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Looking for a fixed gear bike!

Yukat

Warming-Up
Apr 10, 2015
7
0
Hi!

I am trying to find a website or shop that sells used fixed gear or track bike frames. I see a lot in yahoo auctions jp but they are all in Japanese and I don't understand them. Any tips?

I was also thinking can you use a road bike frame and put a fixed gear on it. Would that be okay?

Lastly I am also thinking the same for mountain bikes, like a fixed gear mountain bike with no suspensions. What are your thoughts on this.

I really don't like gears and suspensions as they are costly to maintain and very complicated for me when it breaks. Hope you can he me guys!

Thanks.
 
Hello @Yukat!

My advice would be to get a Japanese-speaking friend to help you with Yahoo auctions. There should be good deals to be had from people who are moving on to something different, as the fixed gear craze seems to be on its way out.

Also look at the suggestions in this recent thread.

You can convert a road bike frame to fixed gear, but to get chain tension right you tend to need either one of these:
- horizontal drop-outs (most road bikes have vertical drop-outs)
- a chain tensioner
- eccentric bottom bracket

As mentioned above, riding fixed gear used to be something of a craze in the last couple of years, but the fashion is on its way out, probably partly due to police clamping down on people riding brake-less fixies on the road, which is illegal. But trends also come and go quickly in Japan.
 
Thanks for the tip Jowein. If I convert a road bike frame to a fixed one using those parts you mentioned where can I have it assembled and would it cost much more that just buying a fixed gear bike?
I understand about what you mean about the fixed gear bikes. Although I have to admit they are kind of cool, but I am really for the less complicated mechanic of the fixed gear since, I don't like it when I have to go to a bike shop just to have something fixed.
Also can you use an MTB bike frame to a fixed one?

Thanks.
 
I looked the bike @George5 but it was size 53 my size should be around 56-58cm according to the charts. I am around 5'9-5'11 i think. Would that still fit me?
 
Yukat, if you want a fixie, get (or convert into) a fixie. But since you do allude to your motivation:

Although I have to admit they are kind of cool, but I am really for the less complicated mechanic of the fixed gear since, I don't like it when I have to go to a bike shop just to have something fixed.

Are you perhaps scarred by experience of really crappy shifters and bikes? Probably the very cheapest are bad (and certainly the most hurriedly set up will be), but most are good and need little attention if set up right. (Try this write-up for a $28 rear derailer.) Anyway, decide which single gear you'd like, and then, on your own or a borrowed/rented multispeed bike, try using that one gear for all purposes. Unless you are very muscular, you will look distinctly uncool as you attempt to slog uphill. (I am old, weak and useless; yet thanks to my choice among 14+ gears, I often overtake young guys going uphill on fixies.)
 
You will have the same dropout problem converting a mountain bike only more so. There are plenty of old road bikes out there with horizontal dropouts, not so many mountain bikes.
Are you sure you want a fixed gear (can't pedal backwards / coast) rather than a single speed? A single speed conversion would be easier because you wouldn't need horizontal dropouts as long as you use some kind of chain tensioner.
How much money do you want to spend?
 
Thanks for all your help guys. I went to Tokyo yesterday and looked all over for a fixie or a single gear bike and I was not successful. Not because I did not find any but I think they are really expensive. My budget is around 40,000 yen for a full set, I was hoping to find old bike frames and I don't mind the paint being scratched and all as long as it has no dents or cracks but I did not find one. Do you think my budget is reasonable or do I sound like a cheapskate. :)

I am inclined to try a fixed gear bike although what I really wanted to say was a single speed. Sorry for the confusion, I am just a regular guy who enjoyed biking when I was a kid, back then there were no gears and when you have to go up a hill you have to sweat it out going up and enjoy the downhill breeze. :)

@hat and beard where can I find these old road bike frames with horizontal drop outs? That is exactly what I am looking for! I would appreciate your help!
 
Yukat, if you want a fixie, get (or convert into) a fixie. But since you do allude to your motivation:



Are you perhaps scarred by experience of really crappy shifters and bikes? Probably the very cheapest are bad (and certainly the most hurriedly set up will be), but most are good and need little attention if set up right. (Try this write-up for a $28 rear derailer.) Anyway, decide which single gear you'd like, and then, on your own or a borrowed/rented multispeed bike, try using that one gear for all purposes. Unless you are very muscular, you will look distinctly uncool as you attempt to slog uphill. (I am old, weak and useless; yet thanks to my choice among 14+ gears, I often overtake young guys going uphill on fixies.)

Thanks for the tip, but yeah part of it maybe because of crappy shifters I dont really know but I think I might get a road bike when I have the money and can maintain one but for now a single speed or fixie would be feasible for me. :)

And also from the video you posted, it got me thinking I normally did not have to switch gears when I bike so I kind of thought I just paid more for something that I don't even use. Like a smartphone that has a lot of features but all I really do is use it for calls and text messages. :)
 
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I think buying a complete bike would likely be a lot cheaper than buying a used frame, all necessary parts and then paying someone to build it up.

Here are some options. Ask the staff if they think it is too big or too small for you. You really can't judge what size you need by height alone. Two people of the same height can have vastly different leg and arm lengths. Any of these are probably in the ballpark. If you find one of these bikes to be too small you can always buy a longer stem that slopes upwards. This will effectively make the bike bigger. You can probably even buy a new stem for cheap at Cycly and have the staff install it for you.

http://www.cycly.co.jp/Shop/Items/6Y17781
http://www.cycly.co.jp/Shop/Items/DW0TH58
http://www.cycly.co.jp/Shop/Items/DW0W455
 
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Believed it or not. Looked at everyone of this in Shinjuku and Kawagoe. I have now resigned to wait for a fuji feather to b sold in craigslist as the other sites are hard to navigate. Thanks for all your help! If anyone spots selling a fuji feather 56cm-58cm let me know thank you!
 
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