Building First Single Speed

spamalot

Hi All,

I've been cycling to work now for a couple of months on my Orange MTB (on slicks and rigid forks). I live in Cambridge and it's flat as a pancake so no need for gears, my bike stays in two or three gears all week. I'd like something with a bit more pace. I thought about building the ultimate rigid MTB, full carbon, xtr groupset... but only really because that's what I know.

Then I started looking a single speeds. The Bianchi Pista caught my eye. I think I'd like to have a go at building something similar so I can get it just how I wanted. But I'm not really sure where to start. I like everything to match, if I was building a MTB I'd go for full xt or xtr and not mix it. That may sound stupid because you can get better breaks for less, for example, matchings worth a lot to me though. How could I best achieve that on a single speed, I have no idea about road bikes/components?

Also looking at frames there seems to be a huge difference in weight and that doesn't really relate to price. What would you suggest? I like the look of the old style butted tubes over modern welded frames. I'm aware that you need the correct drop outs for a single speed.

Thanks

Paul 8v

If you get an old reynolds 531 frame with the horizontal campag dropouts it will work fine as a single speed as you can move the wheel forwards and back. They don't really do a full groupset for single speed but you could get a matching parts if for example you got an old campagnolo pista group and added retro (pre ergo) levers.

This will however cost a fortune, for mine I got a Campag double chainset (Mirage) and fitted single chainring bolts, fitted a Miche primato BB (Adjustable to get the chainline right) The brake levers were old ergopower ones where the shift mechanism had died, the guts were removed so there was a nice brake lever set.

My one piece of advice would benot to buy the crappy hipster stye brightly coloured single speed wheels (Which you will see all over cambridge) I just got a set of Zenith (Old school Campag copy) large flange hubs and had them made up with some Ambrosio rims. Really strong and much better than the aformentioned fashion wheels!

To be honest with a single speed you will find it hard to match everything but you could at least get the same manufacturer by doing the above!

This is mine (If the link works) It's not pretty but it is fast!
http://instagram.com/p/PpMC4kR2CU/

buckmulligan

I've been looking to do the same thing as you and obviously when it comes to singlespeeds there's not much of a chance to have a nice matching groupset! I've got an old steel frame that I want to build up, but the only thing putting me off at the moment is the cost. Going from a bare frame and forks to a fully functional singlespeed/fixed gear is going to cost in the region of £250-300, for which price you can purchase a better second bike (e.g. Specialized Langster) that's going to have more resale value.

With respect to your questions, if you're looking at old steel butted frames, then the brand and prestige of them will have a massive influence on price, seemingly irrespective of their weight/specs. Wheels are another concern, having done some research on the London Fixed Gear and Singlespeed forum (lfgss) I've seen some of the cheap wheelsets available online are prone to stripping the threads on the hubs, especially when used with a fixed sprocket. As for matching components, most of the usual road groupsets (Shimano, Campag, SRAM) aren't really relevant; your best bet would be go for say a Truvativ or FSA drive train and whatever brand you like for a finishing kit. It wouldn't be hard to build a nice fixed gear or singlespeed bike from scratch by sourcing parts from eBay and the like, but I think I'm coming to the conclusion that it's much more economical to buy ready built.

spamalot

Thanks for all the replies :-).

The vibe that I'm getting is just buy this as its better and cheap than any bike I could build with my limited experience - http://m.evanscycles.com/products/bianc ... e-ec025820

Paul 8v

Well it depends if you're after new or not, if you don't mind an old frame and some used components, you'll be able to get it for a lot less than £770! Mine cost me less than £200.00 as quite a few of the parts were used.

My friend has one that cost him about £50.00.

If you're spending that sort of money you might as well buy a full on road bike!
The Bianchi is a lovely looking bike though...

pinarellokid

i have just picked up an old Raleigh Corsa for £35 on ebay 7 speed and looks in really nice condition

i plan on using it as a winter bike then possibly stripping it next spring and havng it powder coated.

so essentially will look new

but so we all know, can someone go over what is involved with converting a geared bike to a fixie..

i guess you could take the smaller ring off the chainset and use that ?? would it be spaced right??

then i could fit one of them cheap single gear mods so it slips over the freehub and i can adjust the spacing to get it to match the front cog. is it that simple??

or i could get a set of navigator wheels from Dolan for £120 with a flip flop hub on it already..

is it ok to use a frame which doesnt have horixontal drop outs??

Paul 8v

If you use a frame without vertical dropouts you'll need to tension the chain with something or use one of those half link chains.

The chainset can be changed over to a single by removing the inner ring and fitting single chainring bolts.

The best person to explain the whole process is the oracle really...
http://sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html

ColinJ

Paul 8v wrote:

If you use a frame without vertical dropouts you'll need to tension the chain with something or use one of those half link chains.

With!

I put together a s/s bike for £25 but I borrowed a decent frame/forks/wheels off a mate to do it. Most of the other bits came from my junk box.



It has been a fun bike to ride. I kept it at my sister's house in Coventry where the flattish terrain was suitable for it. I wouldn't fancy riding s/s in a very hilly area like here in Yorkshire.

My mate has just had the bike back to build himself a winter steed.

iPete

My fixie has cost me a fair wack, like to learn the hard way! fortunately its bloody good fun to ride.

If you are not a tart the best option is to get a second hand langster IMO. If you are a matching groupset and matching seatpost/stem/bar kind of person it can really add up.

JamesB5446

Paul 8v wrote:

I

My one piece of advice would benot to buy the crappy hipster stye brightly coloured single speed wheels (Which you will see all over cambridge)

My girlfriend's bike is a right fashion fixie.


Pretty cheap to build though.

JamesB5446

p.s. OP, did you mean lugged, not butted?

pinarellokid

here is my potential SS for next summer..

craker

So what bits have you got towards your build so far? If none then you may as well start with a donor bike (like a langster). Not quite sure what you mean by a matching groupset anyway. There isn't a groupset really, just cranks, a chain and a couple of gears.

I've taken the big ring off an Ultegra crankset, put a spacer kit on a 7 speed freewheel and I like it lots ... and my commute isn't too flat. It's gone on a Raleigh Europa which has forward facing semi-horizontal drop outs - ideal for the job, I don't like the looks of a tensioner TBH (and I mean the looks rather than any functional reason).

ColinJ

craker wrote:

So what bits have you got towards your build so far? If none then you may as well start with a donor bike (like a langster).

Huh? If you already had a Langster then you wouldn't need to build a bike!