Fixed Gear Cycling How To and Bikes for Sale
There are two ways for you to get in on the Fixed Gear Cycling (or Fixie) scene. One is to purchase a pre-built Fixie, preferably from some of the fine retailers below, or you can, like me, build your own Fixed Gear bicycle. If you prefer to build it yourself, here are the steps in their simplest form:
To start you need a solid road bike. It doesn't have to be a new one, and most Fixie builders prefer a nice used road bike that's around 10-20 years old. I have a Motobecane from around 1983. It's steel and very solid. You'll also want to to find a bike that has the horizontal type dropout. Most bikes you may have noticed have vertical dropouts (point downward), but due to a fixie having one chain and no derailleur, we need to get the chain as tight as we can. Horizontal dropouts help us out a lot with chain tension.
More Fixed Gear Information Below These Fixed Gear Bikes Available at eBay
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Velo Gel Tech saddle seat fixie fixed gear bike bicycle
Selling for Only: $19.99 Sale Ends In: 6h 49m |
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fixie fixed gear bicycle bik Velo Gel Tech saddle seat
Selling for Only: $19.99 Sale Ends In: 23h 37m |
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Handle bar Rubber grips 7/8" Fixie bike fixed gear BK
Selling for Only: $9.99 Sale Ends In: 1d 47m |
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Alloy handle bar Fixie Road bike fixed gear bicycle RD
Selling for Only: $18.99 Sale Ends In: 1d 54m |
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New 54cm Fixie (Fixed Gear or Single Speed)
Selling for Only: $140.00 Sale Ends In: 1d 6h 16m |
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Custom Scattante SSR Performance 52cm Single Speed SS Fixie Road Bike
Selling for Only: $449.00 Sale Ends In: 1d 7h 18m |
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Teschner Track Pro Track Bike Frame Set // 57cm Road Velo Fixie FSA
Selling for Only: $799.99 Sale Ends In: 1d 7h 39m |
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700C FIXIE ROAD BIKE FRAMESET BLACK 52CM STEEL NEW
Selling for Only: $29.99 Sale Ends In: 1d 21h 18m |
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micargi 53cm red road track single speed fixie FIXED GEAR bike bicycle
Selling for Only: $289.99 Sale Ends In: 2d 5h 7m |
If you like taking bikes apart, then this next topic will be fun! To have a true Fixie, you need to remove a lot of parts from your road bike that just aren't necessary. Shifters have to go, derailleurs they are out of here, and the rear brake also should go. We recommend you keep the front brake, just for safety concerns. If you are riding your fixed gear bike in traffic, you may trust your riding, but I doubt you can say the same for the cars around you!
The chain and most of the chainrings should also be removed. The chain itself you might be able to reuse, if it has removable chain links. You'll also want to keep the smallest chainring. If the smallest seems to small, then use the one that you feel most comfortable riding around on everywhere you might go. Too large a chainring, and you'll be too slow most of the time to have any fun on your fixie. Too small a chainring, and you'll be pedaling like a madman to keep your bike moving!
That should be enough to get you started, but for a more detail on how to build your very own fixie, be sure to check out Sheldon Brown's website! I also recommend the Fixed Gear Gallery to see what other Fixie owners have created. It might give you an idea how you might want to setup your own bike.
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