Hello all, I wanna preface this by saying that I know very little about bikes. My housemates are really into them however and have experience working on them so I’ll have support on that front. My chain broke today and I went to a shop to try and true my wheels but they were too bent to truly salvage them. My housemate rides fixed and has gotten me really excited about them and I really want to do the conversion now. My main question, is it worth it and what price/parts am I looking at? I know I’ll need 700cc wheels but besides that I’m clueless.
by Atomic-Alien
11 Comments
I’d say go for it!
I’ve got an 80’s Raleigh steel road bike that I converted to basically be a track bike, and it rides like a dream!
When I first did the conversion, it was with a lot of cheap, second hand, parts and then I slowly upgraded them.
Sure, you could probably buy a used fixie for about the amount you’d spend on nice used parts, but building your own conversion will teach you SO much about working on your bike and it feels so satisfying!
Is this an A08?
Jeez, are you like 7 feet tall? A couple concerns,
If that’s a French frame it might have a difficult BB standard to work with. The rear hub spacing might be different too. Just some quirks of different frame standards to keep in mind.
First off, yes you can convert it and if you like riding it and you like riding fixed you should convert it. A set of 700c wheels from Velocity will set you back about $450 and they’re pretty good. You can pick the rim and spoke combo you want. If you already have hubs you can send them in and they’ll build with those. You’ll need a bottom bracket, tires, chain, new cranks, cog, and lock nut. That’ll set you back at least another $350. You can repurpose the seat, seat post, handlebars, quill stem, and probably the brakes.
For a little bit more than what it’ll cost you to convert you could buy a brand new bike but what fun is that?
The geo is very relaxed to go fixed. You could do it, but riding fixed lends itself to a more aggressive forward position. Particularly if you want to get over the front end to skid stop. The bars and fork offset make it look cool.. I’d go more of a simple pub bike / Resto commuter.. but that’s just me. It would also make a cool single speed and keep the brakes on there.
Also, get the bottom bracket last because you may need a weird length and/or shims to set the chain line. That was the hardest part for my last conversion.
IMO this thread has given you bad advice. I understand loving a frame and wanting to give it new life..but in this case it might not be worth it.
The frame ain’t conversion material. It might fit you properly, feels nice, sentimental value, etc. but that doesn’t mean you make it fixie. The horizontal dropsouts aren’t a good idea. Physics aren’t on side here. Trust me.
Hell Yes
Absolutely
Peugeot frames are my favorite fixed gear conversions and I can’t say it enough. This paint job looks sick too.
Yes!
I converted my ’78 Motobecane Mirage into fixed. Beautiful original paint. Thats what saved it.
You have a cotter crank. Ditch it. IRD makes a bottom bracket and kit that you can adapt to French thread to match your shell. Then pick up a 165mm square taper crankset. That’s the heart of it all. Sun Rims makes a polished 700c wheelset for like 280 bucks that’ll be stunning for this build.
Other thing: fork, stem, bars and headset are proprietary to French. Leave them as they are. I’m not sure if the stem clamp is 25mm or 25.4, but it may be the former. If you want drops, you may have to ebay them from a French bike.
Good luck!