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| *Vultures Knob>>>Road Bike |
How do I learn about building my own single speed road bike? |
How do I learn about building my own single speed road bike? Get an old bike from a garage sale, a real piece of junk, and take it apart. Then put it together. That will get the creative juices flowing. Read the library books when you have Q's. Ask your local shop, too. If you are thinking of a custom frame... there are a lot of frame builders out there. search for a bike co-op in your area. but really, do you wanna be that trendy? there is less than a half pound weight difference, and it is way cooler to rock a 10speed. what do you mean how do you learn about it? as in how do you install brakes or as in what parts to pick, or what gear ratio to run? if you dont already know, people are gunna throw tons of answers at you, mainly based on you spending a load of money, not getting a bike you like or works for you.... if you think you are a singlespeed roadbike canidate, look at some prebuilt options. there are two that come to mind, in terms of cost and function. the rivendell quickbeam is a great bike, but a bit on the pricey side, around 1400 complete...but it has two front chainrings, so two gears, albeit two gears you have to get off the bike to change. rivendells are nice cause they are steel, strong as hell, well made in japan with mostly japanese parts, nothing trashy thats gunna bite it in a few months... redline makes a bike called the 9 to 5 which is a third of the rivendell's cost, and it comes with a fixed gear cog and a freewheel... it also has fenders already. the downside? chinese and taiwanese parts, cheap tires, everything is painted black to reduce the costs inherient in polishing aluminum... stay away from track bikes, felt, specialized, bianchi, and others all make prepackaged inexpensive track bikes. track bikes differ from singlespeed road bikes in that they have a fixed rear wheel, ie no coasting, which isnt a bad thing if you know how to ride one, but they also have steep angles, which in plain english means they handle like crud. salesmen will say that steep angles makes the bike more nimble, which can be directly translated as twitchy. thats not a good thing for a bike to behave like in traffic, or as a commuter. most track bikes also only have one brake, bad tire clearance, zero fender clearance, no water bottle mounts, no rack mounts, low handlebars, and a narrow saddle... if you want advice on parts that work and last, without hype or bs, drop a line. pro mechanic and bike designer, 10 years and counting. owner of a singlespeed whitcomb, a singlespeed on-one, a singlespeed bridgestone, and past owner of a singlespeed vicious cycles monolith, amongst other bikes. i routinely commute 10 miles a day in all weather, and do minimum 50 mile rides on the weekends... |
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