaller than 27", The most likely issue is that your brakes won't reach far enough- If you have cantilever mounts, then they'll be in the wrong place.
    You'll have a little less leverage at the pads, too, but that probably won't matter.

    Cheers,
    W.
  • Littigator
    Littigator Posts: 1,262
    Phew, that's what I thought knowing they were very similar in size but I had a sudden panic...after spending £130 on getting some Velocity Deep Vs imported from the States I'd got the wrong size.

    They're going on to this frame which I got from the 'Bay for £30, a 1954 Raleigh ( I think it may be a Superbe). The second pic shows the state it was in before the chaps at Armourtex got to apply their craft...and 2 powdercoats and a lacquer coat before it looked even halfway decent

    IMG_2463.JPG

    IMG_2456.JPG
    Roadie FCN: 3

    Fixed FCN: 6
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    Oooooooooh very nice! I may take the old commuter for a respray...

    How are you going to work the chain tension with the dropouts? A friend of mine is looking at converting an old roadie to ss, but has similar dropouts and we couldn't figure out how it would work...
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • el_presidente
    el_presidente Posts: 1,963
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    Oooooooooh very nice! I may take the old commuter for a respray...

    How are you going to work the chain tension with the dropouts? A friend of mine is looking at converting an old roadie to ss, but has similar dropouts and we couldn't figure out how it would work...

    My fixie has those fwd facing semi-horizontal dropouts. Chain tension is not a problem there is more than enough room to move the wheel as required
    <a>road</a>
  • Littigator
    Littigator Posts: 1,262
    Err to be honest I thought with the amount of movement the dropouts allowed I could manually adjust and fix the tension with the axle bolts and wouldn't need anything more.

    Won't that work?
    Roadie FCN: 3

    Fixed FCN: 6
  • el_presidente
    el_presidente Posts: 1,963
    Littigator wrote:
    Err to be honest I thought with the amount of movement the dropouts allowed I could manually adjust and fix the tension with the axle bolts and wouldn't need anything more.

    Won't that work?

    Yes it will be fine
    <a>road</a>
  • edhornby
    edhornby Posts: 1,780
    I have very similar dropouts on my challenger frame - works fine when tensioning... and I have 700c wheels also, with an oldfashioned weinnman caliper with long arms (I'll try and get a photo up...)

    I'm gonna get a respray for mine also - red with white headtube, white forks... and maybe even get a white saddle and red bartape.... does anyone think that would be OTT???
    "I get paid to make other people suffer on my wheel, how good is that"
    --Jens Voight
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    I'm sure it will be absolutely fine as el presidente points out!

    Neither my friend nor I are very technical, and both thought that with the axle bolt only and the slope of the dropouts you'd lose chain tension more quickly but couldn't install a chain tug. His are more vertical than yours...

    You should probably ignore me as far as your build goes - was hunting for advice/ideas! :D
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • el_presidente
    el_presidente Posts: 1,963
    you can't use a chanintug obv. But I have never had any probs
    <a>road</a>
  • Littigator
    Littigator Posts: 1,262
    Yep, no chaintugs although I saw some brief reference to some DIY ones on Londfgss. The dropouts should be fine as long as I check the tension regularly and keep the nuts tight (snigger)

    Ed, I reckon your colour job sounds great, the tartier the better. How about some white tyres?

    Mine will be fitted with an original Raleigh Heron chainset, brown Brooks saddle, Nitto Radonneur drops with brown elk hide stitch on covers. MKS pedals with Christophe toe clips fitted with brown leather straps....oh and the one nod to modernity...Velocity deep V rims with a 40/32 spoke arrangement as per Raleighs of that era.

    The only choice left, white tyres or black with brown walls.
    Roadie FCN: 3

    Fixed FCN: 6
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    *** TART ALERT ***
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • wgwarburton
    wgwarburton Posts: 1,863
    Litts writes:

    > The only choice left, white tyres or black with brown walls.

    If you're going to ride it, rather than just pose, then I'd avoid white...

    Cheers,
    W.
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    Pah people who match their tyres to the bike colour should be shot :wink:
    838383911731428fbd124ea768d0b927.jpg
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • biondino
    biondino Posts: 5,990
    40 spokes, Litts? Why not go for a disc and be done with it!
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    LITT's if you're trying to stay in "period" then why didn't you have 27" x 1" 1/4 rims hand built *duck* :lol:
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • Littigator
    Littigator Posts: 1,262
    itboffin wrote:
    LITT's if you're trying to stay in "period" then why didn't you have 27" x 1" 1/4 rims hand built *duck* :lol:

    Yep, could've done that (ya cheeky bugga) but I wanted the modern contrast to that aspect of the bike. I'm not building a complete repro of the original bike.

    Also, what do people think to getting the Raleigh downtube decals in white?
    Roadie FCN: 3

    Fixed FCN: 6
  • Wrath Rob
    Wrath Rob Posts: 2,918
    Well, that was an interesting 2 rides! My SS cherry has been popped and my legs are currently reminding me of it. To set the scene, its my dad's old TT bike, converted to run SS with a GI of 81". No idea if that's English but I'm assured its correct. The brakes are not that effective when on the hoods but work well enough on the drops, something that may need sorting before I plough into the back of someone :shock:

    Anyway, this morning's ride was hard work, resulting in me posting 2 mins above my normal commute time :( Time to MTFU and get fit. Then came the ride home. What a difference that was as I absolutely nailed it and took 2 minutes off of my normal time, netting me even for the day! However, as I said earlier the legs are aching already and I've got another 6 journeys to do this week!

    I phoned my dad to tell him the bike was back in service and he commented that it is a "short wheel base racing bike", which would go some way to explaining the lively handling and the fact that my foot managed to brush the front tyre in a tight turn!

    So, all in all a good start to my SS career, though I think that by Friday I'll be the one being scalped by old Mrs Miggins on her pie shop bike :wink:
    FCN3: Titanium Qoroz.
  • ansbaradigeidfran
    ansbaradigeidfran Posts: 526
    itboffin wrote:
    Pah people who match their tyres to the bike colour should be shot :wink:
    Erm, my Missus colour-matched my helmet to my bike when she bought it for me: Electric-y Blue.

    Shame it won't match the racer, as I'll be giving it a somewhat turquoise paintjob.
  • Apollo748
    Apollo748 Posts: 61
    Matching bottle cage too, how lovely!
  • Apollo748
    Apollo748 Posts: 61
    Wrath Rob wrote:
    I phoned my dad to tell him the bike was back in service and he commented that it is a "short wheel base racing bike", which would go some way to explaining the lively handling and the fact that my foot managed to brush the front tyre in a tight turn!

    Short wheelbase racing bike? Maybe that explains why my fixed build feels so short. It's an old racing bike frame from the 80s, it has the same seat tube height as my 2008 but the top tube feels so much shorter. Maybe that was the norm back then and racing bikes have got longer over the years?
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    Apollo748 wrote:
    Matching bottle cage too, how lovely!

    Guess what colour the second bottle cage is?

    Has anyone else cracked a headset whilst riding?
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • Wrath Rob
    Wrath Rob Posts: 2,918
    Apollo748 wrote:
    Wrath Rob wrote:
    I phoned my dad to tell him the bike was back in service and he commented that it is a "short wheel base racing bike", which would go some way to explaining the lively handling and the fact that my foot managed to brush the front tyre in a tight turn!

    Short wheelbase racing bike? Maybe that explains why my fixed build feels so short. It's an old racing bike frame from the 80s, it has the same seat tube height as my 2008 but the top tube feels so much shorter. Maybe that was the norm back then and racing bikes have got longer over the years?

    Maybe, but this bike is from the late 60's instead of the 80s. I only call something old if I'm younger than it, so anything made in the 80s doesn't count :(
    FCN3: Titanium Qoroz.

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