Bicycles

[highscheme]

I got ahold of a decaying fuji roadbike from the late 80s/early 90s. I plan to hipster it out by powder coating the frame and converting it to a single speed.





I stripped it down and have the frame and fork to work with.





Basically, what's a ballpark figure on all the components for a decent single speed bike? All I have is the frame and fork. Quality parts but nothing exorbitant.

 

[smoking_robot]

minneap said:Hairy, whip's lookin beefy. I finally got around to putting the new crankset on and snapped some photos.

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this is really slick looking. i like it a lot.

 

[kicks79]

For real looks sick

 

[highscheme]

are there any tricks or ways to have brakes and still keep the lines on the bike clean?

 

[smoking_robot]

highscheme said:are there any tricks or ways to have brakes and still keep the lines on the bike clean?




i rock jsut a front brake on my daily commuter, so it keep it pretty clean looking still imo. I imagine you could really measure out the cable length so there isnt any unecessary extra cable and get a housing in a color that matches your frame as much as possible.





im sure some other folks who are more in the know can chime in with some better ideas though too.

 

[dukeofdelridge]

you could look into coaster brakes. That's the way I'd go, if I were captured by the crime boss and forced to make a bike with no cables. You could coast, rail corners, bomb hills...I guess that's not appealing to fixie guys in the street, but those are high up on my bike fun goals.





I'm not sure if there are coaster brakes that look any different than they used to, but you could probably paint it the same color as your frame and make it seem smaller.





Some frames have internal cable routing. That's a nice pain in the ass that'll never go away.





Aesthetically, I understand the "simple is beautiful" thing with fixed gear bikes, but the frames some people choose are far more vomit-inducing than a cable would be: the 70s Peugeot's are the ones that kill me around Seattle. Long wheelbases, and those god damn forks that turn chrome halfway down and bend like three inches? Killing me!





I like any bike that the owner likes, but I can't always see them being good for me. Last page, bandagekills with this one:

You could take off the front brake for your simplicity needs, and it would still be acceptable to me because it could rail turns and bomb hills. But you're probably wanting to get rid of the back brake, because of all that pesky brake cabling, and now I'm afraid to bomb hills or rail turns on it.





there could be some weird internal drum coaster brakes out there...





the bmx street kids all ride brakeless, by the way. freewheel and all...sometimes freecoaster and all...insane.

 

[dukeofdelridge]

bandagekills said:







that one.

 

[highscheme]

OK, looks like I'm just going to have to deal with the brake lines because I'm not going without a rear brake just for looks.





I have a frame, a fork, a seatpost, a stem, and some handlebars. I also have the stuff between the frame and fork (headset?).





I guess I need: a seat, pedals, wheels, tires, hubs, skewers for the wheels, and single speed gear/cranks.





*oh yeah, and at least rear brake and lever








Anything I'm missing? Shit's complicated.

 

[smoking_robot]

highscheme said:OK, looks like I'm just going to have to deal with the brake lines because I'm not going without a rear brake just for looks.





I have a frame, a fork, a seatpost, a stem, and some handlebars. I also have the stuff between the frame and fork (headset?).





I guess I need: a seat, pedals, wheels, tires, hubs, skewers for the wheels, and single speed gear/cranks.





*oh yeah, and at least rear brake and lever








Anything I'm missing? Shit's complicated.




i forgot to ask if you were riding free wheel or fixie. if your not riding fixed, keep both brakes. if you have a fixed, you only need 1, i prefer the front brake, but the front brake is where you can stop the quickest due to weight trasnfering downard force to the street.





internal brake lines always struck me as a huge pain in the ass to replace/repair.





as duke mentioned, coaster allows you to do all sorts of fun shit.

 

[dukeofdelridge]

smoking_robot said: all sorts of fun shit.




like MOB hills and RAIL corners!





sounds like you're at the point when you realize piecing a bike together can be more trouble than it's worth (provided you don't already have bins of parts laying around)... good luck.

 

[SoulOnIce]

front brake >>>>>> rear brake





you just need to learn how to stop on just a front brake (aka keep your weight back)


but the rear brake is nearly useless compared to the stopping power of the front brake.

 

[dukeofdelridge]

SoulOnIce said:front brake >>>>>> rear brake





you just need to learn how to stop on just a front brake (aka keep your weight back)


but the rear brake is nearly useless compared to the stopping power of the front brake.




I gets DOWN with mines bro! I'm 2 the Xtreem. If I only get one brake, it's a back brake.





REASONS (while understanding the physics that prove a front brake, in a straight line, is superior):


ONE: I ride one-handed sometimes. Holding Slurpees, beers, whatever. With one hand on the bars, front braking is too hard. Those same laws of physics that explain why, for example, motorcycles have double-rotor megabrakes up front, and barely anything out back, mean that the bars will be wrenched from my hand, and down will come baby, slurpee, all. Emergency one-handed braking (avoiding extra commas perhaps) is done with a rear brake.


TWO: I like to do wheelies and manuals. A finger on the rear brake can save me from looping out.


THREE: I live in Seattle. Shit gets wet. I'll take the decreased stopping power of only a single rear brake over the prospect of trying to slow down on a wet and mossy Deadman's Curve with only a front brake.





If I only get one brake, it's a rear.

 

[phongone]

SOI is right; front brakes are preferred. More stopping power and minimal skidding. If you're riding one-handed (with a slurpee for example), it's not like you'll be hauling ass and unprepared to stop -- front brake should be sufficient.





Also, when mountainbiking, reliance on front-braking (with slight pressure on back brakes) is almost universally preferred. Back-braking causes skidding and therefore ruins dirt trails. Also throws up a lot of dust.

 

[dukeofdelridge]

if this thread is testament to anything, it's that there really isn't a right or wrong...notice I made sure to say "I" need a rear brake. I leave it open in my logical space that you'd roll a freewheel and a front brake only, even though I think that crazed.





A rear wheel skid is still semi-controllable. Sometimes.





On Deadman's Curve? You're gonna overcook Deadman's Curve on a wet day, and grab a handful of front brake? Bro. Deadman's Curve!





Mountainbiking: I grab all sorts of brake. I wish I had a third sometimes.





This dude's talking about a bike with a freewheel, I think. I'm not sure I've ever seen a coast-able bike with only a front brake. People ride that? That's craze. I made sure to preface my One Brake Reasoning with an understanding that with two brakes, the front does the majority of the work, but if I only get one brake, I want a rear (with a direct drive, I'd be considering the rider's legs as a brake).





On my mountainbike, if I got to the top and had to ditch a brake, I'm keeping the rear. And I'm going to have way more fun.





mitigating_factor: today is Day 128 of pins in my wrist/no bikes ahahaha

 

[highscheme]

Good looking on the advice. Damn I always thought a front brake is scary as fuck to slam on. I usually slow down as much as possible with the rear before engaging the front. I guess if you learn to put your weight back behind the seat instinctively it would be ok, but in a true emergency situation it seems like it might be easier said than done.





Yeah piecing together a bike seems kind of a pain but it shouldn't be too bad hopefully since I am going the single speed route.





I am probably gonna get a a flip-flop hub so I can mess around with fixed a little but the main goal is freewheel single-speed.

 

[SoulOnIce]

dukeofdelridge said:





This dude's talking about a bike with a freewheel, I think. I'm not sure I've ever seen a coast-able bike with only a front brake. People ride that? That's craze.







Yeah, people generally freak out about my set-up being sketchy, but I've been riding a track bike with freewheel and front brake only, in the city, for over 12 years - including a good 4 as a bike courier bombing lights and traffic 8 hours a day - and only flipped over the bars once. ever. ... while riding one-handed and some chick blew a stop sign 10 feet in front of me. I'm not saying it's "as safe" as two brakes, but I will definitely say that if it comes down to only rear or only front, you have to go front. And that front brake only on a freewheel is nowhere near as sketchy as everyone wants to think, if you know how to ride and get used to it. I can't ride anywhere as well as I did 10 years ago as a messenger, but I used to be able to do some sick skid-stops on my front wheel, frame up at like 45 degrees with me almost upright over the back tire. ah, youth.

 

[Horseleech]

SoulOnIce said:dukeofdelridge said:





This dude's talking about a bike with a freewheel, I think. I'm not sure I've ever seen a coast-able bike with only a front brake. People ride that? That's craze.







Yeah, people generally freak out about my set-up being sketchy, but I've been riding a track bike with freewheel and front brake only, in the city, for over 12 years - including a good 4 as a bike courier bombing lights and traffic 8 hours a day - and only flipped over the bars once. ever. ... while riding one-handed and some chick blew a stop sign 10 feet in front of me. I'm not saying it's "as safe" as two brakes, but I will definitely say that if it comes down to only rear or only front, you have to go front. And that front brake only on a freewheel is nowhere near as sketchy as everyone wants to think, if you know how to ride and get used to it. I can't ride anywhere as well as I did 10 years ago as a messenger, but I used to be able to do some sick skid-stops on my front wheel, frame up at like 45 degrees with me almost upright over the back tire. ah, youth.




Yeah, this is not an unusual set up at all. I was an NYC messenger for 7 years with this and never went over the bars.

 

[kicks79]

I think that generally if your riding a single speed then two breaks is preferred. Fixed gear your only running a front break as your legs are your back brake, Or no break at all but im not ready for that yet.


After my bro went over his bmx handle bars back in the day after our dad helpfully tuned them up for him and didn't tell him. I am painfully aware of not using excess front brake and trying to slow down by backwards pressure the pedals.


At the end of the day its what works for you and your ride.

 

[smoking_robot]

dukeofdelridge said:





On Deadman's Curve? You're gonna overcook Deadman's Curve on a wet day, and grab a handful of front brake? Bro. Deadman's Curve!




this had me cracking up. A+





dukeofdelridge said:


mitigating_factor: today is Day 128 of pins in my wrist/no bikes ahahaha




i was waiting for piece to come in somewhere.





it made sense to me that you preferred a back only in your explanation. i'd prolly still use the front simply because im more comfortable with it now having rode w/ a front for so long. and as mentioned, a little lean back helps keep you from supermanning over your handlebars.

 

[highscheme]

OK, well all this talk has got me considering riding fixed with a front brake only.





How do you get rid of cable guides on a frame? If I can't get rid of them before I get the frame powder coated then I might as well keep the back brake.