Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with fixie

Alleycat Sponsorship

suckerpunch — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:13:51 -0800

Help me find national sponsors for the alleycat-style bicycle race I'm putting together. I'm helping to put together three alleycat races to benefit the Thanda Project in South Africa. One thing I'm having trouble with is finding national companies who can sponsor the races. What I need are prizes from them - although cash to donate to the Thanda Project would be excellent.

Because I need material for prizes, I'll want bicycle companies only. I will only need a few of them, and I hope that I can use their donations for prizes for the 'series' prize, to be handed out after the third race. As each race will be in a different city, prizes for each race should be strictly from local businesses.

What companies should I contact? I've currently got feelers out to Velocity, Chrome, Reload Bags, Alchemy Goods, Swobo. (Planet Bike cannot sponsor anything that 'promotes unsafe riding', which an alleycat does. That's understandable.)

Please mention any other company with a national presence that would happily sponsor an unsanctioned, beer-soaked (charity!) bicycle race.

Some question about converting a road frame to a fixed gear...

You Should See the Other Guy — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:31:13 -0800

Fixed Gear Conversion / Bike Question: 120mm rear hub. 130mm frame. Solutions? I also have a crank/bb question inside. So I found a vintage frame that I like, but it's got 130mm rear stays. I like the hub that I have (Phil Wood), which is 120. Is there an easy fix?

Also, I have a 68mm Phil BB but the frame has 70mm Italian. Obviously, I can't make this work so will have to buy a new BB. However, I know nothing about road cranks... will my Sugino 75 crank connect to an Italian BB? Are the bolts that the crank arms attach to universal?

Anything else I should consider when converting a road frame to a fixed gear bike?

Thanks!

ONE BIKE TWO BIKE RED BIKE BLUE BIKE

suckerpunch — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:46:27 -0800

Bike nerds : give me a recommendation for both a long-haul touring setup and a flat-city fashion fixie setup. I've been riding long enough - and for long enough distances - where I feel comfortable actually spending money on upgrading my rides. (I'm a(n in)famous skinflint. In 2003, I know I racked up at least 5k miles, and in 2008, my guess is just under 3k. I'm finally buying a new bike.) I have two main styles of riding - commuting, and late-night bar-hopping. What sort of equipment should I be looking for? What should I be taking into account?

As far as the commute, I have dreams of one day touring cross-country, so I would want a frame capable of carrying that load. Also, I'd be looking at a sane max gear inch, and using that to choose my front crank (triple, natch) and my rear cassette. I would like the SPD/flats mix pedals for this bike, but I'm open to ideas.

As for the fashion fixie, I care most about getting a hot yellow/black look using the current tires and wheels I use (yellow Vittoria tires, black Wienmann rims and Formula hubs) and a decent geometry for short-run riding. Front brakes are necessary, rear brakes are nice, but not needed. Powergrips are the likely pedal unless if you've got better ideas. Points awarded for frames with beautiful details (lugs, seatstay ends, etc.)

Apart from all of this, I would want a bike that could do assisted solo rides well, such as the Hotter Than Hell 100. However, I'm pretty sure that most racer-oriented bike shops have this angle covered, and I really don't have money to spend on this, so I'll probably continue to use my current commuter ride ('99 Diamondback Expert that I've put a zillion miles on) for this.

So? How about it?

Bike accessory advice

dobbs — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:17:56 -0800

So I just bought myself a new single speed bike for my birthday. I'd like to get different bars, pedals, and saddle but need advice... I'm also curious if it's possible to remove the branding decals without damaging the frame... The bike is an Iro Angus that looks almost exactly like this (though that's not my bike), right down to the color scheme, wheels, etc. (though my crank and spokes are black). Also, I currently have no cages/clips on my pedals.

I've found that after riding it for a couple weeks, I don't like the saddle, bars, and pedals too much (I had no problem with them during the test ride), though it's easily the best bike I've ever owned or ridden.

So, I'm curious, how do people buy new items for a bike when either they can't test them (because buying online) or the test is never substantially long enough to determine if the accessory would be a good long-term fit.

I also know nothing about pedals/clips... I see lots of people riding with little rod-like pedals that I assume require special shoes (which I'm not into)--what's the deal with diff kinds of pedal options?

Any recommendations for particular accessories (even those not listed) would be appreciated. Links would also be good.

I'm in Toronto but am willing to buy online.

Thanks!

Whats up with the fixies?

virga — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:58:13 -0800

{Hipster,Scenester}filter: What's up with all of the kids on fixed gear bikes these days? And why don't they wear helmets? I'm noticing it more and more these days...the hip/scenesters on the fixed gear bikes darting in and out of traffic, cycling en-masse through the boulevards. I'm just wondering whats up with it; I asked my pro-cycling friend who told me they've traditionally been used for training and endurance, but I doubt the kids are into that. And why aren't they wearing helmets? You would think darting and buzzing in and out of downtown street traffic helmets would be on the last, but does it damage their purported street cred?

What's the best source for cheap used bikes in the Washington DC area?

gregoryc — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 09:41:20 -0800

I'd like to find an old road bike ripe for conversion to fixed gear on the cheap. Thought it would be easy, as it seems to me there must be a huge cache of these sitting in a warehouse somewhere. (Doesn't WMATA and/or the cops pick these up on a regular basis?). The only source I can find is Craigslist, but that has not been very good, at least not yet. Anybody know of anything better? Police auction? Used bike wholesaler? Or perhaps my expectations are too high? Thanks.