I'm looking for a cheap fixie.

EKE_38BPM

How much do they go for at Brick Lane?
Is there any way to know if its been stolen? There must be some legitimate bikes there, right?

I really don't want to be riding around on someone's pride and joy (commiserations to Moonio).

CometGirl

They go for very little at Brick Lane and I wouldn't buy a bike from there - too likely to be stolen.

Try 2nd hand frames from ebay and cycling forums. If you're very tall or very short (I'm very short) you can pick up a bargain from ebay from cycling shops selling ex-display models. That's where I got my track bike

Oddjob62

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Is there any way to know if its been stolen? There must be some legitimate bikes there, right?

Very unlikely.

Bargains turn up from time to time on the lfgss forum. Got most of my bike from there.

ts69

Carrera Zero currently at Halfords with 20% off - so under £200.

dav1

carrera zero does look like a half decent bike for a commuter hack. Flip flop hub for free/fixed is attractive as well.

I think the cheapest way is to look for an old road bike in need of some TLC and to repair and convert it yourself. People who do not want to repair it as they do not know how and/or will not use it, often sell them quite cheap.

I'm currently kicking myself for not buying a bile like that at work for £20 in april that went up on the noticeboard.

itsbruce

EKE_38BPM wrote:

How much do they go for at Brick Lane?
Is there any way to know if its been stolen? There must be some legitimate bikes there, right?

The legitimate ones won't be cheap; all the kosher bike shops in the area are priced for the fakenger market.

Fireblade96

Dav1 wrote:

... the cheapest way is to look for an old road bike in need of some TLC and to repair and convert it yourself....

From my experience, unless you have a shed full of the right spare parts, this won't necessarily prove to be a cheap option. My fixie build is currently running at something over £200, which is rather more than I had intended when I bought an old racer for £25 !

It is fun though

EKE_38BPM

I've been given an old steel Raleigh but to convert it would be crazy expensive so I'm thinking of just getting a ready made fixie. I've been quoted prices like £65 for a rear wheel and the same for a chainset. Never mind things like saddle, tyres brakes etc

How can fixie parts be more expensive than geared parts?!
I've heard the bike companies are jumping on the fixie bandwagon, but it seems they have jumped on it, crushed it, swept up the bits and are now selling those bits at a huge mark-up.

lae

^ if you've got good self-control, it can be pretty cheap

£25 bike
£60 fixed rear wheel, if the old wheels are 700c you can swap over tape, tubes, tyres, if not add another £20 at least
£ add another 40 if the old bike is running 27" wheels and you want a 700c front as well (although there's no real reason, other than ease of inner tube/tyre compatability, why you couldn't run a 700c rear and a 27" front)
£10-20 fixed cog
£5-10 new chain, if needed - you can get 3/32" fixed cogs if the bike has a 3/32" chain.

You can sell the old rear wheel/old wheelset and get some of your money back. I sold some naff old 27" chromed steel wheels for £30 last summer.

This assumes that you've got the tools to do it. If not you'll need a 15mm spanner for removing the wheels, some tyre levers, a lockring tool, and a chain tool, and a 10mm spanner for adjusting the brake blocks if you go from 27" to 700c. You should be able to get that for less than £30, and tools are an investment. No need to get a chainwhip as you can rotafix the fixed cog on.

Singlespeed would be even cheaper - all you need is a freewheel remover (£5) and a BMX freewheel (£10), and shorten the chain (£10 for the tool).

There's no need to change the chainset, and even if you do, you can get a cheap one off of ebay for £20 or so, new, or a used one for even less.

itsbruce

EKE_38BPM wrote:

How can fixie parts be more expensive than geared parts?!

Mostly they aren't, because they're the same as the parts for other bikes. The only fixie-specific part you absolutely need is the rear hub, as long as you have a frame that will take the conversion. Stay out of the fashionable fakenger bike shops and you'll find it less expensive.

EKE_38BPM

I've got all of the tools that I need (I think). Owning a Morris Ital and a 50cc Kawasaki back in the day forces you to buy a socket set & spanners and general bike tinkering got me the rest (chain whip, chain tool etc). I know how to use the tools and doing the work isn't putting me off, but the condition of the bike I have is.

I'd need a new wheelset and chainset (both bent and knackered), chain, saddle, pedals, headset, bottom bracket, tyres, tubes, bar tape, brake blocks & brake cables. Add those all up and I'm really looking at a new bike.
Functional handlebars and brake levers do not a fixie make, especially when I'm still uncertain if the frame (steel) I have is usable (possible internal rust and a bent seat stay) even excluding the need for a respray.

Even if the frame is OK, I'd still be looking at £200+ the bits I need.


Really what I've been given is a money pit. The bike was left unprotected in a back garden for about 15 years so all steel is rusted and all rubber is perished, only the alloy parts are OK (even the saddle is mouldy).

New bike really, ennit?

lae

Indeed it does sound like a money pit.

What steel is the frame made from? If it's butted 531 or better I'd be tempted to leave it alone (you could practice brazing on it, for example) but plain gauge 531, 520 or 501, or un-named steels, tend to be thicker-walled and can put up with a fair amount of corrosion. Although, having said that, leaving it in a garden for 15 years may well have ruined it completely.... A knot-wheel on a grinder will remove all the rust (well, it'll remove anything that isn't completely solid) leaving the bare steel for you to inspect for pinholes and severe pitting. Be careful with it though, I wouldn't run it around the open top edges of the seatpost for example, because it could easily rip the steel apart if it's thin!

Even if the frame's okay though, you'd still need a lot of parts - personally I'd get on ebay and go round the car boot sales - I picked up a 1980 Raleigh racing bike for £12 on ebay and it was pretty much in perfect condition - I went singlespeed so all it needed was a freewheel and a new chain (although I too got carried away and spent £200ish on it).

Morris Ital eh... if you think that's bad, in the last five years I've owned both a Hillman Avenger (surprisingly good to drive, but gave me four pages' worth of MOT failures) and a Datsun Cherry (matt black with a checkered bonnet, to give you some idea of the general condition. I didn't even bother taking it in for the MOT).

EKE_38BPM

I'm going to use the frame to practice things like painting on. When I do eventually buy/build a fixie, I plan to paint it to match my geared bike and I'd rather not make a pig's ear of the bike I'll be riding around.

Back on topic, I went to Brick Lane today and apart from a brand new Create fixie being sold from a proper stall (range of new BSOs, a few Create fixies and some new kids bikes), I only saw one crackhead selling a stolen MTB (he was chased off by stall holders). I rode there on my piece of s.h.i.t BSO and was looking forward to leaving it there and riding home on something else, but there was nothing there for me. If the Create was the right size, I probably would have bought it. £175 seemed an OK deal.
If Brick Lane is where thieves take stolen bikes to sell them, it looks like there are not many bikes being stolen in London, which is a good thing.

I'll restart my trawl of eBay for a steel roadbike with horizontal dropouts in a size that works for me (BIG).

gtvlusso

Hi EKE - I have a 54cm track frame available for purchase, may be a bit small for you.

Dave Rusell Reynolds 531 steel frame, re-finished in frosty blue by Argos cycles!

Also have some parts, PM me with a list of what you want and I will dig about in the shed.

EKE_38BPM

Thanks for the offer, but that would be too small for me.
Buying a bike is like buying jeans and trousers for me, sometimes its not so much what you would like, but what will fit.

If this is how hard I find being being 6'2", it must have been a nightmare for my Grandad who was 6'8"! There again, I suppose things were more bespoke a couple of generations ago.

EKE_38BPM

On second thoughts, depending on how its measured, 54cm might work for me. I'll PM you, gtvlusso.

Also, is this worth considering? The seller says it is 54cm from the centre of the BB to the bottom of the top tube. I may go for a test ride to see.

gtvlusso

The seat tube is not a great way of measuring a frame.

The top tube is the best - I think my track bike has a 57cm top tube - matched to a long stem, may suit you very well.

I am 5ft 11" and I use a 56/57 cm top tube and a 90mm stem for comfort, you may find that a 58cm with a long stem - say 110mm may be just about right.

I have a 110mm Quill stem for the track frame, but If you get the opportunity to try a few out you may be surprised by what fits!

lardboy

Seach for Create/Unipac on LFGSS, and you'll find a litany of problems with these OTP bikes. Basically, they are gas pipe frames, with the cheapest possible bits attached, which break at very innopportune moments.

I think 54cm, will be too small as well. You're at least a 58cm, if you're a normally proportioned 6"2.

biondino

The bike manufacturers benefit from economies of scale, which is why when you tot up the cost of all the bits individually you realise you could get twice the bike, ready built, for the same price from a shop!

If you're looking under £200 then go second-hand if you can. New bikes at that price are just going to be rubbish.

Oddjob62

lardboy wrote:

I think 54cm, will be too small as well. You're at least a 58cm, if you're a normally proportioned 6"2.

Agreed, Carly is a 56 which most people would say is too small for me.

rustncogs

The Carrera Zero is well worth a look.

I picked one up a few weeks ago for £190 and I'm very happy with it, I think it's a thoroughly decent bike.

il_principe

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Back on topic, I went to Brick Lane today and apart from a brand new Create fixie being sold from a proper stall)

Please for the love of God do not buy one of these!!

Alphabet

i finished making my singlespeed/fixie this evening.

well, i say finished...
i went a bit overboard of the base bike on ebay - ended up spending 130 quid as it was a beautiful early 80s benotto that had basically never been ridden - columbus SL tubing and all that. only other thing i've bought is a pair of track wheels with a flip flop hub from lfgss for 70 quid. struck gold actually as they're ace wheels, with a freewheel and tires included. even spending a lot on the frame, it still came to 200 all in. everything else is ok, but i'll slowly swap out the seatpost, saddle and brakes and replace the bartape.

lae

Foot retention!

Nice otherwise though. And bargaintastic price!

Alphabet

yeah, I'm only riding it singlespeed at the moment, so i just whacked on my spare mtb pedals. I'll chop them over to clipless before i try and go fixed.

EKE_38BPM

NIce bike and just what I'm aiming to do.

Start with a decent frame, buy the fixie specific parts (rear wheel, maybe the chainset), show it all a little bit of love with pedals, bar tape etc and come in around the £200 mark.
I may have to ask a bit of advice about where you got your wheels from on lfgss at a later date.

Let us all know how it rides.

dreamlx10

FIXED !

Alphabet

for the wheels, there's a section on the lfxss forum for members selling stuff - there were quite a few wheels on there and generally with tires, so buying second hand from there they came in a hell of a lot cheaper than brand new and I got a lot better quality than buying new for even double the price

took literally 20 minutes to strip the gears off and sort the chainline out - horizontal dropouts are a godsend. it's worth noting that most old frames have either 126mm or 130mm spacing at the back - mine's 126 as it's got a 6 speed cassette originally. most flip flop hubs are 120mm so you can either use spacers (there's a few mm of extra thread usually) - which could cause you problems getting a straight chainline or just squeeze the dropouts. i went the squeeze route as it's a steel frame. didn't have to swing on it, fit as if it was meant to be there.

i usually commute on a hardtail mtb with slicks, so riding this today was just ace. absolutely soaking wet, but i didn't care! not sure how much I'll agree with that this evening as it's uphill all the way home...

need a new chainset eventually as the second chainring is permanent which will bug the hell out of me until i swap it out.