View Single Post
  #4  
Old October 19th 07, 01:38 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Rob Morley
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 7,173
Default Making a fixed-wheel bike

In article 1i68e0g.1h02smm1lgpeqgN%real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-
juice.co.uk, D.M. Procida
says...
Following recent bike misadventures, I'm considering taking up a
friend's offer of an old frame, to turn it into a fixed-wheel bike.

He says it's an old touring frame with "relaxed geometry".

My main concern is that the bottom bracket will be too low and I'll keep
catching the pedals on the ground, something that I've done several
times lately on my old Raleigh hybrid.


Short cranks with a low Q-factor and small (narrow, shallow) pedals help
improve the clearance. RHS cranks usually stick out further (although
if you're using a double or triple you'll need to fit a shorter axle to
get the chainline correct) and in the UK the road camber means you're
more likely to ground the RHS pedal anyway. :-(

What else do I need to consider?

I konw it needs to have horizontal drop-outs. What about axle spacing?

Horizontal-ish dropouts - you really want at least 1/2 inch of
adjustment to be able to tension the chain properly, although you can
get away with 1/4 inch if you use a half-link in the chain. If it's a
steel frame you can just bend it to suit the hub width - a fixed hub
tends to be 110mm or 120mm OLN, although you can often space it out a
bit especially if it has a solid axle rather than QR (this also gives
some leeway with the chainline adjustment).
Ads
 

Home - Home - Home - Home - Home